Micro-Enterprise Efforts

The Central Florida Honduras Commission supports the long term goal of the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras as they move away from the legacy of dependency with a focus on sustainability through the support of micro-enterprise at each parish. Examples include parishes that currently sustain themselves with bakeries, cinder block factories, sewing centers that make saleable goods and the resale of water from clean source wells. In the small number of churches where micro-enterprise has been established, the people have gained self-esteem and a sense of worth and value as they’ve been enabled to give back to their church, their families and their community. They are experiencing God’s provision as they step out in faith to do for themselves and others through this never dreamed of before opportunity.

Knowing that sustainable development is participatory and that it cannot succeed unless the people involved actively participate in and support the process, the Commission offers training in Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) .  To the extent possible, participation means involvement of all interest groups in all relevant aspects of developing, identifying, planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluating all development endeavors. This equips people to assume responsibility for their own future and the well-being of the communities of the church.

Financial sustainability is related to the capacity to create long term, not band aid, stability or security for sustainable development initiatives. In the case of income-generating initiatives, clear business plans are critical tools for insuring success.

The Honduran women are very excited with their projects, which are helping their lives by motivating them, giving them hope, enabling them to feel useful, while granting the possibility of covering their needs with the income they make.  They are all very thankful and want to tithe to their churches, because they know it is the Lord who has brought this hope to empower them to be successful women.

God’s Grace Linens is a micro-enterprise where the women are working toward becoming self-sufficient by using their gifts of needlework to make exquisite altar linens at reasonable prices for worship in the North American churches.