The Family Economic Reactivation Program

Food Security in Honduras

Food security has been an ongoing challenge for the people of Honduras. High levels of unemployment, inequality, and insufficient education compound the problems facing rural populations, such as water shortages and malnutrition. These factors are responsible for Honduras’ low ranking in the Human Development Index, 115th of 177 countries. A large share of the population participates in agricultural activities, although production has been mostly limited to cash crops for export. These exports are unstable sources of income due to fluctuating world prices and frequent natural disasters, such as Hurricane Mitch, which devastated the country in 1998, and on-going regional droughts.

To improve the plight of the poor, development in Honduras has focused on increasing per capita income while reducing unemployment. Economic development initiatives and education programs aspire to stabilize food security through the diversification of local agricultural production. This is achieved by educating farmers about environmentally and economically sustainable practices while providing access to start-up capital and micro-credit, and is reinforced by a holistic approach to poverty reduction.

The Family Economic Reactivation Program ("The Birds and Bees")

Stabilizing Food Security

The Family Economic Reactivation Program began as a two year collaboration between World Accord and the internationally recognized Honduran charitable organization, Proyecto Aldea Global (PAG). The objective of this economic development initiative was to “empower families to reduce poverty and build just, peaceful and productive communities” in the region of Meambar, Comayagua Department, Honduras. This was to be achieved through a multi-faceted introduction to small animal, bird, and honey bee farming, which earned the project its nickname, “The Birds and Bees”.

Nutrition Education

• Open educational programs taught 120 families (approximately 360 people) how to prepare nutritionally balanced meals using locally produced foods, with an emphasis on the nutrition of children under the age of 5
• Families learned to cook five different balanced meals, emphasizing preparation methods of the newly introduced products of the small animal and bird program

Small Animal and Bird Program

The small animal and bird program organized families into solidarity groups, which determined the appropriate type of small animal project according to the potential of their zone, the availability of resources, and the needs and preferences of the families involved. These solidarity groups were responsible for the management and reproduction of the stock. Practical training included:

• Construction of the appropriate enclosures for the correct management of pigs, chickens, fish, honey bees, and goats
• Establishing 61 plots of land to produce prime material for animal feed on site, thus effectively reducing production costs of animal farming and fostering self-sustainability
• Courses on the proper application of vitamins, treatment of external and internal parasites, knowledge of local nutritional supplements, and disease identification of each respective livestock
• Education on product commercialization to increase product value and thus increase family income and, subsequently, food security

The thorough training of participants, combined with the locally befitting choice of livestock, means that the successes of the Birds and Bees project can be sustainable in the long term, as are the benefits to the community!

Marketing Program

The Birds and Bees program included the organization and development of two marketing fairs, at which the families sold their agricultural products, live animals, handcrafts, as well as the typical foods of the community. Participants benefited from the fairs by increasing their networks and establishing markets for their new products, and so ensured the stability of their new farming projects and family incomes.

Project Successes

• From March 2006 until March 2008, 120 families organized themselves into successful solidarity groups which are now saving between US$40.00-80.00 per month from the revenues of their small animal and bird projects, to be reinvested where needed, or to fall back on during scarcer periods
• These savings, and the nutritional benefits derived from these new small animal and bird projects, represent a new level of food security for these 120 families
• As the various animals multiply, the solidarity groups will select a new round of 120 families to receive a set of offspring and begin training, and so the community becomes its own engine of growth and stability which will continue indefinitely