NEWS

Dear friends, Let me introduce you to Madame Enez. This week I watched her carefully roasting peanuts over an open flame. Slow. Patient. Intentional. The smell alone could carry you straight to a Haitian kitchen. She is making mamba — Haiti’s traditional peanut...

Dear friends, As we turn the page to a new year, we want to thank you for walking with us—through every season, storm, and seedling. 2025 was a year of deep challenges for Haiti. It was also a year of quiet victories. Because of you: Gardens fed families through...

Dear friends, As the year draws to a close and we reflect on all that 2025 has brought, we want to pause and say two simple words: Thank you. Because of you, seeds were planted. Gardens were grown. Fruit trees took root. And—most importantly—hope endured. This was not...

Dear friends, Hurricane Melissa has swept through Haiti and left deep scars behind. The Léogâne region, where our CODEP community lives and works, has been especially hard hit. * Flooded gardens * Fruit trees uprooted * Blossoms for the spring harvest torn away *...

There’s a quiet rhythm in the mountains above Cap Haitien — the sound of early footsteps, stirring leaves, and young minds opening.

SUPER SPINACH Hunger is rising across Haiti. But in the hills around the CODEP compound, something green is growing—and it’s feeding more than just stomachs. His name is Jamison, and he’s not tending a few plants by his doorstep. He has turned every sunlit patch of...

I’m home from my trip to Haiti, safe and, also, somewhat shattered. Everything about Haiti right now is unprecedented, confusing, and very hard. I spent a good amount of time with the CODEP folks. Despite everything, they are caring for seedlings in the nurseries,...

Folks, Last week I returned to Haiti for the first time since last August. Words almost fail me. I am safe, but it was an expensive trip. To avoid the gangs in Port-au-Prince, I flew directly into Cap-Haïtien and then on to Les Cayes. From there, it was a road trip to...

On May 1st Haiti takes the day off in order to celebrate Agriculture and Labor Day. Here at Haiti Reforestation Partnership, we feel a particularly special connection to this moment because it fits so closely with our work and hope for Haiti. The connection resonates...

It’s Arbor Day. In Haiti, an equivalent event happens on May 1 and features all sorts of agricultural themes. Usually Arbor Day is a time to plant a seedling. It will be exactly that across the US, and also in Haiti as the spring planting season is upon us. Thousands...

There are moments in any ambitious quest when it seems that that all the effort just might be – maybe, could it be possible – coming together. As we begin this new year, CODEP is having that sort of moment. After decades of dealing with seeds, nurseries, trees,...

For a couple years now, my family, friends, and the HRP Board have been quietly – and not so quietly – telling me to quit with the traveling back and forth to Haiti. Too dangerous. I have lived in Haiti for well over ten years and many people recognize me. (I sort of...

Sally Harwood, our new Board Chair, can’t remember exactly when she became involved in CODEP. She does have a jumble of stories about visiting Haiti in the 1990s. The first trip was with members of the Crestwood Church of Richmond to work on fishponds. Other trips...

Over the last few years, Bill Hathaway, our long serving Board Chair, has repeatedly arranged for me to visit the Wilmington Friends School in Delaware. I have thoroughly enjoyed these sessions with seventh graders. It is such an interesting point of comparison to...

Folks, New Year’s Day in Haiti brings great celebration as people commemorate January 1, 1804 when Haiti freed itself from France after two centuries of colonization. Key to the festivities is eating Soup Joumou (Pumpkin Soup). Usually I come back to the States for...

Dear HRP Supporter, As the year draws to a close, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for your care and steadfast support of our Haitian colleagues. While the news from Haiti continues to be challenging, there remains a beacon of hope: our CODEP partners are tirelessly...

Dear Folks, It is well worth our time to pause and reflect on why we are all working so hard to reforest Haiti. Why exactly do trees matter so much? Here’s the fast list: 1. Fighting Climate Change: Trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and produce oxygen. 2....

Folks, It’s Thanks Giving Season, and if anything deserves our attention, it is the environment. For over 35 years Haiti Reforestation Partnership (HRP) has been committed to restoring the environment in Haiti by empowering and supporting its people in reforesting...