Haiti Summary

• Haiti is one of the poorest and most deforested nations in the world. Haiti was once a tropical paradise. Today it is world renowned as a site of environmental disaster.
• The vast majority of the rural population exists as subsistence farmers, living on what they can grow on increasingly unproductive land. Subsistence farming, as it is practiced, has led to deforestation, which in turn has led to drought and famine.

• As a result of Father Jean-Wilfrid Albert’s personal initiative, the parish has opened up schools in 30 villages where he pastors churches. He has also started secondary schools, a commissary, several small industries, and most recently, a vocational school.
• Recognizing the need for reforestation and agricultural improvement, in 1997 Father Albert invited Floresta to work alongside him to partner in the gospel, and bring healing to the land and people of southern Haiti.

 2003 (Data as of Dec 31, 2003)

·        We are currently serving 20 communities, up from 17 last quarter.  3 communities are in initial training. 17 have full-fledged co-ops.  Of these, 12 have qualified for and are receiving Floresta credit.  About 700-750 people are directly being served.

·        120 loans were made this quarter and 1528 in the history of the program.  Repayment remains at 100%.  The groups have made perhaps twice as many additional loans from their own assets.   (Accumulated savings and membership fees.)

·        6126 trees have been planted this quarter and 108,411 since the inception of the program.   Species include both fruit and forest trees and a mixture of native and exotic species.  Fwenn (Simarouba glauca) a Haitian native is the most common, followed by coffee, avocado and Haitian oak.

·        Grafting has slowed down because most of the available trees have been grafted.  362 grafts were done this quarter.

·        We are looking at marketing channels for the higher value, grafted fruit, and have been involved in discussions with several potential purchasers.

·        Other agricultural interventions have included soil conservation (various techniques including alley cropping), composting, assistance with animal vaccinations, and a growing applied research program.

·        Katul Ogisten, the field chaplain, is meeting with each of the co-ops at least once a month, is leading weekly devotionals with the staff, and is conducting quarterly workshops with co-op leaders.  Recent topics have included the unity of the body of Christ, and the basic beliefs of all Christians.

·        36 cisterns and associated tree nurseries are in place.  This is the limiting factor for reforestation and agroforestry, as there are now no external sources of seedlings.  Nurseries are not possible without the water that a cistern provides.  Lack of water is one of the largest issues the local families face.  Many people make 3-4 round trips, daily to water sources that are more than an hour away.

·        Bob Morikawa will be spending several months in Haiti in the late fall to help them develop their agroforestry model and institute a program to encourage more on-farm innovation.

·        The country of Haiti faces a very uncertain political future, which will affect our program in the coming year.

·        Beyond the basic budget, the top priorities for Haiti this year are 1) more cisterns/nurseries, 2) a new vehicle, and 3) an expansion of the research farm.

• Floresta Haiti is finishing its second round of small enterprise loans. Floresta USA initially contributed only $8700 to the Haitian loan fund. Remarkably, the farmers invested almost $2000 of their own money in the program. From this, over $23,500 in loans have been made. Three hundred fifty-one farmers, 35% of them women, had received loans as of March 31^st. Thus, our $8700 has almost tripled in its local impact in less than a year!
• Floresta is increasing the available capital by $20,000 over the course of the year.
• As of June, 7181 trees had been planted.  Farmers had also grafted 397 fruit trees and constructed 18 miles of anti-erosion barriers.
• Many farmers reported the doubling and tripling of yields of staple crops as a result of Floresta’s work.
• In May, a solar panel was installed in Grand Colline and our office now has electricity! We also recently tested of e-mail between San Diego and Grand Colline.

• 411 farmers participated in the co-op system, cumulatively contributing over $2000 of their own funds to the co-op capital fund.
• Loans were made to 163 co-op members, totaling over $10,000. First payments on principal were made on time in October. Over $1200 was repaid. This is in a country where the per capita income is less than $400. Income is considerably less than that in the countryside. Loans financed small business such as seed storage systems, animal husbandry and small stores.
• Over 7,000 trees were planted as part of the criteria for loan eligibility.
• Over 15 miles of anti-erosive barriers were constructed to begin rebuilding the soil for agriculture.
• 500 fruit trees were grafted greatly increasing their value.

• Over 30 students were enrolled in the two-year Agricultural Technician Certificate Program at the vocational school. Classes began in October 1997. Curriculum included forestry, agriculture and integrated evangelism.
• Over 26 full and part time instructors were supervised by Haitian agronomist Jean-Marie Desilus.
• Farmers groups in thirteen villages began learning soil conservation, techniques for constructing and using A-frames to terrace and plant along contour lines, fruit tree grafting, as well as the use of trees, and living barriers. Villagers were also provided with training in the formation of agricultural cooperatives.
• By year's end over 340 farmers formed agricultural and credit co-ops in 11 villages. Each member had invested a portion of his or her own money into the co-op’s loan fund, to be matched with funds from Floresta.
• 21,173 tree seedlings were planted.

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