Honduras is a mountainous country located in Central America. It is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania with a population of about six million. The climate is tropical with lush vegetation that offers magnificent vistas. Principal crops are corn, bananas, coffee and tobacco.

The City of Santa Barbara

Named after the patron saint Barbara, the city of Santa Barbara was founded in 1761 by Spanish families from the nearby towns of Gracias and Tencoa. Santa Barbara was officially incorporated as a city in 1848 and is still a city where the Spanish influence is easily observed.

The country of Honduras is divided into 18 provinces (similar to U.S. states) and 298 municipalities (similar to U.S. counties). Located in the western mountains of Honduras, the City of Santa Barbara is the capital of the province of Santa Barbara that extends south from the Guatemalan border, covering an area of 1,600 square miles with a population of approximately 325,000. The municipality of Santa Barbara is located in the southern part of the Santa Barbara province and covers an area of approximately 117 square miles.

In Honduras, municipalities have a central town (or city, depending on size), where the municipal government is located, surrounded by rural villages and hamlets. The municipality of Santa Barbara includes the central city of Santa Barbara, with a population of 13,177, and over 50 villages and hamlets, home to a rural population of 16,106. It is the people of these rural villages and hamlets which have the greatest need for access to pure water.

Visit the Tourism page of the Santa Barbara, Honduras Web site for more information about the city of Santa Barbara.

Our Mission

With the tropical climate in Honduras comes a multitude of parasites, most of which are found in the surface water from which a majority of the population drinks. Some of these parasites kill the crops, others cause dysentery or other gastro-intestinal problems, mostly in children. The leading cause of death for children in Honduras is from diarrhea caused by drinking this contaminated water.

In an area such as Santa Barbara, with its rugged, mountainous geography and isolated homes, the most effective solution for purifying water is a low-cost, low-maintenance slow sand filter.

The Santa Barbara, Honduras Water Project is led by the Rotary Clubs of Freeport and Portland, Maine with the assistance of 16 other U.S. Rotary Clubs, two Rotary Districts, Pure Water for the World and the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara, Honduras. The missing is to bring slow sand filters to the homes of 1875 families in the rural villages surrounding Santa Barbara over a 2 year period beginning around January, 2007.