One of Love A Child’s largest and fastest growing Development for Sustainability projects is the Gwo Marche Mirak, the “Marketplace”. The Marketplace provides a place for more than 600 businesses to create a vibrant local economy in the Fond Parisien area. Many businesses operate from the marketplace. One of the most exciting businesses at the marketplace is Farmer John’s Abatwa (slaughterhouse/butcher shop), which now provides over 30 full-time jobs and has been operating for three years now.

It has become a well-known “brand” of quality, sanitary meats all over the island of Haiti. They deliver beef, pork, goat, chicken, and eggs to Jeremie and as far away as Cap Haitian, and everywhere in between.

They provide clean, quality meat to hundreds of missionaries, orphanages, restaurants, hotels, and to hundreds of local marchands (individuals operating as a business reselling small batches of meat) and families.

Every day over a hundred of these “marchands”, little kids and local adults, come into the business to buy little pieces of meat and animal by-products cheap to make soups and meals to feed many of the families in the Miracle Village and surrounding areas.

The local farmers come every day bringing their livestock from far and wide to sell. Farmer John’s weighs the animals and gives the farmer a fair price. The farmers are so thankful that they can sell in a good safe area while getting a fair market price.

They are learning what Farmer John’s customers want and are adjusting daily. This efficient market is now a huge blessing for so many.

Farmer John’s has sold over 500,000lbs of meat!! Haiti has been a very challenging country the last 3 years with political riots making the safety and security very difficult for businesses to function. By God’s grace Farmer John’s has not had to shut down one day.

Farmer John’s is working hard to improve the quality of the animals by finding better feed supplies and improving genetics. One exciting new forage that they have introduced to the country a Brachiaria grass called Mulato II. It is a high protein, drought resistant grass with large tonnage. It is working very well in our area.

Local farmers that come to sell their cows are very interested in introducing this grass because of the results they see in Farmer John’s animals. LAC soon hopes to help manage a project to help bring forages such as this to more farmers in our area.

Last year, Farmer John’s added a chicken processing plant. That new part of the operation is helping make Love A Child’s Poul Mirak chicken farm more sustainable. Farmer John’s can now cut and process up to 1,000 birds a day, when they are available!

Farmer John’s is slowly increasing its market and starting to compete with imported and local chicken. They are helping Poul Mirak become profitable and at the same time also providing 10-15 other local chicken farmers a fair market to sell to.

Farmer John’s is providing so many nearby farmers, truck drivers, and businessmen in Haiti with hope and sustainable business.

Farmer John’s has big dreams of expanding the business. They want to buy canning equipment to be able to can all types of meats. Most of Haiti has little or no electricity for refrigeration, so they would like to provide canned meat for families to be able to store quality protein for an extended amount of time. It could be a huge blessing to so many and would also provide so many jobs.

The Gwo Marche Mirak and its Farmer John’s slaughterhouse are providing jobs, skills, markets, and better diets. All of this provides hope. Helping Haitians to help themselves. Providing jobs and food for life.