SolKomYo is a locally run Haitian organization located in the North East Department of Haiti. SolKomYo is dedicated to create profound community impact, leading by example and building an ecosystem of change.
Read about our latest local updates here.
Today, we would like to talk about catalytic impact, something that is core to SolKomYo’s work. But what do we mean when we say that impact is catalytic? Let’s learn from the inspiring example in Gens de Nantes, a community in the northeast of Haiti.
In December 2017, SolKomYo conducted a FOCOPI (Fondo Comunitario para Prevención e Inversión – Community Fund for Prevention and Investment) training for a group of 11 individuals in Gens de Nantes, a commune 1 hour from Ouanaminthe, Haiti. After the financial literacy training, the group decided to open their own FOCOPI group. The FOCOPI offers the group a tool to save and invest and the group decides all the terms and conditions of the FOCOPI. All the interest accrued from loans and bank fees paid goes directly to the community bank itself.
Last Sunday, the FOCOPI invited SolKomYo to their “cassé ti kes” (Breaking the cash-box), which is when the bank distributes all of the savings and funds accumulated to its members after one year of operating. As SolKomYo arrived expecting a gathering with the 11 original members, 45 individuals were present. In one year’s time, they had all joined the FOCOPI. Collectively, the group had saved over USD 2,000.
The FOCOPI group in Gens de Nantes had a celebration to distribute all the savings and interest accumulated in the FOCOPI group.
This first intervention is inspiring, indeed, but it doesn’t stop there. This particular FOCOPI decided to use the funds saved in the bank to make a direct collective action in the community. Having had little access to water, they installed an entire water system in the community, providing a direct water source for over 40 community members. SolKomYo supported their commitment with half of the proceeds of the pump, which amounts to USD 160, and the FOCOPI will be responsible for the continuous maintenance of the pump.
The water system that the FOCOPI group invested in for the community provides over 40 community members with access to water.
This is an example of catalytic impact: when providing a community with an empowering financing solution, the community itself comes together to drive change.
Stories such as Gens de Nantes do not stand alone. The FOCOPI model is being adopted by many community organizations and is driving bottom-up solutions to community development. For example, in the remote mountainous region of Cotelette in the northeast department of Haiti, after opening one FOCOPI In the summer of 2017, the region has opened 7 additional banks. The banks are providing numerous solutions, and one of the members, for example, purchased a cow to start his very own livestock business.
One of the initial meetings of the AFAEK farmer association FOCOPI group in Cotelette.
These FOCOPIs are not only successful because it is a tool that is available to many community members that were not available before, but also, the FOCOPIs are successful because they are community-owned. With ownership, communities feel empowered to maximize the tool as much as possible to set their own futures.
Solisyon Kominote Yo’s (SolKomYo) journey began 6 years ago in Ouanaminthe, Haiti with Community Empowerment Solutions, a nonprofit that empowers community leaders to design innovative solutions that support local community development. By leading with trust, engaging local leaders, and designing entrepreneurial solutions, SolKomYo has been able to drive long-lasting impact in Ouanaminthe and the northeast department of Haiti by building a change ecosystem.
SolKomYo engages Community Entrepreneurs to increase access to technologies throughout the northeast of Haiti.
SolKomYo’s first intervention was with Community Empowerment Solution’s MicroConsignment Model. The Model provides access to critical life-changing technologies to the community, such as solar lamps, water filters, and improved cookstoves, by training local entrepreneurs to sell these products and supporting local organizations. As the initiative scaled, SolKomYo mobilized local microentrepreneurs to reach 12 of the 13 communities in the northeast of Haiti.
SolKomYo introduces innovative strategies to improve the livelihood of textile workers in Codevi Industrial Park, including an access to technologies solution and comprehensive financial literacy course.
As SolKomYo continued to engage the local population in Ouanaminthe and understand the needs and wants of local actors, the work quickly accelerated. SolKomYo built a team of dedicated professionals to continue understanding local needs and empowering local leaders to address this work. Our model focuses on capacity building and knowledge-sharing to equip local leaders and organizations to design solutions to address their challenges. We work with youth, farmers, female merchants, textile workers, entrepreneurs, and grassroots organizations to build agriculture, finance, energy, resilience building, and leadership solutions.
