If you ask me to name the highlight of my trip to Managua, the answer will come fast and easy: getting to meet the remarkable director, Andrea Paltzer, and the full-time designers at Chureca Chic, a fashion label with accessories made from 100% recycled material. The profits from Chureca Chic fund an educational organization that provides scholarships and opportunities for underprivileged women living in Managua.
I first have to give a shout out to the lovely staff at La Bicicleta Hostal, who recommended Chureca Chic’s cafe as the best place to get coffee in the neighborhood. La Bicicleta itself was founded and is run by four women. It is a completely green hostel, utilizing recycled products and sustainable energy sources. Nicaragua may be the second poorest country in North America (behind Haiti), but don’t let that stat erroneously lead you to the conclusion that things are “backwards” down there. Environmentally-sustainable initiatives like La Bicicleta and Chureca Chic are more forward thinking than 90% of the outfits you’ll find in the U.S.
La Chureca is the name of Managua’s garbage dump- the largest dump in Central America. It is estimated that over 2000 people live in and around the trash heap, half of whom are children. The inhabitants survive in the worst conditions imaginable, earning what little money they can by sorting through the trash and repurposing and salvaging anything possible. Instead of merely selling reusable trash or even recycling it, Chureca Chic aims rather to “up-cycle” found material and increase both its monetary and artistic value. Andrea took me back into the design studio and I got to watch a demonstration of how strips of paper are tightly wound into beads, glued and painted over to give the illusion of being wood or metal. The craftsmanship is amazing and you would never know that these high-fashion accessories were once bits of rubbish.
You can purchase jewelry, clothing and bags at the Chureca Chic boutique, but what initially brought me by was the promise of good coffee at their cafe. Not only did they have the best espresso in Managua hands down, but their food was equally tasty too. There are plenty of vegetarian/vegan options on the menu, which are not always so easy to find in the city.
The profits from Chureca Chic help sustain the Earth Education Project, a scholarship and educational program that ultimately helps place disadvantaged women in private sector jobs. Women and girls, especially those in the poorer social classes of Nicaragua, have extreme hardships to overcome in order to merely survive. A rather sobering statistic is that only 46% of girls attend their first year of secondary school. Illiteracy and unemployment rates are high, not to mention the discrimination women face even attempting to enter the work force. Abuse, both physical and mental, is a real issue many of these women also deal with on a daily basis.
The Earth Education Project not only teaches the selected women basic reading, writing and math skills, but they provide psychological support and mentoring to deal with domestic violence and develop goal-setting strategies. These women were never given a chance to succeed, but by imparting upon them the necessary social and technical skills to get a leg up in life, they are able to finally turn their situations around.
With the protests and civil unrest occurring right now in Nicaragua, the fates of small businesses like Chureca Chic are really hanging in the balance. Some restaurants, hostels and family-run businesses are temporarily closing up shop. Tourism had been growing at a rapid rate all across the country, but since mid-April 2018, when the protests against Ortega’s government began, the industry has taken a hard hit. Local citizens are also saving their money in preparation for a protracted fight between the protestors and Ortega’s forces. These uncertain times are not when people want to be purchasing luxury items.
Business owners like Andrea are now faced with some tough decisions. Chureca Chic has full-time employees, all of whom worked their way up through the education project. She could reduce their hours/lay them off, but that would defeat the entire purpose of their mission. The government is not generously handing out loans to help struggling enterprises and, as Andrea told me, what took ten years to build could be wiped out in eight weeks.
I really can’t stress the importance of ethical travel enough. Words are nice, but let your money do the talking. Don’t go to McDonald’s for your morning coffee; hit up a Chureca Chic instead. Don’t stay at a big hotel chain; the La Bicicletas of the world need you more. Support women-run businesses. Support gay-run businesses. Support environmentally-friendly businesses.
Travel is a privilege that comes with great power, especially if you choose to travel to developing nations. The few bucks you spend on a meal can mean a lot. Don’t take this responsibility lightly. Supporting local businesses will also allow you to connect with people in a way you would not be able to by sticking to the main tourist circuit. And isn’t that what travel is all about? Connecting with people, learning how they live, discovering their culture and history and sharing yours in return? Hatred and bigotry spring from misunderstanding and lack of information. I have come to believe that travel is one and only cure for our world’s ills.
