Selva Negra is a German owned coffee hacienda that is not only a beautiful example of the biodiversity Nicaragua has to offer, but is also an amazing example of sustainable development.
In the mid 1800s, the Nicaraguan government was eager to become involved in the coffee industry and offered 350 hectors of land to any investor willing to plant 25,000 coffee trees. Many immigrants from Europe and the United States took advantage of this offer, including Wilhelm Jericho, a German, who promised to bring 20 more German families to Nicaragua. Selva Negra, named after the Black Forest in Germany, was founded in the 1880s by one of these German families.
In 1974, Eddy and Mausi Kühl purchased the 1470 acre hacienda and promptly converted half of it into a cloud forest preserve: the first private reserve in Nicaragua.
Cloud Forest Environment at Selva Negra
The reserve serves as home to a variety of flora and fauna. The pine and oak trees making up the forest hang heavily with bromeliads and epiphytes, including a variety of orchids.
Bird watchers will be thrilled exploring the 14 well-marked trails looking for some of the over 200 reported species of birds include the resplendent quetzal, parrots, bell birds, and many many more. Sloths, howler monkeys, white-faced monkeys and many other mammals are also very common.
Sustainable Development: Social and Environmental Initiatives at Selva Negra
While the local environment is truly awe-inspiring, the integration of all the hacienda's activities –from flower gardens, to coffee processing, to visitor lodging, to housing and schooling for the 200 worker families– is something any activist, community developer, or concerned global citizen should absolutely see.
For example, coffee is grown using red-worm compost generated through the activities on the hacienda. During processing, the waste water, a terrible pollutant in most coffee producing areas, goes through a 2-part cleaning system that produces methane gas used for the stoves in the restaurant and other activities on site.
The workers on the farm are all provided housing, three meals a day, access to on site healthcare, primary education for their children, scholarship opportunities for high school and university, and much more.
The social and environment initiatives are what truly make Selva Negra a must see destination.
Accomodations at Selva Negra
There is a range of lodging options. From hostels ($10/night) to private rooms ($35) to bungalows ($60-150) there are accommodations for all types of travels. The rooms are clean, quaint, and a welcome escape from some of the more economic options found throughout the country.
The restaurant, located on one of the reserves small lakes, features a menu with many German options as well as local Nicaraguan fare. The vegetables, meat, sausage, cheese, and coffee are all produced on site as part of the integrated structure of the complex.
A buffet service is available on Sundays and holidays as well as for large groups.
The restaurant was originally designed by a team of architects that wanted to create a huge, expensive concrete structure. Displeased with the design, the owners designed it themselves based on a German train station. The quaint building that arose from their designs fits naturally into the surrounding environment.
The recommended coffee tour ($5) which leaves in the morning, is led by either Eddy or Mausi (though other workers are being trained to work as guides) and takes visitors all over the hacienda. You will be able to see all the various workings of the facility and how interconnected everything is.
When Mausi and Eddy's daughter became engaged, they built a non-denominational chapel on site for the wedding. Now they are able to accommodate either small private ceremonies or even lavish 200 person receptions.
Getting To Selva Negra From Matagalpa
Selva Negra is located on km 139.5 on Carrera a Jinotega and is easily identifiable by the Somoza-era tank that serves as the sign. Take any bus heading towards Jintega and the bus driver will let you off at the entrance to the reserve.
Timothy Dzurilla - Dzurilla has been writing about food and food culture for 7 years for various on and off line newspapers. Currently in graduate school ...
