 Praxis Haiti currently sponsors several students ranging from kindergarten to high school. Though this is not a core program in our mission, we know that investing in education is critical to human development. We are raising $1500 to pay for tuition, materials and uniforms for up to 8 students during the 2012-2013 academic year. If you are interested in donating towards this education fund, please note “education” on your check or paypal donation. In our last newsletter, we made an appeal for 6 used laptops for training classes in the community of Lavanneau; thanks to a collaborative effort between Sue Dunn, Gina Coles, and Sunnking Inc, we received all 6! They will be put to good use this summer, as we partner with local associations to provide basic computer classes to high school students. What amazing support from our friends, thank you!! |
PraxisBlog
Check here for the latest information on what's happening on the ground in Lavanneau, and back here in the States.
Outreach Opportunities
Agricultural Education
We are pleased to present the latest member of the Praxis team!
Calixte Christin is a young agronomist we met at the symposium on agribusiness in February. He is a recent graduate looking for experience and is very interested in our projects. He will work with us on a part-time basis and serve as our technical adviser and trainer.
He will teach our next community seminar to be held on June 29th on natural pesticides.
His hire is a direct result of your donations; thank you!
Culinary Classes
 In April, we held a week-long class taught by Emily Troutman, of Tampa, Florida. Together, we taught pie crust and basic baking skills to some of our former students. We made several recipes; most were very appreciated but the winner was a patė (like a Spanish empanada) which the women thought they could sell. The photo on the bottom right is simulating a Dutch Oven concept. For the most part, no one in Lavanneau has electric or propane stoves. To bake you have to improvise. This is a method of cooking that we taught using a cast iron pot with a tin roofing piece as a cover to trap the heat. Our next class is being planned for early July. |
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Beacon Chicken Program
Thanks to the generous donation from the Beacon Church of Long Island, the Beacon Chicken Program recently completed its month-long program of teaching and training students to raise meat chickens, a sustainable model for this community.
The classes were held daily, starting with theory and followed by practical application. Students were put in groups of 3 or 4 and were assigned a day of the week for caring for the animals. They were not allowed to miss more than 3 classes or risk being removed from the roster. Gerald Joseph, a locally-trained young Haitian farmer, taught the following topics: preparation of a coop, types of chickens, stages of the life cycle, food preparation, diseases and medicines, daily care and maintenance, butchering techniques, and managing the business (including cost models and profitability, market analysis, key contacts ect). We took the students on a field trip to visit a commercial chicken farm.
In the end, 15 of the 16 students finished the program (one dropped out) and 49 of the 50 chickens survived (we lost one a week before graduation). The butchered chickens were used for the graduation meal which was cooked by students of the cooking class, some of whom attended the chicken program. Each graduate received an “acknowledgement of completion”, a booklet of the lesson notes, a Praxis shirt and 2 live chickens. The remainder of the chickens was given to those who had supported the program and poor members of the area.
We are encouraged that a handful of the students were interested in starting their own business. Consequently, we’ve held follow up meetings to help with business plans and foster collaboration amongst interested students. Praxis is committed to helping entrepreneurs launch small businesses as we believe this is a sure step toward the economic development of Lavanneau.
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