General Information Date December 2009

El Jocote
Land Use The community well site rests ontop of a shallow aquafer probably under a layer of fractured volcanic rock.
It is illegal to cut certain types of trees and in the riparian areas. These species include Pochote, cedro and juanacaste trees. While
this law has been in effect for a while about two years ago the government started to enforce it more.
Farming/Crops Few people can afford fertilizers such as Urea or Completo (more complete and expensive)
Beans and corn usually provide 2 harvests. After planting in May, they are ready to harvest in August and November. Millet is planted
once a year in May, but is not ready to harvest until December.
Renewable Energy 1 hand-dug community well on the road between Bramadero and Jocote. Hand crank rope pump with a simple plunger system of PVC
piping. 5 1/2 yards of piping in 7 sections of tubes. 6 baros deep and not motorized (community wishes to save electricity for the
houses). Fully constructed, maintained and operated by the El Jocote community. 13 years operating well. The community may dig the
well deeper but this would require motorized removal of rocks and a motor system to pump the water up from the greater depth.
The community well was tested years ago by a University team but no one knows what the team found out about the water. The
water is safe, locals drink the water fine.
Community/Society The community does not mind sharing the community well's water with others but the well does run dry at the end of each day. As
water becomes scarcer the community expects that they will eventually need guards at the well to ration the water out for all.
According to Juan Antonio, many people leave the area in order to work in Costa Rica. Of his four kids, 3 have emigrated at one point
in their lives.
Other While El Jocote benefits from more water than Bramadero, the land is becoming a dry forest due to farmer clear cutting land as they
expand their crop rotations outward. Could be 5 to 10 more years before the land is as dry as Bramadero.
El Jocote is the main source of water fro Bramadero when the Bramadero well is dry.
Juan Valerio is one of the older residents of El Jocote. He is 75 years old and was born and raised in El Jocote. As a child he
remembers the creek/river being full of water through January.
Tree Species Acacia cornigera (Bullhorn Acacia) Spondias purpurea (Jocote) Psidium guajava (Common Guava)
Bomba copsis Guazuma ulmifolia (Guasimo) Hymenaea courbaril (Guapinol)
Bursera simaruba Ficus (General) Tecolote
Quebracho Copal Tabebuia rosea (Roble de Sabana)
Morello
Bramadero
Land Use 1 manzana = 100 meters by 100 meters. 1 manzana can potentially contain over 800 trees.
Land owners will clear a manzana for cattle grazing than a year later they will shift the cattle to a tenant famer's land leaving the
farmer to deforest another manzana for planting.
Each family in Bramadero uses 160 trees a month for firewood on average. These trees are never replanted.
Farming/Crops Pineapple, dragonfruit, tropical squash, tropical zucchini, and tropical watermelon are all excellent "cash crops" due to minimal water
necessary for production. These crops are not actively grown due to over 80 years of traditionally growing hearty crops like millet,
corn and beans.
Cattle/Livestock Cattle ranching is seen as the best route for generating income. There is a general attitude that if you can acquire cattle than you can
be rich too. This is not the case as cattle are expensive to maintain especially in such a dry climate, and because cattle grazing is very
hard on the land.
 Alternatives to cattle for this climate: African sheep or goats. These are not popular in Nicaragua. I remember seeing one sheep on the
lane next to the schoolhouse in Bramadero. Was this the only one in the region?
Honey bee hives would be a great investment for this climate.
Renewable Energy 1 solar water pump provides water to the community once every three days. The water lines are gravity fed from the tanks. Not every
house is connected to the system and those uphill from their neighbors have the advantage of gravity in getting their water first
before the others. Many houses take more water than allocated so the houses at the end of the water lines never get any water.
Although this system is beneficial to many houses, many households still must walk to the community well in El Jocote to meet their
water needs.
Community/Society Cooperation is difficult due to community differences like religion, politics, incomes, professions, etc.
Coopertatives
Nearby honey cooperative does buy some honey collected by Bramadero community members however there are no established
hives in the area so the benefits from association with such a cooperative is lower than it could be for the community.
Other AsoFénix operates in Bramadero as a base for reaching surrounding "dry" communities.
AsoFénix commits to 10 years in-community work after the installation of a project in order to meet social and health needs within
these communities.
Tree Species Acacia cornigera (Bullhorn Acacia) Spondias purpurea (Jocote) Psidium guajava (Common Guava)
Bomba copsis Guazuma ulmifolia (Guasimo) Hymenaea courbaril (Guapinol)
Bursera simaruba Ficus (General) Tecolote
Quebracho Copal Tabebuia rosea (Roble de Sabana)
Morello
El Roblar
Renewable Energy 82 households, 32 of which are served with new micro-hydro plant. 4-5 houses benefit from combined solar power and micro-hydro
power. 3 local technicians plus one from Asofenix installed the system for 3 days. The project was initiated in 2004. The community
approached Asofenix after 3 individuals heard about and then visited a wood turbine at a former employee of the energy departments
house. Juan Antonio has known Jaime for many years, and so he approached him about the project. Most of the funding came from
the Ministry of Energy and Evos (based in Holland). Max turbine is 17kW, in the wet season. System currently runs at 30-40% of
capacity. Each home received 4 9watt bulbs, one household had more, with 3 lights in the living rooms, 1 in the kitchen and in each
bedroom. Microhydro was established 12/22/09.
Second potential micro-hydro plant would be at the waterfall site. Normally a project of this scale would not require an environmental
impact survey by the state. The state requires such surveys for projects over 10 megawatts of potential power capacity. This waterfall
site has 70-90 kwatts of potential power capacity. AsoFénix will perform its own environmental impact survey before installing such a
system.
The power house is 430 meters away from the dam, with an 80 meter drop. The turbine is self-regulating, the water flow changes
depending on energy use - there are no batteries.
Community/Society Juan Antonio and Marcos are 2 of the 5 local committee members who are in charge of the project. They choose the technicians
(there are 5, trained by Asofenix) and manage the funds (each home contributes $3/month? for maintenance). Committee members
work with families who are unable to pay the fee, since they personally know the community, they know who can and cannot afford
it.
According to Juan Antonio, the benefits are health related, ie people are aware that burning candles is bad for eyesight.
Coopertatives Some cattle owners in El Roblar benefit from a milk cooperative downhill from their community.
Other Currently, Asofenix is interested in how to make keeping forest healthy profitable for the people, a project that Caitlyn Peake is
working on.
Potential markets for the area include a bakery and natural juices/jams, these ideas have been pursued by the committee.
Many couples have children together but remain unmarried, in which case the children take the mothers last name. If the parents
marry, the children take both parents last names.
Tree Species Acacia cornigera (Bullhorn Acacia) Spondias purpurea (Jocote) Psidium guajava (Common Guava)
Bomba copsis Guazuma ulmifolia (Guasimo) Hymenaea courbaril (Guapinol)
Bursera simaruba Ficus (General) Tecolote
Quebracho Copal Tabebuia rosea (Roble de Sabana)
Morello