Tag: coco loco

Waves of Hope Update

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As many of you know, SWA supports various development initiatives throughout Central America. We have mainly supported and partnered with the NGO in northern Nicaragua, Waves of Hope, a community development organization that has focused lately on education. For those of you that have been to Coco Loco and participated in Waves of Hope projects, we wanted to send out a quick update!

The big Waves of Hope project, the high school, was built three years ago and began with 77 students. This year, the school is up to 270 students, and the crew built two more classrooms to accommodate the higher numbers. The demand for education keeps growing, so there are plans to build two more classrooms this December/January. 

Waves of Hope also just launched a scholarship program, which sponsors 14 recent graduates pursue post-secondary schooling. The cost to sponsor a student per month is only $40. In addition, they also just launched an arts program in December that includes visual arts, guitar, music theory, and dance classes. 

Waves of Hope and Surf With Amigas are currently (and always) fundraising to support all of these efforts- the high school expansion project, the scholarship program, and the arts program. Thank you, amigas, for your continued support. If you’re thinking donating– please remember that every dollar counts! For more information on donations click here.

 

Celebrating Holly and Kim’s Wedding

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Holly and Kim met in 2010 at Coco Loco, eventually moved there and began running Womens Surf and Yoga retreats. After a few years and Kim’s proposal, they decided it was fitting to have their wedding ceremony at the place that means the most to them. They filled Coco Loco and La Bahia with family and friends for a week of retreat-like activities – surf lessons, yoga, galloping on the beach, volcano boarding, cocktails at La Bahia – except instead of just cocktails, the last day at La Bahia included a wedding ceremony. Flick through the gallery for photos of the event and for the full video, click “play” below.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/F8TquUAKTmM]

Next step… honeymoon and then a couple of retreats in the Philippines! Woo hoo!

Testing Surf Hats by Surf Munkey

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F06rKEifeG0]

It’s super sunny in Nicaragua and we spend long hours in the surf. Our eyes get fried. Our lips blister. Wrinkles are multiplying! Fortunately, we came across these sweet little hats by Surf Munkey. They are really light weight and totally comfortable! We plan to order a bunch to include in our Suitcase Boutique very soon! Here’s a silly video from the first day we tested them out including some interesting synchronized surfing by Jackie and Jam Slam. Enjoy!

 

Raising Money for a New Elementary School Classroom

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Imagine you’re a 12 year old kid growing up in a remote fishing village in Northern Nicaragua. You’ve spent most of your life barefoot, chasing chickens and skinny dogs through barbed-wire fences. You learned to ride a horse at age 5 and by age 7 your dad had you herding cattle between pen and pasture. Your parents keep you busy with the chores of survival. There’s a two room school house just down the street but not much incentive to attend so you don’t know how to read.

Then one day, some gringos show up and buy land nearby. They give your uncles jobs in construction building a small eco-resort called El Coco Loco. Your mom gets hired to help out in the kitchen and your older brother scores a job as a night watchman.

Coco Loco founds a community development focused non-profit called Waves of Hope to improve the lives of the community they’ve fallen in love with. Volunteers come down from the US and Canada, girls with big smiles that spend mornings in the little school helping the one teacher that is assigned to teach three grades at once. In the afternoons they organize soccer games on the Coco Loco field, do art projects, and teach English. On Saturdays any kid that has attended classes Monday – Friday gets to borrow a surfboard and feel the joy of riding a wave.

Suddenly, there’s a lot of incentive to go to school. Attendance skyrockets. The tiny two room school house is no longer big enough.

Then Waves Of Hope announces that it will build a new school room for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. But we need your help!

The new classroom will cost $9,000 to build. You can help by donating to Waves of Hope. Every little bit helps.
Email [email protected] or [email protected] for more info on how you can make a difference and help kids go to school!

Ako Matsuzaki’s Thank You Letter

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To Suave Dulce,

I just wanted to quickly pop in say a huge – and I mean HUGE thank you for a making my first trip to Nicaragua a trip I will never forget. What a treat it was to be able to wake up to the sound of the waves, not to mention the natural alarm clock of the birds outside. The past two days, I have opened my eyes to only see concrete walls of my apartment and to the sound of cars. Yes, hot showers and flushing toilets are nice (though I’ve found myself hesitating to flush – ha) but for a lack of better word, being back home has royally SUCKED ASS.

Even though I’m still just a beginner, surfing has taught me so much about life in general; every wave is different and so I need to be flexible and adjust accordingly. The harder I fight things, sometimes the more difficult it gets – and even if I fall, all I need to do is just get right back up on my board because there is always another wave waiting for me. I may get tumbled under water and have no idea what’s happening, but if I just stop and take a moment to surrender, eventually – and naturally, I will find my way up and it’s all going to be okay.

What made this trip even more memorable was to be able to see all the “GOOD” that el Coco Loco and Waves of Hope are doing for the local community. I have walked away from this trip not only feeling touched – but truly inspired by the amazing work and love they are giving back and hope that one day, when I get my “big girl job” back, that I will be able to due my part in making a difference, even if it is to help one little boy or girl at a time. With that said, I will do my best to spread the word about Waves of Hope to my friends and family as well as your camp – but will also be sure to be slightly selective so I don’t crowd the secret and perfect surf spot you have found on the map 🙂

Thank you again for allowing me to have an amazing opportunity to see the world and learn through surfing – and being an awesome & inspiring woman, Holly! I hope this week will be just as much fun as last week and please tell everyone I said hello and I miss them already!

With love, dreams and hopes of making a difference,
Ako

Stacey Jones at Suave Dulce

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Stacey did a lot of research and decided that based on price, location, and activities, Suave Dulce is the best Surf and Yoga Retreat out there! She came with high expectations and was still surprised by how awesome it is.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlKnoBZJeZM]