News
Creating a Better Tomorrow in Haiti
By Keith Recker
I'm Keith Recker, the founder of HAND/EYE Fund--a Clinton Bush Haiti Fund working partner in Haiti. HAND/EYE is working alongside RTM Ltd to establish the Haiti Artisan Business Network, with essential Fund support. Our goal is to improve the business services available to Haitian artisans so that they can export more effectively and profitably...and more frequently, too! Helping artisans succeed is integral to HAND/EYE's mission: we work all over the world to document and publish the creative work of artisans, artists, and designers whose efforts lift up their communities. Check out our stories about Haiti at handeyemagazine.com.
The strength of the Artisan Business Network comes from the Haitian entrepreneurs and artisans who are working hard to build successful handmade businesses. Every time I travel to Haiti I am so impressed with the inventiveness of the people we work with. During a recent trip to Jacmel, on Haiti's southern coast, a volunteer designer colleague and I were able to develop over four dozen new designs. There was nothing our papier mache experts Pascale Faublas and Pierre Edgar Satyr wouldn't try. What resulted was beautiful, and holds real promise for future commerce.
Haitians don't really want charity: they want business. They want real, enduring opportunity to make it on their own. And they can--with their talent and hard work. The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund's help with the Artisan Business Network is creating opportunities that are very much needed for a better tomorrow for Haiti.
Keith's favorite piece--an ornament--from his recent trip to visit with artisans.
