We had the good fortune of connecting with Katie Hunt Damian Bristow and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Katie Hunt, is there something you believe many others might not?
Going to College equates to success in the Business world. Success in business requires a combination of life skills which can’t necessarily be learned or captured by academic performance alone.

Neither of us went to University/College, individually embracing entrepreneurism and starting our own businesses from the ages of 17.
We both went on to completely change our trajectory and end up as Captain and Chef, (from Building Contractor and Event Planner respectively) on Super Yachts for over 1o years which is how we met.

We went on to set up our home and business life in Nicaragua, both agreeing that the whole notion of business being only about making money and reaching profit margins was not our primary focus or goal.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Our primary focus when imagining Mandla was first and foremost to have a positive impact on the community, contributing to social causes, and improving the lives of our employees. In a small town where the primary income is fishing, poverty rates are high and people live simply, usually with dirt floors and sometimes only PVC plastic for walls.

Whilst profitability is obviously important for sustainability and growth, our staff have always been our number 1 priority in all decisions made for the business. We have had the same team since we opened, and through the high and lows of running a business in a 3rd world country and Covid, we’ve all supported each other and no one was let go in difficult times.

Over the last 6 years we have designed and constructed 5 hotels and houses. Damian has project managed and built everything with a local team that he trained from fishermen. They’ve learnt invaluable skills,as has he, and they have subsequently improved their own houses through better knowledge of building.

Katie founded @dogsfromthepueblo, supported by NicaFund to receive donations to run heavily subsidized veterinary neuter, vaccine and cancer clinics, as well as bringing a weekly vet in to assist the people of EL Transito. Many people don’t have access to transport and with an average income of $200 per month veterinary aid is sometimes impossible.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We start the mornings with coffee up at our new farm, surrounded by horses, all the dogs and chickens everywhere! Most days will include a couple of hours in the surf, a little afternoon siesta, a sunset gallop on the beach.
Every morning the fisherman come in with their catch, so its fun to pick out fresh fish to put on the Parilla in the evening.

Taking our boat out through the surf to get to nearby estuaries where we wake board and fish is one of our favorite days out and usually followed up by dinner at the beach sipping on Margaritas and Pizza, before gearing everyone up to get ready for the next days activity; A trip to Cerro Negro volcano for sand-boarding is an obligatory trip. Bombing down an active volcano at 55mph on a board is a once in a lifetime, exhilarating experience!

As an artist and chef Katie loves to play around and make beautiful unique cocktails to enjoy at sunset whilst reliving fun parts on the day and old memories. We love to host, so a week with us usually includes a lot of dinners with friends from the beach.

Our holidays aren’t the “relaxing” kind necessarily, although we have a pool just steps from the ocean when a chilled day is required, but for the most part, everyones pitching in, laughing a lot and creating epic lifetime memories.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
To the late Glenn Bristow, Damians’ father who instilled great values and a strong moral compass. We contribute our success to living by the lessons learnt from him and giving us the confidence to step outside our comfort zone and always put community first.

Website: www.mandlanicaragua.com

Instagram: @mandla_nicaragua

Other: @dogsfromthepueblo

Image Credits
Carlos Berrios, Oliver Pilcher

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.