Michineau

A mountainous community which is incredibly productive in terms of agriculture but was isolated from the main roads successfully engaged their local authorities and a partner to develop a road

Michineau is a mountainous community outside of Jacmel in the Southeast. Like many mountainous communities in Haiti, they are incredibly productive agriculturally, producing corn, yucca, yams, plantains, and much more, but they are unable to reach their full agricultural potential because of a lack of decent roads. Without a decent road, the produce cannot make it to the markets in Jacmel and beyond, and Michineau's produce was rotting on the mountain.

The community began to mobilize years ago to resolve this situation. They began to do volunteer work on their own roads to show the community's dedication, and they implicated their local authorities to see the necessity. The community and their local casec then began to advocate for more support, and the local Senator and a regional NGO called CROSE donated the use of a few tractors to facilitate the road building. As this is being written, the road is progressing, and the community feels so empowered that when Hurricane Sandy was threatening to devestate the Southeast, a community leader said that they were not afraid: as long as there was a road, Hurricane Sandy could destroy anything, but the people would be able to plant and sell and re-start their lives again.