According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Haiti is among the most deforested countries in the world. Trees That Feed Foundation has been working to change that for almost 15 years. We have surpassed 100,000 food bearing trees!
Civil unrest, poverty, corruption, poor infrastructure, poor healthcare, and a lack of education impede economic growth in Haiti. The frequency of natural disasters is increasing due in part to climate change. Gangs occupy roads making cross-country travel nearly impossible.
Despite these challenges, the people of Haiti are resilient. Working with entrepreneurs and local NGOs, we have created pockets of breadfruit-based activity throughout the country. And we’re still growing.
We are grateful for excellent working partnerships with Three Angels Children’s Relief Foundation, Haitian Connection, Smallholder Farmers Alliance, Floresta Ayiti, and Immaculate Concepcion Parish in Galette-Chambon.
A quick story:
In August 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince and impacted all of the Grand – Anse in Southwest Haiti. Our contact and entrepreneur there, Pierre Moise Louis, runs a breadfruit nursery and bakery in Jeremie. His business was undamaged by the earthquake and we were able to help his business ramp up production to assist those without access to food in the aftermath of the quake. Over the course of the month, Pierre’s business was able to produce and distribute almost 80,000 breadfruit breads and konparets to charities across the Grand – Anse. In addition, the business supplied food for the local community who reported walking up to 2 hours to reach the business for food.
Pierre’s business is now back to normal operations, and we hope to continue seeing his business expand with our continued support and the support of his local community.
