Welcome to the online home of Esteli Innovation. We are an organization dedicated to improving the lives of Nicaraguan citizens through innovation and collective problem solving.

Esteli Innovation is an organization formed at Grand Valley State University. The vision is led by Dr. Paul Lane and Dr. John Farris. Two or three times per year, Dr. Lane and Dr. Farris venture to Nicaragua with 6 to 10 students to focus on several key initiatives. Each trip to Nicaragua has a specific goal. Check out the “student trips” pages for information on each of these adventures.

Esteli Innovation is an umbrella that encompasses several initiatives. Each initiative has a dedicated page. A brief summary of each is below:

1. Student Entrepreneurship: Working with students in local Nicaraguan universities to develop products into businesses. (Explore ideas, educate, build a business, create jobs, improve lives)

2. Drug Runners: With frequent flier mile and monetary donations, Esteli Innovation strives to provide the world’s poorest health clinics with vital medical supplies.

3. Coffee & Ecotourism: Support farmers in the sustainable farming community of Miraflor by purchasing produce and driving business to these small, self-sustaining farms.

4. Water: To create an innovative business model for providing pure drinking water to every Nicaraguan citizen.

5. Healthcare education: To provide GVSU students the opportunity to experience healthcare in a third world setting with clinical experience, naturopathic medicine courses, and immersion in the culture of a rural community.