Within this large initiative, Aid to Artisans has been selected to transform the artisan and creative industries sector into a powerful catalyst for economic growth in Haiti itself, with reach into the entire Caribbean region.
Haiti MarChE is designed to build on the synergies between the tourism, craft, and agriculture sectors, by stimulating the vigorous development of competitive interrelated market chains and increasing linkages between players. The project expects to create a thriving SME service sector, providing technical, marketing and training services on a commercial basis to sustainable enterprises and organizations.
The MarChE program marks a new direction in the ATA/USAID strategy for the handcraft sector: the emphasis will be on a value chain approach: training trainers in skills needed for building local capacity and creating linkages between local producers and regional and international buyers, streamlining production procedures, securing raw materials aimed at significantly improved eco-effectiveness, increasing production efficiencies, improving costing and pricing, but also finding fair and competent intermediaries for export to the global marketplace.
An additional and significant contribution to the tourism segment of the MarChe program will be ATA’s strategic link with the Caribbean tourism sector, particularly with over 1,000 members of the Caribbean Hotel Association, currently funded under the OAS/SOURCE project and supported by grants from American Express Philanthropy. ATA has ambitious expectations for the interrelationship of these projects and expects strong results for Haiti from this strategic connection to Caribbean hotels and resorts. Targeted product development is already in full swing for gift shop merchandise, furnishings, branded resort lifestyle collections, room amenities, spa, deli items, and food/restaurant provisions.
The innovative MAC (Music, Art, Culture) component of MarChE will add special impact to ATA’s activities in Haiti, by compounding the synergistic link with tourism and revitalizing the creative energy so long neglected by relentless hits of natural disaster, political volatility, trade decline, and the bludgeoning message of poverty. This novel approach is bound to drive economic growth based on its capacity to reach out to diverse markets, channel revenues to poor communities, and engage diverse producers in entrepreneurial activity. It is a powerful vehicle to enrich tourism, a perfect market to increase the range of products that are reflective of indigenous style and creativity.
Contributors
ATA would like to thank USAID/CNFA for their funding support.
