SOHADERK Agroecological Farm: A Community-Led Model for Sustainable Development in Kenscoff, Haiti

Executive Summary

In the Kenscoff region of Haiti, the grassroots organization Solidarité Haïtienne pour le Développement Rural de Kenscoff (SOHADERK) operates a 50-acre agroecological farm that serves as a critical intervention against widespread insecurity, displacement, and food scarcity. This initiative provides sustainable agriculture training and economic opportunities, directly supporting nearly 7,000 residents. The farm’s operational model demonstrates a localized approach to achieving several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), offering a replicable framework for building community resilience and sustainable livelihoods in rural Haiti.

Project Mission and Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Established a decade ago to combat rural poverty and soil degradation, SOHADERK’s mission is to empower local farmers through sustainable and self-reliant agricultural practices. The project’s activities are intrinsically linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

• SDG 1 (No Poverty) & SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): The farm provides dignified work and a source of income for local community members, including vendors like Marie Carme Petit-Homme, enabling them to support their families and foster local economic activity.
• SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): By cultivating staple crops such as cassava, potatoes, and peanuts without chemical inputs, the farm directly enhances food security and promotes sustainable agriculture for a vulnerable population.
• SDG 5 (Gender Equality): The initiative places a strong emphasis on empowering women. It functions as a training hub where women, such as agricultural facilitator Natalie Antoine, acquire skills in vegetable processing and storage, subsequently teaching others and taking on leadership roles.
• SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) & SDG 15 (Life on Land): SOHADERK employs agroecological techniques, prioritizing soil conservation, composting, and the avoidance of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This approach reverses land degradation and establishes a sustainable production model.

Capacity Building and Human Capital Development

Beyond agricultural production, the farm is a center for knowledge transfer and skill enhancement, contributing to long-term human capital development in the region.

1. Farmer Training: Regular workshops are held to enhance the knowledge and skills of local farmers, with a particular focus on women, who become facilitators within their communities.
2. Youth and Internships: The farm provides practical, hands-on experience for students, such as agronomy intern James Suprien from Saint Francis of Assisi University, bridging the gap between academic theory and real-world application. This aligns with SDG 4 (Quality Education).

Operational Resilience Amidst National Crises

The SOHADERK model has proven its adaptability and importance in the face of Haiti’s escalating security crisis. This resilience is a cornerstone of its contribution to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions).

• Response to Displacement: Following invasions by armed groups in January, SOHADERK integrated displaced families into its operations, providing them with a livelihood through a new peanut cultivation initiative.
• Operating Under Threat: Despite constant risks, including stray bullets, community volunteers continue to operate the farm, demonstrating a powerful form of grassroots resistance and commitment to local stability.

Challenges, Scalability, and a Call for Partnership

The continued success and replication of the SOHADERK model are contingent on overcoming significant obstacles. The project’s future development depends on forging new collaborations, a key tenet of SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).

Key Challenges:

• Funding: An estimated $191,000 is required to modernize tools, scale up production, and replicate the model in neighboring communes with similar climates, such as Cornillon Grand-Bois.
• Security: The pervasive threat of violence hinders daily work and poses a constant danger to farmers in the fields.
• Equipment: Operations rely on manual labor with basic tools like picks and hoes, limiting productivity and efficiency.

As stated by Deputy Coordinator Chérilien Eliancy, the initiative is about more than food; it is about securing a dignified and sovereign future. The SOHADERK farm stands as a testament to the power of community-led agriculture as a viable pathway toward achieving sustainable development in crisis-affected regions.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 1: No Poverty

• The article directly addresses rural poverty as a foundational issue that the SOHADERK farm was created to combat. It highlights how the initiative provides livelihoods and helps community members “earn enough to manage,” thereby contributing to poverty reduction.

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

• This is a central theme of the article. The initiative is a direct response to “food insecurity” in Kenscoff. The farm cultivates essential food crops like “cassava, leafy greens, potatoes and peanuts” and provides “sustainable agriculture training” to improve food production and access for nearly 7,000 residents.

