WORKING TOGETHER

While working with individual families is central to how we work, so too is working with them in the aggregate -their community. Rural communities in Haiti are tight knit and woven together by family ties. They are a great platform for raising public awareness, improving the local economy, and establishing cooperative activities. 

When JP arrives in a community, it starts with a big advantage - everyone knows who we are and knows we can be trusted. JP has been working in northeast Haiti since 2008, it is Haitian, its staff live here, and its agricultural center is a lively meeting place for people, who want to grow and make things.

Raise Public Awareness 

We keep a community informed about what we are doing and foster awareness of the connection between farming practices, land conservation, and economic benefit. Groups visit other communities, where we have worked, to see the results.  Seeing what others have achieved encourages action. 

Lean into the future

To connect to the youth, we organize a club for a community’s teens to make them ambassadors for Agriculture and Environment. It’s  an outside-of-school activity so it includes those that can’t go to school. The club’s activities are loaded with field trips, science experiments, and of course, some parties. We don’t have to wait to see the benefits, since most young people work the land with their families.

Facilitate Community Action

We call people together and help them set goals, mediate problems, and set up cooperative activities for everyone’s benefit. 

Develop Economic Strategies 

We facilitate community actions that will improve its economy, such as setting wood pole grades, and honey quality standards that will improve sales in regional markets.

Crop Processing 

We provide equipment and training to process harvested crops to increase their market value.  Value-added products include manioc flour for cassava bread, prepared cashews, honey, fruit juices and jellies, jatrofa oil for soap, lotion, and hair products, and wood poles for roofs. 

Connect the Community to Regional Markets  

To get a better return for a community’s commodities, we transport them to JP’s sales facility in Terrier Rouge, where they are marketed and sold throughout the region. A beekeeper, for example, can get twice as much for her honey.