The lesson of Miss Arlene's oven: entrepreneurship at the base of the economic pyramid.

Hunt, Jodee ; Lane, Paul ; Farris, John 等

INTRODUCTION

We are three interdisciplinary professors at Grand Valley State University who, for five years, have explored Nicaragua's geographical diversity and developed a series of initiatives with faculty and administrators of two Nicaraguan Universities. During these travels, we met Miss Arlene in an out-of-the-way location on the remote Little Corn Island; she had a lot for us to learn. As her husband's lobster fishery declined due to over fishing, she was striving to create a small business to sustain her family. Through ingenuity and persistence she had engineered her own oven to bake home-made goods offered for sale to local residents, but dreamed of one day catering to tourists drawn to the island for its natural beauty. Tourism is on the rise on Little Corn Island, whose unspoiled beaches and high-quality coral reefs attract both novice and experienced divers (Spalding and Ravilous 2004; Pedersen and Pedersen 2007; Wedner 2007). Miss Arlene's inventiveness, vision and drive were creating an innovative and successful enterprise right in front of our eyes. She was an inspiration, especially because her efforts were budding so early in the island's economic development. For us, she embodies the entrepreneurial spirit that sometimes flourishes at the base of the economic pyramid, providing a positive change agent for her community.

GETTING TO MISS ARLENE: THE HISTORY OF ESTELI INNOVATION

Involvement by Grand Valley State University (GVSU) faculty in Nicaragua dates back to 1998 when Hurricane Mitch devastated a vast area of Central America, including the mountainous northwestern region of Nicaragua, where rural residents grow coffee and other crops on small-scale farms (or fincas). Faculty, students and staff from the Kirkhof School of Nursing at GVSU organized and led Health Brigades to provide relief to approximately 4,000 residents of the protected landscape of Reserva Natural Miraflor in early 1999 (Jewell 2007). During their travels, they developed relationships in Managua, Esteli and Miraflor. They befriended residents of several of the isolated communities in Miraflor, who subsequently helped organize and assist in additional Brigades that continued through 2003; this involvement empowered many of the women in the rural communities (Jewell 2007).

Wishing to extend these positive relationships, a diverse group of faculty members formed in 2004 to explore the potential for an interdisciplinary program in Nicaragua. In addition to the Health Brigades, GVSU already operated a faculty-led program in Psychology to a San Marcos branch campus of Ave Maria University of Naples, Florida. The interdisciplinary group conducted an exploratory trip and generated some good ideas, but these ultimately did not come to fruition and the group disbanded. Two of the faculty members, one in engineering and the other in marketing/entrepreneurship, elected to continue their work independently and returned to revisit some of the people they'd met during the exploratory trip and develop additional contacts. During this trip, they generated the concept of developing a program in innovation for Nicaraguan students to help them develop products needed by Nicaraguans and made by Nicaraguans using local resources. A year later, they were joined by a faculty member from the biology department, further expanding the interdisciplinary breadth and scope of the team's work.

Today, we three faculty members sustain seven interdisciplinary initiatives in Nicaragua under the umbrella structure called Esteli Innovation and supported by multiple, annual trips by groups of committed faculty members, alumni, students, and community members (Table 1). Altogether, the authors have completed more than a dozen expeditions to Nicaragua. It was during one of these expeditions, in May, 2008, that we met Miss Arlene. She serves as the central metaphor of this paper, representing the entrepreneurial spirit that can flourish at the base of the economic pyramid even in one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. She and others like her serve as the change agents of entrepreneurship in Nicaragua. Note: while the tradition phrase is "bottom of the economic pyramid," we prefer to express the concept as the base of the economic pyramid, which implies a strong, foundational relationship to an economy and avoids the negative connotation often associated with the word "bottom."

BREADTH, SCOPE AND STRUCTURE OF ESTELI INNOVATION IN 2009

Although Esteli Innovation continues to grow and expand, its genesis resides outside the official structure of Grand Valley State University. One of its hallmarks is its diversity: the authors represent three units housed in three different colleges, and virtually all of the initiatives are interdisciplinary. Currently, some of the initiatives fall under Continuing Education, and all are supported and assisted by the GVSU's International Center. Faculty members from any discipline in GVSU are welcome to participate in the existing initiatives or to develop new ones. Table 1 provides an overview of the seven existing initiatives, which will serve as the framework for our discussion of business, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Nicaragua.

Within Esteli Innovation, individual trips may target a specific initiative or project, such as developing curriculum with our faculty partners in Esteli , or consist of a geographically broad expedition to develop additional contacts as we explore Nicaragua's diverse ecosystems and cultures. Most trips bolster all seven initiatives or a significant subset of them. Over the years our expeditions have traversed much of Hispanic Nicaragua found in the nation's western lowlands and throughout the Western Cordillera's mountainous spine that separates west from east (Kritcher 1999), but also parts of Nicaragua's Caribbean region (Figure 1). During our May 2008 expedition we traversed the Region Autonoma Atlantico Sur (RAAS), visiting Bluefields, a number of communities adjacent to Pearl Lagoon, and the Corn Islands (Figure 1). Here we interacted with individuals of diverse ethnicities and cultures, including those of Miskito, Rama, and Afro-Caribbean descent, and met Miss Arlene on Little Corn Island. Other journeys ventured south to the Costa Rican border, north to the Honduran border, and west to the Pacific Ocean. Though we have learned much from our expeditions and studies, our main lesson is that we have only begun to learn; perhaps the greatest epiphany is how much our Nicaraguan hosts have taught us and have yet to teach us.

As a consequence of these collective experiences, we developed--for all seven initiatives--the guiding principle that is it is not the job of a university or collaborative team to bring about changes to make Nicaragua more like the United States. Instead, we communicate with the Nicaraguans to learn what they want or need, and work with them to achieve their goals, cooperating with local faculty members, community leaders and university administrators. With this principle guiding us, we can better foster innovation and entrepreneurship in Nicaragua, not by effecting changes ourselves, but by supporting our Nicaraguan collaborators who can serve as local change agents.

