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USDA Certified Organic Since 2018

    ANDREA WOOLVERTON

    Coffee Day and Sea Turtles? Rescue a Nest with Us!

    Not everything is about coffee here Twin Engine Coffee. Sometimes it is about Turtles! Every year, sea turtles emerge from their solitary sea life to lay their eggs on our Pacific beaches in Nicaragua. They have spent their year migrating 100s or 1,000s of miles. From late August to late October (November for the rare Leatherback) hundreds of mama turtles climb up onto the beach when the moon is bright and lay their egg nests or ‘clutches.’

    Where the Pacific meets the Juan Venado Estuary at Sunset


    What do Twin Engine Coffee and Sea Turtles have in common, you may ask?

    Quite a bit actually. Twin Engine Coffee makes organic specialty coffee at the source in Nicaragua. Day in, day out. We bring our coffees down from the mountains and roast them in León. Then send them to you. Las Peñitas, one of the beaches in our community, about 12 miles from the Twin Engine Coffee Roastery. Here, mama sea turtles are coming nightly to lay their nests and our local community is trying to protect them. This is about as ‘globally local’ as it gets.

    Why are we writing about the Sea Turtles?

    An important question. Aside from being cute enough to melt most hearts (speaking from experience), sea turtle babes are in trouble. Since a strong part of our mission is to connect you to real life at the source & advocate for awareness, we want to tell you about this hyper-local happening, just beyond the coffee mountains.

    And, to ask for your help.

    A mama Turtle laying her eggs

    Beach-side nesting has become dangerous for the eggs. In Nicaragua, a nest of eggs (~120 eggs) fetches more than a few days wages in the local market. The eggs are thought to be an aphrodisiac; often eaten raw with hot sauce for the full effect.

    Hunting sea turtle eggs is illegal in Nicaragua, but there are few resources for enforcement.

    Humans have become the #1 egg predator on our beaches by cleaning out the nests and selling the eggs in in the market [here, snakes seem to be #2]. According to the World Wildlife Fund, 85% of the sea turtle species are threatened or endangered globally. There are about 5 species that lay their eggs on our beach. Most commonly we see Mama Paslama [Lepidochelys olivacea] and a few, rare Mama Leatherbacks [Dermochelys coriacea], the largest turtle in the world.

    It is possible that a world in which sea turtles can not survive may soon become a world in which humans struggle to survive.  --- Sea Turtle Conservancy, Gainesville, FL USA [addition by us: Humans in our local community ARE struggling to survive, which is why the eggs are being hunted.]

    Helping the Mama Turtles

    Would you like to Adopt a Nest?

    We have the capacity to protect many more nests -- as many as funding allows. We are asking for your help. If you would like to be part of protecting this year’s nests, we have set up a nest ‘adoption’ program! This is a great opportunity to play a direct role in sea turtle conservation efforts from wherever you live.

    We expect the babies to return as adults in about 10 years to lay their own eggs. The adoption funds will also contribute to a local education program to inform & discourage turtle egg hunting.

    Adopt now & Share in the Turtle Feel Good!

    Dr. Sandrine, Project Kurma Founder and local naturopath. She has lived in Las Peñitas for more than 20 years and leads private funding efforts for supporting our beautiful Juan Venado Estuary Eco-System.