General Information
Since we began building in 2006 the Mariposa has tried to exist in a way that both contributes to the local community and to the surrounding environment whilst also being aware of the need to keep our own “footprint” to a minimum (for more details see our Responsible Tourism Policy). The creation of community feeling within the Mariposa itself is a crucial part of what we hope to achieve – but, of course, this needs the commitment of all of the staff and the guests to work. The animals too are part of that! We ask everyone to try and be aware of the effect of each and every decision that we take and how it might affect the community and the environment.
Food – We serve mostly vegetables, beans, pulses, eggs, cheese, rice etc. The menus at the Mariposa are largely driven by what is in season and available – so you may see a glut of salad leaves or beets! We do a weekly shop at the local market and keep supermarket shopping to a minimum.
Meals are served buffet style (breakfast between 7:15am and 8:00am; lunch at noon; dinner around 6:00-ish – announced by the ringing of a Swiss cow bell!) There is always fresh fruit and cereal available at breakfast plus a small cooked meal. Please – if you are at the front of the queue bear in mind those behind you and don’t take more than your fair share. Second helpings are often, but not always, available. We modify dishes as needed for guests who are vegan or have special dietary needs, and practice the utmost caution in serving those with food allergies (nuts, gluten, lactose-free etc.)
Farm to Table – On our organic vegetable patch we grow as much of our own produce as possible and hopefully have some left over to donate to families in need. We have produced our own excellent coffee, kidney beans (part of the staple diet in Nicaragua), oranges, mandarins, passion fruit, mangos, avocados, bananas, platanos and a range of vegetables. Planting rare fruit trees will start to produce unusual fruit such as caimito in the near future. We keep free range hens to provide fresh eggs. A wormery provides organic compost.
Electricity – The power for electricity is solar. We have 9 solar panels on the roof and they power the fridge, internet, TV, lights and fans. The electricity is stored in batteries (in the classroom just off the entrance) and it does run out, especially in the rainy season when we are full . It is really important to switch off fans and lights when not in your room and please don’t switch anything on unless necessary. In case of solar power failure we do have commercial power back up but this can take a few minutes to come on.
Please note that we provide fans, but not air conditioning. Our elevation allows for cooler temperatures and less humidity, so air conditioning is unnecessary. The hotel design means that breezes pass through the passages and rooms, helping to keep us cooler naturally. Traditional Nicaraguan houses leave a space between the wall and the roof which (whilst not great for sound proofing) works wonderfully for air circulation. We have incorporated this feature whilst improving sound proofing.
Wifi Access – Wifi is available in the common areas upstairs and downstairs.
Water – We provide filtered and bottle water dispensers to refill your water bottle. Water is scarce here, particularly during the dry season. We have 6 months of no rain and 6 months of too much! Our water supply comes from an underground aquifer – the water is of high quality though heavily treated by the municipality with chlorine. It is delivered to us just twice a week and we store it in large tanks. We have built a latrine which is perfectly sanitary and uses absolutely no water. Please use it whenever possible. Take quick showers. Your used shower water is collected in a special tank, and used to water the garden – we ask you to help with this by using organic products in the shower. Please note that hot water for showers is solar heated, so in very sunny weather it can get really hot. You can further save water by collecting water in the bucket provided as you shower and using it to soak dirty clothes or flush the toilet. A rainwater collection and storage system has been installed to limit the amount of water we need to purchase.
Laundry – Clothes washing is done by hand – the kitchen staff will do it for you for a small charge or we can show you how to do it. It is sun dried – there is a roofed area but note that in the rainy season it can take a while to dry.
Strive to waste less & use less plastic! As much as possible we fix or recycle – for example, we make and sell reuseable shopping bags from the animal food bags (we buy a lot for our rescued animals). The playground in La Reserva is made from painted tires! Stuff that would be thrown away in the USA is mended here and there is a lot of “natural recycling” in Nicaragua. Rubbish on the streets is a problem, especially plastic bags, but Nicaraguans actually generate very little rubbish or pollution compared to Westerners. But please try and help us here by taking along a reusable bag when you shop, and not buying snacks in plastic or aluminum foil packets. They take forever to biodegrade.
Avoiding Insects – All accommodations are equipped with mosquito nets. We are an eco-hotel and so we do not set out to eliminate all insect life as they are an important part of the food supply for many birds, bats etc. However we are not opposed to killing individual mosquitoes who may be about to do you harm! It is worth mentioning that mossies are less of a problem during the dry season i.e. December though to May, but we do recommend repellent (non toxic insect repellents are less effective). Because we have a lot of wildlife here including lizards, bats, birds, frogs, spiders many insects (including mosquitoes) are naturally controlled. Other insects which you may not want to meet are scorpions (they are not poisonous here but you would not want to be bitten by one) and the pico caballo (spiders which look like tarantulas but are smaller and brown, not black, – they are completely harmless). Should you come across anything you don’t want in your room just ask one of the Mariposa staff to remove it. Many of our light bulbs are yellow – this color is deliberate as it repels insects and stops them being attracted to the building at night. Plus they are low energy.
