Ten sewing machines were handed over today to the Santa Cruz Hibiscus Mayan Art and Crafts Cooperative in the Toledo District. The event was made successful through the project, Cooperatives’ Rapid Response to COVID 19 and the 2020 floods in Belize.

The co-operative, whose members are made of only women, is involved in handmade arts and craft products such as basket, cuxtal, earrings, bracelets, embroidery and the sewing of traditional clothes.

To commemorate today’s event three trees were planted as a symbol of reducing the impact of Climate Change.

Present at the handing over were Minister of Agriculture Hon. Jose Abelardo Mai; Minister of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Local Government Hon. Oscar Requena; Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Servulo Baeza; Chief Agriculture Officer, Dr. Victoriano Pascual; Registrar of Cooperatives Gareth Murillo; Ag. Managing Director of the Belize Enterprise for Sustainable Technology, Mrs. Michelle Longsworth; National Coordinator at GEF Small Grants Program UNDP, Mr. Leonel Requena; members of the Hibiscus Mayan Art and Crafts Cooperative, technical officers of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Department of Cooperatives, and Resilient Rural Belize.