Vegetable Gardens for Improved Nutrition in Haiti

Partners would first like to thank all our generous donors who have made this project possible! Your donations have provided supplies and trainings to families in Lory and we hope to keep bringing you good project updates that show the impact of your assistance.

Through collaboration with the Farmer to Farmer program, a team of organic agriculture specialists from Vermont recently traveled to provide training in integrated, sustainable farming. In Lory, they looked at improving practices in vegetable seedling production and transplanting, compost, and other areas.

An excerpt from their trip report is below: 

"The Lory community members that we worked with ... were very enthusiastic and had prepared raised beds with compost before we came. They were constrained by land availability, sun exposure, seed availability, and heavy soils with poor drainage. They valued the use of bagasse [the fibrous matter that remains after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice] based compost that Makouti has been producing and were extremely supportive of each other and eager to exchange ideas with us. Saintano [the village field technician] had good technical knowledge and seemed to gain confidence and comfort working with us over the course of the week." 

Based on their work and the trainings provided, some recommendations to further improve the gardens in Lory are:

• Clay soils with limited drainage are a problem so raised beds and as much compost as possible will help improve soil tilth and drainage. 
• Row cover should be used to cover beds until seedlings are able to withstand chicken damage.
• Continue compost workshops and additional pest management training is needed.
• Acquiring access to more and better land for the women’s group to work collectively as skill sets develop in vegetable production.

Training on these and other topics will help strenghten the impact of our work in Lory. Thank you again for your collaboration!

The Lory Project is moving along, thanks in part to your generous donations!  While still focused primarily on vegetable gardens for nutrition, through collaboration with other groups such as the Farmer to Farmer Program, the project now also has a small animal component to add meat.

Below are some accomplishments to date, along with next steps and future plans.

• Last year, we produced over that 4,000 tomato plants. This year, our potential is 10,000 seedlings and we have more pots so we can produce more seedlings.
• 10 families have a watering can to water their plants.  More families need watering cans. The good quality ones cost $15 each.
• 50 families are producing vegetables. Farmer to Farmer volunteers are helping find good quality seed but this continues to be a challenge.
• 4 back-pack sprayers are available to help families control the insect damage. For now, 4 are sufficient. But as people produce more, they will need more and each is $50.
• 20 woman are raising rabbits. There is a high demand for rabbits. 20 more cages need to be distributed to double the number of beneficiaries and increase the production.
• 10 families are raising chickens. More supplies are needed to increase chicken production.
• This year, by producing their own vegetable and meat, each family saves HTG 20 000. (USD $500). More varieties of vegetable are needed. Nutrition is a need and training will be provided on cooking techniques and suggestions for incorporating different vegetables into meals.
• This year, by selling vegetables and rabbit and chicken meat, each family earn HTG 15 000 (USD 375). More varieties are needed to sell more. New market linkages are needed as production increases.

As the project progresses, your support will be critical so we thank you for your continued interest in the Lory Vegetable Gardens for Improved Nutrition project!

In Haitian Creole, “Fanm se poto mitan devlopman” can be translated into English as “Women are the cornerstone of development”. Benito Jasmin, local coordinator of the Global Giving Vegetable Gardens project in Lory, has learned from experience that women are a powerful force in Haitian communities. They use their new skills and income to improve the lives of their families and neighbors. Thanks to you, women in Lory have received materials and training which has allowed them to work and learn at the community  nursery, transplant their own seedlings, and properly water their plants. The plants are now producing flowers and bearing fruit!

While working mainly with women, this project has also made an effort to incorporate men. Husbands have helped their wives prepare soil for transplants, helped with seedling transportation, and supported their wives in their agricultural activities. Benito commented that it was great to see husbands and wives making decisions together, and planning and laughing together.  

With the promise that the women in this community have shown in their horticulture activities, new doors are beginning to open. Soon, the families will have the opportunity to raise chickens. The community and leaders are also exploring ideas to make Lory a more unified and well-kept community by planting trees and flowers, and they are even considering the possibility of future Eco-tourism activities in Lory.

Thank you for helping to supply the materials and training necessary to provide these determined women and their families with the opportunities and hope they need for the future! With your continued support, Lory will keep working towards becoming an economically self-sufficient community.

The “Vegetable Gardens for Improved Nutrition in Haiti“ project is making great progress!  In January and February 2012, two Farmer to Farmer horticulture production specialists visited the town of Lory and met the student agronomist who is working with the garden project. They were preparing land for planting and had also done additional trial beds of various vegetables. The Farmer to Farmer team demonstrated techniques for seeding and thinning and also discussed plant nutrients and composting. As soil had been identified previously as a challenge, they also did soil tests. During the trainings, producers in Lory also had a chance to ask questions and much of that discussion was about composting. There were also additional field demonstrations in transplanting seedlings. Now in mid-March, more than 4,000 tomatoes seedlings as well as 2,000 pepper, cabbage, and eggplant seedlings are ready to be distributed to 50 beneficiaries in Lory.

As the project continues to grow, your support is critical. The nursery is still in progress, additional supplies are needed, and on-going training and technical assistance will make sure the garden project becomes sustainable.  Today – March 14^th – is Bonus Day at Global Giving, with a potential 30% match for your donations. Give today to help improve vegetable production and nutrition in Haiti!  

Over the past months, the small garden activities in Lory have provided a good foundation for this new project, and vegetables are growing! After receiving the first seeds, project coordinator Benito Jasmin worked with a student to help conduct soil fertility trials to see which soil composure made the most effective growth medium for producing seedlings. The trials especially focused on the right mixture of rabbit manure, which makes excellent compost and ties in well to other activities in the community.

This project is helping fund a nursery in the community to house these seedlings. Providing seedlings to the community members, rather than just the seeds, improves the likelihood that the plants will successfully germinate and become productive, healthy plants. This is important for the community members’ gardens, and also their motivation.

Photographed is a picture of the trials: sweet corn plants, just 14 days old, in trays with different soil composition. Among the types of seeds being germinated are sweet corn, okra, cucumber, watermelon, herbs, gourds, and other vegetables.

A volunteer with the Farmer to Farmer Program, a collaborating program which provides training to local students and producers, is currently in Haiti to help find ways to lessen the pests and disease found in the soil. The volunteer and project leaders are experimenting with a few different ways of harnessing the heat from the sun to kill soil borne diseases. Soil quality is a big challenge for producers in Haiti, so these trials and the establishment of the nursery will be important to the success of this project.

Thank you to everyone who has donated to this project! Your support is making a different in Lory, Northern Haiti!

Links:

• Farmer to Farmer provides technical assistance to Lory producers