Projects

Overview of 2023

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Overview of 2023

IG project families 4

In 2023, the work in Honduras supported by the Tigh Sgoile Trust is going from strength to strength.  In February, our partners gained legal status for their organisation, the Lenca Foundation for Community Development, (FUNLEDCOM).  This means the possibility of new relationships of collaboration with Honduran universities and government organisations.
The three main areas of project work continue to be education, farming and apprenticeships.  Two young people are learning to be barbers and hairdressers.  8 more acres are being developed for coffee-growing.  1,000 trees are being planted as part of a reforestation project.  A new element is the growing of avocado  trees.  And the number of students registered on the education programme has increased to 51.  We wish all the young people and their families every success in the months ahead.

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Overview of 2022

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Overview of 2022

orange trees 2

2022 was a year of consolidation and expansion.  In Honduras, as the word spread, more young people from neighbouring villages wanted to get involved.  So, in addition to Los Puentes, we supported projects in several other communities, Los Laureles, San José, Cipres, Cedro, Carrizal and the centre of Opatoro municipality, benefiting 49 young people and their families.  30 young people furthered their education through the distance learning programme.  45 students including some children at the local primary school did computer training. The coffee plantations expanded by a further 11 acres.  A group of young people set up two nurseries where they grew 5,000 coffee seedlings and 1,000 tree saplings for reforestation.  Two young men completed apprenticeships in welding and ironmongery and both are now employed in this work.  All these projects were proposed and implemented by the young people themselves.  They and their families, and other community volunteers, provided land, labour and time as their counterpart contribution.

Training in crop diversification

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Setting up a tree nursery

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Tree nursery

Francisca with coffee plants

In 2022, the young people established two nurseries to grow coffee plants and forest trees from seed.  This was with the aim of reducing the cost of buying plants.  They built shelters to protect the seedlings, using local wood.  In this, their first year, they grew 1,000 tree seedlings, including cedar and Tatascán.  The cost of the project included three kilos of tree seeds, seedling bags, compost and building materials.

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Creating a coffee plantation

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Creating a new coffee plantation

Coffee

Using the seeds from the coffee bushes planted in 2021, the young people grew coffee seedlings, sufficient to cover a further 11 acres of land.  The young people’s families contributed small plots of land in the communities of Los Laureles and San José to make up the 11 acres.  The young people were responsible for planting out the coffee seedlings, weeding and general care for the plants as they grew. The cost of the project included some additional coffee seeds, seedling bags, compost, and irrigation equipment.

Some of the young seedlings from 2021

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Supporting school pupils

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Supporting school pupils

12 grade students - biology

To enable the young people to further their education, the project provided basic and advanced level studies to 30 teenagers and young mums.  They studied with a combination of distance learning via the radio and face-to-face classes at the weekends, held at the local primary school. The curriculum covered subjects like biology, natural sciences, history, maths and philosophy.  The cost of the project included textbooks, teaching resources, teacher training, expenses for three volunteer teachers, and adult-sized chairs.  As a further bonus, the education project ran a course in computer studies for the 30 teenagers and 15 children from the local primary school.

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Training a metalwork apprentice

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Training a metalwork apprentice

Denis Training

In 2022, we funded apprenticeships for two young men, Denis and Olman to train as metalworkers.  There is a lot of demand for metalwork in the area and, thanks to their training, both of them have now found employment as welders.  The cost of the project included the payment of the instructor, food and accommodation for three months, welding equipment, a polisher, helmets and gloves.

Ironmongery - Denis and Olman with instructor Manuel

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Overview of 2021

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Overview of 2021

June 21

In 2021, a lot happened.  In Honduras, we funded pig breeding, coffee and education projects and loved witnessing the enthusiasm of the young people and their families who have got stuck in.  We also provided funds for setting up a community foundation, the Lenca Foundation for Community Development (FUNLEDECOM) as a way to provide a stronger organisational base for the work going forward. 

Similarly, here in Scotland, we applied for and obtained charitable status for the Tgh Sgoile Trust, which opened our horizons about possibilities at our end and motivated us to do some fundraising.  Our main event was the Kiltwalk in March which raised about £10,000. Thanks to everyone who donated funds and expressed support!  

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Setting up a community foundation

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Setting up a community foundation

Eunice, Arturo And Feliciano, Trustees Of The New Lenca Foundation (funledcom) With Their Lawyer Jose Santos (second Right)

One of our achievements in 2021 was to support the establishment of a community foundation.  Emerging from the work of volunteers over the last few years, its purpose is to provide a stronger organisational basis for implementing and coordinating the projects.  The foundation is called the Lenca Foundation for Community Development.  Lenca is the name of the indigenous ethnic group that belongs to the western highlands of the Honduras.

Let us introduce you to the trustees, from left to right, Arturo, Eunice, the lawyer José Santos, who has been helping them with the registration process, and finally, Feliciano who is the main man.  We wish the foundation all the very best as it develops in the coming years.

Map of Honduras showing the region of La Paz

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Arrival Of The Piglets

Pig breeding in Honduras

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Pig breeding in Honduras

Arrival Of The Piglets

In May 2021, three young men from the youth group in Los Puentes began a small-scale pig breeding enterprise.  With financial support from the Tigh Sgoile Trust, Henry Wilfredo, Santos Noel and Olvin Omar, purchased four piglets, three girls and one boy. Three of the piglets are sisters. They are the smaller ones. The boy who is darker in colour is from a different family and is slightly bigger because he is ten days older. The young men built the pig shelter themselves using local timber and fenced off a paddock for piggy games and recreation.  They are taking care of the piglets and making sure that they are fed and watered daily.  The pigs have also had regular check ups from a veterinary technician and been wormed. In the course of 2022, the pigs will become old enough to produce their own little piglets which will be sold and provide a valuable source of income for the young people and their families.

Piglets arriving in May 2021

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Coffee Growing in Honduras

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Coffee Growing in Honduras

Coffee production

In 2021, eight young people from the community of Los Puentes began planting coffee to grow as an income-generation crop.  Together, they planted an incredible 5,000 coffee bushes on small plots of land owned by their families.  After three years, they hope to have a good harvest and to sell their coffee collectively to obtain the best price.  Coffee is suited to the cool climate of the highlands.  It is the main cash crop of the area and is in high demand.  The coffee plantations will also include orange, lemon and banana trees and indigenous Lenca chinapopo beans to help diversify their farming produce.  The young people are getting training from an agricultural technician who is helping them learn all that they need to know to make their project a success. 

Some of the young seedlings from 2021

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