Wading through the storm: Ismaella

The jewelry team started with over 17 women working in mini-teams to produce many different jewelry making techniques. They specialize in fabric beads, leather sequin jewelry, beadwork, and assembly. They strongly believe in reducing waste as much as possible at our workshop, so all leather scraps are saved and handed over to the jewelry teams to be turned into beautiful new creations. 

Ismaella is currently working with 5-8 women and is now wading through the storm by working together with Haiti Design Collective to launch her own locally made jewelry business called LAKOU ATIZAN. This firecracker is the definition of courage and positivity despite sometimes feeling worried.

“Of course we worry about our future but of course I am someone who lives with confidence, I hope change can take place at any time even when it is uncertain. It is clear that the situation we are experiencing affects me morally but I do not want to give up, I have faith. When I fall, I always get up!”

She also continues: "I dreamed that one day I would open my business but I didn't see it happening any time soon. I give thanks to God for allowing this to start taking form. My biggest motivation is people! I believe in people, in talent, in their ability to do unimaginable things. I love people, I love my country and I want to walk with  its children.”

As she shares her vision for the new venture, she goes: “We will start first with what we already know how to do well: beautiful jewelry for women and also some feminine accessories and other items that can be useful for both sexes such as a key ring because we often hear men complain that we do not make enough items for them. We would like to make more products for them too! We aspire to great things, we would like our company to grow in order to help our community socially and economically. We want to diverse ourselves as artisans. I want to give opportunities to other categories of artists such as the physically handicapped and give them the opportunity to feel useful, make them understand that they have a lot to give and whatever their situation, they are blessed!

I will start with a team of 8 women. My team and I want to bring something new, for example, decorative items, banners, etc. Things that can show our talent, we want to use pearls, threads and other materials. We want to push our limits and get the recognition that we know we deserve internationally.”

As we are standing with Ismealla, we are putting in place easy ways for you to also be able to give that push. You can donate to the launch of LAKOU ATIZAN by clicking below.

Anpil lanmou pou nou

Wading through the storm: Boss Renel

Wading through the storm is our Motto for the rest of the year. Because storms have passed and are still passing but the strength and perseverance of Haitian entrepreneurs remains a source of inspiration to us all. We want to take the time to highlight some of our friends, artisans and partners who have, through all the ups and downs, decided to keep going, change the game and stand firm. Today, let’s talk about Boss Renel

First, a little back story on Boss Renel.

We partnered with Boss Renel and his recycled steel metal art business in 2013. Hurricane Sandy wiped out his workshop in 2012, and since then he was trying to build his business back up. Through new design collaborations, quality control training, and business management training, Renel was able to increase his abilities and capacity by creating jobs for other men in his community. His process begins with an old oil drum purchased at the port. He then flattens this oil drum and carefully hammers out the mold of the product he is creating. From there Renal will intricately hammer in the design by hand and sand and polish until the product is complete. This form of crafted metal art is one of Haiti's traditional and most well known artisan crafts. 

Today, after years of economical and political instability in Haiti, Boss Renel and his team are currently stuck at a crossroad.

“Nobody is currently working because we do not have any orders” He says. He feels sad and powerless facing this situation because by himself, he is not able to keep his employees working.

He continues: “My vision is to rebuild and also to widen my strategy. Right now we have the skills and talent but no concrete means such as tools and of course clients. The two main things I envision are first, gathering enough money to be able to get proper tools, which will allow us to produce more efficiently, but also help through partnerships with boutiques and stores in order to get orders. Right now, the only way for me is to regain my team’s trust is to have work to give them. No words of motivation will do right now and to be honest, I sometimes find it hard to remain hopeful myself but cannot afford to give up”

Boss Renel is also currently thinking of a new location where his team can produce. Their current one is not in a safe environment and the HDC workshop is where he stores some of his material. As we are wading through the storm with them, we want to offer concrete and direct ways of helping.

Right now, there are 2 concrete ways to lift Boss Renel’s team up

The first one is to contribute through our HDC FAM program, which will directly gather funds for Boss Renel’s team and their immediate business needs. If you are comfortable with that, you can even screenshot your confirmation after donating (amount can be hidden) and tag us in your instagram stories or Facebook posts saying “I contributed for Boss Renel!” This will help us tremendously in spreading the word.

