Capotille expands cooperative efforts to include banana project

With a small investment of $1400 from their own micro lending fund and $1000 from OPODNE, leaders in Capotille have launched a banana project. They have organized 70 farmers who have leased land, removed tree stumps, tilled the soil and planted 625 banana trees at the beginning of the year. They are thriving. The first harvest will be early 2019. The Capotille cooperative also operates a micro lending and peanut project which provided funds for this expansion. The long term objective of the project is to plant 20000 banana trees in five years. To be fully successful, they will have to irrigate their crops. To achieve this kind of sustainability, members are reinvesting 35% of the profits generated by the project in the purchase or lease of land and equipment. The overall goal of the LOC is to reduce food insecurity, increase income, and reduce poverty for the families in Capotille.

Capotille is a rural community in Northeast Haiti along the Dominic Republic Border and is home to about 17,000 people who survive on farming peanuts, corn, manioc, and fruit. The LOC was founded in 2012 and provides a model of self-help, innovation, accountability, and success for organizations across the department.