Trees For Haiti

Dec 25, 2014

Jacob Cravey is working to help women in Haiti to establish livelihoods through planting trees to restore the largely deforested country. He is raising money on Indiegogo. Recently, I caught up with Jacob to learn more about the effort; here’s what he told me:

What is the social benefit you hope to achieve with or through your crowdfunding campaign?

Trees. In Haiti, they aren’t just trees; they are livelihoods. Through “Fanm Kap Plante” which means “Women Who Plant” in Haitian Creole, We Are Neutral is seeking to help empower a group of 100 women in Kenscoff, Haiti with resources to plant and care for 1,000 fruit trees.
In Haiti, 98% of trees have been deforested, mainly for firewood to use and sell. This has led to the major issue of soil erosion in which rainfall washes topsoil away, increasingly destroying the country’s ability to grow food. In addition to these complications, women face the hardship of gender discrimination that is a structural part of their culture.
The “Fanm Kap Plante” initiative is a proven, creative solution to each of these problems: the roots of the trees hold the soil down, the fruit trees are too valuable for an individual to cut down for firewood, and the fruits provide food for the women to eat and sell.
With the help of Jane Wynne of Wynne Farm Ecological Reserve, we have helped 100 women plant over 2,000 trees. With the success of our work in Kenscoff, Haiti, we are now seeking to plant 1,000 more fruit trees to increase the social benefit to the women 1,000 steps further.
Beyond improving the quality of life for the women of Fanm Kap Plante and their children, the project acts as a safeguard for the future of agriculture in the area, benefitting upcoming generations of Haiti. By educating the community via the women on soil conservation education, our project assures that life-saving soil conservation practices are being spread into the community and passed on to future generations.
We believe the best way to help a group of people is by providing them a way to help themselves indefinitely. Fanm Kap Plante accomplishes this. We designed the project to provide women with resources and education to continue these efforts autonomously and indefinitely. Because of this, this project is self-sustaining with the ability to thrive after our assistance, improving lives beyond the direct scope of this project.

How much money are you hoping to raise and why? How much have you raised so far?

We are seeking to raise $10,000 by January 1st to provide resources for women in Haiti to plant fruit trees; resources in the form of materials, education, and income. So far we have raised $1,070.

Whom are you trying to help with your project and why?

We are helping a group of 100 women in two rural villages of Kenscoff, Haiti. We are also helping Jane Wynne of Wynne Farm Ecological Reserve who is our partner in this project work.

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