Repeating Islands

2008 was a tragic year for Haiti. The country was devastated by four massive hurricanes. Crops were destroyed and many lost their lives in floods and mudslides. The food crises in April brought down the government and, although the political situation is stable, the country faces many challenges, chief among them a critical lack of food security. The Seeds for Haiti campaign aims to support and sustain rural farmers, helping redevelop the countryside and feed Haiti’s people. The campaign hopes to raise $115,000 for this coming April planting season.  A donation of $23 covers the seed needs for one family (corn and bean seeds, and transportation) for this growing season.

The website for the campaign can be found at
http://www.seedsforhaiti.org

For more information on the campaign see

http://www.heritagekonpa.com/Haiti%20a%20call%20to%20action%20for%20farmer%20%20to%20grow%20her%20own%20food.html

There is also facebook group for the campaign, at  

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/240771?m=05304c83

Other recent articles on Haiti:

In the New York Times at
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/world/americas/31haiti.html

In the New York Times Op-Ed page at
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/opinion/31iht-edmoon.html

In the Sunday Times at
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/opinion/29kristof.html

For a 2-part documentary on the impact of U.S. agricultural policies on Haitian rice farmers’ livelihood see Part 1 @  


and Part 2 @  

My thanks to Thomas Spear for these links. Do check his site at
http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/ile.en.ile/