Rebirth of Recycling on Roatan

Organization Created to Administer Recycling Efforts
The local group of recyclers, now official members of the Association, has been working to bring plastics to San Pedro Sula for about three years of their own volition. By finally obtaining legal business status, they now have access to further business support. ...... /April 2010/

Airlines back up to high season levels

Airport Improvements and Renovations Underway
Since the airline industry operates strictly according to demand, the increased schedules suggest that tourism is climbing back to pre-2009 levels....... /February 2010/

A Ride with a Princess

A Look at Passenger Maritime Safety between Utila and La Ceiba
The Utila Princess II boat was originally brought in from the Bahamas where it served on short inter-island journeys...... /January 2010/

The Business of Hoist

An Old-Time American Helps to Keep Utila Boats Dry
Dock rides Utila's main drag in an aluminum golf cart, wearing a hat made out of folded palm leaves. Since coming to Utila in 1971, Dock Rails has become one of the island's most recognizable figures...... /October 2009/

Making Trash Business our Business

While the recycling of transparent plastics on Roatan begins with mixed results, other scrap-purchase opportunities remain untapped
The trash on the island deflates property values, creates unsatisfied tour and dive experiences, to a loss of millions of dollars a year..... /June 2007/

Helping Poor Help Themselves

Micro-credit companies offer lending programs to Roatanians with hopes of better lives
About a dozen women sat on a sidewalk, some in plastic chairs, some standing and one swinging in a hammock. Foundation Adelante, a micro-credit company working in Roatan since 2003, was having its bi-weekly assembly in Barrio La Punta.... /May 2007/

Renting Movies Everywhere

A small boom in Bay Islands video rental
Just two years ago, there were only two video stores on the island: Los Fuertes' Video Picks and Coxen Hole's Island Video Store.... /January 2007/

Sales by the Foots

You see them selling car accessories, DVDs, underwear and plastic brooms. They do it with an ant like determination, carrying their goods not in a store, but on their backs. They move from place to place, approaching their customers directly at gas stations, sidewalks, anywhere. Being this footsoldier of trade, or "ambulante" isn't an easy feat, and inevitably you either sink, or float, fast..... /October 2005/

Lotto Ladies

Elicia Bodden of Coxen Hole has been in the lotto business for eight years. It is her first business and she is often found talking to customers on the city's Main Street
Magda Garcia has been in the lotto business for 20 years. She is one of the many men and women around the islands who sell numbers for a living. These lotteries operate on a local level and are not sanctioned by the government as per Honduran law..... /August 2005/

The Five Kings

King Squad debuted on Stereo Mar's "Chulo Show" in 2003. Soon after, Big Chulo became the band's DJ and this year Adam Santos, rapper and song writer from Bronx, New York, joined the group..... /July 2005/

The Money Train

Small Businesses in Utila & Guanaja Receive over $300,000 in Grants
Utila and Guanaja residents seem to be teeming with energy. The sound of electric saws and hammers lasts well into the evening. Over the last six months the two Bay Islands municipalities received a healthy injection of cash ($310,000) through a CHF grant, part of a small business development project of International Development Bank (IDB)..... /March 2005/

Mosquito Wars

With little government help, the private sector is stepping up to provide a viable and safe method of tackling the mosquito problem on the Bay Islands
Felix Romero Sevilla, 75, was born in Olanchito and has spent the last 40 years on Roatan. He never learned how to speak English. He never learned how to read or write. Still, he was savvy enough to see an open wide business opportunity on Roatan: mosquito control .... /December 2004/

They Call Me "La Juguera"

Sometimes a monopoly can taste sweet, and, as far as Bay Islands go, there is no sweeter tasting monopoly than the sugar cane juice stand in Dixon Cove
Daisy Gonzales, 30, and her husband Ramon Rodas are the owners of the landmark roadside juice stand in Dixon Cove, Roatan. Gonzales was born in Petoa and moved to Roatan nine years ago. She has been at her Dixon Cove street side location for almost a year; before that, she sold sugar cane juice further up the highway for three years..... /November 2004/

Island Style McDonalds Combines Business Savvy and Ideals

Some people say that there are no dogs around here because a dog was once grilled here. Others don't believe the story, but most people agree that the best grilled meat business on the island of Roatan can be found in Los Fuertes
If it's 4am on a Saturday morning and you are on your way back to Oak Ridge from a night out in West End there is only one place to stop: a grilled meat stand by the side of the road..... /August 2004/

Small Business of Big Mellons

Who says there are no real farmers on Roatan?
There are fewer and fewer farmers on an island that fifty years ago supported itself on coconuts, however Roatan's northern shore and Saint Helene still turn out some of the best produce. There are small farms scattered all over the island producing fruit for family use and for sale..... /June/July 2004/

Hot Dog Lingo

Not only are Americans coming to Roatan to live, but their eating habits are tagging along
In one such development, a New York City hot dog stand has found a home in West End. Hot dog stand #4 once was parked on a street in the Big Apple. Thanks to Carl Illemann, owner of the deli Boulangerie, the stand has moved to a warmer climate..... /May 2004/

Discoveries of the Mind

French Harbour gets a place where youth and children can grow their intellectual potential
A new center for hands-on learning for children has opened at Jackson Plaza in French Harbour. The Discoveries Center is a place where children can supplement skills learned in school and still have fun. ..... /March 2004/

Church of Beer

The entire brewing cycle will take about a month to complete
The first day will be most labor intensive with critical tasks of mixing malt with water, boiling and cooling the brew. Then, in seven to ten days, the brew will be kept in open tubs as east is added. Finally, the beer will sit for 20-25 days in aging tanks before being poured into kegs and distributed. .... /November 2003/

Cofee in Paradise

West End Café does it Your Way
Jazz music plays in the background of the newest West End café and their resident dog, Tigua sleeps in the center of the room. This is a typical day for the shop which has centered its business philosophy around comfort and simplicity.... /September 2003/

From Boats to Shower Stalls

Local Answer to Big Business
Sherman Arch's workshop is a builder's playground. There are material scraps and unfinished projects littered around the yard; stacks of supplies crowd the storage shed. In Arch's mind, every scrap has potential; every structure has a purpose.... /August 2003/

A Very Smart Book

Creators of Smart Pages: Marcia Quinn-Strehlow and Sandra Sampayo
Ever wonder exactly how many churches are housed on this island? In need of a mechanic in your neighborhood? Or maybe you saw a great documentary on whale sharks and decided your life isn't complete until you become a divemaster? The team from Bay Islands Marketing (BIM) will introduce the "Smart Pages" which should answer these questions... /June 2003/

Hydro Plants

If you want to find the only hydroponics farm in Honduras you don't have to look much further then Roatan. Blue Harbor Plantation is a 121 Acre hydroponics farm on a gravel road to Mud Hole... /May 2003/