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Dedicated to Haitian Farmers and their SustainabilityDONATE -
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ECOWORKS INTERNATIONAL
MISSION
We combat poverty and hunger in Haiti by partnering with farmers to establish
agricultural cooperatives, modernize farms, restore ecosystems, and strengthen
communities, so they become autonomous and prosperous producers able to
feed the country.
VISION
A hunger-free Haiti supplied by thriving Haitian farming communities producing
crops sustainably.
LATEST EWI NEWS
The Cooperative of Mare-Roseau and Ecoworks International Completed the Goat Project
It provided a three-day intense training in best practice of goat care to over thirty farmers, each farmer signed the CAMA-EWI contract obligating them to pay 20% of the goat’s price (their choice) and to give the first kid to the next family, the 20% fee was paid on time and the Project distributed eighteen goats. The next in line recipients to get the first-born kids are already trained and ready to welcome their baby goat.
Results of the Goat Project
1. Farmers paid something for the goats, which gives them pride in their ownership, it helps weaning them away from dependency, and gaining a greater sense of agency. They are now stakeholder in the overall regional development program.
2. The Project reinforces the advantage of owning and managing a cooperative.
3. In five years, Mare-Roseau farmers will own five goats each, which will give them a solid financial footing. At that point, more than 350 families will own goats.
The Goat Project was made possible by the generosity of the Rotary Club of Coral Gables, EWI's Board of Directors, and individual donors like you. The Cooperative of Mare-Roseau (CAMA) and EWI thank you for sharing our passion for supporting smallholder farming families in their quest to maintain their status of independent agricultural producers while seeking to reach the highest level of their autonomy, self-sufficiency, and sustainability
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From the bottom of our hearts, Thank You, and Keep Safe.
BREAKING THE CYCLE OF FOOD INSUFFICIENCY IN HAITI
Haiti’s food shortages – triggered by draughts, social unrest, flooding, epidemics, extreme poverty, and lack of a cohesive governmental support – have been recurring over decades. The international response is to send large quantities of food by plane for countrywide distribution.
Sending food alleviates some of the immediate problems, but it also destroys long-term local food production. It perpetuates a cycle stuck in a continuous loop of food emergencies and international responses.
Instead, Haitian farmers need a ten-year, nationwide, effective development plan that increases farmers’ capacity to feed the country and respond to food shortages. Eventually, farmers will be able to altogether prevent food emergencies in Haiti.
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Below, are main points such a development plan needs to address to achieve food sufficiency. First and foremost, It must empower Haitian smallholder farmers who represent more than 90% of the country’s food producers. 1. To have a single national agricultural development plan, approved by all Haitian stakeholders, including smallholder farmers, serving the entire country, with clear goals, objectives, and time-specific, verifiable, and transparent results, and related expenditures. Ensure that smallholder farmers’ input is gathered and included in the plan. The report on the plan’s progress and related expenditures should be published quarterly and submitted to the press. The plan must focus on smallholder farmers’ needs, as they represent 90% of all agricultural producers. The report should be succinct, based on facts and results. 2. Report on the plan’s progress and expenditures quarterly to donors, stakeholders, and the media. 3. Establish a national, permanent extension program to support farmers on a pre-determined annual schedule corresponding to planting and harvesting. 4. Create a national registry of all smallholder farmers so no one is left behind. 5. Promote organic, sustainable farming that remediates the soil and reforests the country. 6. Catalogue innovative local practices and disseminate them all over the country through extension training. 7. Build the necessary infrastructure: access to water, roads for timely deliveries, and storage facilities, placed strategically. 8. Support existing and create new agricultural cooperatives to promote farmers’ autonomy and self-reliance. Provide sustainable support to Haitian farmers will enable them to feed Haiti in all circumstances, and lift rural communities out of poverty. To continue sporadically dump large quantities of food from abroad, undermines Haitian farmers and accelerates their and the country’s downward spiral into deeper poverty. Ecoworks International’s Talia Farms is a regional program based on these goals and objectives. It aims to improve smallholder farmers’ productivity, earnings, and quality of life. It supports farmers’ autonomy and self-determination by organizing them into agricultural cooperatives they own and manage. Let’s do it right, do it now, and be impactful.
Let’s do it right, do it now, be impactful, and support smallholder Haitian farmers so they and their families can feed Haiti and emerge from poverty.
Get Involved: (305) 444 0127 (landline); info@ecoworksinternational.org
EWI'S TALIA FARMS REGIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, HAITI
TALIA FARMS COOPERATIVES PROGRAM
Economic Development Based on Farmer's Equity
EWI News
RECENT NEWS
COOPPERATIVES
- The first of the five Talia Farms planned cooperatives opened in September 2019 – Click on The Marre-Roseau Cooperative icon to know more.
- The Goat Project received full funding. As soon as the health crisis ends, we will purchase improved-breed goats. They will be sourced in Haiti to support local breeders. The women of CAMA are in charge of this project.
- CAMA plans to start a coffee production to diversify its crops, add a revenue stream, and use coffee trees as a reforestation project to mitigate floods, landslides and soil erosion.
ECOWORKS INTERNATIONAL
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- EWI is a member of Haiti Takes Root, Ayiti Vèt – a Haitian initiative to assemble organizations working in Haiti and practicing environmental stewardship. The coalition shares information and engages in advocacy to protect the environment.
WHAT WE DO
To counter poverty among Haitian smallholder farmers, EWI’s Talia Farms Regional Development Program partners on projects in these four areas:
1. Economy and Agricultural Production
* Open five regional agricultural cooperatives to create a local agricultural production hub while ensuring sustainability, mutual support, economic growth, and creating a legacy for the next generation
* Improve the quality of crops; crop diversification; increased agricultural production
* Open new markets; stimulate higher earnings
2. Environmental remediation and stewardship
* Soil remediation, reforestation, and related environmental activities
* Access to rainwater harvesting systems as Marre-Roseau has no other water sources
3. Community-based social programs
* Facilitate access to healthcare, better nutrition, education and water
* Establish school lunch program
4. Social Justice
* Press on for women’s equality and equity; youth integration and retention
* Promote democratic social values; strengthen smallholder farmers’ voices; present alternatives to the use of violence to vie for social change
* Integrate women’s equality and equity, youth integration and retention in all projects
The ultimate goal is to enable our partner- rural communities to become autonomous, self-sufficient, and sustainable.
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Your Support is Vital
What if five year-old Kenel, eight years old Roseline, and twelve years old Nadia wouldn’t spend five hours a day carrying water, instead of going to school? With your support we can build rainwater catchment systems to free the children from this chore and send them to school instead.
What if hundreds of farmers could organize themselves into agricultural cooperatives so they can improve their productivity, sell more crops, earn more money, and be able to better care for their families. With your support the first of the five planned regional co-ops just opened its doors.
When you invest in small-scale farming families, you change their lives for the better and forever.
Thank you!