What are they smoking in Nicaragua?
12 March 2011 at 11:26 karenhansengray 5 comments
Every morning in Esteli, Nicaragua, a siren goes off at 6am, calling hundreds of factory workers to start their day, making some of the finest cigars in the world.
Juan Carlos is a Kiva borrower. He grows tobacco for making cigars.
First, the tobacco leaves are fluffed during drying to release heat and moisture.
Then, the leaves are flattened, cleaned, and misted to make them malleable.
Next, the leaves are rolled into a cigar by hand.
The cigars are checked on the "Drawmaster" which is a vacuum, that tests ease of inhalation.
There are over 40 types of cigars, "Torpedoes" being the most formidable, in my opinion.
Cigars are sorted by size, color, and quality.
Boxes are made. Cedar-lined being the best.
The finished product.
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-Karen Gray, Kiva Fellow 14, in Nicaragua
Entry filed under: KF14 (Kiva Fellows 14th Class), Nicaragua. Tags: .
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3. Kieran Ball | 14 March 2011 at 01:52
Really interesting photos, thank you. How are you enjoying Esteli? I stayed there for a month a few years back helping out at a school. Is there still just that one disco there?
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5. Karen | 14 March 2011 at 15:29
I love Esteli. The people are very friendly, and the countryside is beautiful. As far as discos are concerned, I can only judge by the pumping beat I hear on Saturday nights, but there’s probably more than one these days.
Thank you for the comment.