May 1st Agricultural Fair Photos - Part 2

I like the architecture of this old agricultural building.

Schools and businesses were closed for the May 1st holiday. Some schools brought their students for a hands-on, visual lesson on geography. It sure beats learning from a textbook! It was good that we were able to take 11 members of our Coram Deo family to this event.

It was a busy day at the fair with lots of visitors taking in all the exhibits.

The bags on the table are rock salt made in Haiti.

Conch shells are everywhere in Haiti. They make a tasty food.

This man at the Palmis Eneji booth is explaining a newly designed cooking rechaud that is more economical.

Seeing some of the different plants gives hope that the country will one day be reforested. It isn't going to happen by itself. The Haitian people will need to make the effort at replanting young seedlings and take care of the growing trees.

Roaming street vendors walked around carrying refreshments and snacks. They did a good business that day.

This is a toy exhibit.

This man knows me and offerred to teach our students how to make jewelry and different haitian crafts with sea shells.

This booth offers different paintings designed by Haitian artists.

Ceramic pottery in the shape of fish are on this table.

Souvenirs carved from wood are on display at this table.

Embroidered bags and hats are available in this booth.

Metal art is on display at this booth.

Colorful wooden fruit bowls are on display at this table.

Stone art is displayed at this booth.

Now we know where the man carrying the large wooden drum was headed. Handmade wooden drums with a goatskin covering are available for sale in different sizes.

This ceramic planter is nice.

The man in the blue shirt is carrying bags of water for sale on his head. It is amazing how much balance people have here in Haiti.

Sea turtle shells are available for purchase.

Homemade peanut butter, jams and drinks are on display.

A large green lawn in Haiti! There is so much cement in Port-au-Prince. It is nice to see a lawn :)

Another table offering ceramic sculptures for sale.

We headed over to the tent where there was a crowd of people.

A Cuba-Haiti Colaboration Fishing Project.

One sign posted near the pool promotes carp fish farms.

The children enjoyed watching the water fountain and the some good size fish swimming in the pool.

The older guys enjoyed the view too. Here are Herode, in the sunglasses along with his younger brother Rosquini, in the white t-shirt.

I saw the papitaman walking by. He is carrying in his basket banana chips. They are delicious! Visitors who stay with us are always on the lookout for the papitaman when we are driving around the city.

May 1st - Worker's Day Protest

While we were driving to the Agricultural Fair yesterday we passed a small group of protesters that were standing in front of the Sonapi Industrial Complex. They were holding signs and banners for workers' rights. At the end of our visit to the Agricultural Fair we walked out the gates and saw those same protesters peacefully protesting in front of the gates. We heard the spokesman read out a list of points that the protesters want to see addressed. The large banner that people are holding says "Down with expensive living, down with a poor salary".

Yvens and the older guys read the different signs that the protesters were holding.

The guy in the yellow t-shirt is holding a sign saying "We are asking for a minimum wage of 700 gds per day ($17US per day)." The current minimum wage in Haiti for factories is 300gds per day ($7 US per day)The man on the right is holding a sign saying "We ask that the business owner respect the freedom of the unions and the workers in the country".

It was a peaceful protest. The protesters wanted to be seen and heard.

The spokesman for the protesters is reading a list of demands that the group is protesting for.

A view from the back of the crowd towards the gates.

The CIMO police provided crowd control and kept a ready eye out for problems.

The story of what transpired with the protests is below in a news article and video by the Haitian press.:




PEACEFUL MARCH IN FAVOR OF A REFORM OF THE LABOR CODE AND RESPECT FOR LABOR STANDARDS
(Alterpresse) -

Port-au-Prince - Several hundred workers of different categories marched in Port-au-Prince on May 1 at the call of a dozen unions, on the occasion of International Workers' Day (Labour and agriculture in Haiti).

The unions are demanding, among other things, the reform of the Haitian labor code, compliance with labor standards and enforcement of a minimum daily wage of 300 gourdes in the subcontracting factories.

