Empowering Individuals in the Global Community Through Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs

Whole Planet Foundation supports entrepreneurs in the developing world by partnering with local microfinance institutions (MFIs) that offer small business loans to the very poor. In Honduras, we are partnered with Adelante Foundation in the provinces of Choluteca, Atlántida and Colon. We recently traveled to Honduras and met with borrowers we support in their homes to talk with them about their experience with microcredit and to see the tangible impact it is having on their lives. Below are stories of the women we met.

Borrowers in the Caribbean Coastal Village of Guadalupe (Honduras)

We recently traveled to the northern coast of Honduras and visited four of the borrowers we support in the Garifuna community of Guadalupe. Each woman invited us into her home, showed us her business and talked to us about her experience with microcredit. See their stories below and watch their video.

Loading Photo-Story
Whole Planet Foundation empowers people in developing countries around the world through microcredit. In Honduras, we are partnered with Adelante Foundation, We recently traveled to the northern coast of Honduras and visited four of the borrowers we support in the Garifuna community of Guadalupe The Garifuna people have existed along the Caribbean coast of Central America for hundreds of years Historically, they have been excluded from conventional banking services Each woman invited us into her home, showed us her business and talked to us about her experience with microcredit We first visited the home of Carmen Castillo Carmen has used her loans to buy greater quantities of products The recent increase in costs of basic foods such as flour and corn, however, has caused her business to suffer greatly She has had to compensate by raising her prices which is hard on her clientele who depend on these products as staples in their diet Despite this great challenge, Carmen and her mother work every day of the week from 7am to 7pm, dedicated to growing a profitable business Ana Ramirez sells fresh seafood caught by local fisherman and is known as the best seafood chef in town Before her loan, Ana was only able to buy 20 pounds of seafood at a time. She can now buy 100 pounds at a time, allowing her to save on overhead costs. Like most microcredit borrowers, Ana is a single mother and her business is the economic foundation for her and her four children Euceria Bernardez runs a bread-making business She makes pan de coco (coconut bread) and pan dulce (sweet bread), both staples of the regional diet Euceria cooks the bread over a fire pit outside of her home Using recipes and techniques she learned from her mother who was also a bread-maker During the day, she also cares for her grandchildren while their mother works in a nearby village The ability to work from home is an advantage of microcredit, allowing women to earn an income while caring for young children Lidia Mejilla also runs a small store out of her home She sells a variety of household items Lidia must sleep in her store to make room for the rest of her family As her business develops, she hopes to build a small kiosk and move her store outside of her home to create more living space for her family Like many poor Hondurans, Lidia’s son fled to the United States to seek work in hopes of sending home capital to support his family Lidia keeps his necklace on the shelf of her store- she waits for him to come home every day The women we met with in Guadalupe are a strong network of support for one another With access to capital, they are growing their businesses and improving their lives through hard work and persistence. By investing in necessities such as food, shelter and education for children, they are changing the course of poverty, over time. To date, Whole Planet Foundation has funded over 3,500 entrepreneurs through Adelante Foundation in Honduras with a total of 19,000 borrowers supported through our microlending projects around the world “The poor themselves can create a poverty-free world…all we have to do is free them from the chains that we have put around them.” -Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Laureate and father of microcredit

Whole Planet Foundation Borrower-Inspired Recipes (Honduras)

To all you foodies out there—Whole Planet Foundation and Whole Foods Market's fl@vors have partnered to create ethnic recipes, featuring traditional foods from the regions where the borrowers we support live and work. Taste and share the same foods as our borrowers eat in their daily lives and bring a piece of their reality into your kitchen. Look for a new recipe to be featured quarterly in the fl@vors and Whole Planet Foundation e-newsletters and on our site.

Our Pan de Coco recipe was inspired by Euceria Bernardez, a baker and Whole Planet Foundation supported borrower, who lives in the Caribbean coastal village of Guadalupe, Honduras. Euceria’s pan de coco bread is a regional staple and her bread-making business is the livelihood of her family.


Pan de Coco (Coconut Bread) Recipe

This Honduran staple, which is somewhat like a plump dinner roll, is delicious served alongside a meal of rice, beans and fried plantains. Or enjoy a roll simply with a cup of coffee in the morning or afternoon.

Makes 8

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened finely grated coconut
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 (¼-ounce) package active dry yeast
  • ½ cup warm water
  • 3½ cups flour
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 3 tablespoons butter or vegetable shortening, melted

Put coconut, sugar, yeast and water into a small non-reactive bowl and stir briefly. Set aside until mixture is swollen and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, coconut milk and butter. Using your hands or a wooden spoon, stir until well combined.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting with more flour as necessary, until soft and elastic, 5 to 6 minutes. Form dough into a ball, dust generously all over with flour and transfer to a clean large bowl. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm spot to let rise until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.

Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll each into a ball. Arrange balls of dough on a large greased baking sheet, spacing them 3 to 4 inches apart. Set aside in a warm spot, uncovered, to let rise until doubled in size again, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake bread until deep golden brown and cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm or set aside to let cool to room temperature.

Per serving (about 3oz/96g-wt.): 260 calories (60 from fat), 7g total fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 6g protein, 44g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 2g sugar), 10mg cholesterol, 220mg sodium

For the Pan de Coco (Coconut Bread) recipe and other recipes visit the Whole Foods Market fl@vors site.

Borrowers in the Southern Region of Choluteca (Honduras)

In our recent trip to Honduras, we visited some of the borrowers we support in the southern region of Choluteca, one of the most economically depressed regions of the country. We visited several rural villages where our borrowers live and run their businesses. See their stories below.

Loading Photo-Story
Whole Planet Foundation empowers people in developing countries around the world through microcredit, a banking system for the poor In Honduras, we are partnered with Adelante Foundation, a microfinance institution that offers small, collateral-free business loans to impoverished individuals who do not qualify for conventional banking loans They told us about their experience with microcredit and we saw the tangible impact it is having on their lives We first met with Selina Maradiaga. She sells eggs, home-made tortillas and nacatamales, a traditional Honduran dish, out of her home Selina invested her first loan of 2,500 Lempiras ($132) in firewood and ingredients for making tortillas and nacatamales Selina is resourceful in providing for her business needs She produces her own corn for making tortillas, hiring a farmer twice a year to plant a crop on a rented plot of land She raises chickens in her backyard and sells their eggs-- which also serve as sustinece for her family All of Selina’s seven children must work in order to support the family economically and are unable to attend school She and her husband work diligently to obtain a level of financial stability that will allow their children to study We then visited Maria Aguirre who runs a food stand out of her home Maria showed us her process of making tostadas- Each morning, she begins cooking at 4am in order to have her food ready to go out and sell in the community by 9am Maria has invested her first loan of 1,500 Lempiras ($79) in ingredients for cooking including corn for making tortillas cabbage and sauces She is now producing more food to sell and has increased her profits As her business grows, Maria plans to buy a refrigerator so that she can sell cold drinks along with her food. She also hopes to buy a more comfortable bed and a dresser to store her things. To date, Whole Planet Foundation has funded over 3,500 brave entrepreneurs like Selina and Maria through Adelante Foundation in Honduras with a total of 19,000 borrowers supported through our microlending projects around the world “My greatest challenge has been to change the mindset of people. Mindsets play strange tricks on us... We see things the way our minds have instructed our eyes to see.” -Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Laureate and father of microcredit

Donate Now

Watch Video of Garifuna borrowers in Honduras (4:50)


Euceria Bernardez (bread-maker, inspiration for pan de coco recipe, WPF borrower)

"La ganancia es el pan de cada día"- My salary is our daily bread.

loading image