Caribbean Craft sharing Haiti's colors with the world

Magalie is a woman of too many passions and talents. The CEO of Caribbean Craft has a true love for her county and seeks to CHANGE THE NARRATIVE. Continuously promoting the talents and hidden treasures of Haiti, exposing them to the world. Teaming up with the top motivated designers in and outside of Haiti, the best web designers and marketers, bloggers and writers, merchants and vendors that woman shakes the world to better shape the future of her artisans.

With her driving attitude and no nonsense mindset she is a pillar in the Haitian crafts sector and one that only seems to grow more ambitious and eager to see her country come out of its shell and show its true, vibrant colors to the world. Her favorite saying

“ Haiti might be in your heart but Haiti is in my hand the hands of each and every Haitians”.

Magalie is among these few believers and fighters for a bright future, possible for Haiti and it will be written by its creative minds.

 
It was such a pleasure to have her share these memories with us for the third feature of our series Lavi an koulè! Her vibrant spirit is just what this summer is all about.

Why did you start Caribbean Craft?

Putting people to work is of a paramount importance in the critical task of rehabilitating our struggling country, and we consider it an honor and our duty, as citizens, to participate, at our level.

What is your favorite summer memory as a Haitian kid?

It is so difficult for me to choose just one and hope you will forgive me for sharing my top 3 favorite memories. If I close my eyes and think of my summer memories as a child the first thing that comes to mind is:

the bike rides in les Cayes. With my cousins we would tour the town delivering gallons of milk from my uncle farm. We would spend of course extra time wandering around .

The second is the scary story telling nights were we would all gather and the older kids with some adults will share the stories about the Haitian legends. They would keep us up late at night.

The third is our Sundays at the beach: my parents would take me every Sunday for that ride to the north coast and we would spend the day swimming ad floating in the ocean I also like a little monkey enjoyed climbing the trees and step away, find my solo time and read a book up there on the tree observing the world from above.

What is your favorite fruit/food to eat in the summer ?

The summer fruit that I would look forward to every summer is the KENEP . Like grapes I would enjoy that sweet and sour fruit with that constant fear of swallowing the seeds as the adults would tell us if you do you will die!

What is one thing in your life that keeps you vibrant ?

The joy that everything little things brings me. I am a very passionate person they call me the woman with too many passions and it is true from gardening to hosting, caring for my girls. cooking reading ,yoga , traveling dancing working designing I love every single aspect of my life and that keeps me glowing .

How are you planning to incorporate more moments of joy in your life this summer through your business and daily routine? 

First of all I plan to spend more time with my family. A woman who can keep her family happy and united is a true inspiration now a days. Slowing down and going back to the basics that’s what I will do this summer. I also intend to spend a lot of time finding ways to address the needs of our artisans life has gotten so hard for each one of them that I must find an outside of the box solution to be at service to this community.

MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW THEIR WORK ON INSTAGRAM. DO NOT FORGET TO GIVE THEM A FOLLOW AND SUPPORT BY SHARING WITH FRIENDS!

Introducing… The VALÈ SERIES

What comes to your mind when we talk about Value ? In the practical sense of the word, to value something means to cherish it and to acknowledge its importance. We can recognize the beauty in something but not cherish it enough…not give it the respect it deserves. Many of us Haitians feel like this when it comes to our heritage. Whether we talk about our food, our art, our people or our language, we cannot help but feel like many things in Haïti are treasures many cannot seem to see. Could it be that the reason for this is that we do not Value them enough?

The series Valè aims to do just that: Diving into different aspects that we love most about Haitian culture. The people, the history, the oral traditions that make up valè nou. 

We had the chance to collaborate with Anne-Marjorie René, an audio-visual storyteller who is dedicated to promoting Haïti through her creations. Let’s read more about what she has to say has she explains why she values small Haitian businesses so much.

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PART 1: Valuing Haitian Entrepreneurs

I am Anne Marjorie René, a creative entrepreneur and visual storyteller. I was born and raised in Port-au-Prince but I am a country girl at heart. I come from a lineage of machanns and artisans and I am passionate about storytelling, community building and economic development.

Haitian Valè for me is a combination of things that make our essence. Part of our heritage and identity that we thoughtfully pass down from a generation to another. I value so many things about our culture and the way we function as people. I love how small business owners like to include God’s names and attributes in their business’s names, I love how the traveling street vendors make entertaining songs that they sing out loud to market their products, I love how content most of us are, it is beautiful to see how happy and resourceful we can be with so little while cultivating generosity .

