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KANPE
(Haiti)

Region Caribbean

Reforestation and Agroforestry

Since 2021, Age of Union has partnered with KANPE to drive a reforestation and agroforestry initiative that delivers tangible benefits for both the environment and the community of Baille Tourible. Each year, the project produces and distributes over 25,000 fruit and forest seedlings to local families, helping restore ecosystems while fostering food security. Support for mini-forests and an experimental farm is creating new opportunities for environmental restoration, sustainable agriculture, and economic empowerment, ensuring long-term resilience for the community.

Due to years of exploitation dating back to the colonial era, Haiti faces important threats to biodiversity, making the protection and regeneration of the soil through reforestation essential.

Members of women's associations on their way home after a seedling distribution operation.

Baille Tourible

KANPE – which means “to stand up” in Haitian Creole – is active in the remote highlands of Haiti’s Central Plateau, in a village called Baille Tourible. The area is known for its mountainous terrain and geographic isolation, and it is home to an underserved and vulnerable community — 98% of whom are subsistence farmers, with limited access to transportation and municipal services or nearby cities.

Until the 1980s, Baille Tourible had a strong vegetation cover, but today, more than half of the territory faces deforestation. Using charcoal for energy needs has put great pressure on the vegetation cover. Lack of support to find alternative sources of energy, insufficient access to resources, and vulnerability to climate change have accelerated deforestation and extreme poverty due to the decline in agricultural production caused by soil erosion and desertification.

Mission

Age of Union is contributing to reforestation and agroforestry initiative as a true collaboration between local leadership and international support. A Haitian project director ensures that on-the-ground needs are met, while the Canadian team secures funding to bring the project to life. This initiative is deeply community-driven, with the people of Baille Tourible of all generation take pride in shaping a sustainable future for the culture and the environment. The dedicated agroforestry team, including an agronomist and rangers, has already surpassed expectations every year so far, exceeding its 25,000-seedling goal. Central to KANPE’s mission is women’s empowerment, recognizing that while women are often the most affected by climate change, they are also key to driving sustainable solutions.

  • Agroforestry initiative to produce, distribute and plant over 25,000 fruit and forest seedlings each year for five years
  • Reforestation project to tackle soil erosion and desertification
  • Sustainable livelihood plan to increase education and agricultural output and promote economic empowerment
  • Emphasizes women’s empowerment and community self-sufficiency

 

Partnership Impact

  • Over 4,200 acres of land regenerated through reforestation and soil conservation activities
  • Coffee cultivation’s revival as a source of cultural and economic pride
  • 3 model forest successfully implemented benefiting the community and the environment

People () The
change
makers

Odinave Dominique
Manager
Baille Tourible, Haiti

Agronomist Odinave Dominique is the manager of the experimental farm in the community we support in the Central Plateau in Haiti. He is part of the association of young leaders of Baille Tourible.

Régine Chassagne
Co-Founder
Montreal, Quebec

Régine Chassagne co-founded KANPE with the desire to develop customized solutions to empower the neediest Haitian families to become autonomous while ensuring Haiti’s environmental protection. She is also the co-leader of the Montreal famous indie rock band Arcade Fire.

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