In Honduras, the programs have expanded beyond solar oven projects. Now CASEP's partner in Honduras, La Asociación de Mujeres Defensoras de la Vida (the Association of Women Defenders of Life) has diversified to include an integrated approach to improve life in their communities.

CASEP has set up an Infant Nutrition Program in which 400-500 children with some level of malnutrition consult with a nurse at our center in Orocuina on a schedule indicated by the needs of the child. The parents of these children are given education about their child's nutritional needs and staple foods including beans, rice, powdered milk, and soy products. The soy products are produced by Familias Unidas, a women's cooperative that has branched off from Defensoras de la Vida. They currently collaborate with a much larger Infant Survival educational program to help curb the high infant mortality rate in rural Honduras. Local volunteers educate families about maternal health, family planning and nutrition in 27 communities. A "rotating fund" or micro-credit program has enabled groups of women to open 13 small stores that help generate a small income for poor families. There are also 3 functioning libraries and 2 in the process of fundraising and construction. These libraries are often the only community resources for children learning to read, students working on reports, and adults seeking information. Currently there are 60 children who receive scholarships to attend school through the work of CASEP in Honduras. Although many solar ovens, along with entire communities were destroyed during the terrible flooding of hurricane Mitch in 1998, 150 ovens are still functioning and the resilient women continue to work hard to rebuild their lives and their communities.

Centro de Hornos Solares y Nutrición
Barrio el Centro Orocuina, Cholutecca Honduras, Central America
Telephone to the office (540) 880-1746
Cell phone of coordinater, Martha Corina Carranza (504) 993-9048
Email:proceso@sdnhon.org.hn