Frequently Asked Questions
Why Honduras?
As you can read on our about us page, Honduras is very near to our hearts as it's where we met, where Enrique grew up, and where half of our family lives. Through our connections to the country, we've found ourselves involved with several organizations that work to strengthen this developing nation, but what we aim to do with Handmade in Honduras is a little different.
We believe that the best way to invest in a stronger Honduras is to invest in talented and motivated citizens who are creating value in their own country, who are limited only by a struggling marketplace. In a country where more than half the population lives in poverty, we hope to offer a rare opportunity for social mobility.
How does the artisan benefit from my purchase?
We feel that the best way to do right by our partners is to couple our own success with theirs, and the best way for us to accomplish that is to set our prices via a formula designed to split profits as fairly as possible between the artisan and our company. We expose this markup equation to all of our partners so that they are empowered to set their own retail prices, knowing that we will stand by them in profiting as much or as little on each item as they feel is prudent. Thus, the artisan's profit on any given item is something that they determine for themselves -- as long as we feel the sales price allows us to cover our expenses and represents a good value to our customers, we will pay our partners whatever they ask for their work. If it does not allow us to cover our expenses, we propose a price adjustment, meaning of course that the artisan will be paid more than his or her going rate.
Can you tell us more about your artisans?
We encourage our artisans to share as much about themselves in their personal profile as they feel comfortable with, but unfortunately, their story is often censored for the sake of their safety. Honduras is a dangerous country to live and do business in, and sharing details that would allow someone with bad intentions to locate any of our partners constitutes a risk to their personal security that is unacceptable to us. We do not share any photos or information about our partners that they do not provide and/or personally approve -- as you will notice, some are not comfortable sharing clear, forward-facing photos fo themselves, and we respect that decision.
Will you re-stock an item that's sold out?
We'll do our best! Unfortunately, our partners report that it can be difficult to obtain the same materials consistently, and financial constraints often limit how much they can afford to stock up on when they are available. Most often, future shipments of popular products will be similar (but not identical) to what was previously offered.
What's this I heard about you offering fundraising packages?
If you are involved with a US-based group or organization that sends volunteer teams to Honduras, we may be able to help you with fundraising packages. Unfortunately, we can't accomodate all wholesale requests. To see if your group qualifies and to join our waiting list, please contact Mary at mary@handmadeinhonduras.com