The Sister Islands Association helps with a wide range of community projects on Ometepe. These projects are always initiated by groups on Ometepe, not Bainbridge, and they involve people on both islands. Working together, we learn about each other and derive mutual benefit. We are non-partisan and non-sectarian.
Our Projects Committee responds to funding requests that are outside the purview of other Sister Islands’ committees. The committee reviews the proposals to make sure they are important to the community, rather than individuals, and that the community is also making an investment of time and energy as a counterpart to our funding. In this way, we stand together as equal partners in carrying out the project.
What we do
Muscling the boulder up and out
Among recent projects, we supported the community of Las Cochillas by purchasing materials to build a two-unit bathroom for a community center. The community joined in the hard work of excavating a pit and lifting out a huge boulder by hand, then lining the excavation with concrete-block walls, and building a structure above it. Painted blue, it’s a welcome addition to the nearby building, which the community uses for a variety of purposes, including hosting visiting health care providers.
Building the foundation
The center’s new bathrooms
Another recent project supported the community of Merida in expanding and improving its water system. Merida is among the communities that have been receiving clean water from springs high up on the mountainside, thanks to projects that the Sister Islands Association supported decades ago. Merida’s system needed repairs and expansion because of growth in the community. Ometepe high school students helped lug new piping up the mountainside.
We also encourage community projects that coincide with our annual student delegations, allowing Bainbridge students to help with the work. In 2025 , students who stayed with families in Balgue did some of the strenuous work of carrying pipes and other materials up to a construction crew building a new filter system for the community’s water supply. The Sister Islands Association purchased some of the materials, and the community supplied the rest and much of the labor. The filter consists of three concrete boxes filled with sand. Water flows through each box, becoming progressively cleaner until it finally flows out into a pipe that carries water downhill to the community.
How to get involved
Diane Jennings heads this committee. If you would like to become involved, please use this form to contact her.