Throughout the many security and economic crises Haiti has endured during recent years, Plant With Purpose's community Purpose Groups have become places of refuge, belonging, and security for its members. While the state of the nation makes it difficult to make progress, dream of a future, and secure resources, these Haiti Purpose Groups have provided a platform where improving one's family life remains possible.
We recently had a chance to hear from a few of these Haiti Purpose Groups as they near graduation. Here is what they have had to say about their experience.
The Mawote Purpose Group
Our advice to a new group wanting to develop a partnership with Plant With Purpose will be to formally invite them, then to start taking part in our field activities. We will use our knowledge and our skills to organize workshops and field practices to teach other people.
Thanks to the Haiti Purpose Group and the produce of our land we are now able to respond easily to the needs of our households. People in our community are well trained and they continue applying their newly-learned techniques. However, some people are still learning, so they are being taught by the most skilled participants.
Our community has really improved thanks to the work with Plant With Purpose. We have more access to money and we harvest more in our farms thanks to some innovative techniques like composting and soil conservation.
The participants in our group are motivated to care for creation. They plant a lot of trees, protect the soil, and use compost. They also better manage toxic trash like plastic. Our farms are more fertile than before. We grow more species and we harvest more crops.
We eat more diverse foods and can eat more times each day because of our own production and the savings we can access through our Purpose Group. We have our own tree nursery and every year we are able to produce until 2,000 to 3,000 trees.
Most of the young people see themselves as the new keepers of the future because they are deeply involved in the process of creation care and economic initiatives. They are motivated to stay in their community.
The Lompre Purpose Group
We are very concerned about the role trees play in our health. We have learned how to manage all kinds of trash like plastics. Our aim is to protect the environment and, ultimately, our life. Thanks to soil conservation, tree planting and composting, our farms have become more fertile than before. We diversified our crops and now we harvest more products.
As we diversify our crops and improve our lands we gain the opportunity to eat more frequently and to eat more nutritious food. The money we get from our savings and loan activities help us as well. Our Haiti Purpose Group has its own tree nursery. We produce trees in a Plant With Purpose research and demonstration site located in a neighboring community.
A lot of changes are made in our community thanks to the work of Plant With Purpose. We have a better tree cover and our own community bank where we can save and borrow money. We also develop more harmony and solidarity in the community.
We have done a lot of practical things, even though some of them are less skilled. Due to our improved farms, our technical knowledge and our Purpose Group, we feel really empowered to respond to our needs. We will train others in the field in practicing all the techniques we have learned from Plant With Purpose staff. We will also advise others that Plant With Purpose is truly a partner for making changes in their life and in the community.
In our community, we used to grow only one variety of mango tree which did not have too much economic value. Currently, thanks to grafting, we produce other valuable varieties. Thanks to these new activities, they could solve a lot of economic and social problems by themselves.
Not only are many young people are participants in the group, some others take the place of their parents in field activities when they are busy. It is a good attitude for the future.
The Belvi Purpose Group
Currently, many young people move to the cities and some foreign countries like Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic because they are discouraged. They are in search of a better life.
Living is too expensive. However, when there is a good harvest season, we can eat more nutritious food thanks to the vegetables we produce in our backyard gardens. Sometimes, when we do not harvest much we have some difficulties to respond to our needs. However, thanks to our Haiti Purpose Group we are able to do something. We are empowered thanks to the diverse training we received. We can continue to do something.
We encourage others to participate in the group. Then, we will organize field training sessions for them about some techniques like layering, grafting, soil conservation, and so forth. To be good partner of Plant With Purpose, one must show their interest for three integrated areas of activities: environmental protection, economic development, spiritual renewal
Thanks to the trainings received from Plant With Purpose staff, people become good managers of their environment. They realize soil conservation, treat ravines, plant trees, and so forth.
There are a lot of improvements in the community, like: we have other types of fruits we did not have before. People live in more harmony and solidarity. We have our own microfinance structures.
Our farms produce more when there are rains because the soil is conserved and we use compost. So, we harvest more even though we do not grow more crops Our group has its own tree nursery.