THE WILD SPIRIT OF ENTREPRENEURS AT THE BASE OF THE ECONOMIC PYRAMID

Entrepreneurs effect change (Schumpeter 1934, Schumpeter 1961, Drucker 1985). In his classic work "The theory of economic development: an inquiry into profits, capital, credit, interest, and the business cycle," Schumpeter (1934) introduced the idea of innovation in the context of creative destruction, and held the view that innovation and technological changes come from the "wild spirit" of entrepreneurs, whose definitive characteristic is their emphasis on innovation (Dees 2001, Zhao and Siebert 2006). Peter Drucker (1985) carried forward the idea that cyclic change links to innovation in his work "Innovation and entrepreneurship: practice and principles," emphasizing that change is usually market-focused and market-driven. In the midst of the world's current state of ecological degradation and economic downturn, some contemporary scholars urge entrepreneurial innovation that creates long-term value, conserves resources, and causes less environmental and social disruption while creating more jobs and economic growth (Bhide 2008, Dees 2009). We embrace these ideas, and attribute to entrepreneurs the quality of acting as positive change agents.

Why some individuals become entrepreneurial change agents is an interesting question, and in recent years scholars have examined links between entrepreneurship, psychological traits, and culture (e.g., Thomas and Mueller 2000, Stewart and Roth 2001, Stewart and Roth 2004, Collins et al. 2004, Zhao et al. 2005). Zhao and Siebert (2006) found that entrepreneurs are characterized by Openness to Experience, tending to be creative, innovative, imaginative, reflective, nontraditional and intelligent, especially in ways linked to creativity and divergent thinking. Entrepreneurs in the study also exhibited Conscientiousness, a tendency towards organization, hard work, and motivation towards accomplishing goals (Zhao and Siebert 2006). Subtle differences in goals can correlate with propensity towards specific personality traits. In a meta-analysis comparing managers and entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs were significantly more likely to embrace risk than managers, and those whose primary goal was venture growth exhibited greater risk propensity compared to those targeting growth in family income (Stewart and Roth 2001). Thus, individuals holding entrepreneurial goals and expressing personality traits associated with creativity and independent thinking may be more likely to serve as change agents within a community compared to others in the same population.

Cultural context may influence the personality profile of entrepreneurs. Within the context of the firm, entrepreneurs express judgmental decision-making based on knowledge (public and private) in a fashion analogous to scientists sorting among competing hypotheses to determine which experiments to conduct (Casson 2005). In their cross-cultural, international study, Thomas and Mueller (2000) defined the entrepreneurial profile with these four traits: (1) innovation, (2) risk-propensity, (3) internal locus of control and (4) energy level. They found the propensity for innovation was present in entrepreneurs across all cultures examined, but that expression of the other three traits differed for entrepreneurial individuals among nations in ways that reflected cultural norms (Thomas and Mueller 2000). Entrepreneurs who were distinctive from others in their communities were found in all cultures studied, but the ways in which they pursued entrepreneurial activities were influenced by the context of their cultures. In developing nations such as Nicaragua, whose cultural norms differ from those in the United States, we expect entrepreneurship to be present, but not necessarily to "look" the same as in does in the United States. Thus, striving to remain open-minded during our expeditions, we sought and observed the activities of some of Nicaragua's current and potential entrepreneurs.

In our work in Nicaragua we have met many people in community development, economic development, poverty alleviation, education, health care and other areas whose efforts are focused on fostering positive change. Some of these individuals pursue work associated with traditional entrepreneurship; others dedicate themselves to work more closely aligned with social entrepreneurship (Dees 2001, Bhide 2008, Dees 2009). We have also observed a diversity of business endeavors which, while affecting the Nicaraguan economy to a greater or lesser degree, do not appear to foster change. It is this diversity of activities we examine and discuss here. For the purposes of this paper we will define entrepreneurs as intentional change agents who effect positive changes that benefit themselves, their families, their communities, and potentially even their nation. In Nicaragua, such change agents, when and where present, are frequently working at the base of the economic pyramid.

NICARAGUA AT THE BASE OF THE ECONOMIC PYRAMID

Nicaragua, home to more than 5.89 million people, lies south of Honduras and north of Costa Rica and occupies an area roughly the size of New York State (Figure 1; CIA, 2009). Bordered by the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, Nicaragua is a beautiful land featuring live and dormant volcanoes, abundant freshwater ecosystems such as Cocibolca (Lake Nicaragua), the second-largest lake in Latin America, and high biodiversity supported by diverse ecosystems that include cloud forests, fire-maintained savannas, lowland rainforests and mangrove swamps (Belt 1985, Kritcher 1997, Weaver et al. 2003, Van Perlo 2006, Arghiris and Leonardi 2008, Reid 2009). Despite crushing poverty, the people of Nicaragua are open, friendly, welcoming and gracious. The population age structure forms a broad-based pyramid dominated by young age classes under the age of 21 (33.8% of individuals are 14 years of age or younger), and though this structure is gradually shifting, individuals 65 years of age or older still compose only 3.3% of the population (CIA, 2009).

Although Nicaragua experienced economic gains during the 1990's, it continues to have the second-lowest per capita income in the western hemisphere behind Haiti (Tejerina 2006, CIA 2009). Nicaragua suffered slowed economic growth during 2009 as a consequence of decreased demand for exports from international markets, declining prices for a number of agricultural commodities exported from Nicaragua, and suppressed remittances from citizens working in other nations (CIA, 2009; Atwood Burney 2007; World Bank 2006). Unemployment is chronically high and underemployment worse, estimated at 46.5% in 2008 (CIA, 2009) and probably higher in 2009-10 following the global economic downturn. Underemployment and unemployment inevitably link to poverty: in 2005, well before the current gloomy global economic state, nearly half of Nicaragua's population lived below the poverty line (2005 data; CIA, 2009). The proportion of Nicaraguans struggling to survive in poverty currently is not known, but doubtless represents a large majority of residents.

Coupled with this widespread poverty, and in a pattern similar to that observed in fully industrialized nations, the wealth in Nicaragua is not well distributed (Tejerina 2006). The richest 10% of the population consumes 33.8% of the GDP, while the poorest 10% of the population exists on only 2.2% of the GDP (CIA, 2009). Nicaraguans experience poverty exacerbated by a prolonged civil war followed by political instability and a series of natural disasters including Hurricane Mitch in 1998. These events undermine efforts--local and national-to regenerate and invigorate the nation's economy. Despite these challenges, this beautiful nation remains a candidate for economic growth supported by innovative, entrepreneurial leadership, including growth in ecotourism, which represents "a potential gold mine for Nicaragua (Weaver et al. 2003, pg. 3)," and a diversity of other economic sectors.

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DOES THE BASE OF THE ECONOMIC PYRAMID GENERATE ENTREPRENEURS?

