Welcome to Nazon! Nazon is the NGO Espérance et Vie’s farm located just outside of Terrier Rouge, on which it grows produce, including for the lunch program at the school.
The goal of farming at Nazon is to increase food security, reducing reliance on purchased (and especially imported) foods, since the pricing and availability of those items can be problematic. Crops grown in 2024 at Nazon include okra, cassava, limes, squash, papayas, coconuts, and black beans.
In 2023, the NGO leadership team identified that Nazon was also an ideal home for honey bees, which could yield a cash crop to help fund the NGO’s various programs. The NGO partnered with Villages Apicoles Horizon SA (Viahsa), a Haitian organization focused on facilitating beekeeping in Haiti. When Pastor Leigh and Executive Director Rennae Henry traveled to Haiti in May 2023, they visited the facilities of Viahsa, along with the NGO’s CFO, Jean Robert Bouloute, Chief Association Officer, Sarah Bruno, and Guerlyn, one of the NGO staff members who received beekeeping training.
The director of Viahsa explained their mission to facilitate honey production in Haiti and gave a tour of their entire operation. Viahsha’s facilities include a hive construction center, their own thriving hives, education/workshop space, a building equipped for processing the honey, and of course a storefront.
Functioning a bit like a co-op, Viahsa provides hives, bees, training, and technical assistance to its partners, such as Espérance et Vie, and will also purchase, process, and market the resulting honey. In fact, when the travelers were in Cap Haitian on their way to fly home, they saw Viahsa products on the shelves of an airport shop!
Following the May 2023 orientation, Viahsa delivered an initial set of hives to Nazon (a hive is a “ruche” in French). The project has been highly successful, and the first crop of honey was harvested earlier in April 2024.
The first set of hives did so well, in fact, that, following this initial harvest, an additional set of hives was then added!
In addition to providing a source of funds to the NGO, as a result of the beekeeping project, the crops at Nazon have a more reliable source of pollination, helping ensure greater food security for the school, and two employees of the NGO learned marketable new skill sets. We say Au Revoir to Nazon, as we prepare to leave after a visit to the crops and hives, thankful for the many ways that the work of Espérance et Vie at Nazon benefits the people of Terrier Rouge!
