Building self-sustaining communities across Haiti.
A community-led development model combining vocational training, regenerative agriculture, infrastructure, and local enterprise — to create jobs, restore land, and strengthen resilience from the ground up.
Haiti's challenges are interconnected. So is the solution.
Decades of fragmented interventions have failed to break cycles of poverty, displacement, and ecological collapse. Lakou Haiti responds at the system level.
Youth unemployment
Over 60% of Haitian youth lack stable work, fueling migration and instability.
Food insecurity
Half of Haitians face acute food insecurity. Domestic production has collapsed.
Environmental collapse
Less than 2% of original forest cover remains. Soil erosion accelerates each year.
Water & sanitation
Most rural communities lack reliable potable water and basic sanitation systems.
Aid fragmentation
Decades of disconnected interventions have failed to build lasting local capacity.
Weak rural infrastructure
Roads, energy, and housing gaps trap families in cycles of poverty and displacement.
Eco-villages that produce, restore, and employ.
A modern adaptation of Haiti's communal Lakou tradition — combining land, training, water, energy, housing, and enterprise into one integrated rural hub, replicable across every region.
Restored, productive, locally-owned.
Six-month fast-track vocational pathways.
Clean potable water and sanitation systems.
Solar microgrids powering communities.
Eco-construction using local materials.
Locally-owned businesses and cooperatives.
Four steps from training to thriving.
A clear path from recruitment to local enterprise — repeatable in every Lakou across the country.
Recruit & train
Youth ages 18–30 enter a six-month fast-track program in agriculture, construction, sanitation, energy, or enterprise.
Paid fieldwork
Trainees earn while they restore land, build infrastructure, and produce food in their home regions.
Launch enterprise
Graduates start cooperatives and small businesses, supported by Lakou capital and mentorship.
Scale through hubs
45 demonstration stations and 700+ community centers replicate the model nationwide.
Lakou Colora — where the model takes root.
In Colora, Belladère, the first Lakou is being built on land already served by water, electricity, internet, and road access — designed to employ approximately 1,000 people and demonstrate financial self-sufficiency within two to three years.
"We are not waiting. We are building."
What success looks like.
Targets include income growth from under $1,000 to over $12,000 per participant household over five years, alongside 5,000+ residents benefiting from improved water and sanitation in pilot regions.
Seven institutes. One integrated system.
Each Lakou hosts specialized institutes that train, employ, and incubate enterprise — feeding back into community resilience.
Agriculture & Ecology Institute
Regenerative farming, agroforestry, soil restoration, and seed sovereignty.
Eco-Construction Institute
Sustainable building with local materials, solar integration, and durable rural housing.
Health, Sanitation & Nutrition
Community clinics, sanitation systems, nutrition programs, and preventive care.
Business Institute
Entrepreneurship, cooperative finance, market access, and rural enterprise.
Research & Development
Applied research on Haitian crops, materials, water systems, and renewable energy.
Technology Institute
Digital literacy, agtech, telecommunications, and climate-smart infrastructure.
Capital that builds capacity, not dependence.
$3.8M is already secured to launch the Colora pilot. We are now raising $43.8M for phase one — combining grants, diaspora investment, tuition, and enterprise revenue into a sustainable funding model.
Explore funding paths- Donors & foundationsCatalytic capital
- Diaspora investorsDirect local investment
- NGO partnersAligned program delivery
- GovernmentPolicy & infrastructure
- Technical expertsField expertise
Read the full plan.
The Lakou Haiti master report, executive brief, and pilot documentation — for serious partners.
Build the Haiti that produces.
Join donors, diaspora investors, governments, and NGOs already engaging with Lakou Haiti. Every Lakou starts with one partner.