Why focus on Nicaragua? The metrics above certainly support the view that many, if not most, Nicaraguans live at the base of the economic pyramid, and we perceive it to be an ideal location for study of entrepreneurship in such a context. Our collective observations from multiple expeditions to Nicaragua reveal plentiful examples of current and incipient entrepreneurial activity. Serendipity led us to initiate work there, but we persist in part because Nicaragua has received much less scholarly, scientific and economic attention compared to other developing nations in Latin America and elsewhere. Travels to some of these other nations would doubtless yield additional observations, and had we focused on scholarly initiatives other than the seven featured in Esteli Innovation we would have encountered different examples than those reported here. Nevertheless, the diverse, sometimes surprising activities we did discover provide a rich mining ground to explore the degree to which entrepreneurship is generated and sustained at the base of the economic pyramid, and to contemplate how to best foster entrepreneurial leadership there.

We considered the predominant nature of each observed activity to assign it to one of four categories: (1) invention, (2) innovation, (3) entrepreneurship, and (4) small business. We adopt definitions of Roberts (1989), Carland et al. (1984) and other scholars for these terms, where invention involves creating a new idea and developing a workable prototype, but not pursuing introduction of the invention to a market (Roberts 1989). In contrast, innovation is an invention coupled with commercial development, application, and transfer such that the invention is exploited or adopted in a market (Roberts 1989, Ravichandran 1999); subsequently, the invention may succeed to a greater or lesser degree within the market(s) to which it is introduced. Entrepreneurship is business activity that focuses on change (Schumpeter 1934, Schumpeter 1961, Drucker 1985, Zhao and Siebert 2006), as discussed in the introduction, and which embraces a rather broad range of positive-change activities when it includes social entrepreneurship (Dees 2001, Bhide 2008, Dees 2009). Although entrepreneurship may be associated with small business ownership, they are not synonymous (Carland et al. 1984, Stewart et al. 1999). Small business activities consist of established businesses that are independently owned and operated and may be successful, but are not extraordinary for their innovation or potential for effecting change. Some of the activities we observed might reasonably be assigned to more than one category, but we restricted each to placement within a single category and attempted to select for each the one most appropriate. Arguably our definitions might be altered such that the categorization changes for some activities, but of greater importance here is our examination of the degree to which activities characterized by invention, innovation and entrepreneurship are flourishing at the base of the economic pyramid in Nicaragua.

It is important not to confuse categorization with valuation: we do not value one category of endeavor above another. Small businesses, for example, are how many families survive at the base of the economic pyramid. We found countless examples of enterprising individuals toiling on hot, crowded buses hawking homemade candies, chicken or corn pupusas, peeled and sliced mangoes, sweet cornbread, drinks in tiny plastic bags, sunglasses, pharmaceuticals, nutriceuticals, and other products. These micro-businesses are ubiquitous, and an integral part of Nicaraguan society and commerce. Also common are small street vendors with stalls or carts selling food, services and a variety of goods. A table, a few rickety, unmatched stools and a smoky fire on the side of the road comprise many an enterprise in Nicaragua, equivalent to our fast-food, and more than once provided us with a delicious and much-appreciated repast.

Larger in scale and slightly more formal in structure than street vendors are the pulperias found within many corner shops or street-facing rooms, and even on front porches. These tiny shops are Nicaragua's convenience stores. Each offers its own unique and eclectic mix of products, which might include chilled, bottled drinks (soft drinks, juices, purified water, sports drinks, and local concoctions), baked goods, toiletries, produce, or notebooks--typically only a small array of offerings that differs from the shop just a few doors down the street. Mercados offer more specialized commerce: clothing, office supplies, cameras and electronics, groceries, often on a small scale and frequently family-owned. Similarly, comedores are small, family-owned, cafeteria-style restaurants consisting of a few tables with a small buffet of rice, vegetables, meats and perhaps a little salad.

From the candy-hawking kids on buses to automotive repair shops, all represent bustling business activity, but they lack the element of change or creative destruction of one thing to be replaced by another, i.e., they lack the core of entrepreneurship Schumpeter (1982) and Drucker (1985) address in their writings. The question is not whether enterprising business activities exist at the base of the economic pyramid-clearly they do. Rather, do business activities representing change, as suggested by Schumpeter (1934, 1961) and Drucker (1985), occur among the poor within developing nations? Is true entrepreneurship generated at the base of the economic pyramid?

These questions are not trivial. Support for providing microfinance services to those living in poor communities has grown since its inception in the 1970's and was exponentially fueled by the United Nation's 2005 Year of Microcredit (Robinson 2002, Dichter 2006, Banerjee et al. 2009, International Year of Microcredit 2009). Hope remains high that microloans and other microfinance services will enable many to work their way out of poverty through entrepreneurship (Robinson 2001, Lieberman 2002, Karlan and Valdivia 2009, International Year of Microcredit 2009), but some of the recent literature on microfinance seems to dash these hopes. Dichter (2007) raises concerns that a great deal of microcredit fuels consumption rather than investment in entrepreneurial endeavors, and an evaluation of the effects of new microcredit in India showed the "fate" of individual microloans depended in part on whether borrowers were currently business owners, aspired to become business owners, or exhibited a low propensity for entrepreneurship (Banerjee et al. 2009).

We are not experts in microfinance and will not address whether (or how) microfinance services influence the development of entrepreneurship at the base of the economic pyramid. But the concerns raised by Dichter (2007) and Banerjee et al. (2009) substantiate the importance of asking whether entrepreneurship is bubbling up from the base of the economic pyramid. We address this question in Nicaragua, where poverty is widespread, but where entrepreneurship at the base of the economic pyramid has not been thoroughly investigated (Tejerina 2006). We organized the diverse business activities we observed according to the structure of the seven initiatives of Esteli Innovation (Table 2). The examples in Table 2 are discussed in more detail in the narrative below.

EXAMPLES FROM THE SEVEN INITIATIVES: DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS

INITIATIVE 1: COFFEE

Many of the activities we observed demonstrate the creativity of invention, but not necessarily- at least, not yet- entrepreneurship. For example, the machine designed to remove the pulpa from coffee beans is an invention, but not yet an innovation or example of entrepreneurship. Most of Nicaragua's remote coffee-producing farms lack a reliable electrical source, and at times have no access to electricity. Lacking a reliable source of electricity, muscle power is required for many tasks. Current pulpa-removing techniques rely on upper-body muscles, which are relatively small, but the bicycle-like pulpa-removing machine harnesses the greater power of large leg muscles to get the job done. This efficient machine has the potential to effect real change. If widely implemented, it would represent innovation- and its entrepreneur a true change agent. Unfortunately, to date only a single pulpa-removing machine has been shown at a coffee trade show, with none in production. Its promise has not come to fruition, awaiting an entrepreneurial change agent to recognize its potential and follow through with production and marketing to deliver the new technology to the legs of hard-working coffee finca workers. While inventiveness is present, missing are Thomas and Mueller's other three fundamental qualities associated with entrepreneurial activity (Thomas and Mueller 2000).

