Sowing seeds of hope with vegetable gardens in Haiti

CIDA funds an urban agriculture project to help improve the status of more than a thousand families living in the most disadvantaged areas. Spinach, cabbage, beets, carrots, peppers, and beans-you should see the smiles of satisfaction these bring to the people who grow them.

Gardens were created out of recycled materials such as used tires. Tools and seeds were provided, as well as a brief course in the basic techniques of urban horticulture.

Participants learn to manage and compost organic waste and wastewater. Ricardo St-Aimé, a Haitian agronomy engineer, works on this project. "I like the interest and enthusiasm that people show here,'' he says. "They appreciate our help in growing food. It's very rewarding."

Thanks to support from CIDA, in cooperation with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization; the Haitian Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development; and non-governmental organization CARE, many Haitians are better equipped to meet their family's needs. In poverty-stricken neighbourhoods, this urban horticulture project also promotes a healthier environment.