BAINBRIDGE ISLAND — For Carmen Lopez, the cup of coffee she had at Lynwood Center had a bit of added satisfaction beyond its taste and caffeine.
Lopez is a Nicaraguan coffee farmer whose beans are regularly sold in shops on Bainbridge and seeing the result of all the labor behind those beans, thousands of miles away from where that work took place, was a bit of an experience.
“This coffee from the other place, to have it in my hands here, is a huge marvel,” she said. “It’s a source of pride to understand that a lot of people are drinking my coffee.”
Lopez was one of 11 delegates from Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, who visited Bainbridge in October as part of the 30th anniversary celebration for the Bainbridge Ometepe Sister Islands Association, and one of three who spoke with the Kitsap Sun through a translator about their experiences with the association.
BOSIA purchases coffee beans from Ometepe farmers like Lopez and imports them for sale on the island, reported the Kitsap Sun. Since 1988, more than 500,000 pounds of Ometepe coffee have been sold on Bainbridge. It’s just one example of the many projects and relationships that have formed since the association’s earliest days.
“In addition to benefiting the farmers with the purchase of coffee, the profits from the sale of coffee return to Ometepe, where they have been used to help the poorest people and especially with schools, clinics and attention for people with special needs,” Lopez said.
To hear representatives from both islands talk about the bond, it’s clear that the association produces more than the typical evidence of a sister city relationship: a sign at the city limits or two mayors shaking hands during a photo opportunity.
Over the years, Bainbridge efforts have included raising funds to provide grants for Ometepe health centers, as well as scholarships for Ometepe students to attend college and building water systems, a school library, cafeteria and auditorium. The association also has organized delegation exchanges like the one in October between the two islands for mutual education and friendship building.
Members of the 30th anniversary delegation traveled to Bainbridge schools, the Helpline House and other sites around the island.
No? Gonzalez, an Ometepe high school math teacher, said he would take back his experiences to his students.
“With what I’ve learned day by day, I will share it with them and in that way create a consciousness in every one of them of the necessity to continue to make stronger the connection between the two islands, to create new values,” he said.
Gonzalez sits on one of the committees that help to mediate the association’s scholarships at the nine Ometepe high schools. Scholarship recipients are awarded the funds needed to complete a college degree.
“The scholarship project has also raised the general (economic) level (on Ometepe) because students who graduate and get jobs are able to support their families,” Gonzalez said.
The birth of the organization stretches back to the 1980s, when the Nicaraguan government faced opposition from various rebel groups. According to Kim Esterberg, one of BOSIA’s founding members, those in the peace community on Bainbridge opposed U.S. involvement in the conflict.
