Sails for Sustenance

VIDEO: Chicago Sails Prepared For Shipment

mcarcaise — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:47:16 +0000

On Saturday Chicago-based volunteers Allen Carter and Jeff Gockstetter were on their way to the regatta in Key West when they passed through Miami and dropped off a load of sails that they had collected since August. On Sunday nine South Florida volunteers gathered at SFS HQ to prepare the sails for shipment to Haiti.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for announcements of the next time we will be packing sails.

AP: Dreamers bring ideas, projects to post-quake Haiti

mcarcaise — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:43:10 +0000

Sails for Sustenance was mentioned in an article written by an AP correspondent based in Haiti and published around the web by various news outlets.

Read the article at The Miami Herald.

VIDEO: Sails Rolled At Miami HQ This Weekend

mcarcaise — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:56:54 +0000

On Saturday Michael Laas and Michael Carcaise began packing another load of sails for Haiti. We need your help with our ongoing preparations of the next shipment. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for announcements of the next time we will be packing sails.

63 Sails For Haitian Fishermen Dropped At Shipping Facility

mcarcaise — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:40:12 +0000

Today Mike Carcaise and Oscar Sardiñas dropped 18 bags of sails off at Food for the Poor’s shipping facility in Coconut Creek. The load consists of a total of 63 sails and will travel to Port-au-Prince via sea freight over the next week. In Port-au-Prince the sails will be retrieved by representatives of Fondation Paradis des Indiens and Hope for Haiti and taken to their final destinations of Abricots and Ile-aVache, respectively.

Port-au-Prince, Haiti

admin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:23:55 +0000

Bernard Chauvet is considered among the most experienced and knowledgeable sport fishermen in Haiti. He was appointed as a special consultant to Food for the Poor’s project to help fishing villages. Over the years, Mr. Chauvet has developed relationships with hundreds of subsistence fishermen all over Haiti.

Here Mr. Chauvet is shown in his office in Port-au-Prince during a meeting with SFS reps, displaying a fresh catch he had made the day before.

Ile-a-Vache, Haiti

admin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:19:39 +0000

Grand Sable lies on Ile-a-Vache, a rural island (12,000 acres) off the southwest peninsula of Haiti. It is said that the name Ile-a-Vache (Cow Island) was given by the French due to the great number of cattle left on the island by Spaniards.

Today the 15,000 residents of the island rely heavily on the local fishing industry for local food supply and for commerce with the mainland. There is no electrical power nor drinking water. All inhabitants and guests travel by mule or on foot.

Hope for Haiti was formed in October of 2005 by Brian House, a former Peace Corps volunteer who served in Haiti in 2003 and 2004. Hope for Haiti works in the communities of Chambellan and Ile-a-Vache coordinating education and agricultural training projects.

Testasse, Haiti

admin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:16:00 +0000

Testasse is a small village a few miles east of Jeremie. At the beginning of 2008, Haitian Health Foundation commissioned the production of six 14 ft. fiberglass fishing boats to be made by a local Haitian boat-builder. SFS provided sails for the new boats.

Abricots, Haiti

admin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 18:16:57 +0000

Michael Carcaise and Michael Laas of SFS pictured with the mayor of Abricots and Jean-Panel, the executive director of Paradis des Indiens. In addition to Abricots, Jean-Panel has distributed sails to the fishermen of Bon Bon, Dame Marie, and other surrounding communities on behalf of SFS.

Abricots is a fishing village of 1,000 inhabitants located in the county of Grande Anse on the SW peninsula. Sails are distributed to the fishermen of Abricots by Fondation Paradis des Indiens (FPDI)–which operates schools and programs to empower all people of Abricots to achieve financial independence and self-sufficiency through entrepreneurial development.

FPDI was founded by Mica de Verteuil, who retired to Abricots in 1975. Today the primary school in the Abricots town center counts 500 students and has craft and woodworking shops, a library, and a vegetable garden. In 1996 FPDI opened 10 small rural schools throughout the region that surrounds the village, which today serve 1400 students.

While their school system serves more than 2,000 students, FPDI has also established school-to-work programs that include embroidery, fruit drying, beekeeping, and woodworking. The programs employ over 400 people, mostly former students.