Casa Congo comes from the words “Casa” (home) + “Congo” (local howler monkey).

In 2017, an international team of scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs followed their Nicaraguan friend to El Astillero, a small fishing village near the Chacocente Wildlife Refuge. This region, rich in biodiversity, also faces serious challenges: poverty, plastic pollution, deforestation, seasonal flooding, and illegal poaching of turtle eggs.

To catalyze systemic change, we founded Casa Congo — a sustainability hub designed to incubate social enterprises that promote both economic development and environmental restoration.

Since its inception, Casa Congo has positively impacted thousands of lives in Nicaragua. We've launched four community-run social businesses, each independently operated by local leaders. Our multidisciplinary approach — blending ecology, design, education, and entrepreneurship — has proven that vulnerable communities can become the protagonists of their own development, without relying on long-term foreign aid.

Today, our mission continues: to scale community capacity-building across Nicaragua and other regions of Latin America, empowering people to regenerate their environment and strengthen economies from within.

Our Community Partners

Las Flores

Las Flores is a collective of 12 women who run Casa Congo’s agroecology program. Their goals are to involve more apprentices and replicate elements of Casa Congo’s agroecology center throughout the area. Las Flores' activities include managing the seed bank, creating community gardens, rainwater collection and gray water filtration systems, as well as other green infrastructure projects that build healthy soil and create a diverse forest system.

Las Tejedoras

Las Tejedoras, "The Weavers", are a collective of 17 women in El Astillero who transform recycled plastic bags into artworks and fashion accessories. Their motto is "1 bolsa meno, 1 tortuga mas" (1 less plastic bag, 1 more turtle). Casa Congo is supporting the growth of their social enterprise by providing seed funding, operational training, product design and developing a global marketplace to showcase their talent.

La Brigada Ecologica

The Brigada Ecologica is a team of young environmentalists who attend Casa Congo after-school activities to inspire their community and protect the environment. The group focuses on research projects and preservation of natural resources of Chacocente. They have fun hiking in the field, bird watching, collecting plant specimens and making products with recycled plastic. They support MARENA in the operation of a sea turtle nursery.

Construyendo Sueños

The “building dreams team” was formed in 2021/2022 during the KuNa bamboo social housing project. Following the training program facilitated by Colombian bamboo experts, El Astillero now has a team of 12 skilled bamboo carpenters and a community managed workshop, where Casa Congo trains local apprentices and fabricates furniture and building components.

Surf Club

El Astillero surf club is home to incredibly talented young shredders. Casa Congo partners with the surf club to provide weekly surf lessons to local children coupled with ocean advocacy activities such as beach cleanups or marine biology education. Twice a year, Casa Congo sponsors tournaments for local surfers to compete for national medals.

La Escuela

El Astillero has a standard public school for children age 6 to 16. Casa Congo provides alternative learning modules and after school activities for parents who would like their children to learn more about sustainability from a young age.

Finca Bonanza

Located in Tapalguas, Chontales, Finca Bonanza is a 100 hectare bamboo plantation managed by a collective of small holder farmers led by Dona Rita. This is where Casa Congo procures Guadua bamboo poles for social housing and other bioconstruction activities.

La Cancha

La Cancha is where the pueblo of El Astillero gathers for events, creative manifestations, baseball or soccer games and festivities. Our community development program is defined through an ongoing participatory design process, to ensure alignment with the core of local community priorities.

Los Pescadores

El Astillero is a fishing town where the main source of income and local food is fish. Casa Congo partners with local fishermen in ocean advocacy projects, including marine turtle protection and scientific research activities.