The second example may not at first seem earth-shattering. Flavored coffee is ubiquitous in North America and Europe, but it is not to be found in Nicaragua. Thus, the students and professors who developed El Bosque to design and market flavored coffees have the potential to change the Nicaragua's retail coffee market significantly. El Bosque started with three spices familiar to Nicaraguans: vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom, each of which can be ground with the coffee.

It is a concept that should be successful, an invention developed to the stage of innovation within in Nicaragua, but it hasn't yet progressed into entrepreneurship. El Bosque has brought a little product to the marketplace, sold mostly among a relatively small circle of acquaintances. Individuals involved in its inception were initially students who graduated, became faculty of the university and owners of the fledgling business. They have not pushed to get the products to a broader market- and potential exists for an international market. Two years ago the authors requested samples of the cardamom coffee, an unusual and creative choice for U.S. markets, for a U.S.-based, on-line coffee company but have not yet obtained any. The U.S. faculty members have tried to remove barriers and facilitate the fledgling Nicaragua company in several ways (e.g., by conducting market research and offering to transport samples to the U.S.). Despite these efforts, the company owners have not embraced the challenges and risks necessary to shepherd these promising products through the transition to higher-volume production and international sales.

INITIATIVE #2: ECOTOURISM

Elsewhere in Nicaragua we found examples much more supportive of an entrepreneurial model. While businesses like Finca Magdalena on Isla de Ometepe and family-run homestays we enjoyed in Miraflor target ecotourists in the small-business tradition common to many enterprises in Nicaragua (Arghiris and Leonardi 2008, Berman and Wood 2008), others pursue a distinctly different vision.

Hotel Pueblo consists of cooperatives in a number of villages on Isla de Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua (Berman and Wood 2008). We became acquainted with the dozen or so women-often heads of households- running the cooperative in the tiny, impoverished hamlet of Los Angeles on the road to Charco Verde. Each offers in-home accommodations and meals to guests visiting the island. Individually, these women have very little in terms of material wealth or power, but together, through cooperation, collaboration and synergistic creativity, they are creating business success and a degree of economic autonomy. The women empower one another and develop their vision through regular meetings where they discuss standards of cleanliness, food handling and preparation, quality of the visitor's experience (e.g., ambience), and fees. They offer immersion home stays that appeal to geotourists (Honey 2008; National Geographic 2009) pursuing service learning & volunteer tourism, community-based tourism, ecotourism, and nature/adventure tourism (for definitions and discussions of these diverse but related forms of tourism see Bjork 2007, Higham 2007, Honey 2008, National Geographic 2009, Wearing and Neil 2009).

This women's cooperative has created something very positive that can accommodate the needs of travelers from individuals to medium-sized groups, such as those who volunteer with the local naturopathic clinic (see below). It may not seem innovative that guests can form expectations about their accommodations that will be met, but in small communities at the base of the economic pyramid, developing and implementing such a model is remarkable. By banding into a cooperative that works together to learn more about what international visitors need and expect, these women have developed a fine and growing collective of businesses that competes successfully with hotels in nearby Moyagalpa. Their offerings are so good that one of the authors sat at table sipping a predawn cup of hot, freshly-brewed coffee thinking where in the world in 2009 can you go to a tropical island and be treated like a king for $15.00 a day? The accommodations are humble, but the families' care of visitors truly royal, and guests can reasonably expect this quality of experience because the cooperative works hard to make it so.

Located on land once owned by the wealthy and powerful Somoza family, Hacienda Merida represents another entrepreneurial endeavor located on Isla de Ometepe. Much more than just another backpacker's hostel, this family-run enterprise emphasizes sustainability, social equity, and community service, and accommodates travelers representing diverse nationalities, interests and backgrounds, from college students to families and retirees, and including individuals with physical handicaps (highly unusual in rural Nicaragua). Hosts Alvaro and Esther connect with their international clientele via a bilingual web site and maintain a solar-powered internet connection available to guests for a small fee. Their mission statement conveys just how differently they approach their business, including their vision of developing "a model alternative education system directed towards sustainable development in Ometepe and other parts of Nicaragua" and their desire "to promote united communities and tropical forest conservation, advocate positive behavioral changes and improve the quality of life for the local population and foreign visitors alike."

In harmony with these goals, Hacienda Merida offers fresh, locally produced, mostly vegetarian cuisine that ranks among the best meals we've enjoyed in Nicaragua. When serving animal products, they offer locally caught fish, homegrown poultry and eggs, and dairy products, but never beef because of its negative environmental effects. Visitors may pursue muscle-powered recreation (hiking, kayaking, swimming, bicycling, horseback riding), nature-based tourism (e.g., birdwatching), and service learning (e.g., participation in conservation and research projects, veterinary brigades linked to Oregon State University, or bilingual education in their school), or simply relax on the quiet veranda designed for rest and reflection- and perfect for journal-writing. Local residents and schoolchildren, employees, other tourism operators on Ometepe and guests all play roles in supporting their worthwhile projects. Profits fuel their many community and conservation projects, and guests may defray costs of long-term room and board through volunteer work. Finally, these visionary entrepreneurs work to improve their practices continuously, unwilling to allow "good enough" to suffice. From mission statement to reinvestment of profits into projects benefiting Ometepe's ecosystems and human communities, Hacienda Merida exemplifies entrepreneurship at the base of the economic pyramid, albeit in an idyllic setting.

INITIATIVE #3: EDUCATION

A two-hour panga journey from the village of Pearl Lagoon northwest across the brackish waters of Laguna de Perla and up Rio Wawashan leads to the humble wooden dock of the Wawashang Environmental and Agroforestry Education Centre (CEAA). Established in 2004 and run by the Fundacion para la Autonomia y el Desarrollo de la Costa Atldntica de Nicaragua (FADCANIC), the CEAA is a residential school serving children of diverse ethnicities who speak a variety of languages and come from villages throughout Nicaragua's South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS). Each village is predominated by one of the diverse cultures of the intercultural and multilingual RAAS, including Mestizo, Creole, Miskito, Garafuna, and Rama, among others (Arghiris and Leonardi 2008, Borchgrevink 2009). Classes are taught almost exclusively in Spanish. Although the dropout rate has been high for first-year students (understandable, given their young ages, upbringing in small, isolated villages, challenges of living in a multicultural and multilingual setting, and the program's rigorous curriculum), the program has successfully produced graduates with a diploma of Tecnico Bdsico Rural, most of whom have found employment in their chosen field (Borchgrevink 2009).

