Honduras’ past, present, and future

Honduras is among the poorest countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the only one ranked lower is Haiti.

What does this mean for the 11 communities in ACTS’ catchment area?

The informal economy

Locally, all transactions are part of the informal economy that includes barter, family labor, day labor, and small businesses like cutting hair, grinding corn, or renting land. This is a cash economy with no bank accounts.

Annually, families have more, or less, money according to the success of the corn and bean harvests. Baseline, they need to harvest enough to feed the family until the next crop is ready. Preferred, is a harvest with surplus to sell for cash to buy supplies over the year. In the worst of times, people eat the seeds intended for planting, leading to malnutrition and the threat of starvation.

Housing

Most families live in houses constructed of homemade adobe bricks with metal screens on the windows and corrugated metal roofs. They cook with wood on stoves made of adobe, or with a store-bought gas range. Some communities have electricity, which is very expensive. Access to potable water is uneven. As of 2026, only the families in El Rosario have access to piped potable water; in the other villages, people rely on spring water which needs to be boiled to be potable. The alternative of purchasing large bottles of purified water is beyond the budget of most villagers.

Instability from weather, drug violence, and politics

For a period of over one hundred and twenty years, the Honduran government – now a democratic constitutional republic – was racked by instability and outside intervention. In the 1980s, Honduras became the hub of U.S. involvement in proxy wars against insurgents in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure. More recently, violence and corruption driven by the demand for illicit drugs in the U.S. has grown to become a major threat to stability, as well as a major impediment to progress in economic and social development.

The current president, Nasry "Tito" Asfura, was elected in 2026 after a close and disputed election. Public corruption and political influence over the courts undermines the rule of law. Recently there has been a modest reduction in homicides, but restriction of civil liberties, extortion and organized-crime violence remain serious concerns nationally.

In El Rosario and the area, the government has relatively little presence. The government does support elementary schools, grades 1-6, but the teachers may go for months without pay. Life goes on, with activities centered on families and neighbors helping neighbors when times get especially tough.

In El Rosario, there is a strong reliance on local leadership and volunteerism. Local committees shape and lead programs with ACTS. Volunteers do manual labor on everything from digging ditches for water pipes, digging holes for new latrines, or organizing community events.

The Locomapa region is remote and has been poorly served

ACTS has been working in the mountainous region of Locomapa in the Department of Yoro for 40 years. Villages are remote, with some only within reach by foot, motorcycle, or on horseback.

Some of the communities are indigenous, and these are often the poorest. Land is held by tribal leadership and often, fertile land is controlled centrally.

While subsistence farming of corn and beans is the livelihood for most people, the economy of some of the indigenous villages is based entirely on the production and sale of charcoal. This is a very dangerous activity involving contact with smoky fires over days and children are often injured. Honduras is a deforested country, and indigenous families walk for days to get to locations with wood to harvest. Once cut and processed, the wood chunks that are made into charcoal are hand-carried over miles by parents and children to meet a buyer with a truck. These people are often the poorest of the poor.

Improvements in El Rosario

ACTS began working with the village of El Rosario in 1986. At that time, the community was very poor. Farming practices were primitive, access to medical care was difficult, potable water was not readily available, and educational opportunities were extremely limited.

Today, El Rosario and the surrounding communities are having modest growth as Hondurans seek what they call “tranquil” settings. The primary occupation is subsistence farming.  The economy goes up and down in relation to the productivity of corn and bean crops, both of which require a reliable supply of rain. During times of drought, nothing will grow. When there is too much rain, seeds, plants, and soil wash away in fierce storms leaving devastating consequences for families counting on the crops for food and, potentially, some profit from selling excess production. ACTS supports farming families in times of disasters with new seeds and immediate food for consumption. To mitigate future damage from rains and improve production, ACTS is helping the farming leadership to learn about and implement regenerative agriculture that will improve soils.

At the center of El Rosario is the Joyce Baker Clinic with its full-time nurse, part-time physician, and part-time dentist. The pharmacy stocks standard pharmaceuticals and special medications for patients with serious illnesses. The Clinic is managed by a local Clinic Committee that works closely with ACTS Health Committee, which provides salary support for the clinicians.

Until recently, there were no educational opportunities in the area beyond grade 6. A survey of adults in El Rosario indicated an average level of a grade 3 education. This severely limited economic opportunities beyond subsistence farming. A partner organization started a secondary school, and ACTS has invested in a broad range of educational programs and facilities. These include a public library, free computer classes, a teen leadership program, major investments in books, improvements at the small village schools surrounding El Rosario, and starting in 2026, the area's first-ever post-secondary degree program in collaboration with the Universidad Tecnológica de Honduras.  

A public water system was established in El Rosario in the 1970's, but over time, lack of maintenance, supplies expertise and money led to unreliable and unpotable water in El Rosario. In 2026, ACTS worked with Honduran partner Agua Pura Para el Mundo to repair and improve the community water system in El Rosario. The availability of potable water in El Rosario is a major improvement, and the utility is now being managed by a re-energized local Water Board.

The surrounding villages

Ten villages in the region of Locomapa, surrounding El Rosario, are part of ACTS' "catchment area". These are small villages, ranging from 50 to 450residents. ACTS initial focus was on El Rosario, but over the years ACTS' involvement with the surrounding villages has expanded greatly. Villagers in these areas come to El Rosario for some services, like medical and dental care, or to take computer classes. In other cases, ACTS works to make improvements directly in those surrounding villages. Working with partners, ACTS has developed piped water systems in numerous villages, built latrines, and  invested in improvements to the village K-6 schools. The leaders in El Rosario have been heavily engaged in ensuring that residents of the surrounding villages have access to, and are involved in shaping, the programs offered in the larger community of El Rosario.