Just What is a Madan Sara

The most critical defining characteristic of the sara is her ability to leverage capital, knowledge, and relathioships to obtain and move produce at lower than wholesale prices.

Value Chain Study: Cacao, Cashews, Castor Oil, & Breadfruit

This document presents research on four value chains in Haiti: cacao, cashews, breadfruit and castor bean oil (ricin). The research was conducted in the context of the ILO project FOPRODER (2015-2020), that works through cooperatives and associations in Haiti to provide professional training and promote resiliency of value chains. Arguably the most important information inRead More

VALUE CHAIN REPORT, GRAND ANSE, HAITI

In this sub-report a team of HEKS EPER, UMCOR and Socio-Dig staff developed value chain models for three products of critical importance in the Grand Anse: fish, trees and goats. The creation of value-chain models for these products is intended to help people working in the region gain further understanding of the local economy andRead More

GRAND ANSE, HAITI, REPORT

This report focuses on rural household livelihoods in four Grand Anse communities. It was commissioned by HEKS EPER with support from UMCOR). The actual research was carried out by Socio-Dig. The report is divided into three main parts and an extensive annex. In Part I, we present the data from the baseline survey. In PartRead More

HAITIAN MANGOES EXPORTED TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

A big part of the irony of the rocket like growth of the Dominican mango export industry over the past 30 years (read this post) is that this had not only happened while Haiti’s exporters had failed to increase their own exports or to effectively organize the mango industry: it was arguably launched with theRead More

The Haitian Boutik (‘neighborhood convenience store’)

This post is useful for a) the description of the formal versus informal market chains in Haiti and b) data from several random boutik (neighborhood stores) surveys. You will find information on the estimated number of residences per boutik, the use of credit, distribution channels, and inventories. Data is drawn from studies we conductedRead More

History Brief: Site Soley (Cite Soleil)

This post mostly comprises a study I did in 2008 of three Site Soley communities. I want to make it clear that I am by no means trying to portray myself as an expert on Site Soley. I have only visited the place half a dozen times, and done two small surveys in the neighborhood.Read More

Part II: Market and Boutik Focus Groups, Plateau Central, Haiti: Product Inventories, Market Size, Pricing & Turnover Rates

This is Part II of a two part market study (see Part I for quantitative survey) commissioned by the Clinton Foundation and facilitated by TechnoServ Haiti, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) dedicated to “business solutions to poverty.” The actual research was carried out under the auspices of the Haiti based research company, Socio-Dig. The research wasRead More

Part I: Market and Boutik Survey, Plateau Central, Haiti: Product Inventories, Market Size, Pricing & Turnover Rates

This Part 1 of a two part market study (see Part II for focus groups) commissioned by the Clinton Foundation, facilitated by TechnoServ Haiti, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) dedicated to “business solutions to poverty.” The research conducted by Socio-Dig, a Haiti-based research company. The study was designed to assess the availability and pricing of aRead More

Market Assessment for Skills in the Agribusiness and Construction Sectors in the Saint Marc Region

The research presented in this report was commissioned by the RTI project, Local Enterprise and Value Chain Enhancement Project (LEVE), part of a USAID–USDA program working with the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development (MARNDR) to rehabilitate three vocational schools. The goal was to assess the technical skills in demand in St.Read More

Anthropology in Haiti