Community Library Organizations in Nicaragua

"If you have a library and a garden, you have everything you need," Darrell starts out. I'm reminded of Marlon's comment about campesino life. Marlon's love of reading would be well matched with a community library, but it's not a priority in an area where there is not electricity or running water. I have been wondering about information as a right and who's responsibility it is to provide access.





We're sitting at a conference of organizations that provide access to libraries in Nicaragua where there was not prior access. Close to 20 different organizations present their works along with successes and needs.

To see some of the work check out these sites:
Fundación Acción Comunitaria FUNDACCO
Opportunity International
La Esperanza Granada
Empowerment International
Seeds of Learning – SOL (Semillas de Aprendizaje)
Planting hope INC
Proyecto Mosaico
Puedo Leer
Save the Children en Nicaragua
Manna Project International
Lone Tree Institute
La Escuelita El Centro Educativo El Esfuerzo
CISAS
Casa Xalteva
buildOn
Bibliobús
Asociación Nicaraguense de Bibliotecarios y Profesionales Afines (ANIBIPA)

Freek (pronounced Freck) is letting us use the Hotel Con Corazon as the space for the conference. He's a dynamic Dutchman who speaks passionately about the hotel which was started as a for-profit business to fund educational projects throughout Nica.

"100% of the profits go towards education projects," he explains. "We just started a few months ago and now we're trying to connect with local groups to figure out the most appropriate way to help out."

Participation of local community is a big theme for all these organizations. There's a questioning of what a library is (which I've written more about here) a line of thinking which is making me think hard about my own research and whether or not I'm researching Fair Trade in the "fairest" way possible.