"i think (leading by example, rather than any of the other possibilities) youve got a great idea there. now, to be truthful, i dont know if culturally itd work the way youre proposing here - but from where i sit here in the usa, it seems like a great way to do things."

How very dominate cultural this reads. America first. In someone else's country.

Fuckin hilarious in a burner driven creation.

Trae:
> think we will do better to LEAVE the island and be involved though.

I see room for both things. I think it would be the wrong thing to do, and contrary to our other goals, to buy a piece of Nicaraguan Land and then exclude the Nicas from it. Having open houses now and then would help solve that.

> talking about freebies and open houses is a bit premature until we know we can pay for the land itself.

Yes and no. One concern that I'm hearing from other travelers is that we're going to create an all-white zone in a latin country. I don't know if we'll be giving anything away for free until the project is financially self-sufficient, but it would be good to show that we are thinking about these things.

Though, we might want to start the open houses ASAP actually. They don't necessary need to cost us anything.

> i see our project as a GLOBAL thing

Side note. Met some people big into the global festival scene. They are English and Irish, and are actually part-owners in a guesthouse and festival zone in China.

www.dragonflydali.com/

They said that they'd spread the word for us.

harold:
> i think the acid test is to get some vocal nicaraguans in here (even here-here, in this thread/tribe) to help us determine whether what we say/do is going to be received the way we mean/want it to be received.

Hmmmm. Most Nicaraguans speak no English. The views of the minority who do speak English, probably don't reflect the majority.

But it would be interesting if we could find a Nica-American who wants to share their thoughts.

> i just wonder what a real granada-resident would think.

I'll just share my experiences in Mustang Saloon. I told them what we're trying to do. My Spanish isn't good enough to get into a real subtle conversation, but I can speak of their reaction. They told me that they know about the island. The next day, they rounded up some other friends who had even more information about the island - and I got the name of the lawyer for the owner, among other things. The people of Juigalpa, or at least Mustang Saloon, are helping me find the information that I need. So, it seems that they definitely aren't opposed to the idea.

(note - unlike 'Pakis', 'Nicas' is not an negative slur. The Nicaraguans, Nicas, tend to abbreviate much of their language, including what they call themselves.)

Peter:
> They don't have the money for solar panels anyway.

The world seems to be changing. They are out of the price range of most Nicaraguans. But I ran into a solar shop in the tiny town of San Carlos. It's a chain called "tecnosol" and has stores all around Nicaragua.

> It boggles the mind at times, when the benefits of a different way are so clear, but so it is. Transfer of technology and technique are not the right places to start forming relationships.

This is getting pretty far off topic. But this lecture from a MIT professor talks a bit near the end of the lecture about setting up tech labs in developing countries. It's interesting stuff.

www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/90

> I'd like to echo the concern you're hearing about about making a white island. It's weird. No amount of BBQs and open houses will change that. It's weird. I, for one, would not be interested in such an insular community, but I would be interested in an integrated community, even if the locals were paid for their involvement.

Interesting comments. And things to think about.

But I think that the project could still be great, even if there weren't Nicaraguans involved. Look at early Burningman with no Nevadans in attendance. Only later did people start driving up from Reno, and some of them now really add to the event.

> I think one of your major goals, whether you've said it or not, is to challenge yourselves, to be changed at a fundamental level. This means subjecting yourselves to the Other. Nicaraguans have a huge amount to teach all of us about being locally- and self-reliant.

Another interesting point. But I don't think that this really has to be a goal for people. Or even, I think that trying too hard to be like the locals might come across as condescending.

I've spent a long time in developing countries, and think this change is just a natural thing. You spend enough time in Nicaragua, and you'll learn things, and find yourself a different, and hopefully better person in the end.

> As for full moon parties and what I said before about public perception, I really do mean that you should talk to Bruno if you at all have the chance. Michael Judd should still be in Balgüe, Altagracia, as well.

I've written a little bit about this, but Juigalpa came as a huge surprise for me. Juigalpa is a small Catholic cowboy town. But there is a big gay scene including some transvestites, which I was really surprised to see. And there's at least one good nightclub with young people dancing into the night. Or at least on Valentines Day it was very hot and steamy.

I'm sure you're right that there are going to be some cultural problems and rumors going around about us. But I'm happy to see that at least in Chontales, there is a bit of tolerance towards such things.

Cheers!