November’s New York Monthly Meeting’s Spotlight featured Joe DeNicola ’86, ’96 F&ES, YANA Board Treasurer and Executive Director of SosteNica, a nonprofit that integrates educational and environmental programs with financial services to address the alleviation of poverty in Nicaragua.
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A note from Joe:
The SosteNica team appreciates the opportunity to discuss its efforts in Nicaragua and the exciting potential to advance sustainable development goals and mitigate some of the impacts of climate change with YANA.
SosteNica empowers the people of Nicaragua to achieve healthy lives within vibrant, sustainable communities. SosteNica’s collaborative work integrates educational and environmental programs with financial services, creating a holistic approach to the alleviation of poverty in Nicaragua. SosteNica, Inc. was established in 2001. Until 2014, SosteNica activity was limited to the provision of microcredit to low-income Nicaraguans through a partner organization, CEPRODEL, and building the capacity of CEPRODEL to provide support services to its borrowers. In 2014, SosteNica established the EcoCentro in Nagarote and began providing educational and environmental programs directly.
Our programs target the rural poor with a focus on improving agricultural practices to increase family income, catalyze economic development, and reduce environmental impacts. We work intensely with 40+ subsistence farmers to expand and diversify their production, improve soils, enable efficient year-round water use, and enable market access. In addition, we offer ancillary services to further promote productivity and sustainability including construction of clean cookstoves, a School Garden program with an education and nutrition focus, and a Young Entrepreneurs program.
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About SosteNica
SosteNica promotes economic and community development in many regions of Nicaragua through credit, technical assistance, and outreach to low-income businesses and small farmers.
