My Trip To Nicaragua - Rochester Institute of Technologyedge.rit.edu/edge/P17433/public/MSD 2/Phase...
Transcript of My Trip To Nicaragua - Rochester Institute of Technologyedge.rit.edu/edge/P17433/public/MSD 2/Phase...
My Trip To Nicaragua
Places Visited: Managua, Nicaragua (2 days)
Leon, Nicaragua (2 Hours)
El Sauce, Nicaragua (4 days)
Background on Cities:
All Cities on the Western Coast of Nicaragua
Managua pop. 2 million
Leon pop. 200,000
El Sauce pop. 30,000
Total country population: 6 million
Managua-Capital City
Leon-Colonial City
El Sauce- City for bottle upcycling project
Day 1 Travel to Nicaragua-
Flight out of Toronto 5:40 PM
Layover in Huston for ~1hour
Flight to Managua at 10PM
A lot of college groups headed to Managua for mission trips, health initiatives, etc.
Arrived in Managua 1 am on Saturday
Arriving in Managua:
Picked up by Marta and Alvaro- Kellan’s mother in law and her partner
Did not stop at any red lights in the city because it is safer. This is okay to do after
10pm most evenings
City had paved roads, LED traffic lights, many retail, hotel, and restaurant chains
found in the United States including:
o McDonalds
o Papa John’s
o Pizza Hut
o TGI Fridays
o Hooters
o Burger King
o Wendys
o Walmart
o Hilton
o Crowne Plaza
o Best Western
o Nike
o Adidas
o Etc.
Popular modes of transportation in Managua seemed to be
o Cars
Kia
Nissan
Toyota
Motorcycles
o 1 to three people riding on each motorcycle
o Just as popular as cars
Trucks and Large Passenger vans
o People often rode in the back of pickup trucks
o Large passenger vans also a popular form of transportation
Large public transportation network
o Large bus system that runs back and forth between cities (Managua, Leon,
El Sauce)
o Bus system can be school busses or charter buses depending on where
someone is going
o Relatively inexpensive to travel. Only $1.00-$3.00 US for round trips to
far away destinations
o No railroad system. Government sold it off to generate capital at some
point
Road System
o Paved roads and highways (limited number of highways)- In Managua
o Side streets are brick and some longer side roads are brick
o Roads in Rural communities are poor and dirt/stone only
Managua Hills Hotel:
Hotel in a nice community within Managua
Gated hotel in the hills of Managua
Nicely landscaped (Watered during dry season)
Lobby was nicely furnished and comfortable
o Wooden framed couches and chairs with cushions
o Wooden Bar with bar stools in the corner under the stairwell
o Wooden staircase that led to second level of hotel
Building overall had Spanish influences with architecture
Arches, stucco walls, wooden doors, and window frames, Spanish tile roofing
Metalwork on railings, bars for windows, and framing of some furniture
The room
o On the higher end of hotel rooms
o Floral artwork on the walls
o 2-3 lamps. 2 on the nightstands one on the floor
o Normal US 120V AC voltage
o Wooden nightstands
o Wooden desk
o Separate bathroom with wooden door and tile floor
o Shower with Hot and Cold water
o Floors were tile
o TV in each room and Air Conditioner in each room
o Comfortable Queen size bed
Hotel cost $35 USD
Day 2 Exploring Managua and the Journey to El Sauce-
Breakfast at the hotel- rice and beans, eggs with bacon, and toast
Breakfast served in the courtyard of the hotel
Served on porcelain plates with metal Utensils
Courtyard filled with palm trees, flowering vegetation, Birds of Paradise
Hear birds chirping and roosters from the surrounding area
Fresh Mango juice served with breakfast. It was delicious
Talked to the worker at the front desk about things to make out of plastic bottles and
plastic bottle houses were mentioned
Stop #1 Claro
Cell Phone store
Most people in cities have smartphones
2 main companies for service
o Claro- Mexico Company
o Movistar- Company from Spain
Both companies are satellite providers
Service in most urban areas of Nicaragua, some areas in the mountains and very
rural areas do not have cell service
Stop #2 Currency Exchange
Exchanged currency on the side of the road
To get the best exchange rate from cordobas to USD you need to know someone
to get the best deal
29.5 Cordobas = 1 US dollar
Stop #3 Colonia Supermarket
One of the largest supermarkets in Managua
Smaller than an average US grocery store
They are used for convenience and imported goods
Most other goods can be purchased from a market
Aztec inspired Art, pyramid/Triangular ceiling, bright and colorful décor, upside
down umbrellas hanging from the ceiling
