2013 Final days of ground preparation

With most of the hard labor behind them, the plantation crew is coming up on the final days of ground preparation. Each area that was hand cleared will now receive a second inspection where rows of cut material have already begun to decompose and vital nutrients have been absorbed into the soils.

The weather is hot and dry as the crew count down the days before the green (rain) season begins.

2013 Land Preparations

With just a few weeks of land preparations to go, our grounds crew of over 75 men are coming to the final stages of step 1 for this year’s planting.

Close to 200 acres have been cleared and a fast growing new species will soon be introduced.

This is the last month of the dry season as rains normally start here around mid May. About one week after the rains start is when our planting crews begin to prepare the holes for the new saplings. The soil conditions will be perfect for the young trees as they receive rains through the end of the year.

This week Maderas Futuro was able to place an order for 40 new hardwood school chairs. These chairs will be made and dropped off at the San Juan Del Sur public school as part of the on going project we started a year ago. The project came about when we discovered, half the children in school were either sharing a chair, sitting on the floor, or sitting in plastic chairs, which only allowed them to do their school work on their laps. The new hardwood chairs include a wrap around desk top.

This recent order will bring the total amount of chairs donated to the school to 80.

We at Maderas Futuro and the children of the school want to thank Dan and Carol for making this recent order possible. They came last year to Nicaragua and became owners of some hardwood trees at the plantation and that is when they heard about the school chair donation project. They bought a chair last year to be donated to the school and they went home and through telling their friends of this project, they raised enough money to buy 38 chairs for the school. THANK YOU DAN and CAROL!

Local Wildlife:

Between the months of February through May, Nicaragua experiences some of its driest weather just prior to the rainy season starting again in May.

Throughout our plantations we have a wide variety of animals that call this land their home. Hunting is strictly prohibited and is enforced vigorously by our security personnel. But finding ample water each day can become a problem for the wildlife.

Many natural rivers and streams dry up, so we have provided an assortment of water tanks that are readily accessible to the native monkey population, deer, and other animals that freely roam.

As part of the continued care & maintenance program undertaken during the critical first two years of the 2012 planting, the plantation staff today began stage three of our comprehensive fertilization application to the entire inventory.

This undertaking is especially important during our dry season in order for the trees vitality. The days are long, dry, hot, and an abundance of flying insects enjoy this particular time of year.

The plantation is expanding

Currently more than 75 seasonal crew members are clearing some 200-acres of land in preparation for a new species of hardwood that will be arriving in Nicaragua for the very first time. All property is hand-cleared and special care and attention is given to protected wildlife areas.

Extensive roadwork maintenance

The tropical climate that we enjoy and our hardwoods thrive upon is not necessarily the best conditions for the network or roads throughout our plantations.

Every few seasons we undertake a detailed maintenance and repair of all main artery roads.

Site preparation works begins for 2013 planting season

Seasonal crews were hired this week and work got underway for the 2013 season. More than 200-acres will be cleared at the Estancia plantation this year. Each location has been strategically reviewed and approved by local authorities and regular weekly inspections will occur.

Plantation staff will clear 12m to 15m wide channels and remove much of the ground cover in phase 1. The fallen material will then be separated into various categories and all will be utilized for a variety of natural procedures. We never burn any fallen material.