Construction of the new InterOcean Canal will displace over 100,000 Nicaraguans. This series documents the people, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, who will lose their homes, land, or jobs because of the Canal.
Cheryl is a member of the Rama tribe. They will lose their constitutionally protected tribal lands to make way for the Atlantic port of the canal.
The communities surrounding the village of Atlanta, located along Rio Punta Gorda, will be flooded to form an artificial lake for the canal project. Baseball in an intense passion in the region.
During Semana Santa, Nicaraguans living in Rivas province head to beaches. These brothers are selling snacks along the shore of Lake Nicaragua. This property will be turned into a high-end resort, eliminating jobs and a popular place to celebrate Semana Santa
The communities along Rio Punta Gorda use boats to travel between villages as the roads are frequently washed out. The river connects the villages, but will also destroy them as the path of the Canal.
The boys live in a village on Lake Nicaragua, in the Canal development zone. They will be forced to grow up far away from the only friends and community that they have known.
Farmers use Lake Nicaragua to irrigate crops. Over 200,000 people use it for drinking water. It is the largest source of fresh water in Central America. And yet, it could be made turbid if dredged for the Canal project.
The farming village of Rio Grande is one of the many communities that will be forced out for the construction of the Chinese-funded Canal.
Students in Masayon's small 2-room school house, before class one morning. This school will be the bottom of a lake once the canal construction is finished.
In addition to losing their land, many farmers will be forced to sell their livestock at substantially reduced rates as they will not have the funds to move the animals long distances.
Carmen sold goods just outside the ferry landing in San Jorge. These types of opportunities will vanish with the construction of exclusive beach-front resorts.
The beauty found along the route of the canal will be destroyed to maximize profits for a Chinese Billionaire and Nicaragua's President Ortega.
Farmers, like Aquilano, travel to Palo Bonito on Wednesday mornings to sell their dairy products to buyers from the city.
Despite being shallow for a long way out from shore, Semana Santa revelers enjoy the waters of Lake Nicaragua.
Balgue, a small village on the volcanic island Ometepe, has a burgeoning eco-tourism economy. Because the island falls within the "development zone" of the canal, residents could lose their homes despite not being in the canal's path.
Octavio is manually digging a well for his family and his farm.
Public transportation in Nicaragua, old school buses from the US that have been brightly painted. This bus was chartered to take a church to the lake for Semana Santa.
The school in La Flor sits less than 200 yds from the Brito river, the Pacific path in for the Canal project.
Rogergido owns a plantain farm on the shores of Lake Nicaragua. His livelihood and that of his workers will but put in jeopardy if the waters are no longer acceptable for irrigation.