Haiti Trip - February 2013 - Economic Development

TRAVEL - The roads are becoming increasingly clogged with more vehicles and motorcycles, increasing the number of accidents.  In addition minor social disturbances are played out on the roadways by blocking traffic with manifestations, burning tires, etc.  The next group may want to consider traveling by air or at night.  We were taken to the airport by Jean Louis who lives in PAP and has a mini-van that would seat  six or seven people.  He drives and translates into English and charges $150/day for his vehicle, gas and translation services.  Tel (509) 3869-1164 or 4453-0802.

COMPUTER TRAINING - Our first day in Cavaillon was devoted to a computer training using the six computers provided us by Denny Baumann.  The trainers were Mario Calixte and his colleague, Fabrice; both of whom graduated from Virginia Tech with a Master’s in IT.  The training was held in the computer lab in the Cavaillon parish secondary school, Notre Dame.  We brought a router, scanner and camera to be used by all the school directors and KAMAK.  About twenty persons attended the morning and afternoon sessions and they all expressed the desire to have follow-up training using one of the local IT teachers. 

•   We recommend that the St. Charles committee appropriate $200 per month for the next six months so that our school directors and KAMAK are able to communicate with us regularly, send photos, and begin to use the computer in the administration of their schools.

KAMAK AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVE -

Administration - KAMAK has leased an office in Martino where the tractor is housed in a shed, and a three-room administrative building offering storage space for the nutrition program, limited storage for grain crops, and a meeting space.  When we visited the first time, cassava cakes that are distributed each Wednesday covered a large table where women bakers from the immediate area had stacked and covered them in anticipation of the next delivery.  We met with the Executive Committee to hear reports on their programs and requests for assistance in different areas. 

Separate accounts are maintained by KAMAK for each project.  The committee has already seen the impressive accounting for the nutrition program and we have requested an accounting of all the separate projects.

Office and telecommunication equipment is needed and will be detailed in a list of requests coming to St. Charles in a couple of weeks following the Kellogg Foundation’s visit to KAMAK the week immediately following ours.

Installation of solar panels on our remote schools will be studied by KAMAK to determine the feasibility of selling cell phone recharging to area residents to generate income for the schools.

Meeting with local planters brought forward a request for an agricultural bank. An agricultural bank is the major need of local planters.  Whereas micro-credit loans are repaid monthly, farmers need loans of three to six months, the time from initial costs associated with preparing the land and planting, to harvesting and sale of produce.  As much as $60,000 US may be needed to start a farmers‘ bank. 

•    We will research the international aid community to see if anyone has funding for such a bank.
•   A Bercy area cooperative - which was started in the 1990s is a member group of KAMAK and they requested that St. Charles help fund a replacement motor for their grain mill. 
•    We suggested that St. Charles could perhaps fund a part of the cost with the community borrowing the rest, to be paid back from proceeds of user fees.  We will also share this request with St. Thomas a-Beckett, along with a request to fund a nutrition program at the school. 
•   The local cooperative can be expected to contribute to the nutrition program as well as producing local crops that would be used.  Bercy has over  800 carreaux of land, of which 400 is irrigated. 

Cassaverie at Nan Kanpech - A new well and pump have been installed on the land purchased by KAMAK using St. Charles funds.  The Kellogg Foundation participation in this project is pending their visit the week following ours.  St. Charles has send to KAMAK a total of $10,000 US for this project.  We had originally intended to contribute an additional $3,500 US, but will withhold further action after we know what Kellogg offers.  KAMAK will perhaps use COFECA (women’s coop) or the LAMBI Fund as a pass-through for Kellogg funds, since Kellogg cannot fund a cooperative directly. 

•   We have suggested that the original proposal to fund the Nan Kanpech cassaverie be expanded to include a new motor at Roche Delmas. 

Cassaverie at Roche Delmas - We visited the cassaverie which is a solid masonry building housing the shredder that is powered by a motor, three screw presses to extract liquid from the pulp, and two grilling plates for baking cassava cakes.  Next we went to the Atelier of Camp Perrin where cassava equipment is manufactured.  We got bid proposals for both a motor for Roche Delmas, and a complete cassaverie at Nan Kanpech.  Jean Marc Louizaire of RECOCAS suggested that we consider a water-cooled motor (Lister) rather than the air-cooled motor, because less maintenance is required and the costs are similar.

Roche Delmas planters would also like to have a grain mill.  We explored using the same motor to power both a grain mill and the cassava shredder.  Again Jean Marc Louizaire, using his experience as participant in the milling cooperative in his home community of Maniche, advised against housing cassave operations in the same space as milling machines, because the dust from grain milling penetrates the cassava cakes, and turns away some buyers.  KAMAK will study these recommendations and make proposals to St. Charles and the Kellogg Foundation.

