The initiation of at least one women-led cooperative economic development initiative in one of the three project communities that enhances the prosperity of  participating households and contributes to the economic diversity of the community through the provision of seed grants for start-up costs (e.g. equipment,  materials).
 
Project Location:   Santa Elena, Santa Cruz, and Pueblo Viejo, Toledo District, Belize 
 
Project Objectives:   Women’s groups in each community will be eligible to apply for these seed grants and successful groups will be chosen by a committee comprised of community leaders as well as representatives from the project implementing agency (see below). [Note: Training in small business development and some ongoing mentoring support will be able to be provided through funding under a Rotary Global Grant Project being implemented in these same three villages. This will make it possible for the majority of the funds from the current project being able to be used directly for small business development seed funding with a small amount allocated to the contracting of business-specific technical support and the provision of administrative overhead.]
 
Target Group:   Women and the members of their households as well as grassroots community members in each of the above-named Maya villages.
 
Number of People Impacted:   The combined population of these 3 villages is just over 1,000 people. We expect to directly engage up to 100 people. When the other members of their households are considered (since economic and social development impacts not only individuals, but their entire households), this project could impact up to 300 people.