Help Raise 50K for Haitian Farmers to fight Hunger

by Friends of Matenwa Inc
Help Raise 50K for Haitian Farmers to fight Hunger
Help Raise 50K for Haitian Farmers to fight Hunger
Help Raise 50K for Haitian Farmers to fight Hunger
Help Raise 50K for Haitian Farmers to fight Hunger
Help Raise 50K for Haitian Farmers to fight Hunger
Help Raise 50K for Haitian Farmers to fight Hunger
Help Raise 50K for Haitian Farmers to fight Hunger
Help Raise 50K for Haitian Farmers to fight Hunger

Project Report | Jul 25, 2024
500 More Families Get Seedlings and Seeds to Plant Gardens

By Chris Low | Co-Founder and Executive Director

A family garden participant.
A family garden participant.

Thank you for your generous support for the Matènwa Community Learning Center's project 'Help Raise 50K for Haitian Farmers to Fight Hunger' on GlobalGiving. We are grateful for your generosity and your solidarity!

500 More Families Get Seedlings and Seeds to Plant Gardens

Your generosity made it possible to distribute seedlings and seeds to 500 more families in communities throughout Lagonav Island during some of the most difficult times in recent memory in Haiti.

Families were trained on how to plant and care for organic vegetable gardens at their homes.  Training includes a variety of techniques to improve their yield without chemical fertilizers, such as using compost and natural insecticides.

Thanks to you, these families are now better able to grow their own food and provide for themselves, instead of relying on handouts from aid agencies or purchasing food produced on the mainland.

79 Families Receive Water Catchment Systems

Drought is a constant reality on Lagonav Island. Families lack a regular source of water that they can use to irrigate their crops and vegetable gardens and use for cooking and hygiene needs.

Your gift helped provide rainwater catchment kits for families that include gutters, pipes, and cisterns to capture and store rainwater. Trained local technicians install the systems and teach families how to use them for everyday tasks like planting and irrigating backyard vegetable gardens and larger crops, and how to make any repairs that might be needed. With a regular source of water, families can now grow more and different types of crops and vegetables, improving their own nutrition and providing a source of income by selling excess food in their local market. We hope to get more donations so that we can supply more families with these water catchment systems.

What Impact Do Home Vegetable Gardens and Water Catchment Systems Have on Families?

Anecdotal evidence collected during workshops and home visits with families who received rainwater catchment systems last year showed that many families were experiencing the following types of improvements:

  • Healthy vegetable crops even in the dry season;
  • Decreased hardship to collect water for household usage during all seasons, leading to children arriving on time for school and parents stressing less about water procurement.
  • Households reported experiencing increased time in conversation with children too;
  • Increased variety of vegetables raised and consumed in meals, including cabbage, bell peppers, Scotch Bonnet peppers, tomatoes, carrots, beets, lettuce, eggplant, and watermelon;
  • Increased spending power either because families no longer needed to use household revenue to purchase vegetables, or due to new revenue from sales of vegetables; and,
  • Integration of new sustainable farming practices.

We anticipate that the 79 families who recently received rainwater catchment systems will realize similar results. We will continue to work with these families to provide any support or technical assistance needed to ensure that their water catchment systems work well and that their home vegetable gardens are producing.

Thank you again for your generosity and solidarity. You are making a real difference in the lives of vulnerable families in rural Haiti.

Schools and Families Have a Successful Garden Harvest Despite a Caterpillar Infestation

A serious caterpillar infestation impacted school and family gardens across Lagonav Island. Despite their efforts to hand pick them off the plants, their crops died. This forced everyone to have to start from scratch. They grew more seedlings, transplanted them, and a successful garden harvest of hot peppers, scallions, and tomatoes was realized by the 20 schools and families with whom we are currently working.

Families love their water catchment systems.
Families love their water catchment systems.
A student works in the school garden.
A student works in the school garden.
We are training teachers at 20 school gardens.
We are training teachers at 20 school gardens.
Students tending their school garden.
Students tending their school garden.
A school parent in her home garden.
A school parent in her home garden.

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Organization Information

Friends of Matenwa Inc

Location: Cambridge, MA - USA
Website:
Facebook: Facebook Page
Project Leader:
Chris Low
Cambridge , MA United States

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