Fact: Approximately 98% of Haiti has been deforested, causing severe soil erosion.

Fact: 54% of Haitians live on less than $1 per day.

Response: Faith in Action International plants and oversees 21 tree nurseries, benefitting 12,000 individuals to date.

Communities desiring a nursery must hold meetings and get signed agreements for volunteers to work in them before we will commit to assist them in developing a tree nursery. We supply one part-time supervisor for each site at a cost of $40/month for six months. We currently have 13 adult nurseries and 6 youth nurseries.

Tree nurseries start in late January with the construction and repair of nurseries. Seeds are planted beginning in February and continue through June. Plants begin being distributed in late May. The first harvest, aside from the vegetables, comes by the end of the first year when the papayas start producing, six months after being transplanted into farmers' gardens!

We plant Mango, papaya, avocado, orange, breadfruit, lime, pumelo, as well as trees for making charcoal and lumber (Pine, Haitian Oak). At the request of the farmers we also provide seed for hot pepper, eggplant and cabbage for them to grow and place in their gardens. Moringa trees, whose leaves are highly nutritious, are also grown.

This program has many benefits for participants and their communities:

• Trees and their fruit provide nutrition to farmers' families

• Trees and their fruit generate income

• Program employs several Haitians

• Trees keep soil loose allowing rainwater to soak in, maintaining the springs that communities rely on for their daily water

• There  are more birds in the Verrettes area than there have been in the past decade!