Everything about this school is innovative, and its philosophy centers around the goal of producing positive change-agents whose work will bring about economic, agricultural and environmental sustainability. The school's structure and goals target gender and cultural equity as well as a hands-on, inquiry- and outcome-based curriculum. The agricultural and forestry techniques taught include innovative, low-tech agroecology methodologies that rely on local, renewable resources to produce a diversity of crops while conserving soils, biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity. The ecologist in our trio of faculty members was simply amazed at what the school's director and teachers were accomplishing on the school's lands, and the quality of work being done by the students.

From 2004-2009, CEAA was funded entirely by the Norwegian Students' and Academics' International Assistance Fund (SAIH; Borchgrevink 2009), but the school represents only part of the entrepreneurship-fostering activities of the FADCANIC, which include a microcredit program to facilitate sustainable agroforestry, a teacher-training program to improve the quality of primary education throughout RAAS, and the establishment of La Reserva Natural de Wawashdn and its biological station (Borchgrevink and Rodriguez 2003, Berman and Wood 2008, Borchgrevink 2009, FADCANIC 2009). FADCANIC was founded in the early 1990's by Creole leaders to facilitate sustainable development within RAAS (Berman and Wood 2008, FADCANIC 2009), emphasizing agroforestry (ecologically sound, sustainable forestry practices). In addition to SAIH, the work of FADNIC is supported by its partners Horizont 3000 (the Austrian government's organization for development cooperation), the Embassy of Norway, Hilfswerk (Austria), and AIR/USAID (FADCANIC 2009). Though its work is subsidized by these governmental and NGO partners, FADCANIC well-deserves its designation as an entrepreneurial organization because of its sustained vision and multifaceted efforts to bring about positive changes and foster the development of new entrepreneurs.

Similar in spirit to FADCANIC, but entirely different in its structure, funding sources, and methodologies, the Universidad Popular de Nicaragua (UPONIC) is a private university with courses in agriculture, business, education, engineering, information technology, law, technology, naturopathic medicine, and a diversity of other disciplines that continue to expand. With fourteen regional campuses located in Managua and communities throughout western Nicaragua, UPONIC serves more than 14,000 students. Forward-thinking, ambitious and creative, some of the UPONIC administrators are deeply involved with Inovacion Esteli, selecting a new cohort of students for the innovation workshops each year and supervising their progress as they develop products for market, developing with us an internship program that will include both Nicaragua and U.S. students, and applying what they've learned to the design and implementation of new innovation centers in several campuses. In addition to developing and offering highly up-to-date curricula, some of the faculty members and administrators of UPONIC have themselves pursued the development and marketing of new products on a small scale. Their simultaneous pursuit of offering private post-secondary education in business and entrepreneurship, developing curricula that is quite novel within Nicaragua, and embracing the challenges of developing products for market shows that these entrepreneurs are filled with Schumpeter's "wild spirit" of innovation.

INITIATIVE #4: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Some of the enterprises we observed take considerable pains to reduce their "ecological footprint" in the interests of sustainability. For example, Hacienda Merida's emphasis on locally grown, organic produce, vegan protein sources, and relatively sustainable animal protein sources such as homegrown poultry and wild-caught fish minimize energy use and pollution while providing healthier meals for their guests. The CEAA teaches and develops organic, alternative agroecological methods using local resources and low-carbon input, small-scale, sustainable techniques. They emphasize crop diversity and soil conservation to increase the well-being of fincaros while conserving the forests and other natural resources of RAAS.

In addition to the conspicuously "green" efforts of these enterprises, other organizations target sustainable solutions to problems that impact Nicaraguans and their environment. The acquisition and use of energy resources often degrades ecosystems, but some technologies have the promise of providing energy in an earth-friendly, sustainable manner. Bluefields-based blueEnergy provides wind- and solar-powered electricity to remote villages of Nicaragua's Caribbean coast that have no public electrical supply, and recently expanded their efforts to address water quality as well (Luttrell 2008, blueEnergy 2009, BlueNews 2009). With unbelievable luck, we happened to visit blueEnergy Nicaragua's facilities and meet its Director Guillaume Craig on the very day they hosted a United Nations delegation headed by Alfredo Nissair, Resident Coordinator of the U. N. Nicaragua Development Programme (BlueNews July 2008). Mr. Craig kindly invited us to attend the planned presentations, and we eagerly accepted. During the event we saw first-hand how blueEnergy partners with the Instituto Nacional de Technolgia (INATEC) to train technical students, design, build and install wind turbines, and develop curriculum for a technical degree emphasizing renewable energy.

Like CEAA, blueEnergy's support base consists largely of grants and awards from international for-profit and not-for-profit organizations bolstered by material and service donations (e.g., solar panels from BP Solar, deep-cycle batteries for RE systems from Trojan), and financial contributions by individual and corporate donors (Cohn 2008, blueEnergy 2009). Work is accomplished by a complex network of Nicaraguan employees and a revolving collective of international volunteers and interns (many from France, the U.K. and the U.S.) led by a Board of Directors that includes blueEnergy founders (and siblings) Mathias and Guillaume Craig. To date, blueEnergy has completed a dozen installations in six communities totaling 12kW capacity. These projects include an 800 watt hybrid (solar and wind-powered) system in Pearl Lagoon that fuels a multidisciplinary auditorium in the FADCANIC-run school, and dual hybrid energy systems in Kahkabila that provide electricity to the community center, school, medical clinic, and doctor's residence, enabling proper storage of medications and immunizations that require refrigeration (blueEnergy 2009).

BlueEnergy is working with INATEC to create the Centro Ecologico Regional de Capacitacion Ambiental (CERCA), where residents of communities throughout RAAS can receive technical training in renewable energy, sanitation and water purification technologies (blueEnergy 2009). This ambitious project supports their mission is to improve "lives in marginalized communities using a holistic approach to sustainable energy and related fundamental services" by developing infrastructure and empowering "local people by making them central figures in the design, construction, and implementation of ... energy systems and other solutions (blueEnergy 2009)." Change agents, indeed.