SolKomYo team-members lead engaging capacity-building workshops to youth, textile workers, farmers, and community entrepreneurs.
SolKomYo introduced various agricultural initiatives, such as a goat-breeding and vegetable production projects.
SolKomYo strives to expand their work in order to provide local solutions throughout the northeast of Haiti. The team’s goal is to be able to share knowledge and resources in order to build capacity among local organizations and continuously “change obstacles into opportunities” that benefit Ouanaminthe and the northeast department. SolKomYo is grateful for the continuing strategic support of the founders, Community Empowerment Solutions and Social Entrepreneur Corps, as well as the financial support Levi Strauss Foundation, the International Finance Corporation, and the UNDP Small Grants Programme.
The youth group and financial literacy trainers group that SolKomYo created to build capacity among local leaders.
In May 2018, SolKomYo began their project with the Small Grants Programme of the UNDP. This project is focused on climate change resilience by promoting climate-smart agriculture practices and sustainable energy solutions. The SolKomYo team is leading this work to improve climate-smart agricultural practices among community members in the northeast of Haiti. We are working specifically with grassroots agricultural organizations in Dilair and Acuil de Pins in the community of Ouanaminhte. In the agricultural portion of the project, there are 18 participants from Dilaire and 14 participants from Acuil de Pins.
Participants of the workshops are from grassroots agricultural organizations and represent both female and male participants.
Thus far, they have completed four capacity-building trainings:
Reforestation is part of agro-ecology, and the team is planting mango trees, coffee trees, citrus trees, and trees that make charcoal.
The project is very practical; these are the tools received by participants and the beneficiaries putting them to use.
The team received a set of tools to distribute to the beneficiaries, including a rake, shovel, and wheelbarrow, and specific guidance on how to best prepare for and conduct the workshops. This Thursday, SolKomYo will conduct trainings around filling soil bags, Seed sowing, and nursery training plans. At the start of next month, the team will conduct follow-up visits with the beneficiaries to observe how the nurseries are faring.
SolKomYo Employees Evens and Karl provide capacity-building workshops to the beneficiaries.
This is a great opportunity for our beneficiaries to learn practical techniques on climate-smart agricultural practices. Participants have proclaimed how much they enjoy the training and are furthering their knowledge of nursery maintenance. In the 2nd phase of the project, the SolKomYo team will introduce solar energy and entrepreneurial solutions in the community of Ouanaminthe.
This is a great partnership between SolKomYo and the UNDP and we’re excited for the upcoming months!
Last weekend, Solisyon Kominote Yo had a field excursion with its youth group and financial literacy group. We included pertinent discussions while having some time for laughter and exploration while visiting Fort Liberte. UJANE – Union de Jeunes Association de Nord Est – and AJF – Assosasyon de Jeunes Formateurs – linked together for a day filled with inspiration and practical lessons.
UJANE met to discuss the progress of their bracelet business as they were able to sell USD $120 worth of bracelets over the past few months. They identified the following points to focus on in order to improve their business:
They also asked some important questions, on whether they could have access to a more regular market to sell their bracelets. Unfortunately, right now the only transport we have for the bracelets are those who travel to and from the States.
We also shared with them a handmade tool that allows them to cut the plastic more efficiently, which they will build in the coming weeks.
They are very excited about this entrepreneurial opportunity and recognize the opportunity it has to remove plastic from the environment through art! They are eager to make more bracelets so they can participate in more trainings to learn a variety of pieces they can make out of the plastic.
Please reach out to olivia@cesolutions.org if you are interested in purchasing a bracelet.
We also had a meeting with the Association of Young Trainers, who had their monthly community savings bank meeting and revisited the rules within their group. They have been together for over 2 years and have accumulatively saved over 30,000 gourdes (USD $500)! They are eager to continue advancing their professional development and asked about an opportunity for an information technology course and an additional financial literacy train the trainer program.
SolKomYo encouraged them to use some of their savings from their community savings bank to jointly invest in a course they can complete together, an example of how SolKomYo encourages community actors to be agents of change and helps to identify innovative financing solutions to achieve their goals.
