Culture and Entrepreneurship Culture and Public Policies� Honduras Honduras ��

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CONTEXTAlthough Hondurans produce extremely beautiful handi-crafts, craftworkers are not usually business-minded, whichraised two challenges: firstly, the need to help craftworkers tooptimize their production quality and marketing processes;and secondly, responsibility for promoting the beauty ofHonduran crafts internationally. Training for craftworkers,linking craft improvement to business management, wastherefore proposed under the joint programme. In imple-menting this strategy, handicraft producers who had pre-viously been linked to institutions in the sector were identifiedin order to guarantee the project’s long-term sustainability.

PROCESSThe JP strategy consisted in providing technical and method-ological support in order to improve the craft item, contributeto an increase in production and to higher quality products,devise new working methods, generate new product linesand open up markets (both nationally and internationally)for the sale of those products. As a supportive measure,the “Guide for Training Craft Organizations in ProductDevelopment” was published to assist craftworkers indrawing up their own handicraft development plans. Theguide is used as a methodological instrument by selected craftbusinesses to implement their plans and to improve and raisetheir productivity. In addition, training workshops wereheld for trainers in various parts of the country, involving keysectoral stakeholders (craftworkers, associations and membersof NGOs). The workshops facilitated experiential exchangesamong the participants, elucidated the methodologycontained in the guide and afforded opportunities to secureindividuals’ and associations’ commitment to implement theguide for a one-year period.

The main beneficiaries have been men and women fromindigenous groups, such as the Lenca, Maya Chorti andGarífuna. It is important to note that the majority (morethan 50%) of the businesses supported are managed byand composed of women craftworkers who produceearthenware, textiles and jewellery. This project’s mostsignificant achievements include: (1) economic andlogistical support for 56 handicraft businesses in thecountry, their associations and eight local institutionalpartners under the technical assistance programmefor applying the steps of the Guide for Training CraftOrganizations in Product Development; (2) the planning,organization and holding of group workshops at thenational level; (3) the signing of a letter of agreementwith the Biological Corridor of the Honduran Caribbean(PROCORREDOR); and (4) the creation of high-qualityhandicraft “collections” as a result of the handicraftrevival. These achievements have contributed to devel-opment of the national handicraft sector.

Implementation of a Guide for Training CraftOrganizations in Product Development

CULTURE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP • HONDURAS�

The majority (morethan 50%) of the businesses supportedare managed by andcomposed of womencraftworkers.

© Yovanny Argueta

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CONTEXTThe decentralization of culture in Honduras began in 2008,on the initiative of the Department of Culture, Arts and Sports(DCAS), which supported the establishment of regional cul-tural councils, to which the ministry transferred resources forthe purpose of financing art projects and initiatives carriedout by regional cultural stakeholders. The following regions(1) North A (departments of Cortés and Santa Bárbara), (2)North B (departments of Atlántida, Yoro and Colón), (3) WestA (departments of Copán, Ocotepeque and Lempira), (4)West B (department of Intibucá), (5) South (departments ofCholuteca and Valle), (6) Centre A (departments ofComayagua, La Paz and Francisco Morazán) and (7) East(departments of Olancho and El Paraíso) were thereforeestablished. Later, in 2009, with support provided under thejoint programme, councils were formed in La Mosquita(municipalities of Gracias a Dios) and in Centre B (municipal-ities of Francisco Morazán), and a subdivision of the Centre Aregion was established.

PROCESSThe councils initially took a regional approach, although therewere some municipal representatives. Joint-programmesupport was therefore provided for the establishment andstrengthening of municipal cultural councils, which thenbecame the basis for organizing the regional councils. Eachregional council has selected five municipalities in its region,in which citizenship-building action has been taken in thefield of culture. The JP team strengthened those municipali-ties’ technical, administrative and organizational capacities,drawing on specialist advice. The regional and municipal

councils’ capacities were built on the basis of organizationalassessments designed to ascertain the state of the art, identifytheir vision, mission, structure, key allies and links to develop-ment, and draw up an annual capacity-building work plan.Each regional and municipal cultural council now has anannual operational plan (AOP). Lastly, training was provided inthe fields of culture, development and cultural management.

