I went to Nicaragua earlier this year on a bird watching holiday. I discovered in one of the villages there a project which really captured my heart. A swiss lady, Bella, who owns a small hotel in Laguna de Apoyo is helping six men from the village to set up a metalworking workshop in order to make household and garden furniture. They formerly worked in the building trade as welders but work is very hard to come by and badly paid. Between them they have fortynine dependents and this project offers them an opportunity to raise their standard of living above the poverty line. Bella is doing the marketing and they are coming up with some very creative and practical designs. The problem they have is that they are currently using one old welding machine on the normal 110 volt house electricity supply and when they do all the lights in the village go dim. They desperately need a new direct 220 volt supply to their workshop at a cost of about £800. Also to become properly efficient in their production they need a new pipe bending machine and another welding machine which puts the total required to about £2000. This is a perfect example of "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Give him a net and you feed him and his family for a lifetime" These are wonderful hard working people who need a break. Bella has already put all she can afford into this project and she is not in it to make a profit for herself. For my part I am going to auction one of my best paintings and put all the money it raises to the fund. If you go to www.ronaldswanwick.co.uk you will find all the details of the auction.
After years of civil war Nicaragua is now settled and just beginning to prosper this project has great potential with the products the team are making going into hotels, restaurants and cafes which are beginning to develop with the growing tourism. They are also working on designs for the garden which Bella is hoping to start selling through garden centers which are now opening.