Lavial (Haiti)

Reforest'Action is working with its partner OJUCAH and the local farmers of the town of Lavial to plant cashew trees. This program, called "Trees That Feed", will allow local families to create additional income.

The project at a glance

• Number of trees to plant: 300,000 
• Species planted: cashew tree (known as "apple-cajou")
• Number of beneficiary families: 2000
• Date of plantation: between January and March 

Context

Located in the Jacmel Valley, the town of Lavial counts around 36 000 inhabitants. Living conditions are precarious and a large part of the population is living below the poverty line. The hurricanes of 2008 and 2009, the earthquake of January 2010 as well as the passage of hurricane Matthew in 2016 are as many events which contributed to the destruction of houses, trees but also livestock. The local association OJUCAH, aware of such a situation, deploys its actions to support agriculture, livestock, health and education. The inhabitants of the community of Lavial can only count on agriculture and livestock to ensure their subsistence and do not have sufficient production to participate in any trade.

The challenge of the "Trees that feed" project is to bring cashew trees to families in order to produce and sell cashew nuts. The volunteer population is educated to agroforestry by agronomists. A team of 6 nurserymen works on developing the seeds and growing the seedlings. 

Previous programs have shown that about 2000 families will benefit from this new operation. This work will promote the development of a sustainable trade of cashew nuts and perennize a sustainable agriculture.