Store had a combination of imported goods from America, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, and China
Attached food court
The Store Carried
o Plastic Goods
Flip Flops made in Nicaragua
Plastic Containers-Guatemala/USA
Plastic Plates-Costa Rica/Nicaragua
Cheap Plastic goods-China
o Clothing
o Meat/Seafood/Bakery
o Produce
Bananas and Mangoes in Season so they are cheap. Apples are
imported so they are pricey
o Nicaraguan Candies
o Nicaraguan Cookies
Popular use during festivals and holidays
Also a favorite snack in the country
o Freezer Section
Many 1L-2L soda and water bottles
Some bigger containers for water were sold as well
Mainly PET
HDPE containers like milk jugs found here
o Personal Care products
Many use HDPE bottles
Groceries overall cheaper than in the United States
Stop #4 La Plaza De Reveluccion
Large Plaza near lake Managua
Used for parties, contains old Managua Cathedral
Pays Homage to Sandino and the revolution in Nicaragua in the 70’s and 80’s
Sandino is a huge figure in the culture and revolution and was a martyr whom
instilled change in the government
Sandinistas currently in control of the government
Took over from dictatorship rule under Samosa
National palace in location as well as the tombs of major revolutionary figures
Celebration in July to celebrate revolution. Is getting smaller and smaller every
year as the generations begin to shift
Large party in the square
Many parks in the area used for memorials or for places to liven up the downtown
area
Stop #5 Lake Managua and Old Downtown
Trees of life
o 300 throughout Managua
o Put in by Current Presidents Wife to replace “Revolution Poles”
o 50-60 feet tall and covered in LED Lights
o Mixed public feelings about the trees, They look nice but are very
expensive
o Made of metal
o They are white, yellow, purple, blue, pink/red, and green
o $50000 USD to create one
Revolution colors, monuments, and symbols can be seen throughout Managua
******FILL IN GAPS FOR REST OF The DAY IN Managua AND Trip TO Leon/El
Sauce
Exploring El Sauce
Town used to be called Valle De Guayabal
Story of Santo Cristo de Esquipula (Black Christ)
Santo Cristo de Esquipula found in a Sauce Tree hence the name El Sauce
Heavily influenced by religion
Gigantic Festival with hundreds of thousands of people every January
******FILL IN GAPS FOR REST OF Touring El Sauce
Meeting with Businesses and Stakeholders
Business #1 Bicycle Shop
Alejandro Solano (Alex)
2 Wheels project
o Bikes for children in Nicaragua to attend school
o Enlace helps fund the project and with business development
o Money comes in from USA and Australia for project
Welds/builds framing and all parts of bicycles
Obtains parts and new bikes from the city of Estelí
Created a 4 wheeled bicycle
o 4 passengers
o Custom invention
o Hoping to use for tourism
Fixes old bikes and works on and sells new bikes
Sells Spare Parts
Pricing:
o 2300 Cordobas for a new bike
o 1900 Cordobas for a used bike
o Aluminum frames are more expensive
o Most bikes made of steel
Works on 50-60 bikes a month for sales
Makes more money selling bicycles
o 70% selling bikes
o 30% fixing bikes
Buy used bikes from surrounding cities
o 20 bikes purchased every 2 months
Fragua
o Human powered machine using bicycle power
o More on this later
o Band goes around metal wheel to bend/use it
o Can adapt human powered machinery to pumps as well
Idea to create bike powered smoothie maker for tourism
Can make us a bicycle power supply for shredder for relatively inexpensive-$100USD
Works 8-5 Monday-Saturday
2 part time employees
Family members work with him when they are not in school
Business #2 Clothing Business
Alex’s Sister has a clothing business
Makes dress clothes, school uniforms, fashion items
Learned about making clothes in Costa Rica
Father made sundials
Every 3 months she travels to Costa Rica to buy more supplies
o About 200 lbs. of material
Made dresses for dolls when she was little and went to Costa Rica to learn how to make
clothes
Works with her mother
Has 2 kids
Young Girls major target market
Also school uniforms are popular
Uses electric sewing machine
Repairs clothes
Can replicate designs from magazines and can design custom fashions
Pricing:
o 800 Cordobas for a large dress
o 180-300 Cordobas for a short dress
o 200 Cordobas for a girls school uniforms
o 230 Cordobas for boys school uniforms
People sometimes bring their own material
4-5 hours to make an item of clothing
Peak season November –December since School goes from February- December
Popular time around holidays as well
Works 6 days a week, 8 hours a day when demand is high.
