Where We Work / Hondures / Communities / Palo Verde «

Palo Verde is located at an altitude of 5600 feet in the mountainous municipality of San Juan de Flores. Due to its altitude, the community is often chilly with gusty winds, especially when raining. It lies alongside Global Brigades' first holistic community of El Zurzular, which allows residents to access many Global Brigades' programs not yet implemented in Palo Verde. For example, many children attend school in the secondary school built by architecture brigades. 

Palo Verde’s educational system includes a Primary school (until 6^th grade). There are 62 students and Dina Carranza is the schoolteacher. It is approximated that about 30% of the community knows how to read and write.

Students can also attend secondary school in the neighboring community of El Zurzular. El Zurzular has a secondary school, which was constructed with the support of Global Brigades' student volunteers.

Prior to 2012, community members in Palo Verde did not have access to potable water. Women and children often needed to walk to distant sources to collect water and then lug it to their homes in buckets and tubs. In March 2012, however, the Global Brigades Water Program entered the community and constructed a gravity-based system connecting roughly 30 households to a source of clean, chlorinated water.

1. A.      Health

Palo Verde does not have a health center. The closest center is an hour’s walk away in the community of Zurzular where previous Global Medical Brigades have been facilitated. Dental care is non-existent. Community members thus consult with Global Brigades' community health workers for their basic healthcare needs.

Community members also work with the  Basic Sanitation Committee, a group tasked with promoting basic hygiene and sanitation habits in the community in order to prevent common illnesses.

The most common illnesses seen by community members are: common colds, parasites, and respiratory problems. Few have latrines that currently function. 0% has eco-stoves (estufas justas). About 0% is estimated to have cement floors.

Below are some health statistics from CESAR-Zurzular², which is the closest health center to Palo Verde.

I. Annual Morbidities, 2009: CESAR-Zurzular

Centro de Salud Statistics, Centro de Salud Regional-Francisco Morazán, 16 Marzo 2010

The average family income per month is estimated to be 1500 Lempiras, which is approximately L250 (US $13.51) per person³. The majority of homes are made of adobe, straw and mud. The main form of employment is agriculture, and the main products that are cultivated in the community are coffee, corn, and beans. There is no community bank in Palo Verde. However, community members can access credit and savings accounts via the community bank in the neighboring community of El Zurzular. Some community members have even become members of this community bank.

Palo Verde is a hamlet of Zurzular—a community that has implemented all of the Honduran Global Brigades programs. GB has built a strong relationship with Zurzular and hopes extend our partnership by going into neighboring Palo Verde.

Apart from Global Brigades, the only organization working in Palo Verde is ELENOR, a private Spanish renewable energy organization, which is working on a solar panel project for the community.