Investing In Cacao

We're paying $6 for about eight big cacao pods, but a simple google search shows four to six pods cost $89! Cacao has great value but also requires an investment. Since it's shade-grown, cacao is great for biodiversity because other trees are needed to promote healthy growth. We're able to surround our cacao seedlings with indigenous shade from our long list of tree varieties.

Cacao's growth reinforces the importance of not cutting trees, and that nature depends on its neighbors.

Many online companies are selling cacao at very high prices. One day, our region will benefit greatly from these exports.

Adding Onto The Depo

We are building a shed with natural materials against the depo. We can’t put a mill and food in the same place as a motorcycle so we are building a secure place for the motorcycle and tools outside.

Spring Planting Underway

All the recent donations these past few months have helped us prepare just in time for the spring rains. We were able to save enough money to make a major planting of cacao, cashew, and some native forest tree seeds. We also have a variety of citrus going into bags throughout this week.

Learning To Grow Breadfruit

It’s not easy to grow breadfruit trees. They die easily in the early days, but Rosnie and Enel have been watering them two times a day for six weeks. Thanks to their hard work, we only lost four of the 30 plants that sprouted from roots.

Both Rosnie and Enel are proud because breadfruit trees are becoming very popular. So popular, that even people going to Port-au-Prince want to take them but it'll be another month before we send the trees to homes.

More Living Posts

We are fencing in a fourth piece of land that will serve as another protected area to grow trees. It’s in Cavaillon, has a water well, and a depo. We hope to add a nursery there as well. Goats and other grazers are a huge factor in tree survival. It’s easier to grow trees in the nursery than keep them alive in nature once they’re planted. By simply stopping animals from reaching them with fencing, we stop at least half the reason new seedlings die might die.

Eyeing A New Mill

Unfortunately, the new mill we purchased earlier this month doesn't work as well for our needs. This is the new mill we're eyeing and hoping to buy brand new.

Investing In Coconuts

We found a good price on coconut! It’s not easy to find coconuts that are unedible but ideal for planting. But our Nursery Manager Enel was able to find a lot. He collected a few sacks worth of coconuts from his connections in the region.

Coconuts are an essential staple for the Haitian people and part of almost every meal. Unfortunately, coconuts are getting harder to find, so people who receive the seedlings this spring will greatly value them.

Drying Breadfruit

Breadfruits have been falling from trees in great numbers these past few weeks.

People are working hard to dry the breadfruit shavings, and once they’re dry, they’ll grind them in the new mill and sell the flour in the market. It’s a great product for bread making, soups, or hot morning cereal. Breadfruit is also highly nutritious and affordable! Creating demand for tree products is essential to creating motivation for people to grow trees.

New Grinder

Today is a great day for the agroforestry farmers of our region in Haiti. Thanks to a generous donation from Trees That Feed, we are bringing home a mill!

The local people can grind their tree products like cacao and dried breadfruit into flour from now on. It will also be used to grind peanuts and corn to provide income for the nursery. The community will be thrilled!

Planting New Seeds

We are planting cashima and papaya seeds today by mixing them into a bed of soil. Once they sprout they'll be transferred into seedling bags. We're growing about 9,000 trees this month that will all be highly valued fruit trees ready to send to homes in April.