Communities in Toledo take a leading role in shaping local economic development

Toledo District, Belize (ILO News) – Three villages in Belize's Toledo District have taken the next steps toward strengthening their local economies through the EU-funded ILO PROSPER Project, which works with fifteen communities across southern Belize. Over two days, 25 and 26 July 2026, consultations in Golden Stream and Medina Bank Villages and a Local Action Group formation meeting in Blue Creek Village brought residents together to decide whether and how the project would go ahead in their communities.

Golden Stream and Medina Bank

The Golden Stream consultation on 25 July followed an introductory meeting held on 28 June. The second session set out the project's three phases: preparation of a Local Economic Plan, formation of a Local Action Group, and capacity-building and training. The team was explicit that PROSPER provides no grants, construction materials or seedlings, only training and technical support. Interest centred on tourism and cacao, the two sectors a regional assessment identified as holding the greatest economic potential in the area.

Questions covered the composition of the Local Action Group, the range of agricultural training available, opportunities beyond cacao, and whether training would reach residents who are not among the ten group members. The team confirmed that it would, according to the priorities set out in the community's Local Economic Plan. Participants also pressed on transparency, describing earlier projects that had benefited only selected families, and identified equal access for young people as essential. Golden Stream approved participation in the project.

The following day in Medina Bank, residents set out at length what had gone wrong before: training and certifications that arrived without long-term support, leaving inactive farmer groups, tourism initiatives, coffee production groups and sewing groups behind them. They raised the absence of marketing support, the difficulty of holding community groups together, and limited openings for newcomers. Several asked the question directly. Is knowledge enough without money?

The team's answer was that sustainable enterprises rest on management, organization and technical capacity, and that marketing, financial literacy, business registration, bookkeeping and organizational development will all be built into the training programme. On practical matters, the team confirmed that meals are provided during regional training and accommodation arranged where overnight travel is required. Medina Bank also approved participation.

Blue Creek

In Blue Creek, where the community had already given its approval, attention turned to implementation. On the same day as the Golden Stream consultation, 25 July, the Alcalde, the Village Chairman, farmers and members of the local women's group met to begin forming the village's Local Action Group, the body that will identify local priorities, contribute to the Local Economic Plan, mobilize participation and work alongside the project team throughout implementation.

Members asked what their own responsibilities would be, what training would be available, and whether participants would be paid to attend. The team explained that training topics follow the priorities identified through the Local Economic Plan, and that while the project does not pay stipends, meals and accommodation may be provided for regional events. Interest from the women's group centred on tourism training, and tour guide certification. The team encouraged women to take up every relevant training opportunity.

What comes next

Each Local Action Group brings together ten representatives drawn from village leadership, farmers, women, youth, business owners and tourism stakeholders. At least half of the members must be women, and at least three must be under 29.

The project team will now return to Golden Stream and Medina Bank to establish their Local Action Groups and begin preparing Local Economic Plans. The concerns residents raised across all three villages, about follow-up, transparency and whether training alone can sustain a community enterprise, are questions the Local Action Groups will carry into that work.