It’s hard to imagine planting or harvesting crops without a tractor. What would someone in the middle of Kansas in a heatwave do without their irrigation systems to keep their crops from drying out? Modern agriculture has made production easier and seamless from start to finish, but not all parts of the world have access to machinery and water irrigation systems like the United States.
Brother Jeff Musich of Psi Chapter at University of Maine began doing volunteer work in Haiti more than 20 years ago. Now he works with Creole, Inc. Haiti aids in the development of the Haitian agribusiness sector designed to help the Haitian people feed themselves, while also assisting in the creation and maintenance of sustainable environmental approaches within Haiti.
“It’s become sort of my second life, helping people in Haiti,” Brother Musich said. He said he focuses on helping provide farm equipment, seed and other farming resources that are not readily available to the Haitian people, thus improving agriculture and people’s lives in that part of the world.
The organization is currently focusing on getting good-quality seed and farm equipment, such as tractors, to farmers. They plan to work on access to water and irrigation later down the road once they have fulfilled the needs for seed and farming equipment.
Executive Director of Creole, Inc. Haiti, Angela Brown Gilliam said the organization is able to operate through volunteers, outside donations and Haitian farmers who are part of the program pay a small fee to get their farm started. Gilliam said this way, eventually the organization won’t have to be reliant on outside donations and hopefully will become self-sufficient. She explained self-sufficiency is the overall goal of the organization.
Brother Musich began working in Haiti because he was looking to join a small non-profit that was doing hands-on work. He began with engineering projects, such as building out houses, putting in solar panels and a variety of other tasks needed in the area. The more work he did the more he realized he wanted to do more for the people of Haiti.
“I kind of fell in love with the country and I wanted to do more,” Brother Musich said. “I got reconnected with the agricultural work we are doing and I have a passion for it.”
He said he new Gilliam previously and was reconnected with her, which is how he got involved with Creole, Inc. Haiti.
Gilliam explained more about their current projects. She said the organization has two farm centers in the local area of Haiti that are semi-mechanized and they use as model farms. They then work with local universities and colleges to teach agriculture students about modern agriculture methods, as well as getting farmers started on their own crops.
She also said they just started a tractor service where Creole, Inc. Haiti is paid by the farmer to prepare their land, which has resulted in better yields and speeds up the preparation process.
“One of our clients, he used to take 22 days with a pick axe to prepare his half an acre and we did it in two hours, so it’s kind of life changing,” Gilliam said.
The organization has also been working with universities in the United States to gather good-quality seeds that will flourish in Haiti as well as preparing to start their first irrigation project. Gilliam said their clients currently rely on river and stream water, which isn’t always a reliable source of water. Creole, Inc. Haiti is raising money so that they can drill their first well.
Brother Musich said the overall goals are to reduce food insecurity, provide all the tools farmers in Haiti need that they may not have access to and improving the lives of Haitians through locally grown foods that will go into their food systems and cultivate business in the area.
Through modern American agriculture, Brother Musich and Creole, Inc. Haiti have begun to take steps to accomplish the Purpose of Alpha Gamma Rho, which is to make a broader and better agriculture. Brother Musich has called on his fellow AGR brothers to step up and join him in his endeavors. Anyone interested in supporting Creole, Inc Haiti’s cause can visit their website at https://creoleinc.org/ or they can contact Angela Gilliam at [email protected].