Forty-five municipal cultural calendars were developedfor a ten-year period, with biennial implementationplans. These calendars served as inputs to the eightregional cultural strategies which were, in turn, inte-grated into the national cultural plan. In addition tothese policy tools, the first general law on culture wasdrafted. The cultural councils have demonstrated theircapacity for leadership in decision-making on pro-grammes, budgets, ventures, the establishment of gov-ernment-bus iness-c i t i zen partnerships and theformulation of public policies, all supported by an infor-mation network and a business incubation system. As aresult of the establishment of the cultural councils,Honduras now has a culturally active general public thatis aware of the link between culture and development.

Construction of Active Citizenship around CultureCULTURE AND PUBLIC POLICIES • HONDURAS�

Each regional and municipal cultural council now has an annualoperational plan.

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Culture and Public Policies Culture and Entrepreneurship� Honduras Honduras ��

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CONTEXTThe cultural centres are entities to which cultural policyaction has been decentralized in the departments andmunicipalities of Honduras. Over time, they have becomeproviders of cultural services in their own right, mobiliz-ing local social stakeholders for culture. However, theyhad limited economic resources and their staff had littlemanagement skills. Furthermore, during the JPdesignphase, a problem was identified in the infrastructure ofthe cultural centres. The first JP step was therefore to holda series of training courses for the administrators of thecultural centres, which were also attended by localauthority personnel, council representatives and stafffrom the Cultural Department. Action was then taken, incoordination with sectoral leaders, to improve conditionsin those centres.

PROCESSThe first action taken was to install basic equipment in14 cultural centres, including the headquarters of theregional cultural councils, and to draw up annual opera-tional programmes (AOPs). As the effects of the failure toimplement the AOPs and to use installed equipment tothe full became apparent, it was decided that the workingtools offered should link cultural centres’ resources toother cultural production activities and AOPs. A diagnos-tic review was therefore carried out and it resulted in theprovision of training in sustainable management to thecentres’ staff to ensure that the knowledge was used todesign cultural products and programmes and to incor-porate a cultural-rights approach. That was achievedthrough training modules and workshops. Furthermore,as the beneficiaries had been involved in the use of train-ing tools, their feedback was taken into account in orderto improve those tools. Additional training modules werealso devised on issues relating cultural heritage manage-ment and cultural volunteering.

The situation has improved because the cultural centreshave devised a self-sustainability strategy under whichthey implement a local cultural policy meaningfully,through a programme tailored to the public’s interestsand needs. The cultural centres have used the sustain-ability strategy to optimize joint-programme inputs, inturn creating new resources for the development of theircultural programmes. Specific noteworthy outcomesinclude non-formal training modules that can be repli-cated in other bodies because of their straightforwardlanguage and interpretation.

Strengthening of Cultural CentresCULTURE AND PUBLIC POLICIES • HONDURAS�

The cultural centreshave devised a self-sustainabilitystrategy under which they implement a local cultural policy meaningfully.

© UNESCO/Antena proyecto cultura F-ODM, Honduras

CONTEXTThe JP team identified Celán Goldón Aguilar, a sugar caneproducer in Taulabé, president of Cooperativa de Productoresde Caña Taulabé Ltda (the cane producers’ cooperative) andpromoter of ecological practices and technologies in thecommunity, as a potential beneficiary. It was noted thatMr Goldón’s environmental philosophy had not beenaccepted by the other members of the cooperative, whichprevented him from doing business in accordance with hisvalues. Joint-programme support was therefore provided forthe conduct of an analysis of his initiative, which proved tobe particularly relevant from an ecological and sociallyresponsible standpoint. This Honduran entrepreneur wished,in particular, to have the burning of tyres eliminated from thecane-sugar production process and be replaced by an envi-ronmentally friendly process. Thus, with the specializedtechnical support provided under the JP, he secured the enact-ment of a municipal by-law prohibiting the burning of tyres,which is a highly polluting activity. However, after the by-lawwas passed, Mr Goldón encountered new problems, bothpersonally and professionally – his mill was burnt down, helost market share and had no legal backing.

