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Putting El Ojochal on the map

During the last five years of working in the village of El Ojochal del Listón, set high up on the slopes of Volcán Telica, the Nuevas Esperanzas team has discovered that this remote community has hardly even been visited or even noticed by the many aid organisations or government agencies which work in the region.  Due to its remote geographical location, the community has been so inaccessible that it was not even marked on the previous maps of the municipality.

In January, two things happened to change all this for good!  Firstly, the hard work on improving road access to the community paid off and the new road was finished.  It was a great day when the work was completed and access from San Jacinto up to El Ojochal by 4x4 vehicle or horse and cart was possible for the first time.  Not only does this allow the Nuevas Esperanzas team to transport the materials needed to build rainwater harvesting tanks and an extension to school, but it also allows the community to transport their produce to market and in the case of an emergency makes help a lot more accessible.  January also saw the new Mayor of Telica take office.  In his first week at work, Mayor Arsenio Reyes received a visit from the Nuevas Esperanzas team who presented the Mountain Rain project to him and introduced him to the organisation.  The Mayor was both delighted and encouraged to discover he had such a professional development organisation working in the municipality and requested the chance to visit Nuevas Esperanzas’ project as soon as possible.

What a surprise for the community of El Ojochal del Listón to hear that for the first time ever, their local Mayor would be paying them a visit!  While Nuevas Esperanzas has always worked hard to develop the relationship between the communities included in the project and their local Mayor the remoteness of El Ojochal del Listón has worked against every previous attempt.  The Mayor travelled up the newly completed road in a 4x4 vehicle to the centre of the community and was very impressed by the improved access, commenting on how helpful it would be in the future.  Once there, he continued on horseback to the house of Eliodoro Reyes (no relation to the Mayor!).  At 860 metres elevation (2,500 feet) this is the highest house, not just in the community but in the whole of the municipality of Telica.  From there he could admire the amazing panoramic views of the Maribios volcano chain from Volcán Momotombo to Volcán San Cristóbal in wonderful sunshine.  This visit helped the Mayor to see something of the potential of the area for environmental enhancement, sustainable agriculture,  and eco-tourism development in the future.

The Mayor returned to meet with the community and congratulate them on the success of their work as well as listening to some of their requests.  The visit was a great success and several follow up visits have been made by people from the Mayor’s office.  50 sheets of corrugated iron roofing and school supplies have also been donated to the community.

06/02/09