After these meetings, the group came together and we had a lively discussion around themes around respect, responsibility, and culture. Examples of prompts included: What is our role as youth in the household? What is the role of money and how can we manage it? Or what do we love about our culture and what must we do to value it? We all sat around a tree as we discussed these topics – to have an opportunity for youth to share and reflect on these subjects is an invaluable opportunity for peer to peer learning that SolKomYo strives to cultivate.
All in all, it was a day of exploration leaving with added insight into the future leaders of tomorrow.
Members of UJANE discuss pertinent questions about life, culture, and their roles and responsibilities as youth.
Solisyon Kominote Yo (SolKomYo) celebrated a very special occasion on December 9th. At the end of each year, SolKomYo invites beneficiaries to discuss the work that was accomplished and plans for the upcoming year.
This year was unlike the others because for the first time SolKomYo met with each community group that they support, and 85 representatives were present at the meeting! The SolKomYo team provides trainings, tools, and resources to change obstacles into opportunities for the community. From the range of topics during the meeting, from goats, to savings banks, to solar energy, to empowerment trainings, it truly demonstrates the diverse solutions that SolKomYo has applied.
From youth to elders, from farmers to female merchants, each group expressed their gratitude for SolKomYo and the impact the work has had within their community. Each had exciting developments that we will discuss below:
The youth group received certificates to acknowledge their graduation from the youth summer program, where 15 youth participated in a series of trainings around entrepreneurship, communication, leadership, and environmental management. As a result of these trainings, the youth have formed a sustainable venture in which they transform used plastic bottles to bracelets. If you are interested in purchasing the $5 handmade bracelet that directly supports youth empowerment, please write us at olivia@cesolutions.org.
The youth group present during SolKomYo’s final meeting.
It was also a special moment for the group of female merchants that we work with. which began after Hurricane Matthew in 2016 through our gofundme campaign. These women live in a very neglected area of Ouanaminthe and lack access to critical services. Over a year later, the 10 women meet regularly to discuss their income-generating activities and have built solidarity amongst each other. They are officially named the AFTKW – Association of Female Merchants of Ouanaminthe (Assosyasyon Famn Ti Komesan Wanament) and received shirts to acknowledge their commitment. In the coming year, SolKomYo is planning several trainings with the women, including literacy in reading and writing, community savings banks, small business development, and peacebuilding in community leadership.
The group of female merchants – AFTKW (Asosysan Famn Ti Komesan Wanament – Association of Female Merchants of Ouanaminthe) – that was born from Solisyon Kominote Yo.
It was an exciting moment for CAF (community savings banks) and financial literacy trainers because SolKomYo officially has 20 savings banks opened with over USD $1000 saved cumulatively. This tool gives communities access to loans and savings that are otherwise nonexistent. In addition, the Financial Literacy Trainers from Codevi, the textile factory, are continuing to build their capacity and are planning to provide additional trainings in 2018.
Our group of Financial Literacy Trainers and the AJT – (Assosyason Jen Travailleurs – Association of Young Workers) – Savings Group!
The agriculture group also had lots to celebrate – and did not walk away from the event empty handed! They received their certificates from the trainings they participated in throughout the year over climate-smart agricultural practices and financial stability. In addition, several members received the first distribution of rabbits to begin their multiplication. In the coming year, we will be working with this agricultural group, FAKO –the Federation of Community Agriculturalists in Ouanaminthe (Federasyon Agrikilti Kominote Ouanaminthe)- to continue climate-resilient agricultural practices and innovative farming techniques to increase their production, competitiveness, and self-sufficiency.
SolKomYo’s Agricultural Group – FAKO
Agronomist Evens makes the first distribution of rabbits to several members of FAKO.
And last but certainly not least, the group of Community Entrepreneurs (ACs) that we work with that we like to call our “ancient” group because we have been working with them since 2012! It marked an exciting time for them because after a hiatus in selling lamps through the MicroConsignment Model and continuous requests to restart this program, SolKomYo was officially able to restock its inventory with quality solar lamps and provide the ACs with products again! This is a very exciting turning point for 2018.
SolKomYo’s Community Entrepreneurs (ACs), whom we’ve worked with since 2012, and with their new stock of solar lamps in hand.
