ORGANIZATION OF SUPPORT TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PLATEAU CENTRAL
COLLABORATIVE GOAT RAISING PILOT PROJECT
Haiti is an agricultural country. In more recent decades, the country lost its agricultural edge. More than 1 million peasant families, about 65% of the population is in the agricultural sector. Although country-region’s agricultural sector is geared towards subsistence and local markets, 50% of employment is found in the sector. The national agricultural production maintained by the peasants is 80% and livestock is 99%. The region of Plateau Central is, particularly, essential for national livestock for it is the specialty of the area. In securing sustainable livelihoods, it is essential to better socio-economic conditions of the peasants by integrating livestock using a community, collaborative-based livestock raising model that will sustain economic empowerment of peasant families because livestock is the savings of the poor. Marmont is a case in point. 70% of its residents are farmers and their livelihoods are based on livestock raising and farming; done extensively by women. However, peasant families have no economic security since their livelihoods are not sustainable and are vulnerable to other critical environmental factors in the regions such as loss of crops either due to drought or heavy rains.
The Organization of Support to the Development of Plateau Central, Inc. (OSDPC) – a Boston-based nonprofit, with a small pilot grant from the Massachusetts Haitian-Americans Earthquake Task Force launched and implemented Phase-1 of the Collaborative Goat Raising Pilot Project on February 2012 in Marmont.
The Collaborative Goat Raising Pilot is a community-based economic empowerment model that creates investments that create social impact in local communities. Such investment not only empowers farmers’ families economically, but it creates socio-economic changes. The project came out of a 2-year ‘’Community Needs Assessment and Resources Mapping’’ conducted by the organization on 2010 and 2011. The project goal is to support sustainable livelihoods and local food security initiatives of local communities in the Hinche region, and to support local groups’ efforts in advocating for collaborative livestock raising that would foster economic empowerment of farmers. The objectives are, to:
Support local sustainable livelihoods and local food security initiatives of local communities in Marmont by providing short-term assistance and access to livestock to farmer’ families.
Support efforts of local gwoupman in advocating for collaborative livestock raising that would foster economic empowerment of farmers.
OSDPC is proud to announce that the model pilot project (Phase-I) has been a success. It is effective and starting to transform the community of Marmont. We are transforming communities by providing means of sustainable livelihoods and changing the concept of survival to that of enterprise. For instance, a peasant family who own a female goat that provide more than one goat twice per year is a steady stream of revenue since s/he can convert goats into income and use it to engage in order economic activities or pay school tuition for children. The pilot project has met its objectives.As of to date, more than 30 goats have been born and ready to redistribute and match to families. We are moving into Phase-2 with outstanding request to SOPADEM from more than 500 families willing to take part in the project. This translates into an urgent need to scale-up the pilot project into an ‘’Upgraded Phase-2’’. The Upgraded Phase-2 is upgraded contents such as workshop and training on Entrepreneurship designed to connect and integrate peasant families’ into larger regional economic activities and structures.
