I’m headed for Nicaragua again, for a solid week of meetings with educators, producers, researchers, Indigenous people, campesinos, you name it.  The visits are always mixed in terms of activities and the range of people with whom we meet, but this week has a clear and overarching theme: education.

In the first half of the week, we’ll be meeting with educators across the spectrum in an effort to gain an understanding of how we might best become an asset in helping to address the education deficit in Nicaragua.  Like most places, Nicaragua’s key to its economic future rests in large part on the education of its youth.  Based upon the unique connections the Foundation has cultivated over the years, we think there may be a way to weave together some initiatives and some funding to make an impact in this crucial arena.

The second half of the week will include the second of two, three-day workshops for the coffee producers, cooperatives, supporters, funders and buyers in the north.  San Juan del Rio Coco is the site of this second meeting where the participants will complete joint strategic thinking about their interconnectedness and how they can best unite for mutual, long-term success.  It’s a unique setting and gathering, and the participants- and Winds of Peace (WPF) which is funding it- are excited about continuing the conversations.

The second half of the week will also include visits with two of the Indigenous communities supported by WPF.  We’ll be sharing views of organizational structure and transparency as these communities think about upcoming elections in their midst.

In one sense it could be said that WPF is becoming more active within the education arena, and that’s true.  But the real learning is what I am privileged to receive through the lives and experiences of the people I will meet.  And that is education of a lifetime, invaluable in its clarity and truth….