The following article was printed in the July 6th, 2007 edition of El Nuevo Diario.

"Los Congos" reforests Laguna de Apoyo

Eco-tourism Project promises to give benefits to Diria

Martín Mulligan

http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/
2007/06/19/departamentales/51636

Diria

The members of City Hall of Diria, the representative of the Institute of Tourism from Granada and the media, the partners of the company Laguna S.A. they released the eco-tourist project: "Los Congos", that will take place at Laguna de Apoyo.

The eco-tourist project, which covers a extension of 330 Manzanas (574.2 acres) on the slopes of Apoyo, located in Diria Area, they will assign 100 Manzanas (174 acres) for the construction of a hotel resort that promises to be a economic and promoting engine for tourism in the town.

Tourist Corridor with Mombacho

The president and vice president of the project, Jeffrey Finch and Ausberto Narvaez, respectively, announced a reforestation campaign on the slopes of the Laguna planting 100 thousand trees during 2007, though in total they expect to plant 500 thousand within a five-year term.

Narvaez explained that the ?Los Congos? plan possess various components, among them, make a tourist corridor between Mombacho and Laguna de Apoyo, a public playground for kids and establish a sustainable dynamic and self-supply of food.

"Los Congos" will construct a resort of 60 bedrooms within areas where there is no vegetation, complying with the environmental recommendations of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA). Among these regulations, the project considers to include waste water treatment plant making sure that they will not remove nor pour water on the Laguna.

Indian Grass will be used to avoid landslides

The agronomist consultant and ethnic-botanical Chris Shanks, who works for this project, pointed out that they will plant indigenous trees as Madero Negro (blackwood), Cedro (cedar), jenizaro, guanacaste and an organic production of diverse fruit and vegetable tree for self-supply.

He emphasizes that they consider planting Vetiver, specie of grass, original from India, brought into the country more than two decades, and currently it is found wild in Masatepe, it has the characteristic of being sterile and to help keep the land from sliding in the future.

They give response to END previous publications.

On the other hand, Narvaez recognized that because of the "lack of communication" between the local authorities, initially the project had some problems which in their moment were published in El NUEVO DIARIO.

Concerning to the current relationship with the City Hall of Diria, and the way of publishing the project via internet and the charges brought by the Association of Municipalities of the Laguna de Apoyo Basin (Amictlan), were some of the subjects we talked about with the partners.

"there is an organization that has been against our project, and they have repeated that no one can?t built anything within the Laguna over and over again, however, they all live down Laguna de Apoyo and have built their own homes and they are contaminating the Laguna, because they have not taken in consideration that we have used the necessaries envinronmental means authorized by MARENA" exposed Narvaez.

The following article was printed in the July 6th, 2007 edition of La Prensa.

Millions of Dollars for Tourism in Diria

Tiara Sanchez Vargas

http://www-ni.laprensa.com.ni/archivo/
2007/junio/19/noticias/regionales/198055.shtml

Within the project, it is planned to make a biological corridor that links to Mombacho Volcano.

In a meeting that took place at the Mirador of Diria, the group of investors of Laguna S.A. released the Tourism Project, Los Congos Resort Hotel located in this area, Laguna de Apoyo, where they will be starting their reforestation plan as part of their commitments made with MARENA and people of Granada.

Jeffrey Finch, President of the project, said that they are going to be reforesting the area for five years more, where they will plant a total amount of 100 thousand trees, investing more than 250 thousand dollars, creating employment for 100 people, "being the main objective to preserve the Flora and Fauna".

According to Finch, this eco-tourism project expects the reforestation as the main goal of reinforce the environment.

Ausberto Narvaez, Vice President of Laguna S.A., explained that the new hotel, called Los Congos, will be located on the shoreline of Laguna de Apoyo and an investment of 25 millions dollars, with 60 bedrooms, a spa and a club house.

"We are not against the environment" said Narvaez, pointing at the fact that they were doing the reforestation project in the area to keep a balance between the human being and the nature.

Chris Shanks, consultant and organic farmer, explained that they are planting fruit trees, because of this is the first class food for any living being.

The specialist said that when they finish planting the 100 medlar trees on the shoreline of the Laguna, they will start planting fruit production trees like citric, mangos, soursop, among others, since the idea is that when the hotel starts working, there will be a lot of people coming and they will have enough food for their clients.

Bringing fruits in from outside the environmental impact is much bigger because of we would be using up fuel, explained Shanks, pointing that if they grow themselves the fruits, the cost and the environmental damage is going to be much less. In case of the greens, according to the specialist, they have not started to plant but they will do it in a future.

Shanks said that they started planting the trees on the shoreline because, previously the people from this area had grown corn and beans in a slope area and that is why there is no vegetation.

Besides, they expect to plant Vetiver grass from India that will permit establish the level of the land, planting it every 15 meters. "It has been used in more than 100 countries in the world", pointed out Shanks. "The seed is sterile, therefore it does not run off and it keeps itself stable for centuries", said the specialist, adding the in this case, the Vetiver will stabilize the soil.

