This paper presented the experience of the FINNIDA-funded Regional Forestry Programme for Central America (PROCAFOR) with community banking, especially in Honduras. PROCAFOR saw that participatory non-traditional finance could provide local people with previously unavailable credit to use in the development of forestry management. The community banking system also built local institutional capacity, encouraged peoples' entrepreneurial acumen and confidence, raised interest in forestry-related activities and provided support for women's self-determination. The next step was to create internal sustainability and legal recognition of the community banks.