Business #3 Washing Machine Repair
Removes material from old machines
Sells useful parts
Scraps not useful parts
Melted metal used for construction
4-5 clients a week
2-3 similar businesses in town
Welding capabilities
Has most tools that can be found in the USA
Missing a smaller tube cutter and a tool to bend tubes
Fixes electric problems with devices
Fixes leaks in lines of devices like refrigerators as well
Welds with iron and aluminum
Copper is also used heavily in the tubing
Refrigerant R-104a Freon
Plugs holes in lines to repair them
Uses pliers to hold items in place while welding
Uses a small welding gun
Works with circuit boards and control systems
Has replacement parts sent to the business or occasionally travels to Costa Rica or
Managua to find replacement parts
Picks up machines using Bike Taxis found in EL Sauce
1-2 machines worked on per day
Works 8 hours a day 6 days a week
Scrapped parts go to the dump
Prices for Scrapped Material:
o 10 Cordobas/lb. aluminum
o 1 Cordoba/lb. Iron
o 18 Cordobas/lb. Bronze
o 35 Cordobas/lb. Copper
Has a collection of plastic items he doesn’t know what to do with
Mainly large HDPE drawers, fans, shelves, etc.
o Used to sell for 3 Cordobas/lb. to a neighbor
Makes 2-3 dollars an hour
Charge 250 cordobas for labor
Factors in cost of electricity/food when finalizing the bill
Has one permanent assistant and occasionally has a second. Pays them 250 Cordobas a
day
Business #4 The Bottle Collector
Someone in El Sauce used to collect bottles to sell to an outside company
Sold to a company in Mexico
Started collecting 4 years ago and the company stopped two years ago
3 cordobas per kg of plastic
Middle man made about 10-11 cordobas per kg
Bags still sitting outside of Managua
100 cordobas tax collection/yr on business from mayor’s office
cleaned crushed bottles
Had all types of plastic including broken chairs, fans, shelves, drawers, broken products,
and bottles
Wind was an issue with storage with bottles blowing around
Put plastic into giant sacks to store and transport
Large trucks picked them up
Strong focus on cleaning up the environment
Strong public response at the time
Process worked good and there was no lack of space
Product ideas:
o Whistles
o Toys
o Chairs
o Plastic Containers
Business #4 El Molino (Mill)
5am start time to wake up and clean the grinders. Cleaning occurs the night before and
early morning to prevent contamination
Grinder always washed between uses
Corn is boiled and cleaned before entering the mil
o Cal is added to the corn to become soft for use in the mill
Pinoil is made from one of the mills. (Toasted corn)
Machine runs on 220 volts per unit
One mill requires water (pinol) other does not
One mill can make material for tortillas the other makes cornmeal
Main breaker powers the circuit to run the machines
Main breaker hooks up to the motors
30 people a day come to grind corn
Grinds meat on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday as well on a different
machine
Can only operate one machine at a time with current setup
Process can be done for 3 Cordobas a lb. He charges 10- 15 cordobas per pound
depending on labor
Caters to whatever the customer need is
25 cordobas per large pot of material
People on average bring 6-7 lbs. of corn at a time
Some of the ground corn only has a 4-5 hour shelf life if nothing is done with it post
grind
Motors can be found in Oriental Market in Managua.
o Largest market in central America
Coffee and cocoa also ground in mill
Grinder is cleaned between every use to ensure no cross contamination
Minimum of 500 Cordobas of profit a day
Three people work at the mill
Maintenance is done completely in house
Bearings are the main source of issue with the machine
o Replacements can be easily found
o Chinese parts not favorable and break more often (only last 4 months)
o USA parts are better
o Bought in car parts store
10 mill businesses in town
Nails, Cans, Coins, iron get stuck in Mill occasionally
Usually hear a metal item enter the mill
o Immediately kill the breaker
o Happens only 1-2 times a month
Plates on Mill need to be replaced every 2 years
People in El Sauce can fix them with files and they need to be filed every 3 days
When cleaning machine bands that join motor to the shredder are completely removed
Machine is greased for functionality
Machine bought in town about 300 km away
Beans are also ground at the mill for a popular snack ante frijoles
Business #5 4 Walls Construction Manager
Pepe- 4 Walls On site construction manager
Since 2008 4 walls has had hundreds of volunteers
2008-2010 only built two walls of a house to improve structural quality
Have helped 121 families since 2008
80 full house designs
Roofs used to be made of wood, now they are all metal
Strong walls made from bricks, metal, and cement
Use only high quality materials to build houses
4 Walls has a Board of Directors- 5 members from different neighborhoods
Look for applicants that meet different parameters to apply.
