Day 5 in Haiti

Day 5: Today we got up early to drive to the sewing cooperative in Lilivois. It was a long two-hour drive but when we arrived it was definitely worth it. We went to the top level of a two-story concrete building and were introduced to one of the sewers in the cooperative. We saw some of their work, which was incredibly intricate and beautiful.

We talked to the women who worked there and they told us how much they loved the cooperative. They spent about six months every day from 7-1 just learning how to sew and then they started in the first of two rooms working on simpler projects like pot holders and pillow cases. They told us that their work usually took about three days to complete and they made many of the designs themselves. The other room had more experienced two-year sewers. They worked on projects like large quilts that took a few months to complete, but were incredibly creative. The designs ranged from images of schoolhouses to depictions of their everyday lives.

We then talked to the head of the schools that were in the lower part of the building. We got a look into the rooms themselves, which were concrete with a table and some chairs and very limited decorations. We also got to talk to the main teacher of the sewing cooperative who was sick in bed. She told us that she had a total of 18 workers who would work on the projects, which were then brought to America and sold, and the money was given back to the person who made the item. The system seems to have worked incredibly well, and we definitely want to strive to develop something along the lines of their project.

We also met the schoolteacher for the school in Bois d’Avril who was very nice and spoke pretty good English. We also got to go to her house and meet her family who were all very welcoming. On the way back home we stopped at a market and bought fruits like bananas, mandarins, and papayas from a group of all women sellers. We also went to a super market, which actually looked pretty similar to one in America, and had many American brand items. Once we got home we had a great lunch of spaghetti with tasty tomatoes sauce made of fresh vegetables. We went for a walk through the village after lunch and greeted many of the smiling villagers. We are very excited to be working with the villagers tomorrow morning and implementing some of the ideas from the cooperative in Lilivois.