Building Beyond the Harvest
After Tropical Storm Sara impacted southern Honduras in late 2024, Doña Concepción feared she would not survive the next heavy rain. As a 71-year-old widow and mother of three, she had depended on susbsistence farming and occasional support from neighbors over the years. Like many women in Honduras’ Dry Corridor, she faced a daily reality defined by drought, isolation, and food insecurity.
Her adobe home, already severely deteriorated, had partly collapsed during the storm. With a leaky roof and cracked walls, she recalled, “At night when it rained or the wind got strong, I could not sleep. I thought the roof would fall on me.”
When local partner, CODESO, started accompanying her community through the program, they did not provide direct housing support. However, they did help establish community agricultural savings groups, known locally as Cajas Agrícolas. Through her faithful participation, Doña Concepción found an unexpected pathway toward safety and dignity.
Through the savings groups, participants gradually built collective savings and gained access to small loans. Families who once depended on exploitative lenders or seasonal migration began managing their own local financial systems. Members saved consistently, repaid loans, and reinvested in each other, deepening trust over time. Integrated with agricultural training, these groups helped farming families improve their harvests. Families are producing more diverse crops, storing seeds, accessing local credit, and reducing dependence on predatory lenders.
When her housing situation became critical, Doña Concepción applied for a loan of 20,000 Honduran Lempiras (about $750) and it was approved by the group. Not only that, but members of the group began to mobilize to help her. Neighbors provided lumber, offered labor, and eventually a new home began to take shape. Today, Doña Concepción sits outside her rebuilt home under a solid metal roof, protected from the rains she once feared.
While the Honduras Orocuina & Liure program focuses on food security, agricultural diversification and livelihoods, communities leverage the tools and skills they gain to solve broader problems from within. Stories like Doña Concepción’s reveal the real impact beyond the harvest: reduced fear, restored dignity, and neighbors building a hopeful future together.
Honduras Orocuina & Liure is led by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and local partner Comité de Acción Social (CODESO)