Christian Aid in Nicaragua - Christian Aid Ireland

Yolanda Gonzalez is a mum of 2 girls, one boy. Small scale farmer aged 55 growing coffee, cocoa and fruit near Jinotega. Credit: Adam Finch/Christian Aid

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere after Haiti. It is one of the three countries in the world worst affected by weather catastrophes, and the UN has warned that storms here will only get worse. These emergencies push back the country's economic development.

Christian Aid works in four countries in Central America – Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. We are working with around 30 partner organisations, from community-based groups to larger organisations operating across the region and beyond.

Our partners include indigenous communities, small farmers’ associations, development organisations, research institutions and faith-based organisations.

We have strong links with sister ecumenical agencies, Norwegian Church Aid, Lutheran World Federation, Bread for World, ICCO, Church of Sweden and work to seek new alliances with government ministries and agencies, and the private sector.

To help build a fair and equal society, free from violence, achieved through democratic and accountable institutions.
To help communities be more economically resilient.
To enable marginalised people, especially women and youth, to take advantage of development.

In Nicaragua we work on...

Christian Aid has excellent knowledge of the region, with the expertise and capacity to deliver complex projects in the following areas:

Resilient livelihoods

Our holistic approach to resilience is already recognised by partners and some government officials as pioneering in the region. With our partners, we have developed and worked with tools and approaches including participatory vulnerability and capacity assessments, power analysis, conflict analysis and resilience, climate monitoring, market mapping, Core Humanitarian Standard and climate analysis for adaptation and risk management.

Tax justice

Christian Aid was the first international non-governmental organisation in Central America to champion tax justice, and we have gained strong experience on the issue through our work with key organisations.

Violence prevention

Our programme intends to tackle violence and build peace seeking responses from municipal governments and public institutions in providing a safe environment and protection for communities affected by violence, in addressing human rights violation by security forces, and seeking increased ring-fencing of resources for violence prevention and a more integrated response by the various agencies with special attention to youth and women.

Gender-based violence

Our programme seeks to ensure that girls and women have reduced risk of violence, are more resilient to respond to violence and that the survivors have more access to justice and protection from public institutions, including access to essential services.

Key achievements

Christian Aid works with partners to help people prepare for the effects of climate change and give them the skills to obtain the best price for the products they grow.

Climate monitoring

Our partner Centro Humboldt develops works on climate monitoring across the country, strengthening local capacities to monitor the climate variability and promoting the climate monitoring network with small farmers, cooperatives and local organisations.

Farming cooperatives

Our partners Hibiscus Cooperative and Soppexcca help hibiscus, coffee and cocoa producers to organise themselves into cooperatives and provides training that helps them improve production, marketing and sales skills, so they can reach new customers and earn a better living.

The farming cooperatives supported by Soppexcca are diversifying to combat the impact of climate change on coffee plantations. Now the small farmers are introducing cocoa as part of an innovative initiative funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and Christian Aid.

Adapta resilience programme

We are working with the private sector and funders in Nicaragua to develop the Adapta programme, which is promoting climate resilience with cocoa and honey producers.

Cocoa beans on a tree — Cocoa production in Nicaragua, supported by our Adapta Nicaragua programme

Programmes

List programme reports – by location

Adapta Nicaragua

The Adapta Nicaragua project protects the livelihoods of small- and medium-sized cocoa and honey producers, building their resilience to climate change through access to high quality climatic information.

Themes

Inclusive markets, Resilience and climate

Countries

Nicaragua

Funders

Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Fondo Multilateral de Inversiones (FOMIN)

Climate risks in Nicaragua

Nicaragua is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change in the world. Many communities rely heavily on agriculture and are vulnerable to the effects of flooding and droughts.