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Always Sunny in Honduras

( Siempre Sol)In 2003, a unique partnership between local Siempre Unidos clinics and a US-based non-profit formed to treat people suffering from AIDS in Honduras. They provided access to health care, medicine, and other services to the local communities. Yet, within a few months, they realized that these efforts only addressed part of the problem. In stigma-laden Honduras, being HIV-positive meant that even healthy people struggled to find employment. So, they decided to create SiempreSol™— meaning always sunny in Spanish—as a way to signify the hope and promise that micro-enterprises could bring to Hondurans living with HIV/AIDS.

In July 2005, the partners formed their first micro-industry, Tabita Sewing Work Shop, in San Pedro Sula to employ a handful of the patients with professional sewing skills. The enterprise became a member of the Fair Trade Federation in 2006. Today, they employ seventeen women and one man who make high quality canvas bags and knit clothing for babies under the SiempreSol™ label. In addition to being a safe and comfortable environment, the workshop is located just one block from the Siempre Unidos clinic where employees can easily access educational workshops, medical care or a hot lunch.

Over time, the project grew to include a jewelry line, providing employment for ten more people in Siguatepeque, and incorporating the art of Lenca pottery in the form of pendants and beads from a 70-member women’s collective in southern Honduras. The process of making the jewelry gives patients an sense of accomplishment and increased self-esteem.

As Marta Odelia, of one the women working in the Tabita workshop says, “I contracted the disease from my husband….When I learned I was HIV positive….I was afraid that my family would reject me… But I feel good about life now….My work helps me a lot, because it allows me not to think about my condition all of the time… I work with friends and laugh a lot. … I want to tell everyone who is infected with HIV …to get treatment at Siempre Unidos and keep on living.”

All proceeds go to the workshops and to Siempre Unidos clinics, helping those infected—and their families—with medical and emotional support. Jewelry, onesies, and canvas tote bags are made with high quality, earth-friendly materials and give those living with the epidemic the chance to support themselves and their families in dignity.

Eventually, the partners want to grow the SiempreSol™ project into a self-sustaining model that can expand throughout Central America and beyond. They have recently added new product lines and redesigned some of the jewelry pieces to combine the use of native materials, styles that further reflect Honduran ethnicity, and high quality components such as semi precious stones, fresh water pearls and sterling silver to better cater to a range of transnational marketplace.

Through this partnership, SiempreSol™ products bring rays of hope to marginalized women and men in Honduras living with HIV.