HCI Handbag Project

HaitiCorps International is developing a new project with Ann Heckathorn, an American handbag designer and manufacturer. Ann has extensive experience in the handbag industry and a deep knowledge of the entire production and distribution process. Ann will work closely with HCI to select several high-quality and successful designs from her own production runs. These designs will be the foundation of a new series of handbags made in Haiti that will feature beadwork, embroidery, quilting, and crocheting in Haitian artistic and decorative styles. The finished bags will be marketed and sold in the United States.

The Handbag Project will pay a fair wage to all employees and will establish a profit-sharing agreement with Haitian partner organizations. Our first partner will be FAVILEK (Fanm Viktim Leve Kanpe, or Women Victims Get Up Stand Up), an organization dedicated to helping women who have been victims of violence. For almost twenty years, FAVILEK has fought for justice and reparations for women who were raped, tortured, imprisoned, or abused under the military dictatorship. Today, FAVILEK works with women in relief camps for the internally displaced to document and report instances of rape and other forms of gender-based violence.

Through the Handbag Project, HCI and FAVILEK will train women in sewing and other techniques and offer stable employment with a fair wage. A profit-sharing agreement between HCI and FAVILEK will also ensure that the project remains responsive to the needs of Haitians themselves and will allow FAVILEK to expand its much-needed programs to women in precarious situations.