This past Saturday marked the beginning of our effort to stabilize and reforest areas of Los Congos that have previously been deforested. We have started with three areas along the entrance road that had previously been cut for farming. We have also been working to stabilize areas where the soil has eroded do to rain and water flow.

At the project on Saturday, many reporters and residents of the area joined us in planting trees. Five children also accompanied us from Granada who planted trees as a science project. These young boys were an amazing example of Nicaragua?s future; they worked endlessly without rest and were planting faster than most of the adults. In addition, behind the scenes there were 30 Los Congos employees. These employees have continued to plant over the past week and will probably continue over the next several months. They have also been building check dams to slow rainwater as it flows to the Laguna. Erosion control is one of the most important aspects of this project and we will continue our efforts.

We are very excited to be moving forward with the planting process and that so many people are interested in helping us make our dream a reality. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us.

Nicaragua?s two major newspapers picked up the event. Those articles will be posted once they have been translated.

Saturday, June 16th is Earth Day in Nicaragua. Why they celebrate it on a different day than the rest of the world is beyond me but regardless I am very happy that we here in Nicaragua have a day to celebrate our Earth mother...

In honor of this celebration we at Los Congos are beginning the planting of 25,000 native species of trees and plants. In addition we are breaking ground on our extensive organic garden areas and perma-culture stations on this date as well. As a compliment to our organic farming and reforestation efforts we will also begin the difficult and time consuming task of building "check dams' to slow water run-off in areas that have suffered from the past years of poor land handling. These check dams will not only prevent further erosion but will provide additional stabilization to these areas. Further stabilization efforts will be had in the creation of terraced areas and the planting of Vetiver grass, which we have acquired 9000 shoots of. The Vetiver grass forms a root system that is comparable to an underground network of rebar, it is a non-invasive, non-spreading grass which is used all over the world and is known as one of the best forms of natural erosion prevention. (Google "vetiver grass" for complete details)

Our resident horticulture and organics expert, Chistopher Shanks, finally gets to show off his hard work and planning efforts! I do not want to make light of the others who have been instrumental in these accomplshments either - Carlos Medal, Jonathan Belcher, Ramon Nonnato and our entire "in the field" crew all deserve a hand for their extreme hard work and dedication to these programs. If not for the extremely good attitude, unwavering work ethic and dedication of this team we would not be beginning this program as early as we have. Thanks men, we all appreciate your efforts.

The celebration will kick off at 930AM at the Mirador in Diria. On hand will be many Nicaraguan dignitaries, all facets of the national press as well as many volunteers and concerned residents who are welcoming this addition to Laguna de Apoyo. This is a big day for Laguna, SA and Los Congos and we are very happy to be giving the Earth the gift of life and a healthier environment to boot. This is only the beginning of our reforestation and stabilization effort here at Laguna de Apoyo and we look forward to the thousands of hours of hard work and planning we have in the decades to come.

If you are in Nicaragua please come and see us on June 16th in Diria or any time in our Granada offices, we would love to see you. Take care.

Charlie and Charlie's Bar on the Diria Mirador have been instrumental in our efforts within Los Congos. Located on the Mirador (Lookout), this small restaurant offers excellent food and charming atmosphere. When working at the project or touring with clients and owners, we routinely sit down for food and drinks on our way back to Granada. The restaurant's staff is always extremely helpful and always makes a huge effort to fulfill our needs. They have opened on their day off to host International Living tours and other large meetings that have taken place. Charlie, the restaurant's proprietor a retired marine biologist, is a joy to speak with and has a vast knowledge of the Laguna and the surrounding area. When visiting the Laguna don't miss Charlie's Bar on the Diria Mirador!

Charlie will be serving snacks at this weekend's reforestation event. Next week we will update on the progress that was made over the weekend. Trees and plants are being transported to the property as we speak.

Having spent this last Saturday at Los Congos staking out planting locations for fruit and reforestation trees and plants, I am excited to announce that our reforestation event. On Saturday our team will be at Los Congos working with Chris Shanks to get the ball rolling. Planting is a continuous process and will occur over the next several years. The planting will consist of hundreds of fruit trees, hundreds of indigenous trees, nitrogen fixers, and erosion control plants. Orchards will be plants with many different varieties so that fruits do not go to waste. Orchards will produce for many months because are using a wide variety of fruit and fruit species. Many hardwood and fruit bearing indigenous trees will be planted to reforest areas that had previously been farmland. These trees will provide canopy and shelter for animals and other plant life. Those that bear fruit will provide food for both the animals and the human visitors. Vetiver grass, dead barriers, and stone check dams will be used to decrease erosion and silt runoff. Vetiver grass grows quickly without spreading. This grass works amazingly well for stabilization; its roots grow straight down creating steel like mesh below ground. We hope to acquire over 9,000 vetiver shoots for planting within the next couple weeks. Lastly, we will be creating our nursery that will grow plants and trees to be planted within Los Congos.