INITIATIVE #5: HUMAN HEALTH AND HEALTH SERVICES

Ethnobotanical, natural medicines are found throughout Nicaragua, but are a specialty in Esteli (Berman and Wood 2008). Nestled upslope from the PanAmerican highway just north of Esteli, La Finca El Cortijo grows diverse medicinal herbs organically, combining ancient and modern technologies. Earthworms compost organic material, beginning the organic farming process, then finca workers hand-sort the precious worms from the resulting topsoil to start the cycle anew. Once harvested from the small, hand-sown beds, leaves of medicinal herbs (including chamomile and a diversity of mints and oreganos) are air-dried in a massive, solarheated, passively vented structure. The dried leaves are ground (the only step using fossil fuels on the farm), bagged, and transported to the ISNAYA processing plant and laboratory in Esteli .

Everything at the plant is done by hand, including preparation and bottling of medicines, but products are tested in their modern laboratory. The friendly, hardworking employees included a man with Down's Syndrome who was carefully gluing boxes for the teas and medicines sold in a tiny retail outlet adjacent to the plant and in stores throughout Nicaragua. It was eye-opening to witness every step in the complex process, from earthworm composting to packaging, in a single day, and equally impressive to observe workers diligently completing their particular steps in the labor-intensive operation. ISNAYA, managed by the Centro Nacional de la Medicina Popular Tradicional, provides affordable, traditional alternatives to expensive "western" medicines, produced locally start-to-finish, and employing many residents in the process. Given the inconsistent electrical supply, high unemployment rate, and low wages predominant in Nicaragua, it makes sense to use human labor rather than mechanization for manufacturing products like medicines linked to folk traditions.

Nicaraguans embrace diverse approaches to human health, from herbal folk remedies to modern western medicine. Within this broad range of health practices works Dr. Tabatha Parker, Head of Naturopathic Doctors International (NDI) in Nicaragua. Dr. Parker is an extranjero from the United States, but this creative, energetic innovator has adopted Isla de Ometepe as her home. Here, she works with staff in Moyogalpa's modest, government-run hospital and several tiny clinics located strategically along the bumpy public bus routes around the island. In addition to these duties, Dr. Parker runs a local clinic in Los Angeles, home to the women's cooperative Hotel Pueblo discussed earlier, and a service-learning program that links brigades of volunteers from developed nations to the clinics of Isla de Ometepe. Volunteers pay a fee, donate medical supplies, stay with Hotel Pueblo families, and work in the clinics providing naturopathic and traditional western medical care. During their stay, they visit local tourist destinations, learn about farm and island life, and experience an intensive internship learning naturopathic practices in a remote location within a developing nation. The educational experience is life-changing for many.

Dr. Parker, a tiny, visionary powerhouse, has developed a program that intertwines the local communities she serves with brigades of volunteers. Community members house, feed, transport and host the volunteers, while the volunteers bring supplies, energy, technical knowledge needed by the island communities, and, of course, funding that supports the clinics and local communities. The local residents support the clinics and enrich the brigade volunteers by sharing their food, families, homes, farms, and knowledge with the volunteers. Further, Dr. Parker also provides medical training for some island residents, who then bolster the ranks of the local medical personnel. All benefit and grow from participation in this model. The unseen, magical components are Naturopathic Doctors International (NDI), a private, non-profit organization, and Dr. Parker, who single-handedly organizes and runs the internship program while working full-time in the clinics and hospital. Her entrepreneurial spirit drives the synergy that yields better health care for the island residents, an invigorated community spirit and economy, health care training and employment for locals, and priceless service learning experience for the brigade participants.

INITIATIVE #6: INNOVATION

Even a simple welding shop can produce entrepreneurship when someone with an astute and creative mind recognizes a dire local need and uses ingenuity to address that need. Imagine the dilemma: local farmers (fincaros) used heavy plows constructed of metal, which broke, or wood, which was time-consuming to configure into a plow. Following the civil unrest of the 1980's, often families were headed by women, who had to wield the heavy plows; thus, the plow's mass was even more problematic. Local welders knew of a European design that was superior, but unfamiliar to the fincaros, and not readily embraced because of its unfamiliarity. The entrepreneurial-minded individuals constructed plows out of rebar, promoted the design and located distribution channels to help the new design spread. The new style of plow worked well behind teams of oxen and met other requirements of Reserva Miraflor, home to thousands of small-scale, family-owned fincas. Today, the new style of rebar-constructed plow is pulled by oxen teams throughout Miraflor, because some entrepreneurial-minded individual recognized the significance of a European engineer's design and facilitated change.

Fostering some kinds of change is not only potentially profitable, but of vital importance if families are to remain healthy, keep hunger at bay, and spare critical ecosystems from ruin. In Nicaragua, almost all meals are cooked over wood-burning stoves, each of which combusts a considerable amount of wood on a daily basis. Gallo pinto, the beans-and-rice staple eaten three meals a day, every day, by many Nicaragua families is characterized by its salty, smoky flavor imparted by the smoke of the burning wood, but fuel wood is both environmentally unsustainable and detrimental to human health (McCracken et al. 2003, Trees, Water and People 2009a). Deforestation is rampant in Nicaragua, greatly exacerbated by the harvest of fuelwood (Weaver et al. 2003), and the smoke from cooking fires poses a serious health hazard to Nicaraguan women (McCracken et al. 2003).

Stoves using alternative fuels could alleviate these problems, but are often dismissed because they are too expensive, the fuels used may be inaccessible or unaffordable, and the stoves fail to impart the critical, familiar smoky flavor essential to much traditional Nicaraguan fare (personal observation of authors). Nicaraguans will not readily abandon their wood-burning stoves, but perhaps a more efficient design would satisfy the cultural and economic needs for traditional cooking (gallo pinto is delicious, nutritious, and relatively affordable) while causing less harm. Such a set of alternatives, called Ecofogon stoves, is manufactured and distributed by PROLENA, the Association for Biomass Energy Promotion (Prolena 2009).

