This week, Wilner, Director of our Agricultural Training Center (ATC), organized a work party of 15 local volunteers to help our short-handed ATC crew to do clean up around the ATC and the roadway leading to it.

Many “development” programs often use “work for food” as a way to engage local populations in projects for broad community benefit. The workers have something positive to focus on; they can belong to a group with a common goal, and they achieve communal benefits together and earn food for their families. It is a win-win situation, and the volunteer workers have dignity and pride in their accomplishments for the community.

The project this week was to clean out a lot of extra vegetation that had grown up due to recent rains and was now choking the roadway. Not only did the area around the ATC get a “facelift” and look better, but all the weeds, grass, and overgrowth that was pulled out became new mulch, with the rest of it going into the compost bins to make organic fertilizer. Not only was it a community beautification project, but it was a good lesson in agroecology, turning the waste biomass into very useful by-products.

Our ATC projects are very popular throughout the community, and Wilner never has a hard time recruiting volunteers who want to work, learn, and earn. We are very grateful to our donors who support this important work, helping Haitians to “develop for sustainability”.

Each of the 15 volunteer workers gets a box of Feed My Starving Children food, “tipanou,” for their week of community work.

Together, we are having good harvests because of your support.

God bless you.

Rad Hazelip, Assistant Executive Director