Totoco eco-lodge

Martin, one of the original founders of Totoco, took us on a guided tour of the island and explained the beginnings of Totoco. Basically he is good friends with Jonathan and Roslyn and the three of them came up with the idea for a fully sustainable eco-lodge with minimal environmental impact. They also wanted to build a model for clean water and farming without using harmful chemicals- a model that hopefully could be duplicated elsewhere. He started the tour by explaining the water irrigation and recycling system as well as how the pool is cleaned and where that water comes from. It was all very interesting...all of the dirty or 'grey water' as they call it that comes from washing dishes and laundry etc is collected and filtered several times through grey pipes outside the kitchen and any physical debris is removed with a wire mesh filter. The water proceeds through a series of three collecting wells below ground where layers of grease are skimmed off each time and the water is directed through plant filters and goes through a series of pipes about 16 yards away where it surfaces for further plant filtration and is recycled for watering only the decorative/ornamental landscaping (after all- if you are touting your lodge as a high end resort, it needs to be landscaped and look nice even in the dry season as Martin explained) They don't use grey water to water any fruit or vegetable bearing plants. He then showed us the huge rainwater collection chamber which fills the pool.

They treat the pool water with traditional chemicals now, but eventually they hope to use natural filters such as fish and plants. Any spillage from the pool gets collected and recycled back into the same water system (fyi- this system is completely different from where the clean water system comes from...that water originates in a natural spring on top of Maderas cloud forest...travels to the lodge in a labyrinth of pipes that they filter through clay and silver and then again with chlorine. This water is used for showering/washing your hands, and the super filtered water is used for cooking and drinking).

Martin explained that the forest on Totoco's property is a 2nd or 3rd generation forest- meaning that it's been cleared and harvested/farmed for a while then abandoned and allowed to re-grow several times. The current forest is about 60 years old. When this happens, a monoculture tends to develop with only the hardiest plants surviving (similar to what happens in the US when we use genetically engineered seeds). Martin hopes to clear out some of the particularly hardy plants to make room for some of the more delicate plant species that survive at higher altitudes on Volcan Maderas. I asked Martin if he or the other founders (Roslyn or Jonathan) have any professional training in agriculgure, infastructure development, etc...he simply said that they are all trained in business and came up with this idea, this project, with the intention to serve as an example of sustainability but that they have learned everything they know along the way...

He walked us down a meandering path through the forest and took us to their 'farm' where they are experimenting with attempts at growing some vegetables like spinach, tomatos, and using grafting techniques with starfruit and some other fruits. Grafting is an agricultural technique used to merge the qualities of two fruits together...starfruit that is indigenous to Ometepe is rather sour. But Cuban starfruit is far sweeter and more palatable. Cuban starfruit plants don't survive well in Ometepe so what they did was took a Ometepe starfruit sapling, made an incision close to the roots and took a cross section of a branch from the Cuban starfruit tree...once the graft 'took' the resulting fruit will be more sweet but the plant will survive. The graft sometimes will try to sprout it's own tree but the farmer needs to cut it away to discourage this growth regularly. Amazing. This technique is commonly used for apples in the United States as well as grapes from certain vineyards. It is possible for a multigrafted tree to exist...where several different types of apples or cherries or starfruit may all coexist on one tree. How cool is that??

He showed us where all the trash is separated (glass, metal, aluminum, hard plastics- are all picked up) but the real problem are the soft plastics which he hasn't yet found a way to recycle. So right now they are bagged tightly and piled high...a culmination of 3 years. 

Martin said he worked in the business world in Holland for 2 years and got really jaded very quickly. This idea sprounted and that prompted him to move to Granada where he worked as a bartender for 2 years to test out Nicaragua...he's been here ever since. He said he doesn't miss his old life. He gets off the island every 6-8 weeks to visit friends in Granada and will travel back home to Europe once a year. His advice: there's tons of money available to smart people with good ideas...it's just having the drive, developing the idea and believing in it...following it through. They started out with one guest room and have expanded to 4. Their original project has room for 9 which they will add as time goes on. They are adding in projects which will help the community- farming outreach, water sanitation and health care projects. This is a very inspirational place. 

We did this tour this morning...Wednesday...I still have to back track and fill in Monday and Tuesday but for now going to relax at our final destination: San Juan del Sur :) the sky is blue and it is HOT..........the pool is calling!