Animal Program - We held a meeting with about twenty people at Roche Delmas to explain the goat and chicken project to the future recipients of the funds we raised at the alternative gift fair.  Myriame and Joachim Emmanuel, another KAMAK board member and agronomist with experience working for Heifer International, described the project to the participants.  The farmers were obviously enthusiastic and appreciate the professional advice and assistance that KAMAK provides.  Funds are in hand and the animals will be bought in early March.  In future years we hope to create a new program in another of our communities where we have a school and a KAMAK group.

Nutrition Program - All of us saw the storage of food at KAMAK, transportation, cooking, and serving of food at the schools.  Bulk purchases and local food producers are used when possible.  Unfortunately the costs vary widely from week to week and KAMAK may have to purchase additional storage bins to be able to buy when prices are low, and then stock those foodstuffs.  Another problem is the continued subsidy of US rice farmers that results in locally produced rice being twice as costly as imported rice.  We encouraged KAMAK to substitute other locally grown crops for rice as much as possible.

•   The schools, teachers, and parents are very appreciative of the food but there is not yet a contribution of parents at all schools.  In addition more effort has to be made to promote the development of school gardens and student participation. School gardens may be a way to get more vegetables into the nutrition program.  Meals currently are rice and beans, rice and peas, or dumplings and peas or beans.  This is filling and nutritious, but more fruit and vegetables are needed.
•   We could hire one of our teachers or directors to develop a curriculum module on agriculture, including student  participation in gardening, for use in the primary grades. 
•   Another idea is to link our funding to the requirement that a school garden be maintained at each school.
•    There is ample land around each school that could be rented, if not purchased or already owned by the parish.
•   At Boileau we need to coordinate with the Texas twinning group that has had an agricultural project in place for several years.  They also have just initiated a chicken and egg producing project that may serve as a model for other schools.
•   The school directors continue to ask that cooks be paid by KAMAK but we told them that KAMAK is the food purveyor and that it is the responsibility of the schools to cook the food, using parent volunteers if possible, or contributions from parents, in kind or in cash.    

Tractor and Pump - The tractor is housed at the KAMAK office in Martino along with the rotovator and corn planter.  The three-blade moldboard plow is mounted on a bar and one of the blades was twisted.  Several attempts to find a replacement have proven futile to date, and KAMAK leaders continue to search for a solution.  Use of the tractor is essential as it will return revenues when rented, that KAMAK needs to finance the school at Carrefour Citron and other activities.

A diesel pump supplied by World Concern appears to be second-hand and now does not work.

•   Soul of Haiti has a tractor and plow on its farm in Christine Valley and KAMAK will ask if a similar plow can be imported by SOH in their next shipment.
•   We asked KAMAK to inform CRS of the problem with the plow and to ask for their help in finding a solution.
•   We visited with World Concern and the pump will be returned.

Soul of Haiti (SOH) - Damien Meaney met briefly with Richard and Father Lampy to describe his organization and activities.  SOH has a great “patron saint” in the person of Denis O’Brien, the owner of DIGICEL (one of two mobile phone operators in Haiti).  He is an Irish billionaire and a board member of SOH, an Irish non-profit.  Mr. O’Brien has build 85 schools in Haiti and has 32 more under construction; one in Cavaillon (College Nouvelle Vision) that was founded by young people in town.  We donated one of the computers that we took with us to the College because the Secretary of KAMAK is Markenley Rosier who is on the board of the College.  We asked that the computer be available for both KAMAK and the College.  Damien Meaney was instrumental in getting the funding for the school and he promises to continue working with KAMAK and other local groups.

Projects already begun by SOH in Haiti include:

•   Support for an orphanage on Ile a Vache.
•   Farms on Ile a Vache and in the Christine Valley, Cavaillon
•   Creation of a fishing cooperative in Abacou, supplying freezers that preserve fish and therefore give the fishermen a product to sell when the markets are open.

Projects under discussion include:

•   Greenhouses in Cavaillon managed by KAMAK and other coops.
•   Windmills for power generation in remote locations.  The first would be close to the cell towers of  DIGICEL and NATCOM, that presently have to use generators.
•   Assistance to entrepreneurs
•   Agricultural education to young school children living close to their model farms.  Father Lampy said he would help in recruiting children for visits to the farm in Cavaillon.  Myriame will also help with recruiting children, etc.

RECOCAS - We meet with Jean Marc Louizaire, President of this regional coffee cooperative that has eleven member groups; one being KAMAK, representing their growers in the Carrefour Citron community.