History of Juan Pablo Segundo Cooperative

In 1998 Hurricane Mitch all but destroyed many of the rural villages on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. Hundreds of families lost their homes, their crops, their life savings, their loved ones. The Lobo family of El Pital was one such family. But, determined to rebuild her village and regenerate hope in the community, Rosario Lobo formed a women's organization which spearheaded community reconstruction. Recognizing a need to create economic opportunity for women, Rosario and others taught themselves how to sew, producing their first quilt in 1999.

The co-op has grown steadily since that first quilt became a reality. In 2001, the co-op launched its own website thanks to the generosity of a local NGO, Un Mundo. Consequently, in March 2003, Rosario was invited by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to participate in the First Mesoamerican Congress of Protected Areas, held in Managua, Nicaragua. Rosario's presentation brought international attention to the importance of microbusinesses like hers in changing the lives of families in the developing world.

In July 2003 the co-op received a grant from the United Nations to build a facility. The new workshop, finished ahead of schedule and under budget in 2004, won the award for the best project in Honduras through Biodiversity in Priority Areas Project (PROBAP), a UN-affiliated Honduran NGO.

Most recently, in February 2005, the co-op gained membership to the Fair Trade Federation, a progressive organization committed to creating a more socially and economically just global trading system through its support of low-income artisans and farmers in the developing world.

Through your purchase of quilts and crafts from the Juan Pablo Segundo Cooperative, you are providing better healthcare, nutrition and education to the children of El Pital and the surrounding villages. At the same time, your support offers the quilters themselves the gifts of self-empowerment, educational opportunity, economic freedom and hope.