Sister Communities of San Ramón

Dorothea Hauss Ross Foundation

November 2011: $10,000 grant awarded for the construction of an annex, new bathroom and repairs to the Los Pipitos Center for Children with Disabilities.  Grant monies will also supply therapeautic and educational resources for Los Pipitos in San Ramón.

Jeffrey Cook Charitable Trust:

November 2011: $25,000 grant awarded for sustainable architecture and construction in rural areas of San Ramón.  Grant monies will fund the purchasing of a Compressed Earth Block machine, training and construction of a rural community library in Yucul, a new rural school with kitchen in San Ramón and assist in the refitting of the Casa Materna.

Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award

2007: Best Small Hotel

Socially Responsible Tourism Award:

2005:  Contest for Socially Responsible Tourism: 5,000 Swiss francs from the Swiss Foundation for Solidarity in Tourism and 2,100 euros from the firm of “Europäische Reiseversi-cherung”.  The award is given annually to organizations, projects and initiatives which promote the sustainable development of tourism by improving the economic well being of people in the region and by protecting the environment.

Smithsonian Magazine / Travelers Conservation Foundation:

2004: $20,000 Sustainable Tourism Award

Best Ecolodge in Nicaragua 2004:

Awarded by the Nicaraguan Institute of Tourism and FodesTur as part of the Central American Green Initiative, a Central America – wide accreditation program.

2002 NC Peace Prize:

Sister Communities of San Ramón, Nicaragua was awarded the
2002 NC Peace Prize on Sunday, Nov. 24th, by the NC Peace Corps Association.

HONORS:

October 2008: “FEV has received international recognition as a model for poverty alleviation through sustainable tourism.” (“Case Study. Finca Esperanza Verde: Creating Employment Through Sustainable Tourism“, SEEP Network.)

June 2006: Nicaragua Institute of Tourism

September 2006: Finca Esperanza Verde ranks #1 in Guardian newspaper article on Green Tourism in Nicaragua. Read the Guardian newspaper article

August 2005:  Selected as the model project exemplifying poverty alleviation through sustainable tourism for United Nation agency the World Tourism Organization study seminar in Nicaragua.

October 2005: Presented at the 2nd Annual World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development Summit in Brazil. Other organizational sponsors for the summit include UNESCO, the United Nations through the World Tourism Organization, and the UN Development Program.