This is what happens to your money:

• The central goal of the Mariposa is to provide as much meaningful employment in the local community as possible, we also pay above minimum wages and provide good working conditions. Our average wage bill is between $1500 and $2000 per week (and we only have eight rooms plus the rustic, thatched cabin so you can see how that adds up!). By law, Nicaraguan workers have one month of paid holiday per year and a month's salary as a bonus at Xmas. We also pay 16% of a worker's salary every month to cover their Social Security rights.
  
  
• We pay homestay families $50 per week per student, your Spanish teacher receives $50. Of the $225 paid by students living in homestay and volunteering, a further $50 goes to pay the wages of the worker working alongside you on the farm or in the grounds of the Mariposa. The remainder goes to help pay our overall wage bill - the kitchen staff (7 workers), administrative staff, maintenance staff, the team of 5 workers who look after the horses and the organic farm, the gardener and the two workers employed to look after our rescued animals. Our food bill each week is over $500, partly because we do not shop in the cheaper wholesale stores (which are often not Nicaraguan owned) but in local more expensive family run markets and stores. Our philosophy is to contribute as much as we can to the local economy and so we cannot offer "free" volunteer placements.
  
  
• Whatever money remains after all the above expenses have been paid is invested in repairs and improvements to the Mariposa. We have been open just over 5 years and are now beginning to break even.
  
  
• Furthermore, and with the help of donations, we financially support a number of projects in the community - including building a pre-school area in an impoverished primary school; funding a teacher to help young children especially with reading; purchasing trees and seeds for re-forestation; we also spend a good deal on caring for our ever increasing number of rescued animals and we have other projects in the pipeline as soon as sufficient funding becomes available.
  
  
• Very little of the food we consume is from supermarkets - we buy local, in season produce from local small farmers and in the market. This is more expensive but, again, is more helpful to the local economy.
  
  
• And life in Nicaragua is NOT cheap!! Many Westerners have the idea that "Third World" countries must be cheaper than so-called developed nations - this is just not true. Labour may be cheaper but goods including food and gasoline are actually in many cases more expensive.
  
  
• TIPPING - tipping at the Mariposa is entirely voluntary and much appreciated! You are welcome to tip individual workers but please remember that many workers work behind the scenes and are less visible to guests. They often don't receive any tips at all. Bearing that in mind it is preferable to give an overall tip which can be shared out (once enough money has accumulated) between all the workers.
  
  
• Oh, you also happen to get a very good deal for your money at the Mariposa - but that you can check that out for yourself.
  

• In the eco-hotel, a simple but comfortable room with private bathroom and solar heated shower. Our choza (traditional word for cabin) is built of locally accessed eco-materials - volcanic rock, bamboo and palm thatch (the views are over trees and coffee bushes) and there is an outdoor latrine and warm shower. Homestays are with local families, clean and friendly with basic sanitation (homestays are also welcome to use the Mariposa latrine and shower).
  
  
• All eco-hotel rooms have solar powered lighting and ceiling fans.
  
  
• All eco-hotel rooms have garden view and access to the terraces and gardens.
  
  
• Three freshly cooked Nicaraguan-style meals per day with locally sourced produce, mostly vegetarian. We also serve our own produce whenever available - including free range eggs and organic coffee. Students in homestay generally eat weekday lunch in the Mariposa and breakfast/dinner with their families.
  
  
• 20 hours of formal Spanish classes - grammar and conversation. The classes are mostly one on one, max three students and are held in small classrooms or in the delightful Mariposa grounds.
  
  
• Afternoon and weekend programme of interesting, fun activities/visits designed to get to know Nicaragua and continue to improve your Spanish. Horseriding is also included.
  
  
• Use of the Mariposa library (books in Spanish and English), TV/DVD room.
  
  
• Wireless internet connection
  
  
• We can provide you with a local guide anytime to explore on foot, on horseback, by bus or just to chat in Spanish.
  

• Per person per week (7 nights):           $225
  
  
• Per person per month (4 weeks):         $750
  
  
• This price includes:
  
  
  • Homestay with a local family
    
    
  • 3 meals per day - either with your family or at the Mariposa
    
    
  • 20 hours of Spanish class per week
    
    
  • Organized and supported volunteer placement (see Volunteering for more information)
    
    
• A note on homestays:
  
  
  • the families are all known to La Mariposa, are helpful and friendly but please let us know if there are any problems you cannot resolve within the family.
    
    
  • in relation to security, the family members are trustworthy but please note that other people often pass through houses.
    
    
  • bathroom arrangements are basic (usually latrines and cold water bucket style showers) but clean and perfectly sanitary.