This is all a result of the immense work of the local team, Solisyon Kominote Yo, who have worked tirelessly to make all of this possible. It also marks an important step for the team: through capacity building and professional development that began in 2012, they have arrived at the point in which they will be predominantly led by the local team starting in 2018!
The men and women behind the curtain, the SolKomYo team and the Community Empowerment Solutions Collaborator.
And of course, thank you for the support of our partners who without their generosity, none of this would be possible! At the end of this year, the SolKomYo team is feeling very proud of all that they have been able to accomplish in the northeast department of Haiti and are very eager and motivated for 2018!
FAKO – it’s official – the Federation of Community Agriculturalists in Ouanaminthe (Federasyon Agrikilti Kominte a Ouanaminthe). Representing 5 communal sections around Ouanaminthe (Savane au Lait, Gens De Nante, Savane Longue, Haut Maribaux, Acuil De Pins), 7 organizations, and 18 members, Solkomyo created this group of farmers to test solutions together and advance the agricultural environment in the Ouanaminthe area. The group meets once a month and undergoes additional trainings related to climate-smart agriculture techniques, natural insecticides, irrigation solutions, and practices to improve financial security, to begin! These farmers are ready to be leaders in their communities and transfer the information they learn to their community organizations.
This week, Solkomyo began a Rabbit Project with 4 of the 7 organizations within FAKO. With a training and assistance on rabbit production, Solkomyo will provide each of the organizations with 2 rabbits each with the agreement that they will build the rabbit’s shelter and be responsible for the continuous care of the rabbit.
Solkomyo will adopt an approach called “Economic Solidarity”, which indicates that the farmers will grow the rabbit community in a coalition, sharing benefits and cross-breeding between all of their rabbits. This way going forward, the farmers will have a support system and the supply of the rabbit market will increase.
In Solkomyo’s eye, rabbits are a miracle animal for a myriad of reasons! 1. They are relatively easy to care for 2. They reproduce very quickly: in just 7 months, a Solkomyo member went from 2 to 40 rabbits! 3. The meat is very nutritious 4. The rabbit market is rather undeveloped in Haiti.
That said, Solkomyo believes that this can bring many added benefits to the community organizations, including an added source of income and a nutritious asset to their diet!
Solkomyo has also experimented with beginning clean water fisheries in the region, however they are still spotting the best regions to pilot this.
Solkomyo visits a local fishery in the city of Fort Liberté to explore how this community-oriented initiative is benefiting the community while also being economically viable.
This program is led by Solkomyo’s Agronomist, Evens Baptiste, with the strong support of the Solkomyo Office Coordinator, Antnoio Vixama. Do stay tuned, because much more is in the making for Solkomyo’s agricultural work!
Solisyon Kominote Yo kicked off the summer with our Youth Empowerment Summer Series – 16 youth from community organizations and local schools in Ouanaminthe are on their way to be the next changemakers in their community.
Here are the 16 youth that are participating in our summer program – all from different schools in Ouanaminthe!
Solkomyo invests in youth to inspire them to be agents of change in their communities and provide them with the skill set to understand how to identify problems in their community and identify entrepreneurial solutions to address them. After the training, they will transmit this inspiration and knowledge to their peers and encourage one another that anything is possible.
We follow the Dream It Do It approach that Ashoka institutes for its changemakers, involving a series of trainings where students begin to identify the problems in their communities and design sustainable ventures to address them. Within these modules, we’ve included a series of skills-based training involving financial literacy, communication, leadership, and entrepreneurship. We’ve also included subject-specific discussions around climate change, natural resource management, and civil society, as these topics are priorities identified by the communities.
The students participate in a training on entrepreneurship to understand that it is possible to design sustainable business ventures to solve the priority needs of the community.
We wanted to be sure the youth see real-world applications of this work, and included visits to social enterprises in the northeast of Haiti that are working to address societal and environmental problems, including our partners at SOIL, Green Charcoal, Thread International, and the local agricultural institutions we work with (social enterprises at heart!).
The youth visit a community agricultural center to understand the importance of agricultural development and that farming is a social enterprise in and of itself.