SDG 4: Quality Education

• The farm functions as a “training hub,” providing practical education. It offers “workshops to enhance their knowledge and skills” for local farmers and provides “hands-on experience” for agronomy student interns, contributing to vocational and technical skills development.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

• The article emphasizes that the farm is a “lifeline for nearly 7,000 people across Kenscoff—especially women.” It promotes “women-led production” and empowers individuals like Natalie Antoine, who becomes an “agricultural facilitator” to “teach other women,” showcasing the goal of empowering women and ensuring their participation in economic life.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

• The SOHADERK initiative fosters economic self-reliance and protects livelihoods. By training farmers and providing a means for women vendors like Marie Carme Petit-Homme to “support their families,” the project creates local jobs and promotes productive employment.

SDG 15: Life on Land

• The project was founded in response to “soil degradation.” Its methods are explicitly “environmentally friendly,” prioritizing “soil conservation, composting and manual labor” while using “no chemical fertilizers or pesticides.” This directly addresses the goal of restoring degraded land and promoting sustainable land use.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• The article sets the context of “insecurity” and “armed violence” that has “displaced rural families.” SOHADERK’s farm is presented as a form of “resistance” and “social recovery led by the people most affected,” building “community resilience” in a fragile environment.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

SDG 1: No Poverty

1. Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions.
   • The article states the farm was founded to address “rural poverty” and helps residents “earn enough to manage,” directly contributing to reducing poverty dimensions for the nearly 7,000 people it supports.

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

1. Target 2.1: By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
   • The initiative directly tackles “food insecurity” by growing vegetables and staples, making healthy food available to the local community.
2. Target 2.3: By 2030, double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women, indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers.
   • The farm’s mission is to “empower local farmers,” especially women, through training and support, aiming to increase their production and ability to sell at local markets.
3. Target 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
   • The use of “agroecological” methods, “soil conservation,” “composting,” and avoiding “chemical fertilizers or pesticides” are clear examples of implementing resilient and sustainable agricultural practices.

SDG 4: Quality Education

1. Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
   • The farm serves as a “training hub” offering “workshops to enhance their knowledge and skills” and provides “hands-on experience” for agronomy students, directly building vocational skills for agriculture.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

1. Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
   • The project supports “women-led production” and elevates women like Natalie Antoine to leadership roles as “agricultural facilitators,” demonstrating active participation and leadership in the community’s economic life.

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

1. Target 8.5: By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
   • The farm creates work opportunities that allow people to “stay active and earn enough to manage,” contributing to local employment.

SDG 15: Life on Land

1. Target 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.
   • The farm was explicitly “founded a decade ago as a response to soil degradation” and actively works to improve the land through “soil conservation” and composting.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

1. Target 16.7: Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels.
   • The article describes the project as a “grassroots initiative” and a model of “social recovery led by the people most affected,” which exemplifies participatory, community-led decision-making.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

SDG 1 & 2 (Poverty & Hunger)

• Number of beneficiaries: The farm provides support to “nearly 7,000 residents.”
• Food production: The cultivation of specific crops like “cassava, leafy greens, potatoes and peanuts” can be measured by volume and variety.
• Income generation: The statement that women vendors “earn enough to manage” implies income levels that could be tracked.

SDG 4 (Quality Education)

• Training participation: The number of farmers, especially women, who attend “workshops to enhance their knowledge and skills.”
• Number of interns trained: The article mentions hosting interns like “James Suprien, an agronomy student,” which is a quantifiable measure of educational outreach.

SDG 5 (Gender Equality)

• Number of women in leadership roles: The example of Natalie Antoine becoming an “agricultural facilitator” suggests a metric for tracking women’s leadership.
• Participation in women-led initiatives: The mention of “women-led production” implies that the number of women participating and leading agricultural activities could be measured.

SDG 15 (Life on Land)

• Area of land under sustainable management: The “50-acre plot of land” is a clear indicator of the scale of the sustainable practices.
• Adoption of sustainable practices: The explicit use of “soil conservation, composting” and the absence of “chemical fertilizers or pesticides” are qualitative indicators of progress.

SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)

• Support for displaced persons: The number of “displaced farmers” absorbed into new initiatives, such as the “peanut cultivation initiative,” serves as an indicator of community resilience and support.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: haitiantimes.com