ADVERTISEMENT


Agriculture and Food

We do our best to address all the problems related to agriculture and food. You will have the opportunity to discover some of the best Haitian dishes as well

Taste of Haiti at North Miami Museum of Contemporary Art

There are a few tried and true avenues through which a country can establish its name on the world map. Its people, its culture, its art and music, sports, government, etc. all can be conduits through which a country's popularity rises worldwide. Haiti has had successes in these fields and more before, but, the earthquake of January 2010 usurped the top spot and put the name Haiti into the minds of the world's people in a context of pity and sorrow. Ever since then, the fight to reclaim the country's popularity in a more positive attitude has been waged by the tourism sector.

Read more →  


 

First community restaurant opens in Arcahaie

On 18th May, 2013, Jean-Jacques Charles, the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, in presence of President Michel Martelly and his wife, First Lady Sophia Martelly and Prime Minister of Haiti, Laurent Lamothe, inaugurated Arcahaie's first community restaurant. This restaurant will be serving 500 people with hot meals every day for 5 days a week from Monday to Friday. Only a few days ago, a mobile clinic was inaugurated for treating 270 residents.

This community restaurant is the 5th of the planned 90. The Martelly-Lamothe administration has set the goal of creating 90 such restaurants. All the restaurants are and will be funded by Venezuela's Petrocaribe loans.

Read more →  


 

Food Program Coming to Derac

The government of Haiti (GOH) wants to open 90 canteens throughout Haiti in response to the burgeoning food crisis. Social agency, Ede Pep, is implementing the canteen program with funding from Petrocaribe. Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Charles Jean-Jacques, inaugurated the program in April in the village of Derac. Both he and Northeast Departmental Delegate, Charles Hugo, handed out pantry items to 1,000 community inhabitants.

At the distribution site, Jean-Jacques said he was GOH's emissary of goodwill. He said he knew the looming food crisis was creating anxiety, and he was committed to improving the situation. He informed them once the canteen was built, they would enjoy one hot meal a day. Hugo said he felt pleased the program would restore the image of a prosperous Derac during the 1950s.

Read more →  


 

New Bwe Kafe Coffee Shop opened in Washington Street, Hoboken

Hoboken owners of Bwe Kafe, Evan and Dale Ryan, are capitalizing on America's fervent coffee culture to help Haiti recover from the devastation of 2010's earthquake. They started their foundation, Love for Haiti, and brainstormed for a profit-making venture to support it. When they realized a community coffee house could be successful, they drew up plans immediately. It took them a mere four months from idea to re-tooling the venue to open their business, with help from their mother, who owns the building.

Bwe Kafe, meaning "to drink coffee" in French Créole, orders its fair-trade coffee from La Columbe, who buys the coffee beans from Haiti coffee cooperatives. The coffee house showcases Haitian arts and crafts and encourages patrons to form discussion groups in its performance space.

Read more →  


 

People in Haiti are not getting enough to eat

We all know the immediate dangers of hurricanes and tropical storms. The high winds and heavy rainfall can cause loss of life and infrastructure on grand scales within a short time. But, there is a latent danger to the weather phenomena which can prove just as costly to life when finally manifested. Most recently, the efforts of Hurricane Sandy, a storm which some say seemed particularly bent on bringing down trees, and Tropical Storm Isaac, caused such virulent flooding in the country, the southerly regions especially, that an estimated 90% of the harvest has been lost.

This has undoubtedly left such a food deficit that, according to the United Nations' relief wing, one and a half million people are faced with 'severe food insecurity'. Ironically, drought, as well as the floods, also plays a significant role in the shortage of food. Information from The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) also point to a rise in the rate of malnutrition affecting 7 out of 10 departments since October. They have on record almost 82,000 malnourished children under 5 years old. It's further said that one in every five households is faced with the threat of acute malnutrition and the U.N. believes that Grande-Anse in the far west is among the worst hit places.

