Sontule is a small, rural community located in the highland Miraflor Nature Reserve, one of the most beautiful places in Nicaragua. (If you don’t believe me, as the 300+ bird species that call Miraflor their permanent or seasonal home.)

After the civil war that plagued Nicaragua and Miraflor through the 1980s, the men in Sontule formed a coffee cooperative. Having a cooperative gave them access to credit, reduced individual risk and start-up expenses, and increased their negotiating power. Women’s cooperatives were at the time, and continue to be, rare.

Women in rural Nicaragua traditionally stay close to home to take care of the children, the garden, and the animals while also cooking and cleaning. Men work in the fields. Because women do not generate cash income it is usually hard from them to weigh in on economic decisions.

Doña Lucia shows a medicinal plant in her back yard.

The women of Sontule decided to change this.

A group of 28 women, led by Doña Lucia, one of the community leaders, got together around 1997 and decided to form a cooperative. They did not have land, however. Not discouraged, the women started small gardens in their homes. Some received technical training, such as medicinal plants and teas, with which Doña Lucia is now able to cure a variety of ailments.

Soon after their formation, they received training from a local NGO on Community-based Tourism. They would offer a room in their home to visitors, provide home cooked meals, and take guests on ecotourism activities such as birding, hiking and horseback rides. They also received some startup capital.

Kitchen in Sontule, Miraflor with a wood-burning stove.

From that point their lives, and the lives of hundreds of people who have stayed with them over the years, changed forever.

Visiting Sontule and staying in the homes of the women of Nuevo Amanecer, or New Dawn, as the cooperative is called is an absolutely transformative experience. One that does not come with the luxury of running water, much less hot water, indoor plumbing, or even electricity. It does come with the incredibly unique opportunity to be a part of a family in a place few have traveled to. It is an opportunity to experience the life of a Nicaraguan coffee farmer, and appreciate it for its beauty and its hardships.

This environment is epiphany-inducing. It is one of the best places to learn life’s greatest lessons. This has been my experience, and I know it to have been the experience of countless others.

The Miraflor Nature Reserve provides the visitor with ample time and space to think.

Coming back to our original question, Community-based Tourism is the unique opportunity to experience life as a guest, not a tourist, in a rural area. Moreover, it is a way to support local entrepreneurs, and in the case of Sontule female entrepreneurs. It is a way to travel responsibly. It is a way to learn from people whose life has been so very different from one’s own.

At Learn from Travel, we absolutely love Community-based Tourism because of the impact that it has on the traveler and the host. It is what allows us to advance our mission to enrich the traveler and the host. We love it because Community-based Toursim is unlike any other experience you can have. Every community is unique and has something different to teach its visitors. We hope you’ll come to Sontule to experience Community-based Tourism for yourself.