PICO Delegation Visits Organizing Projects Across Northeast Haiti
In Capotille, along the Dominican Republic border, the delegation witnessed entire families in the peanut farmers’ cooperative coming together to harvest their crops. Cooperative members make decisions together as they build an enterprise to feed their families and improve prospects…
OPODNE’s Terrier Rouge Leaders Planning Restaurant Cooperative to Lift Local Economy
With an investment of $3,000, OPODNE leaders will establish a restaurant that caters to the hundreds of people who travel weekly to and from Cap Haitien and the Dominican Republic. In anticipation, some of these leaders are attending training in…
Join the PICO Delegation to Haiti August 16-23
PICO is making a difference in rural Northeast Haiti, training leaders who have started viable economic development projects - peanut, chicken and fishing co-ops. We invite you to join the delegation and meet leaders from OPODNE, Haiti’s PICO Project established by…
New OPODNE President Initiates Organizing in Caracol
Jean Mirvil recently was elected President of OPODNE by 100 delegates from across the Northeast District. He formerly was the principal of a middle school in Brooklyn, planning someday to retire to his native Haiti. Then he was invited to…
Grand Bassin Expands Chicken Co-op
Grand Bassin OPODNE leaders numbering at 75 have begun a successful chicken cooperative, selling their first 200 chickens. These sales generated a growing demand for more chickens. Co-op members re-invested some of their profits to build new pens on land…
Signs of Hope in an Area Devastated by Colonial History
Dufene Bendel relates the tragic history of Phaeton, formerly a thriving community supported by the sisal industry. Families had healthy livestock, horses and successful farms, and the town had its own airport. When the US pulled out in the 1980s,…
Haiti Leaders Will Formally Launch Their Organization in August
After two years of formation, hundreds of leaders from 13 communities will gather to formally launch OPODNE to address the issues afflicting the Northeast Department of Haiti. They will elect officers and advance strategies for development. Workshops on economic development…
OPODNE Leaders Make Plans for Fishing, Goat and Peanut Cooperatives
OPODNE leaders from Capotille (pictured above) are exploring how to start a peanut cooperative. They met with the head of a local peanut processing plant to research a potential partnership with farmers to grow peanuts. In addition, Haiti Director Francois…
OPODNE Gains Government Recognition That Triggers Broad Interest
Haiti’s national government has formally recognized OPODNE as a legitimate organization capable of undertaking improvement projects in the Northeast District. This recognition triggered a series of meetings with mayors from Capotille, Onenemithe and Phaeton, along with various NGOs seeking partners…