Chicken farming is providing vital new income for Marie Carmelle Larose in Haiti. Photo: Tearfund
2 October 2012
Hundreds of Haitian women affected by the 2010 earthquake are building their own thriving businesses with support from Tearfund.
Marie Carmelle Larose and Louis Soinie are two examples of those who have benefited from a Tearfund small business grant as well as marketing and small business management training.
Based in the remote mountain community of Duclos, they have developed a successful chicken-rearing business, which was started shortly after the quake.
The grant from Tearfund has enabled them to double their stock of chickens in just a few months, so at any one time they are raising some 400 birds.
‘With assistance from Tearfund, we were able to build a second chicken house,’ Marie Carmelle explains. ‘People come from all around to buy our chickens. People know about our business now!
Brighter future
‘Before, members of our community had to purchase frozen chicken meat from the market. Now they can buy fresh chickens conveniently in our community. We would like to extend the business to also sell eggs in the future.’
Tearfund taught the women good business management and marketing principles and offered learning opportunities through work placements and visits to larger enterprises operating in similar fields.
Louis, a mother-of-five, recently attended Tearfund’s business-skill training programme, which offers ongoing support aimed at those looking to expand existing businesses.
‘The marketing training taught us about customer care,’ she said. ‘They showed us how to market our products - we have to make banners and advertise on the radio. We also learned we must package our products. The training we received was very useful and will help us improve our business.’
Marie and Louis are not alone:
- 15 micro-businesses have been supported by Tearfund in rural communities around Léogâne, which was close to the epicentre of the earthquake.
- Bakeries, jam producers, chicken farms and shops are among the ventures that are now trading.
- 8 micro-enterprises have been strengthened and an estimated 250 disaster-affected women have benefitted from Tearfund training.
Kristie van de Wetering, Tearfund’s Haiti Programme Director, said, ‘Entrepreneurs are learning important skills to further develop their businesses, improving their livelihoods and creating bright futures for their families.’