06.05.2004
FEATURE: Haiti: Coffee – A Symbol of Hope
LWF/DWS Country Program Haiti Contributes to Strengthening Civil SocietyMONTREUX, Switzerland/GENEVA, 6 May 2004 (LWI) – Drinking coffee might not cure the economy of a bankrupt state, but perhaps planting it may. There was a time when Haiti’s coffee was ranked among the world’s best. Then it was not just an agricultural product but part of the entire island’s identity. Such ideas may seem a far cry from the current reality characterized by continuing political and economic crises in the Caribbean nation. But Michael Kuehn, representative of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Haiti and director of the country program of the LWF Department for World Service (DWS), says coffee production is improving and on the way to restoring some self-confidence and economic recovery to Haiti.
Recurring violent conflict in Haiti since 1986, led early this year to mass protests and nationwide unrest. The crisis finally led to the forced resignation of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide at the end of February, and his escape to the Central African Republic. Although an international alliance of Canadian, Chilean, French and United States’ military forces was set up immediately thereafter, resolving the disputes between rebels and Aristide’s supporters remains a difficult task. As a consequence of the continuing instability and lack of opportunities, many Haitians are trying to leave the island. As recently as April 27, US coast guards shipped back to Port-au-Prince some 700 Haitians who had attempted to flee the country.
Against this background of Haiti’s political problems, the LWF/DWS country program should be seen as supporting the development of new democratic structures and strengthening civil society rather than primarily providing food supplies to combat poverty, Kuehn stressed in an interview with Lutheran World Information (LWI) during the April 27-29 DWS Annual Forum in Montreux, Switzerland.
There must be a deliberate effort to promote the people’s confidence in a democracy and directly involve them in the democratic processes, stressed Kuehn. Coffee growing could contribute to establishing social structures, he said. Increasingly, coffee was being produced on a cooperative basis and exported on “fair trade” terms. The LWF-supported cooperatives in Haiti have found “fair” trading partners in France and the United States of America.
Kuehn pointed out that Haitian coffee growers were becoming more aware of the need to exploit economic niches on the international coffee market. Their aim is to export high quality coffee again, he said.
What was good for coffee production was equally the right approach to rebuilding Haiti’s political and social structures. The principle of long-term involvement and the setting up of cooperatives should also be applied in the case of cooperation between the United Nations, non-governmental and community-based organizations. It was thus important for organizations like the LWF to concentrate on increasing capacity at the grassroots and to continue to support such work, Kuehn argued.
“From the bottom up – working hand in hand with the organizations on the ground,” was how the DWS Haiti program director described this concept of a viable approach to building up a new society and awakening consciousness about democratic processes among the people of the Caribbean nation. The population has always had the will to create a democratic state, according to Kuehn, but this resolve was all too often almost overwhelmed by the daily struggle to survive, lack of food or medical care.
However, in order to improve the people’s living conditions and fight poverty, it was necessary to first establish government structures as a basis for all assistance efforts. The signs of hope are few and far between. One of them might be coffee production, which could create jobs and regular income in the struggle against poverty. But coffee planting takes time and needs care in order to grow and bear fruit – just like the vision of peace, democracy and a better life in Haiti. (639 words)
(Article by, Julia Fauth, youth trainee in the LWF Office for Communication Services
If you want to edit this article yourself and adapt it to a given format, follow our editing information
