In October 2011, Rick accompanied TechnoServe senior executives and several board members on a trip to Haiti to visit the Haiti Hope Project.  The pictures are his, though the story below is from the TechnoServe website at http://www.technoserve.org/our-work.

The Haiti Hope Project is a five-year, $9.5 million public-private partnership designed to create sustainable economic opportunities and to double the incomes of 25,000 Haitian mango farmers and their families by the end of the five years.

Achieving this goal will raise the standard of living for beneficiary farmers and contribute to the long-term development and revitalization of the country.

To support this objective, Haiti Hope promotes training opportunities for local mango producers and connects smallholder farmers to exporters, thereby linking them to international markets. The Project has implemented activities in regions where Haiti’s mango industry has the highest potential for success.

The Haiti Hope Project public-private partnership is comprised of The Coca-Cola Company; the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the  Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB); the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); and TechnoServe. The Project is also supported by the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, the Soros Economic Development Fund, and other international and local organizations.