"The unions demand a new labor code, which carries the claims of all workers and agricultural workers in this country," we read on a banner installed on a vehicle accompanying the march.They also asked for authorities to "make good dispositions to assist the farmers and promote the creation of decent work conditions so that people can work in dignity.

Gathered on the outskirts of the local National Society of Industrial Parks (Sonapi), protesters went to the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR).

At Drouillard, agents from the Intervention Corps and Police (Cimo) blocked the march, while the Head of State, Michel Martelly and some officials were at the opening of the MARNDR food fair.For twenty minutes, the march was stopped, until the officials left the scene.

The passage of the presidential motorcade drew hostile slogans shouted out by the protesters.Reaching their destination, the trade unionists, in their closing statement, expressed the frustration of workers, who are brutally exploited and abused, according to them, in the industrial parks.

Among the organizations that took part in the movement includes the Workers' Union of textiles and clothing (Sota Creole acronym), the National Center for Haitian Workers (Cnoh) Workers Struggle (Batay Ouvriye - Bo) Confederation of Haitian Workers Forces (Cfoh), the Autonomous Confederation of Haitian Workers (Cath), the Initiative Group of Struggling Teachers (Giel), the General Centre of Haitian Workers (CGTH) and the Haitian Trade Union Movement (Msh) .The work was supported by the International Trade Union Confederation (CSI) and the Confederation of Workers of the Americas (Csa), whose representatives accompanied the Haitian protesters.

 

May 1st Agricultural Fair Photos - Part 1

May 1st is a day for 2 holidays here in Haiti - Labor Day and Agricultural Day We headed out to the Damier suburbs of Port-au-Prince to attend the Fair organized by the Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, the Ministry of Social Services and Labor.

The banner over the gates to the State University of Agriculture grounds, translated into english reads, "It is the work of the Haitian which develops the country well." That saying is true.

As we entered the grounds we saw brand new shiny tractors with a farm "tool" (being a city person, I have no idea what the attachments are called :)

John Deere tractors are available in Haiti.

The grounds are large and beautiful. Fully grown royal palms line the laneway.

11 of our Coram Deo crew walked to where the exhibits were.

There were lots of brand new farm equipment on display. I didn't know that Haiti had this much farming equipment available!

A worker was putting up the John Deere sign. Haytrac is the distributor here in Haiti for their farming equipment.

A few brand new Kubota tractors were on display as well.

The agricultural building is a historic site. It was damaged during the earthquake.

A lot of people showed up to take in the sites. The man in the white t-shirt is pushing in his wheelbarrow a load of "rechauds", Haitian cooking stoves.

Another view of the large agricultural building.

Damage from the earthquake is visible.

We followed the crowds to the interior of the exhibition site.

It was Valentin's job to lead Calens by the hand.

Haitian police were on hand to provide security for the fair exhibitors and patrons.

The Haitian Red Cross had an ambulance to provide emergency first aid if needed.

A new shiny motorcycle for the police force. A policeman is standing on duty near by.

Small vendors hoping to make a sale set along the sidewalks of the laneway.

The woman on the left is selling apples and the woman beside her potato chips and snacks. They have a nice shady space to stand under the trees.

Another view of all the new farm equipment covering the land in front of the agricultural building.

A side view of the Kubota tractor. The children wanted to take a ride on the tractor: People were not allowed close access to the farm equipment.

A man is carrying a large wooden drum to an exhibit site. Later on we found where this man set up his drum.

Crowds of street vendors and people walked through the large grounds of the agricultural school site.

This vendor is selling Haitian made straw hats.

Hi-Pro is a haitian business providing food, agricultural advice and equipment to farmers.

This ice cream wagon is ready to sell cold ice cream.

Along this row of exhibits were vendors of Haitian arts and crafts.

Every booth offered a different variety of souvenirs and Haitian crafts.

Over the years the quality and variety of the crafts have improved all geared to the tourism industry and exporting to shops in the United States by buyers such as Donna Karan and Martha Stewart.