Professional women abound at the seat of the EcoSouth Network in Nicaragua
It's the presence
of women that stands out upon entering the EcoSur headquarters in
Nicaragua - engineers, architects, ecologists, administrators,
psychologists, accountants. The three organizations are enriched by
their professional presence, whether development projects with
SofoNic, architectural design with EcoTec, construction of homes with
EcoNic. They are as comfortable with a computer as in field and carry
out their work with enthusiasm and seriousness. Most are under thirty
years of age and some are mothers of small children. The next issues
of the e-magazine will focus upon the work of these organizations
from the perspective of their professional women.
Three organizations
where women are plentiful
Grupo Sofonias
Nicaragua (SofoNic) is a civil society dedicated to development
projects, principally social housing with communities. Its president
is Nidia Bustos, founder and director of a rural theatre movement
MECATE, its vice-president is Rosa Amelia Jiménez, the
vice-director of the international agricultural school in Rivas and
the psychologist Charlotte Belli is secretary. SofoNic has two women
at the forefront of current projects. The psychologist Oxana
Delgadillo directs a rural development project in the north of the
country and the ecologist Joyce Miurel Lopez directs a reforestation
project.
SofoNic established EcoTec S.A. as a social enterprise to carry out commercial activities that would benefit the general population, whether through the sale of recycled bicycles, sale of equipment to produce EcoMaterials or the Viviendas Económicas program (housing for the working poor). At the head of the bicycle enterprise is Regina Andino who also manages the collection of the mortgage payments in the various housing programs. Cuban civil engineer, Taime Castaño, carried out research about ferro cement wall elements at the EcoMaterials factory within an interchange program among EcoSouth associates.
EcoNic S.A.. is a commercial enterprise that builds houses for a more affluent market and is directed by the civil engineer Dora Maria Hernández.

Bridges between organizations
A bridge between
SofoNic and both EcoTec and EcoNic is the department of architecture
and design. Architect Imayara Mojan together with Amelie Estrada, an
architectural student working on her graduate thesis, design houses
for the private clients, those in the vivienda económica
program, as well as the bene-clients of the social projects. Another
bridge is the accountant, Maria Lourdes Mendoza, who weaves the
administrative threads of the three organizations.
A beehive
When the female
professionals return from their work in the field, the architectural
office converts into a beehive. All the computers are occupied and
the interchanges about the work takes place around a large table
covered with sheets of information and statistics. Coordination takes
place during formal meetings with all departments. Transparency is
the key.
