For the first time since 2019, this January I had the chance to visit Central America with our donor partners. The purpose of the trip was to see and explore two contrasting situations. The first was in Guatemala, where we would see the need for our economic empowerment ministry in a country that has not yet begun THRIVE. The second was in Honduras where we would see the solutions in action six years into THRIVE implementation.
It was an excellent trip, so we wanted to share what we saw and experienced with all of you in this month's newsletter.
Enjoy the ride—less turbulence and fewer bumpy roads than we experienced in person!
In focus: An economic empowerment vision trip to Guatemala and Honduras
Guatemala
Monday: Our party of 12 from the U.S. flew into Guatemala around noon. After clearing immigration and customs and meeting our local staff, we headed to our base for a few days—the charming colonial city of Antigua. With a few hours before our dinner meeting with the local staff, we set out to explore the city, stretch our legs, and take in the sights and sounds. We looked into beautiful 18th century courtyards, old churches, and bustling markets. The city is surrounded by three enormous volcanoes—quite a spectacular setting!
The travelers and World Vision staff in the main square of Antigua, Guatemala
That evening we were briefed by World Vision's local staff on our economic empowerment work. We heard presentations about our work with cooperatives and farmers and about our microfinance ministry. We listened as plans for the next seven years were laid out and were excited to get started the next morning.
Tuesday: On our first stop, we visited a coffee farmer on the far side of one of the volcanoes we could see from Antigua. He explained how difficult it is for smallholder farmers to make money growing coffee. Most farmers only grow the coffee and then sell it in bulk. He not only grows high quality coffee beans but adds value and sells them to consumers as roasted, finished coffee. He has developed a good clientele in his small city and all the way to the capital, Guatemala City.
Jorge, coffee shop owner and entrepreneur (left) and Sergio, coffee farmer and roaster (right)
Then he introduced us to another local entrepreneur who had started the first high-quality coffee shop in his city. We tasted his coffee. It was amazing.
We then visited a coffee cooperative which was providing support for its members by dehulling, drying, and processing the raw coffee “cherries,” selling the coffee, and providing disease-resistant, higher producingseedlings to replace diseased or old coffee bushes. It was clear that the cooperative needed more equipment, more members, and more focus on quality.
Finally, we visited a group of rural women in a rather remote community who weave and sew beautiful traditional textiles in order to support their families financially. Their products are beautiful, but they need to reliably access good and profitable markets.
Maria, a member of the women’s textile cooperative, working on her hand weaving
Honduras
Wednesday: Our first visit was to a new rural women’s cooperative that was starting a group-owned business—a farm supply store—a great need in a coffee and farming community without easy access to agricultural inputs and tools. They dream about creating a tourist attraction at the local hot springs. They were just beginning their journey together.
Next, we visited a more mature cooperative that has not only a thriving farm supply store, but also has a water and irrigation supply company, plus a greenhouse growing habanero pepper seedlings that members and others grow to supply the local hot sauce maker. That cooperative has profitable and diversified businesses and is providing good incomes for its members. We also visited the hot sauce company and brought back samples. Zesty! Dinner included a briefing from the local World Vision team.
El Coyol, a famous brand of hot sauce in Honduras
Thursday: The day began with a visit to a coffee cooperative whose progress in lifting its members out of extreme poverty was clear. The cooperative processes coffee from its raw form to export-standard 100-pound sacks. It maintains a strong focus on both improving farmers’ productivity and the quality of the coffee grown and processed. They have valuable export certifications: Fair Trade Europe, Fair Trade USA, and Certified Organic. They employ expert staff, called “cuppers,” who taught our group the techniques of coffee tasting. All of this is summarized by an amazing fact: A traditional coffee farmer now earns $1 per pound of coffee. The cooperative’s farmers earn $4 per pound of coffee. That's a 400% difference!
Raking out the coffee to speed the drying process. This batch includes the outside cherry, which adds flavors to the final roasted coffee. This is appreciated by some buyers and adds to the price the cooperative can get for that coffee.
The cooperative has used some of its profits to create a daycare center where farming families can drop off their children for education, nurture, and great meals while the adults head to the coffee orchards to harvest, cultivate, and fertilize. Now the kids are well cared for during the day, and they no longer need to go to the fields with their parents. We were greatly celebrated by the children!
Outside the daycare center with the children, travelers, and staff
We clearly saw the need and the potential of the World Vision Economic Empowerment Business Plan, and the conclusion of the trip was clear: When the plan is put to use, economic well-being flourishes. You could even say that people begin to THRIVE.
THRIVE farmer's coffee in the U.S.
A Houston-based coffee roaster, District Roasters, has purchased a micro-lot of very high-quality coffee from a THRIVE coffee farmer in Honduras. The farmer is Jose Martin Sarmiento, and his story and his coffee can be found HERE.
In the news
While record rains in California have eased local drought, the Horn of Africa is facing the potential of a record sixth straight failed rainy season. HERE is a link to a recent news story.
New home for the THRIVE dashboard
While our original THRIVE countries finish their work, we continue to track their progress. The website for doing that is HERE, or you can copy it to your favorites from here: https://dashboard.thrive.hn/
Please join us: Praisesand prayer requests
Praise that our economic empowerment teams from around the world met in Arusha in December to work on the Economic Empowerment Business Plan’s detailed implementation plan. All the feedback pointed to an extremely well-run set of meetings with great clarity on next steps for our offices.
Pray for rain in the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya) where the upcoming rainy season may not be a great help to farmers and others desperate for rain.
Pray for the in-country teams as they complete their final preparatory and preliminary steps to roll out the Economic Empowerment Business Plan.