As two resolutely glass half full kinda guys, we decided to highlight some of the good things that happened in the course of a year that was otherwise weighted towards the bad. All seven items on this list are drawn from the work of the Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA) in Haiti, and all are reasons for hope.
We are grateful for:
Gustave and Rosemary are among the legion of smallholder farmers who are the backbone of Haiti’s rural economy. Despite recurrent drought, gang activity, political instability, currency fluctuations and a host of other challenges that affect both their yields and access to markets, they persevere through it all. Around 6,000 of these smallholders, like Gustave and Rosemary, have an advantage because as SFA members they have access to crop seed, hand tools, agricultural training, livestock, microcredit loans and other services… all through planting trees.
We are grateful for:
SFA farmers grow trees in 29 nurseries like this one (in Leger) in seven different locations throughout Haiti. Over the course of 2020 they transplanted 679,145 of these trees for reforestation projects, living fences, slope stabilization, fruit tree orchards and other uses. Since our inception SFA farmers have planted close to 8 million trees, making it one of the largest programs of its kind in the country. And every tree planted earns farmers credits that they use to get agricultural services that result in higher yields and increased household income.
We are grateful for:
Women farmers who plant trees are then qualified to receive microcredit loans through the SFA, and we doubled the number of women receiving these loans (ranging from the HTG equivalent of US$20 to $500) in 2020 to a total of 186. “Microcredit gives women farmers a financial tool,” said Jean Odel Pierre, SFA’s local microcredit agent in Medor, “but it is more than just loans and business training. This is about changing lives and building the kind of strong team spirit that we need to improve the future of agriculture.” The above photo is microcredit loan recipient Marie Josette in her open air shop in Sarrasin.
We are grateful for:
This past year SFA farmers grew cotton that was ginned in Haiti and then exported and sold in 100 lb. bales to Timberland. Upon arriving in the US, the Haiti cotton was blended with an equal amount of Texas-grown cotton. The resulting cotton canvas is now being made into three new Timberland shoes that will be in their Spring 2021 lineup. And yes, as soon as we get details on how to order them we will share that with all of you!
We are grateful for:
Every aspect of the SFA program throughout Haiti is the result of consultation with farmer members. Whether it is deciding which tree varieties to grow in the SFA nurseries or what varieties of crop seed will be needed for the next planting season, every action is based on extensive discussions with farmers as to what they need. In the photo above, SFA representative Jean Ronal is talking with farmers in Medor about the idea of building a new farm supply store. With the community’s enthusiastic support, this store will be open for business in January 2021.
We are grateful for:
When supershero Tanama was created by Haitian comic book artist Thony Loui in March of this year, with support from the SFA, her focus was on tree planting, supporting smallholder farmers and promoting gender equality. But within weeks the Caris Foundation invited her to help with Covid-19 awareness and prevention, which placed her on billboards, murals, posters, brochures and a significant presence on social media. Tanama has appeared in three music videos and made guest appearances in three international webcasts in recent months. Now we are focused on a program for 2021 going back to Tanama’s original focus on trees, farmers and gender equality.
We are grateful for:
We are only able to carry out the work of the SFA because of the support of partners who provided key funding and who were also instrumental in helping to shape the programs that we deliver at a community level. To all of them we give our most profound thanks, as well as to the many individuals who made donations over the year.