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The second way is to place a significant order for items that his team produces. We offer 50% off our retail prices to wholesale buyers. Through this link, you can enter the password HDCWHOLESALE and purchase if you spend a minimum of $350 (If the order is less than $350, it won’t be able to be processed).

If you have more questions or want to inquire about a possible partnership, you can fill this form in order to get more details on how to buy wholesale.

You could buy and fill the shelves of your boutique or small business, host gatherings and small parties where you resell the items, buy them for goodie bags and more.

See some of Boss Renel’s team’s work below

Fabiola Earring

$21.00

Leather Rivets Bracelet

$12.00

Sending you lots of love

Letters from our artisans - Boss André shares his experience

We all know how the crisis in Haiti is affecting the population in general. Gang violence, gaz shortage, barely any tourism, people having to flee their homes, kidnappings and more. While these things are all over the news, there are thousands of individual stories that also deserve to be heard. We have taken the time to check-in with our artisan leaders to know how their team is holding on. We will be sharing some of their responses here on this journal to invite you in and give you a better idea of how our teams are doing.

Today we are sharing Boss André’s response on how the situation is affecting him and his team.

How has the current situation in Haiti affected your business? Are people still able to come to work daily? How have you had to change how you do business?

Most of our customers have left the Country, especially foreigners who were our biggest supporters. We do not have much demand. Some craftsmen and I live very far from the workshop. The main road we have to take to get there is under the control of gang leaders so we have to watch when there is a clear road (of course it depends on the bandits) to take advantage of going to the workshop. We are forced to separate into two groups: those who live around my house work in my house and those to whom the workshop is more accessible work in the workshop. In this case I always leave the workshop open in case I can't get there myself

We have almost reached our goal for the amount needed to keep offering shelter to some of our artisans. Every gesture counts in helping us move towards that goal. Thank you! Anpil lanmou pou nou!

Stories from the current crisis in Haiti: Words from Ismaella

The crisis in Haiti is still ongoing and we are not yet able to be able to see the light. While we remain hopeful that things cannot possibly stay this way, we cannot hide the hurt we feel each time someone from our HDC family is directly affected by these inhuman acts and by the general instability. We have reached out to many of you for support and the response has been so heartwarming that it gives us the strength to keep going. But the work is not over. We feel like it is important to put names and faces behind these stories. It always seems non-urgent until there is a face attached, for us this is extremely personal and terrifying. Read the words of Ismaella below. 

“My name is Ismaella Carmelle. To tell you a little about my story, I've had to flee my home because of the gang shootings happening all over. I had to leave in april of 2021. I was out that day and they contacted me saying no need to come back. We were in between two gang shootings feeling powerless. Since April 24th I've been living at the workshop where arrangements have been made for us to stay. There is also this fear that something will happen again, that the gangs can come back any time. It is something that we cannot control and feel powerless about.”

-Ismaella, Manager at HDC

Stories from the current crisis in Haiti: Words from Wideleine

The crisis in Haiti is still ongoing and we are not yet able to be able to see the light. While we remain hopeful that things cannot possibly stay this way, we cannot hide the hurt we feel each time someone from our HDC family is directly affected by these inhuman acts and by the general instability. We have reached out to many of you for support and the response has been so heartwarming that it gives us the strength to keep going. But the work is not over. We feel like it is important to put names and faces behind these stories. It always seems non-urgent until there is a face attached, for us this is extremely personal and terrifying. Read the words of Ismaella below. Today, we are sharing the words of Wideleine.

“Gangs came in at the church I attend. They came in to kill a cop. I had 3 kids with me, one of them still a baby of 9 months. No need to tell you how I felt. I started running and lost a friend I was with. My friend grabbed my 2 other kids while I kept the baby. They only killed the cop, however we were all left traumatized and afraid. My husband came shortly after when he heard the news. When we got home, my eldest said he did not want to stay in Port-au-Prince anymore. On July 27th, they killed 2 young men in our area. That was only 2 days after the church incident. That is when I asked for help to leave my area because my kids were not well. We went to the countryside and my eldest stayed and did not want to come back. I came back to PAP with my two youngest but could not get myself to go back to my area. It was never my plan to separate from my child. It grieves me so much to have to do this. Thanks to the home we have with HDC I am able to feel safer. My husband and I feel very scared and are living under constant stress. I don't know what to ask for. Whatever is possible for us to have somewhat of a normal life again is what we are craving.”

-Wideleine, jewelry artisan