Khaka Creek jungle reserve

It’s not that often you come across something truly inspirational but after just 2 days and a night at Khaka Creek Reserve we were not only informed, enthused and relaxed but also inspired. The commitment of the staff at the reserve showed in both their enthusiasm for the project and the amazing amount of work that has been carried out there. Miguel, the project coordinator and Tito, a forestry guardian and guide welcomed us like friends and brought the project alive for us as they each showed us round and told us about their work.

The reserve is an hour by boat up the river Wawachang from Pearl Lagoon on the Atlantic side of Nicaragua. Agro-forestry school for locals. Accessed only by boat. Trying to stop deforestation in the area through education and job opportunities. Walking between the Reserve and the local village of Pueblo Nuevo. The picture shows the extent of the deforestation and what the Reserve would be like without the project.

Khaka Creek includes around 400 acres of forest and of course a creek called Khaka amongst others. Some parts of the forest are virgin but lots has been replanted by the reserve since it was set up in the late 1990s with funding from Norway and Lichtenstein. The tourism venture, including food, nice big rooms and guided nature treks was started later, in 2006. Flicking through the visitor’s book it was clear the reserve receives tourists regularly from European and Central American countries, Canada and the United States but we were the first English people to make it there, which was surprising but nice too. We think we left a good impression. Hurricane Ida hit the reserve last November. We were in Nicaragua and remember people saying there was a hurricane but it never reached us and we heard no more about it. It was a shock then to walk around the trails of the reserve and see that about 90% of the trees in the reserve had been flattened by some of the fiercest winds to hit the area in many years. On our trip we also saw aid being distributed and encountered people still homeless and living in refuges three months on. Food aid being distributed in Pueblo Nuevo

Considering the scale of the destruction we could hardly believe the many acres of land that had been cleaned, organised and replanted in such a short time. Miguel is an expert at getting people involved in the project, both locals and foreigners. All sorts of people had been there helping and brigades of volunteers were expected to arrive over the coming months. He told us of the day after the hurricane struck, of standing at the top of the brand new observation tower that had miraculously stayed standing while all around it toppled, looking over the dramatically changed forest all around and saying ‘right, how can we start to make this good again?’ We had a lovely time walking the nature trails, which had all been cleared, cabin shelters and bridges repaired. There were good quality information signs all around the trail, written in English, Spanish and Miskito (a local language). Walking on the first day with Miguel we found out loads about the different trees in the areas, which were habitats for monkeys, sloth, birds and insects. We climbed the base of a mighty almond tree with amazing roots. The very tough almond shell. A squirrel had expertly drilled around this one to get the nut. What the squirrel was after - the soft, nutritious almond nut.

We were also shown the Lechevaca (cow's milk) tree which when cut bleeds a creamy sap that tastes sweet and quickly gets very sticky. Miguel told us the sap used to be used in chewing gum production, which is now all made artificially. He has a great plan for producing an all organic, naturally flavoured gum. Once the sap is harvested, a bit of soil rubbed in to the tree will help it to repair itself and carry on growing healthily. The next day, with Tito, we saw lots more of the ongoing reforestation work at the reserve. We were also luckier with the wildlife and managed a close encounter with a beautiful boa stretched out along a branch and a great view of a white faced, cappuccino monkey looking out for fruit.

After Miguel prodded the boa with a stick, it moved pretty quickly into a hole.

Apparently, the day after the hurricane there were many monkeys walking the ground wounded and confused, which did at least enable the team to feed them and get some good photos to help promote the reserve. Sadly, though not surprisingly, we failed to spot a jaguar roaming the trails, but we did get a good look at jaguar poo, which is surely the next best thing. We were also treated to Tito’s lovely poetry and songs about the reserve and the wildlife and one about eating monkeys, which he assures us he doesn’t do any more. It was brilliant to see that, of the funding available, a chunk of it was set aside for covering the costs of groups of local children to visit from surrounding schools, youth projects and Scout packs. Trips out of school rarely happen in state schools in Nicaragua, so the value is huge of bringing children to educate them in caring for the environment, reforestation and local wildlife all while camping in the grounds and having presentation and awards evenings. Some of the groups were filmed and were involved in the filming themselves and we watched some of the evidence of youngsters busy enjoying doing things like planting trees, cleaning land and learning to control forest fires. We visited the on-site primary school that is also funded by the project. It was amusing to find out that over half of the 13 children were Tito’s (all by the same mother which was a pleasant surprise by Nicaraguan standards). The children were very hard at work, getting a good education. They had their own vegetable patch out back producing food for them and the school, as with the whole site was hooked up to a solar power supply. It left a big impression on us seeing all the hard work going on at the reserve, finding out so much about the natural life of the forest in that area and seeing the forest struggling back to life after the devastation of the hurricane. But considering our own plans and ambitions for the future, the real inspiration was in witnessing first-hand that when a project is done well and with enthusiasm and inspiration, it can be so successful and make such a difference to the environment, the local community and to all the people who visit it.This plant is known locally as 'Whore's Lips'. We don't know its Latin name. It's the dry season at the moment and a good job too, because in the rainy season this swamp is filled with crocodiles. The exoskeleton of a type of locust. After many years under ground, it crawls out into the open in this form and attaches itself to some nearby wood. There it sits for a couple of days before bursting out of its own skeleton and flying off in the form of a locust. It leaves behind this shell which would be too heavy to fly in.