PROLENA is a nonprofit NGO working towards sustainable fuelwood production and use in the Pacific region of Nicaragua (Prolena 2009). Ecofogon stoves, based on a design developed by their NGO partners Aprovecha and Trees, Water & People, are constructed locally from local resources, and use only 30-35% as much wood compared to traditional open-fire cooking stoves (Trees, Water and People 2009a). The improved efficiency results in a significant cost savings to families (up to 10% or more of income for the many families living on less than $2/day), reduced carbon emissions (about 1 ton/year/stove), and reduced demand for fuelwood that may slow deforestation (Trees, Water and People 2009a). Further, the design reduces carbon monoxide and particulate emissions, protecting the health of women who spend many hours a day cooking (McCracken et al. 2003, Trees, Water and People 2009a). Since 1999, Prolena and their NGO partners have installed nearly 8,500 Ecofogon stoves- including one at Finca Magdalena, demonstrating their commitment to being environmentally friendly and planted more than 1,800,000 trees in Nicaragua (Trees, Water & People 2009b). These efforts alone won't save Nicaragua's tropical seasonal forests, but they might stay the hand of the forests' complete destruction, giving environmental scientists, natural resource managers and policymakers more time to develop and implement protective measures (Weaver et al. 2003, Trees, Water & People 2009b).

INITIATIVE #7: WATER

Water beautifully exemplifies the need for entrepreneurial change agents. Globally, many millions lack of access to clean, safe water, a crisis threatening progress towards the U.N. Millenium Development Goals, and nearly two million children die annually due to diseases caused by poor sanitation and unsafe water (Dervis 2006). Clean, public water sources are scarce in Nicaragua, yet hot, dehydrated travelers need inexpensive, cold, purified water. Throughout our travels, street vendors sold small, sealed, plastic bags of ice-chilled water for 1-2 Cordobas (5-10 cents USD). Thirsty travelers bite off the bag's corner and suck out the contents- a very practical design. The pioneer of this practice is long forgotten, but someone realized the need for low-cost, clean water and the little plastic bags are now ubiquitous.

Clean water can be even more elusive in rural areas of Nicaragua (Garcia Altamirano 2008), a need long recognized by national and international agencies and NGO's (Goiter et al. 1991, Macy and Quick 1998). In our travels we see remnants of a variety of water filters provided to families by well-meaning organizations, but often the filtration material (sand, etc.) is missing and the container being used for some other purpose, such as holding trash or feeding livestock. This pattern holds true even in areas with known ground- and surface-water contamination (e.g., the area whose water quality is reported in Garcia Altamirano 2008). Why don't the families use the filters? It isn't clear whether individuals do not understand the degree to which local water sources are contaminated with disease-causing organisms (though most we interviewed seem knowledgeable about local water resources and their problems), have not been taught how to properly use or maintain the filters, dislike the work involved in using and maintaining them, abandon devices that fail after some period of use, lack access to parts that break, or abandon them due to some other impediment.

Most filters are provided under a philanthropic model (e.g., see HydrAid, LifeStraw, Potters for Peace) where devices are distributed and (hopefully) their use explained, but little to no support is provided thereafter, and therein may lay the problem. Innovation and entrepreneurship leading to a more market-based model might be more effective than the current philanthropic model. Individuals might purchase water trusted to be purified when the only free water available is contaminated. Such an enterprise might yield profits to the entrepreneur and health benefits to members of the community, who are unlikely to use their limited resources to purchase water unless it is tested regularly and somehow certified as "clean." The cost of maintaining a consistent, tested source of purified water would thereby be born by many community members, guaranteeing access to safe water to all, though at a cost.

WHY IS MISS ARLENE SO SPECIAL?

These examples bring us once again to Miss Arlene and her oven on Little Corn Island, which supports fewer than 1,000 residents and has no roads or cars- only footpaths. We did not attempt to pigeon-hole her work, allowing it to exemplify both invention as well as budding entrepreneurship. Hunger drove us to Miss Arlene. Searching for bread at the end of a long day of snorkeling and island-exploration led to one stop that yielded two loaves, and another with none, with the explanation that they could only bake six loaves at once and were sold out. Rounding a bend in the path, we were greeted by a table laden with baked goods: coconut bread and ginger bars, spice-scented and heavenly. How was this bounty possible? Miss Arlene, tiny, quiet, and unassuming, led us unceremoniously to the back of her house, where stood a tall, handmade oven capable of baking up to 24 loaves of coconut bread or dozens of ginger bars with a single load of charcoal (Figure 2). Strewn nearby were her earlier, less-successful attempts at designing a bigger, better oven, for that was exactly what she'd done: recognized the constraints of the island's traditional ovens, the potential for expanded commerce if that constraint could be overcome, and the ingenuity and persistence to invent alternatives until she was successful. This oven was her creation, an invention that allowed her entrepreneurial talents to blossom.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

With the expanded capacity, Miss Arlene provides delicious, locally produced food for both community members and passing tourists, thereby earning money to support her family. Her vision was larger than her current enterprise, however. Aware that wealthy tourists such as ourselves immediately headed towards expensive waterfront restaurants to buy overpriced coffee to accompany her homemade goodies, Miss Arlene is developing a small cafe next to the footpath where she can sell coffee along with her baked goods. Little remained to bring her vision to fruition: a small thermos and a few cups and saucers would convert her table of bread to a corner destination for locals and tourists alike. Lacking any competition, Miss Arlene invented the oven needed to produce her unique and delicious baked goods for sale in bulk and will soon offer a relaxing cafe experience where none currently exists- right along the island's major thoroughfare. Her entrepreneurial vision, drive and persistence are bringing change to her neighborhood, currently only marginally linked to the growing tourism of Little Corn Island.

SO WHAT?

Clearly, as these many and diverse examples demonstrate, both small business practices and true entrepreneurship are flourishing and wonderful in Nicaragua. But sometimes we observed invention or innovation where we just as easily might have witnessed entrepreneurship. Good ideas that could benefit families and communities remained just good ideas. Why are some activities in Nicaragua entrepreneurial while others seem mired in early stages of development?

True entrepreneurship in Nicaragua is sometimes driven by pull factors, such as seen with Hacienda Merida, EcoFogon stoves, the re-bar constructed plow, and others. Elsewhere, entrepreneurship is driven by push factors such as the need to support a family. Miss Arlene's inventive oven that led to entrepreneurship is a perfect example. These good ideas were sometimes generated within Nicaragua and sometimes elsewhere, but in each case it was within Nicaragua that the "wild spirit" caught hold and a creative idea transitioned into entrepreneurship that subsequently transformed lives. Whether tapping into push or pull motivations, one of the great challenges in Nicaragua is to transition more of these good ideas, such as the pulparemoving machine or blueEnergy's designs for electricity generation in remote villages, to entrepreneurship.

What factors might contribute to greater entrepreneurial activity in Nicaragua? Creativity and inventiveness are not lacking in Nicaragua- they are readily witnessed when entering homes, gardens, and public spaces (the murals of Esteli are legendary, for example). Bringing about change through development and marketing of innovative products and services does not come easily to Nicaraguans, however, who tend to be community-oriented rather than independently driven. We have observed that even the most energetic, talented and creative individuals in Nicaragua are generally not great risk-takers and lack a strong internal locus of control. In comparison, community-oriented enterprises such as the Hotel Pueblo cooperative seem to have a better chance of thriving. Perhaps more entrepreneurial organizations are needed, or perhaps entrepreneurship should be encouraged through cooperatives and other community-based efforts rather than through individuals. In our opinion, it is in such a milieu, one of social cooperation or collaboration rather than independence, where Schumpeter's "wild spirit" of entrepreneurship is most likely to take flight.

We recommend that future studies of entrepreneurship at the base of the economic pyramid be undertaken in Nicaragua and other developing countries to understand better how to enable entrepreneurs living in challenging economic situations in diverse societies. Miss Arlene should be encouraged to develop her bakery and coffee shop, even to consider broader application of her oven design, and others like her should be supported in pursing their own visions of benefiting their families and communities. With some guidance and a better understanding of how entrepreneurship works, these untapped "wild spirits" of entrepreneurship, working independently or within community-based or cooperative efforts, could benefit many living at the base of the economic pyramid.

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John Farris, Padnos School of Engineering, Grand Valley State University Table 1. The seven initiatives of Esteli Innovation in Nicaragua, showing current projects in each area. Each initiative involves participation by some combination of university faculty members, alumni, students, and administrators as well as community members from the region Seven Current projects (2009-10) initiatives of Esteli Innovation in Nicaragua Coffee Identifying story coffees for on-line sales. Working with cooperatives, e.g., UCA Miraflor. Developing products and markets for green coffee beans--a different pricing structure for farmers. Ecotourism Collaboration with FAREM faculty to develop curriculum and enhance touris in the region. Working with cooperatives and individuals working in ecotourism. Education International, interdisciplinary geotourism exploring the many cultures & ecosystems of Nicaragua. Emersion language learning. Delivery of student educational supplies. Inclusion of local students in programs. Developing internship programs for US Students Environmental Collaboration with FAREM faculty to Science & develop curriculum & research project Ecology and share materials & pedagogical practices. Obtain & deliver scholarly resources. Work supported by NSF and internal grants. Human Health Direct aid delivering medical supplies to ten clinics and Health serving the poor. Services Volunteer tourism in naturopathic medicine on Isla de Ometepe. Collaboration with UPONIC administrators to develop a service-learning program in naturopathic medicine for Nicaragua & extranjero (international) students. Programa de Experiential class in innovation offered annually in Inovacion Esteli. Workshops on teaching & learning for faculty. Esteli [note: Problem-specific entrepreneurial workshops. the Spanish Development of engineering Coop program. name distinguishes this from the overall initiative] Water quality Examining water purification practices and improving and supply design of appropriate purification technologies for use in the local economy. Developing a business model to produce & distribute potable water. Table 2. Observations of business and entrepreneurial activities in Nicaragua 2006-2009. These examples relate to the seven initiative of Esteli Innovation. Columns detail the location of each observed activity, brief explanatory comments, and the authors' categorization of each activity. Categories are defined in the text below; abbreviations are: INV = invention; INN = innovation; ENT = entrepreneurship; SBU = small business. Initiatives of Activities observed (or Where observed (or Esteli Innovation reported) that may be reported) Entrepreneurial. Coffee El Bosque Coffee: Esteli (FAREM is the founded by faculty & public university) students of FAREM Bicycle-powered machine: Remote mountain farm removes pulpa from near Yali coffee beans Cooperatives: provide Coffee-growing region new technologies to of NW members Ecotourism UCA Miraflor & Miraflor Miraflor residents www.miraflor.org/ Pueblo Hotel, Isla de Los Angeles & other Ometepe (Moyogalpa- pueblos. based) Finca Magdalena Isla de Ometepe www.fincamagdalena.com Hotel Hacienda Merida Merida, Isla de Ometepe www.hmerida.com/ Education UPONIC Managua & multiple satellite campuses Wawashang Environmental Wawashang River, off of & Agroforestry Education Laguna Perla Center Environmental Biogenerator (large Ebeneezer Farm Science & Ecology scale) Alternative, renewable BlueEnergy, www. energy In Bluefields blueenergygroup.org/ (East Coast) Human Health & Naturopathic Medicine Moyagalpa & Los Angeles, Health Services Isla de Ometepe; Esteli, Managua Botanicals: worm Farm north of Esteli; composting to dried crop Manufactured & sold in to packaging & sales of Esteli herbal teas & remedies Innovation & Sawdust Stove Esteli Programa de Inovacion Esteli Plough constructed of Miraflor rebar Eco-fogon stoves Managua Miss Arlene's oven Little Corn Island Miss Arlene's business Water Quality & Small, plastic bags of Managua Supply water sold by street vendors Sand & clay water Esteli & Miraflor filters Initiatives of Comments & Categorization Esteli Innovation (see above for abbreviations) Coffee INV: a creative, substantive change for local retail markets. INV: eases difficult work of removing pulpa from the bean. SBU: e.g., UCA Miraflor & others Ecotourism SBU: Family-based services offered to tourists & locals. ENT: Women's coop. In-home, immersion accommodations SBU: organic agricultural coop with hostel, restaurant & tours. ENT: emphasizes sustainability, adventure-, volunteer- and eco-tourism and service learning. Education ENT: linked to Inovacion Esteli; novel, market-driven programs INN: Intercultural, residential; NGO- funded to date (NUPI). Environmental INV: community farm; family plots Science & Ecology INN Wind & solar; U.S. & Nica personnel; assoc. w/tech school Human Health & ENT: Trains island residents, interns & Health Services volunteers in their clinic; works cooperatively in Moyagalpa's public hospital. ENT: unique, locally driven, many employees, incl. handicapped Innovation & INN: developed in response to local Programa de fuel shortage & marketed Inovacion Esteli ENT: European design adopted by welders to serve a local need INN; uses wood more efficiently; international NGO- sponsored INV; see Figure 2 ENT; see text for explanation Water Quality & ENT: convenient, inexpensive, safe Supply source of drinking water INN: none of them used widely