I love to serve my community with my gifts, being able to connect people while creating opportunities for them. I am humbled to tell their stories to the world, to shine light on our true colors and show our bright side.

I believe that entrepreneurship is one of the key tools to foster economic development. Our community revolves around enterprises that meet almost all of our needs and give us the solutions to our problems. Leveraging entrepreneurship will make our community economically viable and it potentially bring stability. Entrepreneurship can easily take Haiti from aid to trade.

I grew up around so many entrepreneurs who impacted my life in a special way.

Frantz Jean-Ba is an artist I met a few years ago at place Saint-Pierre; he makes beautiful paintings that move me. He also has a stand where he sells arts and crafts for other artisans who cannot afford to have their own stand. It’s one of my favorite places to shop for unique gifts. We see each other from time to time and I stop by just to say hi even when I am not buying. Fritzner and Miguelito are my flower pratiks ,they are always one call away and they make me the most beautiful bouquets for me and my loves ones.

Antoinette is a vegetables machann that I have known since forever; she used to be my father’s favorite “Pratik” and now she is mine. I admire her perseverance and courage. One thing I’ve learned about her is that “Will is power “she likes to say “Depi w vle ou kapab” . She had to start over with her business multiple times because she is a single mother who could not afford to let her family down. Now that her kids are older they turned her vegetables basket into a family business.

I am intentional about buying local because I want my money to recirculate and in my community, the small business owners are less likely to leave to go somewhere else . It brings me joy when I am able to encourage local prosperity. At my local market I get to pick my fresh food and I know where it comes from. I am a sucker for handmade things and crafts, buying from my local artisans help them to stay and guarantee their ability to provide for their families.

Click here to watch Anne-Marjorie’s video for the Valè Series honoring Haitian small business owners.

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To see more of Anne-Marjorie’s work, you can follow along on instagram- @annmarj0rie

Father's Day Feature: Meet Frentz Neptune

Meet Frentz Neptune:

Photographer, Coffee Connoisseur, Entrepreneur, and most importantly- Dad.

My name is Frentz Neptune.  I was born and raised in Haiti.  When I was a little boy my mother moved my siblings and I to the city of Port-au-Prince in search of a better life.  We landed in Cite Soleil for years until my mother saved enough money from selling used clothing to buy a little piece of property in Delmas.  Today I share my time between Haiti and Orlando, Florida.   

Becoming a father is what caused me to purchase my first camera.  I wanted to capture my son’s life in a way that mine was never captured.  I wanted his important moments to be tangible and remembered as he grew up.  Having a family has motivated me to be a provider.  My children are the fuel behind my passion for business and serving others.  I want to be an example for them and show them love in action. 

I went into fatherhood with very little expectations.  I did not have a stable father figure in my life, but I was determined to work on myself and be a rock and provider for my children.  I want them to truly experience what it is like to live in community and help your neighbor.  Hospitality is a beautiful part of my culture.  I also want my children to respect their elders like we are taught to do from a young age.  I want them to know my story and know the strength and beauty my people share.  I speak to my children in Haitian Creole.  I love our language and I want my children to be able to communicate with their family in Haiti.  I also cook a lot of Haitian food, and we have awesome compas dance parties together!  

I opened a direct trade coffee company last year called Avanti Coffee Company.  I have been working with farmers in the southern peninsula growing organic, high elevation coffee.  My extended family members are coffee farmers and by the end of this year we will have planted over 90,000 coffee trees among our farms.  It is a business as mission.  Haiti has a lot of poverty, but I believe economic development can help people out of their problems so we can see a new, prosperous Haiti in the future. I also direct a nonprofit organization called Haiti Foundation Against Poverty.  We focus on education and family empowerment through child sponsorships, job creation through Gift of Hope Haiti, and agriculture development.  I am also a photography/videographer.  I am passionate about telling stories through my lens and showcasing culture and beauty in my country.  

Man, those kids watch everything.  Kids are so curious.  Ha.  My kids are hands on with our work, but most of all I hope they are paying attention to the impact they can make on other people’s lives.  It doesn’t matter where they live or the profession they choose, we all have the power to make a positive impact on people around us.  

Keep up with all of Frentz’s work by following along-

• @frentzneptune

• @avanticoffeeco

• @giftofhopehaiti

• @haitifoundationagainstpoverty 

Click on the images below to learn more and support' Frentz’s work-

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Shop Frentz and his adorable sons’ look here-