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| Our travel team to San Juan de Oriente with program director Tim |
On Saturday, the Duke Engage team split up into three groups. Two groups left Granada at six in the morning while Sarah, Maddy, Brian, Ander and I left a little bit later at 7 am and took a bus to San Juan de Oriente, an artisan village up on the side of the volcano. There, we met up with Duilio Jimenez, the artisan in charge of producing the highly efficient ceramic stoves we sell to rural communities in the region.
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| Church in San Juan de Oriente |
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| Women carrying ceramic pots |
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| Duilio's ceramic atelier |
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| Ceramics |
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| Ceramic pots |
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| Entrance to Duilio's Atelier |
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| The atelier |
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| A potter explaining to us how ceramics are made |
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| Potter making a ceramic pot |
After a potter explained to us how ceramics are made and demonstrated the process, we tried it out ourselves.
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| Maddy trying it out herself |
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| Sarah making ceramics |
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| Ander making a pot |
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| My turn! |
After our attempts at making ceramics, we sat down in Duilio's atelier and asked him questions about the production of the stoves, the resources needed to create them, the cost and potential areas of improvements (all in Spanish of course). Duilio answered our questions and shared his belief that the stoves could have a great social, economical and environmental impact in the region. Due to the more efficient design of the ceramic stoves, they consume less firewood and produce less pollution. Not only are they better for the environment, they are also lighter which simplifies transport. Even though the initial cost is higher then traditional stoves, economies are rapidly made due to the amount of firewood needed that can be reduced by 50%.
Duilio, a well intentioned environmentalist with a large smile, explained to us that his main motive for producing the stoves is to have a positive impact on the environment. Duilio seems to genuinely care about the communities his work may impact. He told us that according to an ancient Nicaraguan saying: "The giving hand will always be full".
Bryan and Nancy, the two people responsible for the design, the marketing and the distribution of the stoves are good friends of his. We'll soon be able to ask them questions about the business side associated with the production of the stoves.
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| Us listening to Duilio's explanations |
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| Duilio |
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| Oven... for the stoves |
He also explained that due to the fragile nature of the clay it is fairly hard to expand the production that is already at hand. He has two ovens, a bigger and a smaller one, in which to heat up the stoves but only the smaller one allows him to keep an eye on the stoves and make sure they don't break during the process. This consequently limits the production. Once the stoves have been taken out of the oven, insulation is added and they are ready for distribution.
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| Insulation inside the stove |
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| Stoves |
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| Ceramics |
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| Woman and child on a bike |
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| San Juan de Oriente |
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| Ceramics |
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| Ceramic bells |
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| Ceramic shop in San Juan de Oriente |
After our visit at Duillio's atelier, we walked around the town and then up the hill to the neighbor town Catarina. On our way there we encountered multiple artisan shops among others...
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| Maddy and the cow |
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| Woman selling fruits |
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| Artisan shops |
Once we arrived at the top of the hill, we had a breath-taking view of the Laguna de Apoyo, a crater lake that was formed many years ago.
