I have been living in Bluefields, Nicaragua volunteering with blueEnergy for more than 6 months and will be returning to Arkansas sometime after March. I am living among other international volunteers from France, Ireland, Australia, Ecuador, and the U.S. All of whom specialize in different aspects of renewable energy systems. blueEnergy provides a sustainable solution to the energy needs of marginalized communities through the construction, installation, and maintenance of hybrid wind and solar electric systems on the Atlantic Coast.
I spent a previous two months traveling in Costa Rica and throughout the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua before making the journey to Bluefields. I plan to return to the States sometime in March to fulfill some scholastic obligations with the University of Arkansas and hope to return for one year sometime in August '09.
I am currently working to implement potable water systems in the isolated indigenous communities surrounding Bluefields. We are still in the research and development phase of a Biosand filter design, and developing a water pumping/distribution system in Monkey Point.
Nicaragua has a tremendous deficiency in clean water and the area in which I live is severely affected by this. The Regional Autonoma del Atlantic Sur(RAAS)or South Atlantic Autonomous Region is separated from the rest of the Nicaragua by vast bush, swampland, and jungle. There are no accessible roads to Bluefields, so the only transportation is by plane or jungle-boat down the Rio Escondido to the Bay of Bluefields. Travel to the outlaying communities is in pangas on the open ocean.
The population of Bluefields is nearly 60,0000 people, and distributed throughout the RAAS as 82% of the inhabitants living in the municipality of Bluefields and the other 18% living in the surrounding communities. The RAAS is multi-ethnic, multi-lingual and multicultural. Mestizos make up about 57% of the total population with Creoles making up 36% and Miskitos, Garifunas, and Ramas making up the remaining 7%. Spanish is the official language but English and Miskito are used in everyday conversations. The municipality of Bluefields is composed of 19 barrios and 58 surrounding rural communities.
