We support and invest in Haiti’s farming and fishing communities so they can break the cycle of hunger and poverty by becoming the country’s top producers.
The violent gang occupation of the greater region of Port-au-Prince, and the persistent generational hunger and poverty present both an urgency and an opportunity to build an inclusive economy that addresses the needs of smallholder farmers who are the heart and soul of Haiti’s food production.
We draw on the vast knowledge, talent and skills of smallholder farmers, their communities and institutions to jointly fulfill EWI’s mission:
“To bolster Haiti’s capacity to feed itself sustainably and build shared prosperity”
One of Haiti’s greatest challenges is the deeply entrenched hunger and poverty that affects half of its population, or close to six million people. This crisis spans generations and calls for an inclusive and lasting solution as the country’s ability to reach its full potential depends on it.
According to the World Bank, poverty in Haiti affects 20% of the urban population and 70% of the rural population. Most rural families are food producers. Partnering with them and investing in them is to help them grow a much greater quantity of fresh and affordable food, while ensuring farmers’ higher profits.
Smallholder Farmers’ crucial role in Haiti’s progress:
While Port-au-Prince and the surrounding region suffer incredible harm due to gang violence, other regions of Haiti have been able to repel gang occupation. This is an opportunity to help these free regions to grow and solidify their existing achievements and assets.
Our strategy is to support Haitian smallholder farmers in their quest to feed Haiti, and in the process help them lift themselves out of poverty. If 70% of the rural population living in poverty today can earn a living wage and produce more food, that would considerably reduce the country’s hunger and poverty.
To build a resilient and profitable food system requires a basket of interrelated initiatives: build a vibrant agro-economy, and reinforce it with environmental regeneration, climate change adaptation, women’s equity, children’s education, healthcare, regional capital formation, and programs to support young professionals.
This holistic approach is necessary to achieve lasting results that benefit the entire regional value and supply chain from growing crops to reaching consumers’ tables.
Digital technology ushers in a new era of opportunities for smallholder farmers: it exponentially increases their ability to collect data to base their planning and decisions on facts, vertically integrates their value and supply chain which will increase their profits, creates proof of assets which are potential collaterals, and facilitates direct relationships with international buyers which expands export markets and produces higher earnings.
Since Haiti is vulnerable to natural disasters, when necessary, EWI responds to catastrophes such as earthquakes and floods.
EWI builds cross-sectoral partnerships among local nonprofits, institutions, and businesses to contribute to regional growth. Powerful regions advance decentralization, which is vital to the country’s growth and resilience.
Despite gang occupation and violence in the Croix-des-Bouquets region, our school remains open, our agricultural cooperatives function, and our rollover fund supplies affordable loans to small-merchant women who, today, are their families’ sole breadwinners.
In the northern region where security has prevailed, we form important multisectoral partnerships to build a cohesive socio-economic program that benefits men, women and children to improve their daily lives and help build a better future.
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1. LAKE AZUEI REGION - Talia Farms
2. PORT-AU-PRINCE - 2010 Earthquake
3. NIPPES DEPARTMENT - 2021 Earthquake
4. NORTH & NORTH-EAST DEPARTMENTS - North Integrated Agro-Economic Development (NIAD)
Based on farmers’ input, we launched the Talia Farms Program, an integrated development initiative – based on EWI-farmers partnerships – for the Lake Azueï region. The purpose is to boost the local economy and reinforce it through environmental, social, and disaster relief programs to make it inclusive, integrated, and sustainable.
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The aim is to effectively address the deeply entrenched rural poverty by transferring knowledge, know-how, and resources to smallholder farming families who can drive the change towards regional economic growth.
Upon bringing up the cooperative as a possible solution to Marre-Roseau farmers’ expressed needs and aspirations, they stated that they had never heard of a cooperative. Just eighteen months later, they owned one.
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THE EARTHQUAKE IN 2021
On August14th, 2021, Haiti was struck by a powerful 7.2 earthquake, devastating the southwestern peninsula. The latest information indicates: that 2,200 were dead, 12,000 were injured, and more than 300 were missing; close to 130,000 homes were destroyed or seriously damaged, and an estimated 700,000 people are homeless.
Ecoworks International helps rural farmers build sustainable businesses. Learn more and Donate Today!
Michèle Pierre-Louis, former Prime Minister of Haiti (2008-2009); and the force behind transforming a huge swath of land into a magnificent public park, next to one of Haiti’s worst urban shantytowns, Martissant. Part of her intent was to also help revitalize this area. She is the recipient of numerous awards for her exceptional work to improve lives in Haiti.
EWI organized a guided visit for the Prime Minister to visit the region and some of our initiatives. She was impressed with the work done and expressed her concern about the inadequate local road system hampering farmers’ ability to deliver crops to markets. This is one of the reasons EWI is initiating a flood mitigation project to better protect local life, livelihoods and the main road leading to Marre-Roseau.
"Nou te travay ak EWI pou twa dènye ane yo. Yo te ede nou etabli koperativ agrikòl, CAMA, nou posede epi aprann kijan pou jere. Ansanm nou retabli wout nou ki te domaje anpil. Nou bezwen wout sa pou nou rive nan mache a pou nou vann rekòt nou an. Nou te konstwi kèk sistèm kolekte dlo lapli, epi nou espere bati yon sistèm pou bese inondasyon ki detwi wout nou chak sezon lapli. Nou bezwen tou yon klinik sante".
“ We have been working with EWI for the last three years. They helped us establish our agricultural cooperative, CAMA, we own and learn how to manage. Together we restored our seriously damaged road. We need that road to get to the market to sell our harvest. We built some rainwater collecting systems, and we hope to build a system to mitigate floods that destroy our road each rainy season. We also need a health clinic”
