El Tololar is severely deforested and dominated by vast peanut fields, which are run by large agricultural firms. They pose many problems to the community:
Economic
Most of the peanut fields are rented by agro-businesses on long-term contracts, which pay Tololar landowners a far-undervalued rate (about $50 per acre annually).
Ecological
Peanuts are harvested right after the last rains and the huge fields are left barren for the following six months. The wind creates powerful dust storms that degrade the soil and pervade people’s houses and lungs.
Health
Peanut growers routinely spray code-red chemicals on their crops, without regard for nearby households or worker exposure. Many of these chemicals are illegal even in Nicaragua, and there are no laws stipulating a minimum spray distance from houses. There is no disguising the damages of this practice – children die every year in Tololar from kidney failure and respiratory infections that are likely linked to pesticides.
Overcoming these problems is not easy, but there are useful steps we can take.
Reforestation helps the situation by creating windbreaks between fields, which calm the dust storms and act as a barrier for pesticides. Combined with drip irrigation systems, trees also help stabilize the soil and make Tololar a more pleasant, healthier and shadier place to live.