Honduras
Rural Construction program
Honduras is a country rich in natural resources, biodiversity and cultural heritage. With more than half of its population under the age of 19, it is also a young country. Honduras is the 3rd poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. For instance, 72% of Hondurans can’t afford the basic food basket to meet their dietary needs. The main sources of income for the country are remittances from Hondurans living overseas, agriculture and garment manufacturing (3rd largest sector in the world).
All these sectors were hurt by the recent economic downturn. Almost a 1/3 of all Hondurans are unemployed, forcing many people to migrate to find work and opportunity. Honduras sits on one of the regions of the world most vulnerable to climate change; this threatens its future ability to meet its food needs.
World Accord’s partner, PRR works primarily with farming families in the mountain region around Lake Yojoa, a region of critical ecological value in the centre of Honduras. Most of these families practice subsistence agriculture – using traditional methods to grow corn and beans. Lack of access to land remains a major barrier to moving out of poverty for them like for most rural Hondurans.
The best land is used to grow export crops like bananas and palm oil, and provides little net benefit to the broader population. Poor growing conditions and the increased cost of seeds and fertilizers have made it harder for these families to meet their basic needs. PRR works with a rural family that earns an income of approximately $4 to $5 per day.
[table id=1 /]
[wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]
PARTNER PROFILE
PRR – Rural Reconstruction Program
PRR is a Honduran non-profit organization devoted to promoting rural community development. Founded in 1983, it works in four key areas: Economic Development, Community Organizing, Education and Health.
• Credo
• Go to the people
• Live among them
• Learn from them
• Plan with them
• Work with them
• Start with what they know
• Build on what they have
• Teach by showing
• Learn by doing
• Not a showcase but a pattern
• Not odds and ends but a system
• Not piecemeal but an integrated approach
• Not to conform but to transform
• Not relief but release
Mission
PRR contributes to the integrated development of rural families by mobilizing local people and resources to strengthen communities, and improve agricultural production, education and health so that local people will own and lead their own development process.
Location
Central Honduras: Departments of Comayagua and Santa Barbara
[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]
PROGRAM
Agriculture & Economic Development:
PRR helps farming families improve their diets and incomes by providing training, technical support and access to seeds, fertilizers, credits and other inputs to help them grow more healthy, plentiful and varied food.
PRR promotes sustainability by helping farmers adopt organic agriculture, reforestation, and soil and water conservation practices. PRR also works with local governments and national farmer networks to help protect Honduras’ rich biodiversity, and to promote strategies to help communities adapt to climate change.
PRR works alongside farmers to help them develop crop varieties that are more resilient to climate change, and to establish seed banks to make it easier to share these and to recover after natural disasters. PRR provides access to wood-saving stoves, grain storage silos and other technologies to improve conservation and family nutrition.
Community Organizing:
PRR helps farmers organize local groups to work together to improve agricultural production and livelihoods. These groups contribute to broader rural development by sharing knowledge and seeds, by securing projects and infrastructure for their communities, and by creating small businesses and employment for others.
Education:
PRR equips rural families to run their farms through training in basic literacy, finance, and project management. PRR also supports basic education for all: it provides subsidies and scholarships to about 200 children and youth annually, and with the help of Canadian volunteers, builds schools and educational centres in under-served rural communities.
[/wpcol_1half_end]
[wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]
[widgets_on_pages id=2]
[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]
Young people are usually forced to emigrate to find work. But Jose emphasized that their group’s vision for development and change includes
their neighbours as well. For instance, the group now hires its own farm labourers, but treats them much better than they were themselves. Their workers earn about $6 per day, and are provided with meals to keep them strong. They have built a small house on the property to store seeds and for their workers to take lunch. Last year they even provided about 3,500 lbs. of beans for seed to the south of Honduras to help people recover from a devastating flood.
Every month Jose’s group also makes time to invite other farmers to share their knowledge and experience with them. It is trying to encourage other to follow a similar process. Their visitors come from as far away as Norway, Africa and Cuba who come to learn from their experience. The Sowers of Hope group provides an example of how people living in poverty can transform their lives a a lot of hard work and faith in each other, and a little help and good luck.
[/wpcol_1half_end]
[wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]
[slideshow id=1][/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]
GALLERY INFORMATION
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer blandit mauris pulvinar purus gravida ac malesuada magna viverra. Nunc mollis ipsum at nulla congue tincidunt. Maecenas diam neque, tincidunt hendrerit gravida volutpat, pulvinar vitae leo.
Integer non lacus lacus, eu pretium massa. Mauris malesuada ante sit amet urna venenatis nec consectetur augue porta. In bibendum vehicula libero, at commodo nisl convallis id. Proin vitae eros nunc. Integer fermentum aliquet magna, dictum commodo lacus venenatis et. Aenean vel elit justo, a blandit.
Integer non lacus lacus, eu pretium massa. Mauris malesuada ante sit amet urna venenatis nec consectetur augue porta. In bibendum vehicula libero, at commodo nisl convallis id. Proin vitae eros nunc. Integer fermentum.[/wpcol_1half_end]