Mission

Konbit Pou Ayiti/KONPAY (Working Together for Haiti) strengthens existing organizations, builds national networks, creates relationships between individuals and organizations in the U.S. and Haiti, and and supports collaboration and the sharing of technology and expertise. KONPAY focuses on Haitian solutions to environmental, social and economic problems and provides training and funding to grassroots and community-based projects. KONPAY is supporting Haitian-led efforts to reforest Haiti and protect the environment.

Programs

Four hundred years ago, Haiti was the richest colony in the world, the Perle d’Antilles. The mountains were covered in rich mahogany trees and rainforests, the rivers ran deep and clear. When the French colonized the western third of the island of Hispaniola, they were able to extract unprecedented wealth from the rich soil and a brutal system of slavery. The day that ground was broken to plant the first food for export, the steady decline of Haiti’s soils and environment began. Over time Haiti has become one of the most devastated environments on the planet, and Haitians have become some of the world’s hungriest people.

We formed Konbit Pou Ayiti (Working Together for Haiti) to mobilize resources to address the crises of poverty and environmental degradation in Haiti. A konbit is an African tradition of community work teams who gather to assist those most in need. This tradition is alive and well and can be seen in fields across Haiti every day. While hundreds of organizations based in Haiti and internationally are engaged in work to save and protect the environment, few have ever worked together to build regional and national alliances. There has never been a true konbit for Haiti’s environment.

KONPAY’s role is to coordinate these diverse groups, organizations, and agencies to be as effective as possible. KONPAY is creating a network where organizations can share resources, education and best practices. KONPAY brings together experts and initiatives for erosion prevention, building greenbelts, solar and wind energy, alternative fuels, tree planting, food security, and much more, to build a lasting vehicle for collaboration for environmental groups: the Haitian National Coalition for the Environment, Kowalisyon Nasyonal pou Anviwonman Ayisyen (KNAA). This Coalition is a network and clearinghouse for resources and information on best practices for Haiti.

Any truly sustainable development in Haiti must include an element of environmental education and the planting of trees. One of the three goals of the KNAA is to implement a well-funded national program focused on massive, intensive reforestation and replacing charcoal as the main cooking fuel.

KONPAY is launching the Trees are Life campaign, which envisions a green Haiti, a land of renewed soil and protected water sources. The barren mountainsides will be lush with trees – all varieties of fruit and hardwood trees – just as they were four hundred years ago. Haitians will symbiotically exist with their environment, protecting their natural resources and meeting their own needs.