• Company Name: comunidad-connect
  • Country: USA
  • Countries of operation: Central America,Nicaragua

Company Profile

comunidad-connect

Green Suitcase Rating: green suitcase

Brief Description

Full Description

Comunidad Connect is a non-profit based in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. Along with a range of programs that contribute to sustainable community development, we provide unique VolunTourism experiences for visitors to Nicaragua. The all-inclusive packages combine profound cultural interaction, rooted in service projects, with the exceptional tourism offerings of Nicaragua's South Pacific.

Our website, www.comunidadconnect.org, is a great source of information for both tourism and non-tourism services.

Sustainability Policy

Environmental Responsibility

To reduce our greenhouse gas footprint we use public transportation when possible and limit long distance trips to the minimum. One of the initiatives organized by Comunidad Connect in the municipality of San Juan del Sur, is the recycling program that has dramatically reduced the amount of burned and buried plastic material and aims to incorporate organic waste recycling and other non-organic materials in the near future. VolunTourists have the opportunity to contribute to this project.

Because of the water and energy problems of the municipality we naturally conserve these resources as they are unavailable for several hours each day. We store water in barrels and use it sparsely to conserve it. We are also very conscious of our energy use because of the costs of this utility. In working with our volunteers we stress the importance of environmental protection. Our rural electrification projects, with which the VolunTourists can be involved, focus on alternative energy sources as much as possible.

We also disseminate information on sustainability practices to private land developers and investors who are having an extensive impact on the local ecosystem.

Economic and Social Responsibility

Each program developed by Comunidad Connect, including VolunTourism, is aimed at improving the lives of local community members and addressing their needs. VolunTourism contributes directly to local families who host visitors and to local businesses that provide tourism services. It also contributes indirectly to the local community through the projects developed by the volunteers that address specific community needs, such as recycling, educational support, business training, community sports, appropriate technologies, and children's programs.

VolunTourists can be involved with the Sports Park project, which on an almost nightly basis brings together some 400 local residents of both genders, all ages, and various nationalities in a celebration of competition in soccer, basketball, or volleyball. The Sports Park also serves a site for cultural events and concerts.

Visitors to Nicaragua are introduced to local traditions and customs as they stay with local families and are able to take dancing, cooking, and Spanish language classes. We also work with our service providers and employees to stress the importance of sustainability in every-day operation and in long-term vision.

Activities

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Trips