By Katiana Anglade | Project Leader
In the Southern region, 175 farmers were beneficiaries of these funds. These farmers were mainly from the following organizations spread throughout the communes of Cavaillon and Torbeck: MPL: Mouvman Peyizan Lafrezilyè (Peasant Movement of Lafrezilye) OPDTM: Oganizasyon Peyizan pou Devlopman Twa Mango (Peasant Organization for the Development of Twa Mango) KOKAP: Koperativ Agrikòl Kafe Plezans (Agricultural Coffee Cooperative of Plezans) KOPADET: Konbit Peyizan pou Devlopman Tòbèk (Peasant Collective for the Development of Tobek) APTK: Asosyasyon Peyizan Têt kole Kavayon (Heads Together Peasant Association of Kavayon) OPBK: Oganizasyon Peyizan Bèsi Klona (Peasant Organization of Besi Klona).
These organizations did not all plant at the same time because some needed to plant on dry land, during the rainy season or land that had just been watered. MPL, OPDTM and KOKAP planted on dryland during the month of October. Some of the beneficiaries were able to utilize the funds to pay off debt that they had incurred during the previous month as well. These farmers planted beans, corn, sweet potatoes and peanuts. All of their gardens have already harvested.
The planting sessions for OPBK, TKL OMEO, APTK and KOPADET occurred in the end of November going into December. These beneficiaries planted beans, peanuts, sweet potatoes as well as an assortment of peppers. These gardens are flourishing with some of the peppers and peanuts already harvesting. All of the cultures they planted are preparing for harvest within the 3 months as planned in the program goals. There are also some of the organizations, like APTK, that faced additional planting delays because of very heavy rainfalls in their area (Cavaillon).
Despite everything that was going on and all of the troubles the members faced, there was still a praise-worth level of solidarity within the organization members who joined forces in helping each other with their planting in an effort to minimize the cost of hiring outside labor. Another form of solidarity within the program was the Cavaillon farmers, specifically APTK, who after completing their planting in the month of October sold seeds to other members who were preparing to plant in December. This on-the-spot access to the supplies needed helped the next group tremendously and allowed them to complete their gardens at a much faster pace than other local farmers who had to get their supplies from outside vendors. The organization members expressed so much gratitude for this emergency support, along with the constant help that they received from the Regional Monitor who never left their side.
Unfortunately, the Southern Department was dealt another devastating blow. On August 14, 2021, Haiti experienced a magnitude 7.2 earthquake leaving more than 2,200 people dead, 12,200 injured, and more than 50,000 homes and other facilities destroyed. In the area affected by the earthquake, Lambi Fund has served 60 organizations, with an average of 100 members per organization, in 11 districts. Almost all of these organizations have sustained losses resulting from the disaster and have contacted Lambi for assistance, as they are accustomed to doing in the event of natural disasters because they have no one else to count on. Formal damage assessments received so far from representatives of 26 peasant organizations served by Lambi reveal the death of 76 members; 1,687 houses demolished; 2,729 damaged; and 279 injured, including 15 with serious injuries. Additionally, many projects lost their mill houses and nursery pergolas. Many irrigation systems that allowed members of the organizations to cultivate crops, are completely destroyed. Other economic activities, such as women’s trade fell flat because many of the members lost everything when their homes collapsed. Sources of drinking water have become muddy. Many of the members of the peasant organizations are now homeless and are sleeping on the streets.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
