Haiti

USAID Haiti Marche, Aid to Artisans

 

 In support of the overall objective of Marche; to facilitate the development of competitive market chains in various sectors of the Haitian economy, TW and Aid to Artisans (ATA) developed a custom training program and curriculum for the Haitian beneficiaries. The program and curriculum worked to both develop local leaders and enhance the livelihood of artisans and entrepreneurs supporting the tourism sector in both Port au Prince and Labadee. The program significantly increased the number of Haitians involved in sustainable economic activities.

 At the start of the program a Training of Trainers (TOT) was conducted in Port au Prince. The thirty attendees were comprised of Haitian business leaders nominated by the USAID mission.  This workshop focused on leadership, presentation skills, facilitation, communication and adult learning theory. Five of the original attendees were selected at the end of the workshop for being the most highly skilled trainers. These five trainers travelled with the TW and ATA teams to the Royal Caribbean compound in Labadee. The TW and ATA team was able to coach the newly minted Haitian trainers through delivering a workshop to the vendors who worked selling their items to cruise ship tourists.    The workshop consisted of sessions including: How to approach American Tourists, Negotiation skills, how to cost and price your product, merchandising for maximum sales and product development. 

 The ability of the team to be able to immediately apply the Port au Prince learnings through training others in Labadee, while being coached by their trainers dramatically increased the sustainability of the learnings. The Haitian Trainers were able to train in excess of 500 participants in both Labadee and Port au Prince.