The youth participants are dedicated, enthusiastic, respectful, and inquisitive. They are engaged in the topics and already have ideas of social enterprises including transforming waste-to-artisan material and community reforestation projects.
The combined activities allow for a summer both theoretical and practical for the students to find the means, knowledge, and aspiration to know that their dreams can become reality!
Last Sunday, we celebrated our 4th Financial Literacy Graduation. 58 participants graduated which brings our total amount to 700 since we began the program in 2014. This is very exciting! We would like to thank all of the participants for their hard work, the 10 financial literacy trainers that lead this work, and to the Levi Strauss Foundation for the support of this program.
The graduates of the 4th Financial Literacy Program
There were 3 items that stood out during this phase that we would like to draw attention to.
As the graduates accepted their certificates, they took photos with the Financial Literacy Trainers and the Solkomyo team.
2. This year, we introduced a new aspect to the financial literacy program, the community savings bank (CAF). This provides a direct action for participants to take after finishing the program to continue putting into practice what they learn during the course and improve their financial security. Already 50% of the participants have signed up to join a savings group.
This is thanks to the financial literacy trainers whose success of their CAF has been a positive example for the participants. The trainers have cumulatively saved over $800 (equivalent to 8 months’ salary) in just 6 months and continuously take out loans amongst each other to support their other income-generating activities. As one trainer, Frideline put it, “Before I would have lacked money to advance or improve my livelihood, but now with the group, I am never in a position where I lack money because we all support each other.”
Thank you again to the Levi Strauss Foundation for supporting this program. Solkomyo strives to continue providing financial literacy education to textile workers in CODEVI, the Ouanaminthe community, and the entire northeast department of Haiti.
The time has arrived – our bi-annual meeting with our community entrepreneurs (ACs)! After reflections from recent exchanges with our ACs – from repairing water pumps and providing over 1000 community members access to safe drinking water, to searching for solutions to the outbreak of cholera in the northeast of Haiti, to creating “city of lights” in communities by providing solar energy to hundreds of households – we realize that our community entrepreneurs are true leaders in their community. It is our duty to cultivate this potential and develop the capacity of our entrepreneurs to understand the priorities of the community and identify appropriate solutions to address them.
SolKomYo Coordinator, Antonio Vixama, presents the strategy of our CAFs (Self-Financed Community Banks) and how it helps communities strengthen their financial security.
During the bi-annual meeting, we facilitated this process by presenting a tool that will better equip the ACs to learn about their communities, the organizations that exist, and the needs of the community members. As Solkomyo, we do not want to solely enter a community and introduce new initiatives that are already being acted upon by local counterparts. We recognize that it is a much more powerful, sustainable approach to work with the organizations that already exist to help them achieve their goals. We introduce tools and training that better equip these organizations to solve their obstacles – for example, through financial literacy training and access to self-financed community banks, to projects in agriculture, to empowering the youth of the organizations to design social ventures.
The ACs listen intently as we describe the ways in which they are leaders in their communities.
For that, we created a survey in which the ACs can assess the organizations that work in the communities, recognize their strengths, as well as understand the challenges they face. This will include surveys with youth groups, agricultural groups, female merchants, and government offices. The ACs will also ask specific questions about the local needs of the community in energy, water, and cooking, for example. This will allow SolKomYo to map the community and understand where and what can be leveraged in order to empower the work of the communities and increase community organizations’ self-sufficiency, all whilst increasing the capacity of our entrepreneurs to provide these services and solutions.
This not only paints the picture of the communities in which Solkomyo works, but it demonstrates how Solkomyo works hand in hand with the community entrepreneurs to build their capacity and leadership within their communities. We do not just touch the surface of the communities in which we work, but really try to dig deep to identify committed long-term solutions to community needs.
This is how Solkomyo works, and why our community entrepreneurs and stakeholders value the work we do. Thank you for all who share in this mission and have supported us along the way – none of it would have been possible without you.
