WCCN Study Tour of Nicaragua

Join WCCN on a study tour to Nicaragua, January 8-16, 2005

Improving Lives through Alternative Economic Projects:
Microcredit, Fair Trade, and Housing in Nicaragua

Join the Wisconsin Coordinating Council on Nicaragua (WCCN) for the opportunity to see firsthand, successful Nicaraguan organizations working to improve the lives of thousands of Nicaraguans through alternative economic projects. Since the defeat of the Sandinista Revolution in 1990, several Nicaraguan non-governmental organizations, some in partnership with solidarity organizations in the North, have been working hard to overcome economic inequalities in Nicaragua. Witness the work of organizations and social movements such as those providing microcredit to small urban and rural producers, cooperatives involved in the fair trade coffee movement, and organizations working in poor urban neighborhoods. We will visit some of the most dynamic and successful alternative economic projects in Nicaragua, which are helping little by little to improve the living conditions of many Nicaraguans.

Participants in this study tour will have the opportunity to talk with leaders of these organizations and with lay people who actively participate in or benefit from these projects. WCCN's study tours are built on twenty years of experience working in Nicaragua, and more than a decade supporting alternative credit organizations and fair trade cooperatives. This study tour will reflect WCCN's new areas of interest as well, such as housing rights issues.

The cost of the tour is based in a sliding scale, $900-$1,200 (plus airfare to/from Managua), depending on what you can afford. Individuals of all backgrounds are welcome to participate! The WCCN staff is happy to advise interested people about possible ways to fundraise to help cover their cost.

For more information about the study tour, please contact WCCN by e-mail at wccn@wccnica.org or phone at (608) 257-7230.