PROCESSThe JP team decided to back the creation of a family businesswhen it saw that the other members of the cooperative had notonly rejected Mr Goldón’s ecological proposal, but also disap-proved of the use of new technology; it took into considerationthe potential impact of the productive activity, the backing pro-vided by the University of Vermont, the commitment and supportof Mr Goldón’s wife and children and Mr Goldón’s own deter-mination. That marked the advent of the company “El Trapiche”,which received technical and legal assistance under the jointprogramme, and collaborated in a committed and participatorymanner in each of the meetings scheduled. The first step was todraw up an organizational chart, comprising Mr Goldón, hiswife and their three children. Then, each member’s concernsand opinions regarding the company’s name, the design of thebrand, process documentation, the preparation SWOT analysesand action plans were taken into account.

Owing to JP support, “El Trapiche” has managed to placeits product in a leading supermarket chain and has there-fore increased its output considerably through year-roundproduction. Moreover, it has had a multiplier effect, asanother producer has joined the initiative and works withthe family to meet larger orders, using Mr Goldón’s eco-logical technology. The company’s income is now higherand steadier, which has made it possible to carry outimprovements to the mill and raise the quality of theproduct. In addition, a new product created by Mr Goldón(the “easy break”) is being patented, which will increasesupport for and the security of this family undertaking.

Don Goldón’s “El Trapiche” Business VentureCULTURE AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP • HONDURAS�

The company's income is now higherand steadier, which has made it possible to make improvementsto the mill and raisethe quality of the product.

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© Yovanny Argueta

Culture and Social Cohesion Culture and Entrepreneurship� Honduras Nicaragua ��

Cultural Volunteering in HondurasCULTURE AND SOCIAL COHESION • HONDURAS�

There are eight groups of cultural volunteers, one ineach of Honduras'regions, which havestrategic plans and an average of 20 volunteers.

CONTEXTIn Honduras, there were already volunteers who dedicatedtheir time to sharing their country’s arts and culture with oth-ers, but they did so sporadically, as a guitar teacher, photog-rapher or dance teacher, for example. In this context, thechallenge taken up under the JP consisted in organizing thosecultural volunteers into groups and networks in the country’seight regions, namely North A, North B, West A, West B,South, Centre A, East and La Mosquita. However, inaddition to specific profile or age considerations, emphasiswas laid in the volunteer selection process on people keento enhance the communities’ cultural activities, withoutexpecting any financial compensation in return.

PROCESSEight field technicians (volunteer coordinators) were taskedwith recruiting, organizing and consolidating the groups ofparticipants. They began by giving talks and holding workshopsat various venues (education centres, organizations, etc.) inorder to raise awareness of the value of cultural volunteeringand find out people’s concerns on the subject. Once formed,small groups of volunteers were trained by the technicians, andspecific responsibilities were assigned to each volunteer.Various kinds of cultural activity, organized either on their owninitiative or by the municipality, were then initiated. The aims ofthose activities were to raise the visibility of culture and attractmore cultural volunteers to the network. During programmeexecution, exchanges were organized among participants andthe following activities were conducted: 1) design of a logo toidentify the network at the national level; (2) drafting of avolunteering, culture and development training andmethodology handbook; (3) publicity and promotion of thework of the cultural volunteers both in traditional and in

alternative media (television, print media, bulletins andsocial networks, among others), before and after eachactivity; (4) involvement of public and private sector institu-tions; (5) fundraising for cultural activities; and (6) ongoingrecruitment of cultural volunteers, as volunteers’ commit-ment may fluctuate for various reasons relating to venues,work, studies, private life, illness and time constraints.

There are now eight groups of cultural volunteers,one in each of the countr y’s regions, which havestrategic plans and an average of 20 volunteers.These volunteers have been trained and carry out intheir municipalities cultural and artistic activitiessuch as photograph exhibitions, recreation days,c u l t u r a l a f t e r n o o n s , p l a y s , l i t e r a t u r e a n d p o e t r yworkshops, murals, environment days, festivities tomark the national identity day, traditional danceevenings, drawing competitions, puppet shows andtraditional-games festivals. The network of volunteersthus contributes to the visibility and promotion ofnational culture.

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