Read more →  


 

First Community to Receive Food Aid in Derac, Haiti

Haiti is on the verge of a national food crisis. Ministry of Public Health and Population has issued warnings to government of Haiti (GOH) an impending food shortage is threatening to afflict millions of poor Haitians across the nation. In response, GOH, with help from welfare-assistance agency, Ede Pép, is starting a food-canteen program.

Its first beneficiary, Derac village, received a visit from Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Charles Jean-Jacques, in April. Accompanied by Northeast Departmental Delegate, Charles Hugo, they handed out food-pantry items to slightly more than a thousand inhabitants of the community. A food canteen serving one hot meal a day will follow as soon as Petrocaribe releases funding to Ede Pép.

Read more →  


 

Bill Clinton at the head of an Agricultural Investment Delegation

Former US President Bill Clinton acts as the United Nation's special envoy to Haiti. His duties have taken him on two trips to the country so far this year. First, in January, he came for the 3-year anniversary of the devastating 2013 earthquake, which took place shortly after his tenure started. His latest visit, a two-day event that consisted of site visits and a donation announcement, on March 10 & 11 saw him accompanied by a nearly two-dozen strong delegation of potential investors from the restaurant, perfume and lingerie industries.

During his visit, he spoke about the controversies and misfortune faced by the country, but stressed that Haiti is still replete with 'staggering potential.' It's a sentiment also expressed by Haitian President Michel Martelly who's 'Haiti is open for business' slogan was designed with luring potential investors from around the world in mind. While they are optimistic about foreign investments being the key to rebuilding Haiti, analysts at home and abroad warn that the country's flawed justice system and its archaic banking practices don't instill confidence in investors. Further concerns are the advisories by the U.S. government that warn potential visitors about concerns of health, security and a lack of proper infrastructure.

Read more →  


 

Creole Pig, the bank account of the Haitian Peasant

There are many things that can be said that play on the Haitian peasant and the Creole pig, but there is true tragedy behind every punch line. In one of the government's single most devastating moves, done in the 1980's to placate the American's fear of a swine flu outbreak in the Dominican Republic contaminating their Pork industry, a nationwide slaughter of Creole pigs, noted to translate to 30% of the income of peasants, was undertaken.

Another serious misstep was the government's method of damage control. Seeing the devastation wrought on the livelihood of the peasant farmer, they attempted to replace what had been taken with American pigs from Iowa farmers. This too proved a failure, as the new breeds could not adapt to the inevitably harsher methods of farming, including but not limited to table scraps for food and no formal shelter.

Read more →  


 

The agricultural system of Kombit in Haiti

A well known staple of Haitian culture and society the Kombit system allows, through the collaborative effort of members of the community, the cashless exchange of agricultural goods and supplies. The emphasis of the concept is the sharing of products in a communal sense, not selling for profit. This way is not conducive to exportation, as most of the produced items are consumed within the area in which they are produced.

Ordinarily, a farmer will announce a planned Kombit day, selecting one fit for planting a specific crop. Invitations are extended to as many as he can support and tasks are meted out based on ability--with men responsible for digging and heavy lifting, and sex--with women and children doing easier work such as planting seeds. The work becomes an even greater benefit to the community with the unity it provides through the singing and joke telling that accompanies a Kombit. Participants are fed three meals for the day and share in the harvest they have helped to plan and plant.

Read more →  


 

Kombit Farming Keeps Communities Sustained in Haiti

Haiti, located in the Caribbean Sea on the western third of Hispaniola, is a country of extreme poverty for most of its inhabitants. Many farmsteads practice subsistence farming to provide for their families. A subsistence crop is one of inferior quality, for example, mountain rice. Its more nutritious relative, swamp rice, is consumed by the elite rich.

To meet needs of poor farming communities, peasant farmers have evolved a collective- sharing system of crop yields called Kombit. A practical method of community farming, it is predicated on the practice of sharing the harvest over selling it.

Read more →  


 

Our objective is to share with you news and information about Haiti and the people of Haiti. Traditions, habits and the way we were  or  grew are alive in this site. We highly recommend that you Subscribe to our Newsletter and also share with us some of the things that are memorable and made us unique people.