Nicaragua is one of the ideal places to learn Yoga. With the increasing popularity of Yoga and meditation in the world, more and more practitioners are looking to deepen their knowledge of the practices or even act as a Yoga teacher. And if you submit to your first training course to be a Yoga teacher it is a great investment – both financial and time consuming. It can be a wonderfully transformative experience, but it is worth doing some research and thinking about what type of training program is more in accordance with your needs. In this article, we will contemplate some important factors that you should take into account when choosing a training course to be a Yoga teacher: Should I study with a local teacher or travel to do a training with a recognized teacher? – Give a class and give a training course in Yoga is not...
Category: News
Bmeaningful: Ben Connor. Co-Owner.
Like many of the Purple Sheep we interview, Ben Connor, a co-owner of Coco Loco Resort in Nicaragua, shrugged at the suggestion he had to choose between meaningful work and earning a paycheque. The well travelled Connor joined a group of social entrepreneurs in developing the resort that is deeply embedded in the local community. Not only is Coco Loco Resort the biggest employer in its community, but it also offers its guests the unique experience of volunteering in the community through its Waves of Hope non-profit. Guests get an experience unlike no other and they walkaway with a feeling of accomplishment to take with them on their trip home. WHAT DOES YOUR JOB ENTAIL INCLUDING WHAT A TYPICAL DAY MIGHT BE LIKE? The role as an owner at Coco Loco Resort can often require dynamic approaches to a multitude of different situations and that can make a typical day not always so typical. Organization,...Continue reading
Mixing ecotourism and charity
Originally posted at: http://www.uottawa.ca/tabaret/en/content/mixing-ecotourism-and-charity By Linda Scales Published Tuesday December 15, 2015 Their story could be a Disney movie: three handsome lads sharing a dream and achieving it against all odds. Except this is not the Enchanted Forest. It’s northern Nicaragua. Alumni Jamie Collum (BCom ʼ03), Earl Cahill (BSocSc [Criminology] ʼ01) and Ben Orton (who attended the Telfer School of Management) were travelling together through Central America when they fell in love with Nicaragua and wanted to stay. They started making plans to build a backpacker hostel near Chinandega, along northern Nicaragua’s west coast. Today, Collum, Orton and Cahill are the owners and hands-on managers of El Coco Loco Resort, a community-focussed eco-resort located near Chinandega, and founders of the associated Canadian-based charity, Waves of Hope. It’s fair to say that Collum, Orton and Cahill’s early challenges in Nicaragua were immense. To start with, none of them spoke Spanish. ...Continue reading
Discover an Eco-Friendly Resort in a Gorgeous Location Where You Make a Difference
Broadcast on July 23, 2015 through Inner Revolutionary Radio. Listen at Inner Revolutionary Radio. Discover an Eco-Friendly Resort in a Gorgeous Location Where You Make a Difference. Let Earl Cahill Inspire You to Become More Daring About YOUR Life! Episode Description Can you enjoy an eco-friendly resort in Central America, surf, do yoga, and at the same time help a local community realize its dreams, including schools and clean water? Plus know that employees are paid a fair wage and are afforded scholarship opportunities? In other words, be on vacation in a developing nation without feeling guilty? In fact, feel great about it? Meet Earl Cahill, co-owner of El Coco Loco in Northern Nicaragua, linked with their nonprofit Waves of Hope. Earl and his friends were students in Canada when they felt inspired by a vision of working and living in a community where they could make a real difference,...
Giving Back with Waves of Hope
Originally posted at No & Yo: Giving Back with Waves of Hope For NO&YO, giving back to the community is a must and is the core of our philosophy. It is especially important to NO&YO’s values that we all may share the joys of what life has to offer while helping to spread a positive impact around the world. And so a portion of proceeds from every single item sold is donated to various charities. In 2013 NO&YO partnered up with Waves of Hope, an organization established by three friends after their backpacking trip to Central America. NO&YO was immediately drawn to the charity because of its passion for helping and improving the quality of life in their community in Nicaragua through strengthening local education and infrastructure. While Waves of Hope is taking on a role of facilitators, the community actually decides on the ideas and concepts of needs and...Continue reading
Nicaragua could be your next yoga retreat destination!
Originally posted at YogaScapes: 10 Best Yoga Retreats in Nicaragua – Nicaragua could be your next yoga retreat destination! Northern Nicaragua Yoga, Surf and Service Retreat Coco Loco Resort A community focused eco-resort in northern Nicaragua, you’ll not only find yoga, surf and paradise here, but you’ll also find community. Coco Loco resort is home to Waves of Hope, a non-profit with a mission of improve the quality of life in their community through strengthening local education, healthcare, and infrastructure. Coco Loco Resort is also home to pro surfer Holly Beck’s women’s surf camp Surf with Amigas, a retreat where adventurous women come together and encourage each other to fulfill their goals, on the board, in the studio and in life.
3 30-Somethings Are Building Up A Community In Nicaragua With ‘Waves Of Hope’
Originally published in the Huffington Post: 3 30-Somethings Are Building Up A Community In Nicaragua With ‘Waves Of Hope’ Many people dream of giving it all up to live on a beach or to help make the world a better place. Earl Cahill managed to do both of those things, all by the age of 36. Cahill, a Kingston, Ont. native, is a co-owner of Nicaragua’s El Coco Loco Eco-Resort, as well as the president of its associated non-profit arm, Waves of Hope. In 2009, he and friends Jamie Collum and Ben Orton opened this vacation spot near Chinandega with one goal: to simplify their lives, while at the same time, working on a project that excited them. The trio had travelled through Guatemala together in 2004 after university, and along the way had unsurprisingly decided they wanted to stay. “We were adventurous and having the time of our...
Changing the lives of Chinandega’s children
Originally published in the Globe and Mail: Changing the lives of Chinandega’s children The donors: Jamie Collum, Ben Orton and Earl Cahill The gift: Creating Waves of Hope The reason: To fund educational and health programs in Nicaragua When Jamie Collum, Ben Orton and Earl Cahill graduated from the University of Ottawa in 2002, they travelled to different parts of the world. A few years later, the friends reunited in Guatemala and spent some time touring Central America. During that trip, they fell in love with Nicaragua and made plans to open a small beach resort near Chinandega, along the country’s west coast. They returned to Canada, drew up a business plan, found jobs and spent several years earning money to pay for the venture. They also decided to start a Canadian charity called Waves of Hope to raise money for children around Chinandega. In 2009, the trio opened El...Continue reading
El Coco Loco Resort, Nicaragua
Originally posted at One Giant Step: El Coco Loco Resort, Nicaragua It’s the story of a place that often holds the most appeal. Much like my infatuation with the Cave Lodge in Northern Thailand, El Coco Loco drew me in with their story of friendship and commitment to a vision. As three Canadian college boys, Jamie, Earl, and Ben travelled together experiencing the world and dreaming of how their lives might turn out. Unsurprisingly there was more than one conversation that ended with ‘Dudes! We should totally open up a place down here!’. Okay, I’m not exactly quoting them here but I’m pretty sure that’s totally how it happened. 😉 What is surprising is that they actually did it! El Coco Loco started out as a barebones backpacker stop along the deserted beaches of Nicaragua and has grown into a warm, friendly retreat for both surfers and yogis...Continue reading