Economy
A Revolutionary Bracelet
- Saturday, March 05, 2011 11:19 AM
If you didn't have any hope that the cycle of dependency on foreign aid in Haiti could be broken, then you need to know about Choose Haiti, and a powerful bracelet.
The idea is to pay people to clean the streets, picking up newspapers and bottles, sanitize them and with the creative artistic abilities of the Haitian people, form them into fashionable bracelets to be sold at major retail outlets abroad like Forever 21, Footlocker and QVC. Choose Haiti is creating sustainable jobs in Haiti with plans to expand their product line of papier-mâché products.
The Choose Haiti bracelet is $4 but has a suggested retail price of $5. It can be purchased online at choosehaiti.com for $10, with free shipping. $2 goes towards cost of production, $1 towards Caribbean Craft (Haiti) to rebuild their factory and $1 for job training. With plans to hire 3,000 people that are living in tents, Choose Haiti is counting on selling at least 1 million bracelets, they are up to a quarter-million.
The significance of this stylish bracelet, direk from the streets of Port-au-Prince, is felt by the people in Haiti long after the NGO-of-the-month has left. This is a model that can be replicated and scaled throughout Haiti and other developing countries. This bracelet represents the beginning of a revolution where sovereignty and independence is now the relief.
The Foreign Aid Dependency
When the earthquake of January 12th, 2010 or the hurricanes, 4 of 2008, or the coups of 91' and 04' or the uprising of February 1986 occurred in Haiti, other governments and donors came together and committed extraordinary resources such as soldiers and billions of dollars to address the situation.
They came to the rescue, the United Nations Peacekeepers and countless non-governmental organizations and took on the duties of policing, providing public works, social services and building infrastructure.
This sounds great but they come to destroy households. Out of those billions of dollars less than 5% of that money reported all over the news to be going to Haiti, actually enters the Haitian economy. Less than 5% of that money passes through the household of a Haitian citizen. This shouldn't be such a problem. It wasn't the Haitian's money to begin with, but it is a problem, because jobs, for example those in law enforcement or public safety are taken by soldiers from another country. Haitian teachers, builders, operators and service providers are replaced by college grads, recent grads and non-grads from donor countries who earn back these "donations" when they eventually leave.
A country can not stand on its own feet without a functioning economy. All the clinics, roads and food given can not compensate for a functioning economy. Every time these organizations leave, their unsustainable projects disappear and a cycle of dependency is renewed.
About Choose Haiti. Choose Haiti, is a marketing and importing company focused on creating sustainable jobs in Haiti by building demand for Haitian-made product Retailers who particpate in sourcing apparel and arts and craft products not only lower their costs but help Haiti with long term recovery.
Source: Choose Haiti, Fast Company
