Celenia’s life took a difficult turn when her father abandoned her and her mother at the age of 10. From an early age, she faced the challenges of navigating a complex world. Celenia vividly remembers how her mother equipped her with the skills and resilience needed. “I remembered learning to drive at a young age and later working with my mom, selling products at the market on my own”. “It was a very challenging time, not just because I was young, but people doubted me simply because I was a woman”. “But my mom taught me to make decisions, be practical and independent”.
As a single mother, Celenia faced the additional challenge of making a living for her three daughters and wanting to uplift her community in Santiago de Puringla. “I saw firsthand that there was an opportunity to secure better prices for our farmers’ coffee. They always sold their coffee as part of other regions, missing out on the value of their own production.” However, Celenia knew she needed to overcome another hurdle: building trust among local farmers to unite them into a cooperative.
“What I didn’t foresee was becoming the president of a coffee cooperative, especially since I was not a coffee producer myself. I had to convince not only my colleagues that I could lead, but I also needed to trust myself.”
Today she is seeing the fruits of her labor, as the cooperative exports coffee to several countries in Europe and is aspiring to become one of the top exporters in the area. “Sometimes, when I go to conferences or meetings, people ask who the president of the cooperative is, expecting a man. I respond with pride that I am. To me, this is a powerful statement and an inspiration to many women in my municipality and across Honduras.” Celenia views the cooperative as a rebirth: “I am quite optimistic about our future, because as a woman leader, I know that I can inspire new generations of women and girls to pursue their dreams.”