Entrepeneurs of Haiti

Inspiring people, rebuilding with help from Kiva lenders.

By Tim Chambers

July 31^st, 2015

WILFRID, TIFOU RESTO-BAR

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI

Wilfrid runs a small restaurant, bakery, and guest house in a busy neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. He likes to make pizza, though most of his local patrons usually choose standard Haitian fare of fish or chicken with rice and beans. He received a Kiva loan to help rebuild and upgrade his business after it was damaged in the 2010 earthquake. Now that he’s repaid his loan, he hopes to raise some more capital to finish his guest house expansion project.

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Roberte, BElzeB Aromatherapy

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Roberte is a naturopath who employs several women in Haiti to make essential oils, soaps, and other skincare products. She lost her home and workshop in the 2010 earthquake, and had to stop working for several months while she rebuilt. She received a Kiva loan to buy a generator and some other equipment to expand her business, and now supports over 75 artisans around Haiti with whom she contracts to make and sell her products. Read more of her story on Medium.

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Sandra, Sandilou Textiles

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

When the 2010 earthquake struck on a Tuesday in January, the security guard had just left Sandra’s workshop for the evening when the building collapsed. Afterward, Sandra and her employees worked outside under a mango tree, and used a Kiva loan to replace the sewing machines and other equipment she lost. She also built a new workshop—this time far enough from the tree that they wouldn’t have to dodge falling mangoes. Sandra now employs several local artists, and sells her hand-painted textiles around the Caribbean—you can even order her products online!

Delene, Rue Sainte-Anne

Les Anglais, Haiti

Along with her mother and daughter, Delene makes and sells lunch food in front of her house on the town square in Les Anglais. Through EarthSpark’s partnership with Kiva, lenders funded the installation of lights and outlets in her home, along with a connection to the new solar smart grid in Les Anglais. We stopped by her house several times to buy lunch while we were living in Les Anglais, often taking food to go along with our cold drinks at Deux Frères Bar.

While we were in Les Anglais, we got to help Delene and EarthSpark try cooking rice with an electric rice cooker alongside her standard charcoal stoves. We were excited to see the potential of electrical appliances powered by energy from the sun replacing smoky charcoal stoves that deplete nearby mangrove ecosystems.

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Philona, Asosiyasyon Fanm Karenaj

Cap Haïtien, Haiti

Philona started a cooperative of women who manufacture clothes as a way to support and empower each other. Asosiyasyon Fanm Karenaj (AFAK) has become a safe community where women can work together to raise money, learn valuable skills, and foster their financial independence. Kiva lenders funded AFAK’s loan, allowing them to purchase equipment and materials to start silkscreening and printing onto fabric. Philona and her group were eager to welcome us and take time out of their workday to share their stories.

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Yve-Car, Kreyòl Essence

Plateau Central, Haiti

Black Castor Oil has long been a popular remedy in Haiti, and when Yve-Car couldn’t find the oil in the United States, she decided to start a business producing and selling castor oil skin and beauty products made in Haiti. When the earthquake struck in 2010, she considered pausing the business to focus on emergency care, but her mom reminded her that Haitians will need jobs to continue their recovery after the relief efforts end, so she persevered. Her company Kreyòl Essence received the largest Kiva loan to date, which has enabled her to create 300 jobs in Haiti for farmers, producers, and manufacturers—most of whom are women.

We visited one of the farms where castor beans are grown, and we got to tour the production facility during a visit from the Clinton Global Initiative team who are also Kreyòl Essence supporters. Yve-Car’s drive and focus is inspiring, and her commitment to her social business model is clearly helping the people of Haiti. Support her work by ordering her products.

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Around The World — Stop One

See more photos from our Kiva Media Fellowship and the rest of our trip around the world in these stories:

Deux Frères — A short photo story about our favorite spot in Haiti.
Haiti’s Solar Microgrid — We visited a rural town where 400 homes have electricity for the first time.
Haiti — More photos from the first leg of our trip around the world.
Cacao Farming — The second leg of our fellowship in the Dominican Republic.
Habana Vieja — The next stop in our trip around the world.