Micro Concrete tiles, mud bricks, pozzolanic cement: EcoSur - Home

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.