Parameters:
o Need to own land for a year
o Need a house to replace
o House needs to be made of plastic, wood, adobe, sheet metal, or sticks
o Need government ID of some sort
Changed priority from adobe houses to also poorly constructed brick houses
Prioritize women with children whom are either married or not married
Family project, must have lived on land for at least a year.
6m x 6m houses
o 6m x 4m if land is strange
o Want to keep house design consistent so everyone gets the same thing
City is in decent shape with housing, 4 walls focuses more on the rural areas on the
outskirts of town
35 families apply per year, usually 20 of those homes are built within the year
Currently 16 families in need
Each house costs $2000 USD
$1600-$1700 for materials alone
Houses built for domestic workers. The jobs they do is:
o Make tortillas
o Wash clothes
o Field work
o Taxi workers
Bigger houses in the city exist through
o Hereditary inheritance
o Making money abroad
o Government allocated land
Pepe and board members find families
Families that reach out to 4 walls are visited by board members to evaluate eligibility
Families provide large stones for foundation of house
Pepe works extensively with the mayor’s office
Adheres to all building codes (the limited ones that exist)
Codes for certain public buildings but not for 4 walls houses
Codes apply to restaurants, schools, pharmacies, and stores
Families like houses more when volunteers come down and work on them. Gives them a
little something extra that is special
Product Ideas:
o Roof Protection
o Break in Protection
o Gutters
o Culatta
o 600cm long by 30cm high addition to 4 walls houses
If products are well developed, 4 walls will help with implementation
ADDITIONAL BUSINESSES TO ADD NOTES FOR:
Carpenter
Welder/motorcycle Repairman
Forge
Leonidas (Refrigerator Repairman)
Waste Management Department
Stories
Marta’s Story
At 16 years old, Marta had the opportunity to be a part
of the Nicaraguan Revolution. As part of a literacy
initiative for the country, she left Managua and went
to a small village in the mountains to teach 9 grown
men how to read and write. With thousands of other
young people helping the initiative, the anti
government movement did not support literacy
workers since they were sent by the government. The
workers were targeted by the opposition and often
times killed for educating the people. One victim was
Marta’s neighbor. She finished teaching her students
and discovered a passion for teaching. Marta now
teaches at a French School in Managua.
Alex’s Story
Alejandro (Alex) Solano owns a bicycle shop in El Sauce. He
repairs broken bicycles, works on new bicycles, and invents new
creations using bicycles. He has invented a 4 wheeled bicycle,
bicycle powered machines, and works extensively on three
wheeled bike taxis used throughout the town. Alex will be a
great partner moving forward for making our machine bicycle
powered.
The Bottle Collector
We were able to track down someone who
used to collect bottles to sell to Managua.
She collected for a few years and liked the
initiative of cleaning up El Sauce and
being able to reuse a product. She stopped
because the company she sold to was no
longer buying plastic. She was interested
in the fact we were starting the initiative
again and gave positive feedback to our
shredding idea. She seems to share a
similar sentiment to many of El Sauce’s
residents who want to see a cleaner place
to live.
Pepe -4 Walls Construction Manager
Pepe is a mason in the town of El
Sauce and is the construction manager
on site for all of 4 walls houses. He
has been able to build over 100 houses
for people and is constantly receiving
applications to build more houses for
the residents of El Sauce. Pepe was
enthusiastic about the recycling
project and was interested in some
building materials that could be made
with plastic. 4 Walls would be willing
to use our products as long as they
were of good quality and were useful
to the people.
Product Ideas:
Building Materials
o Windows
o Doors
o Culattas
o Flooring Materials
o Gutters
o Room Dividers
o Plastic Roofing
o Awnings/Shades
Art
Household Items
Storage Containers
Tables/Chairs
Covers for Electronics
Garbage Cans
Statues of the Trees of Life
Other Items
Polyester for filling cushions
Covers for MotoTaxis
User Feedback:
Overall positive reaction to project!
Strong campaign and initiative to clean up the environment and sort waste
Blocks designed by Afifi fit in well to the culture: Similar blocks throughout the city
Building Materials was the most popular category of product suggestions
Shredder looks like a lot of machinery that exists in El Sauce
We have partners to develop some of the parts of the machine
Shredder will add value to plastic bottles and condense waste until future parts of the
business are developed