Meet Honduran Chicken Coop Entrepreneur Claudio Cesar Aguirre

by Stanley LearyNikon D4 / storytelling
 
Nikon F4, 14-24mm, ISO 160, ƒ/8, 1/100

I met Claudio Cesar Aguirre, an entrepreneur in Honduras. He was one of a few families that came together. They started a chicken coop with a small grant from some organizations, government agriculture department training, and a few other entities.

Nikon F4, 14-24mm, ISO 220, ƒ/8, 1/100

What is the big deal with a chicken coop? Didn’t everyone have chickens? Before they started their business, there were no other chicken coops in the area. A family had enough chickens to get eggs, but most families did not have enough chickens to count on eggs.

The chicken coop is actually about solving a problem of more than just having some eggs around. It is a nutrition issue. Most kids going to school in the area would go off without protein and just some tortilla, beans, and rice at the most.

Nikon F4, 14-24mm, ISO 10000, ƒ/8, 1/250

Just imagine your household; you buy the eggs at the grocery store and have them in the refrigerator. But, then, imagine being so far away from grocery stores that there were no eggs to buy.

Nikon F4, 14-24mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/8, 1/100

Here you see Claudio’s wife, Blanca Aparicio, gathering the eggs from the chicken coop. They live in the small community of Santa Anna, Olancho, Honduras.

Nikon F4, 28-300mm, ISO 3200, ƒ/5, 1/250

Claudio is part of a community development committee, and they brainstormed many ideas considering the resources they had in their community and what they didn’t have for starting businesses.

Nikon F4, 14-24mm, ISO 560, ƒ/8, 1/100

With enough eggs every day from the chickens, the development committee is now thinking of a new startup business that the community could use. They now believe a bakery would be great.

It only takes a pebble dropped into the water to affect the entire pond. The ripples seem to sustain themselves for a while from that first drop.

Nikon F4, 14-24mm, ISO 12800, ƒ/8, 1/160—Off Camera Neewer TT850 using the Neewer 433MHz Wireless 16 Channel to control the flash

Dr. German Jimenez works for Honduras Outreach and says that prevention, like good nutrition, is making a huge difference. Celebrating 25 years in Honduras, the President is honored next month for their service. The President believes that HOI embodies his purpose of a “Better Tomorrow.”