Gwayavye

Gwayavye is a community isolated in the mountains but which relies on konbit and local organizations to preserve a robust agriculture, and address the water problems in their community

Gwayavye is a section communale that sits at the very top of one of the mountains surrounding Jacmel. The area has litte water, but its cool climate makes it ideal for producing vegetables like cabbage and potatoes. There is one long, winding road leading up to the community which is not in good condition, and it makes it difficult for the community to transport the plentiful amount of food it produces to the bustling city of St Marc just below it.

Gwayavye has used the traditional tool of konbit to fight against this set of adversities. The community is organized into multiple different konbit networks, in which each member gets an opportunity to have the other members in his network work on his garden for a day for free, and in turn volunteers his labor on other people's gardens. Gwayavye uses a specific form of konbit for when there is a landless member of the konbit, the participants in his network will give him small amounts of money for his time until he can purchase his own land. The culture of konbit is hardwired into this community, and they use it to run a community school and carry out other aspects of community life.