Nudging catalytic community impact
Solisyon Kominote Yo (Solkomyo) is a locally-owned and led Haitian social enterprise that works daily to identify priority community needs and design and implement social innovations to best serve those needs. Solkomyo was founded in 2013 by a team of inspired Haitian leaders with the strategic and financial support of CE Solutions. Since its founding, Solkomyo has focused on empowering aspiring community entrepreneurs to be profound agents of change and help them turn obstacles into opportunities in their community. The team tackles big challenges such as first-time access to energy, healthcare, and financial services. However, we should never overlook the fact that big change can often come in the form of relatively small packages.
A few months ago, Orest, a Solkomyo community entrepreneur, in Acul de Pins came to the Solkomyo leadership team to discuss a water pump that had been broken for over two years in a nearby community. Because of one broken pump, over 1,000 community members had very limited access to water. What they concluded together was that the problem wasn’t that it was impossible to repair the pump. There were technicians around and someone could theoretically buy what was needed to fix the pump right down the road. The problem was that the repair would cost $180 and no one person or family could afford to buy the parts to fix it and that no local strategy had been designed to help people pool their money. As well, even if they were to pool their money, it would take months to save up enough to pay for what was needed. In response to this, Orest and the rest of the Solkomyo team innovated a simple and elegant financing mechanism to repair the pump.
The managing committee that is contributing to the repair of the water pump. Each month they will pay 25 gourdes to build a protection fund for the water pump.
Solkomyo agreed that they would co-finance half of the cost to repair the pump if the community was able to raise the other half in two weeks, providing an incentive for the community to come together in a specific time period. Orest, because he is a locally trusted community member, successfully engaged 60 community members to contribute 100 gourdes (US$1.50) each, raising enough to cover the community’s investment. Solkomyo also advised that the community should be responsible if the pump needed to be repaired again. The group immediately volunteered to meet monthly and have each member pay 25 gourdes (US 20 cents) into a maintenance fund. The very next day, the pump was fixed.
Orest, the Community Entrepreneur (far left), the keyholder of the pump (2nd from left), and Elizabeth, the Solkomyo team member (2nd from right), stand with community members after the water pump is repaired.
This is an example of sustainable community development where the community is invested in their solutions and takes ownership. Solkomyo was able to play the catalytic role that was needed to help the community help themselves.
A few weeks ago the Solkomyo team stopped by to see how things were going. The pump was surrounded by people using it. It was a beautiful sight to see. A $90 investment, some brainwork, and teamwork is now providing over 1,000 people and 400 students at a local school access to water for the first time in two years. And the community isn’t just using the pump, it now “owns” the pump, and with the protection fund that was created, they will ensure that the pump continues to serve the community.
Before and after the water pump was repaired in Acul de Pins. How many tanks do you see? They are all filled with drinking water for the community!
Solkomyo is inspired by community-driven solutions to development and when creative entrepreneurial approaches can be identified to solve development challenges. The key is that the community itself needs to be at the center of the solution. This is what social entrepreneurship is all about. And, although sometimes BIG solutions are needed, at other times a simple nudge can serve as a way to empower community members. We’ll keep looking for nudges and we hope you will continue to support our work.
As the CODEVI Industrial Park is expanding, SolKomYo is committed to continuing supporting the workers. For the fourth consecutive year, SolKomYo has offered a program that provides financial education to textile workers and community members to provide them with the knowledge and strategies to become more financially secure.
Photos from the financial literacy course that SolKomYo offers to textile workers and community members.
The 10 Financial Literacy Trainers from CODEVI who conducted the last phase of the financial literacy training are leading this program. The trainers have been involved in the Financial Literacy Program since 2014, and have since become experts on the subject, have formed their own savings groups, and have advocated financial literacy within the factories and their communities.
This year, each trainer mobilized groups of 10-20 participants, including current and former textile workers as well as community members. The financial literacy course is offered in two parts: the first introduces the participants to themes of household cash flow and the different categories of expenses, and the 2nd course teaches debt management and savings strategies. The participants receive the option to join a savings group as an immediate solution, which provides a safe place to save and take out loans.
Since 2014 when the course was started, over 750 textile workers and 150 community members have graduated from the course. The SolKomYo goal is to continue spreading financial literacy and security to all the workers and community members so that access to financial services is a reality for everyone. Our successes to date are thanks to the commitment and support of the Levi Strauss Foundation.
