Lambi Fund Photos
This slideshow was first pubilshed in 1999.
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Rice is a staple of the Haitian diet; the rice grown locally, as shown in this paddy, must compete with cheap imported rice dumped on Haiti as food aid. (©Maggie Steber)
The name Haiti means mountainous in the language of the original inhabitants of that land. A Haitian proverb indicating the constant struggle of life says, Behind the mountains there are more mountains. (©Pierre Marie Basquiat)
Grassroots groups like this one organize themselves to administer economic development projects to increase local agricultural production and raise the standard of living of rural residents. (©Jane McBee)
Haitian peasants often have no other means to earn income besides cutting down trees to make charcoal, the main cooking fuel of the poor. Without tree roots to hold the topsoil, much of it washes away during the hard tropical rains. Lambi's sustainable agriculture training teaches farmers how to best protect and enrich their soil. (©Todd Saddler)
Lambi-funded irrigation projects like this one enable farmers to cultivate many more acres of land than they could have otherwise. (©Jane McBee)
Like parents everywhere, Haitians work hard to care for and educate their children, hoping that their children's lives will be easier than their own. (©Jane McBee)
The majority of Haitians live in the countryside and rely on agriculture to feed their families. (©Pierre Marie Basquiat)
Ox-driven plows are a reliable and appropriate technology, which greatly enhance food production and farmers' profits. In this Lambi-funded project, an association of farmers rents out its cooperatively-owned ox plow to members at reasonable rates.
Women are the backbone of the retail economy in Haiti; most foodstuffs and household items are sold by women vendors in open air markets like this one.
In this Lambi-funded project, a women's group owns and operates its own mill, providing a needed service to hundreds of local women at an affordable price. (©Jane McBee)
Millet, a popular grain in Haiti, must be soaked in water before being milled. Lambi has begun to fund cisterns built near mills to facilitate the mill operation. (©Jane McBee)
This water cistern, built with Lambi's support, is part of a community group's project to supply water to 45 families in rural areas.
Lambi has funded several pig husbandry projects which provide a hearty, well-adapted breed of pig. In Haiti pigs are like money in the bank, only more reliable."
"With Lambi's support, a women's group began their own jelly-making enterprise. The women turned fruit that would otherwise have spoiled into jams, jellies and fruit juices, and sold them at a local school. (©Pierre Marie Basquiat)"
The task of milling grain falls to women in Haiti. Often they have to walk long distance carrying their loads on their heads to access a mill. (©Jane McBee)
Women are active members of the grassroots movement; through meeting together they gain new skills and new confidence in themselves. (©Jane McBee)
'The road to real democracy is a long one, but we have set our feet on that road, and we will not turn back!' —Josette Perard, Lambi's Haiti office director. (©Jane McBee)
Songs are often used by grassroots groups to animate meetings and to encourage participants to reflect on how they can together change their country for the better."
