Singing Rooster : Our Beliefs & Approach

Singing Rooster - a registered 501 (3)(c) - provides direct assistance to rural coffee farming communities in Haiti through interrelated assistance that support economic growth and self-sustainability.

Like most Haitians, we believe self-respect and dignity comes from economic autonomy, not handouts.

We believe sharing knowledge and resources the world a better place.

Our approach is to nurture economic growth in Haiti using something that’s already successful : coffee. Coffee has a long and rich history in Haiti.

We are pragmatic and hands-on; we personally visit and work with our farmers -- we know these communities and are invested in their success.

We're especially proud that part of our fundraising stems from actual sales of Haitian Mountain Blue coffee; we couldn't think of a more appropriate way of immediately supporting the Haitian economy - by buying tons of coffee beans, creating new markets.

We provide several interrelated areas of support to nurture economic growth in rural communities :

coffee & fruit tree seedling nurseries land management/coffee waste training coffee harvesting, processing & transportation sustainable food development training in small business management skills Read about our current projects

1. Coffee Seedling Nursery Support : Singing Rooster provides training and materials for the establishment or continuation of a coffee seedling nursery. The life of a coffee tree is about 20 years, and in the absence of plant renewal, coffee yields decrease. Coffee seedlings are used for new farms or to replace unproductive trees; likewise, nurseries produce fruit tree seedlings to serve as shade canopies for coffee trees as well as much needed sources of food:

• Build a shaded structure large enough to house 1000 seedlings
• Purchase coffee & fruit tree seeds
• Purchase seedling containers & soil amendments for starter soil
• Build compost bins for coffee pulp & other organic waste
• Purchase rain barrels & water containers
• Payment for initial labor costs for Nursery construction and management [when grant concludes, money generated from seedling sales pay nursery manager]
• Community seminars on sustainable coffee growing, land management

2. Land Management & Coffee Waste Training : Singing Rooster provides training and materials to enhance soil productivity including compost and / or manures, reducing tillage, avoiding traffic on wet soils, and maintaining soil canopies with fruit trees. Special attention is given to fertilization deficiency—particularly nitrogen, magnesium and zinc— which accounts for the high incidence of pests and diseases [e.g., Hemilea vastratrix (rust) and Rosellinia (root rotting)]:

• Build a community tool lending shed
• Purchase appropriate soil tilling tools
• Build community compost bins
• Use coffee pulp & other coffee processing waste productively [e.g., as compost or for mushroom growing]
• Conduct seminars on organic fertilization, insect, weed & disease management
• Plant fruit tree canopies to shade coffee trees / prevent soil erosion, provide an additional food source
• Conduct community seminars on sustainable agriculture

3. Coffee Harvesting, Processing & Transportation Assistance :

• facilitate coffee harvesting [e.g., reaching high altitude beans]
• purchase of coffee hullers, drying racks, rakes, etc. (some equipment was damaged in the 2010 quake when buildings collapsed & destroyed machinery)
• transport coffee cherries for primary and secondary processing

4. Sustainable Food :

5. Training Farmer Cooperatives in Small Business Management 101 :

• Operations management
• Financial management
• Human resources management
• Marketing management
• Direct training in tools (hardware & software) that facilitate business management

Your donation will enable us to implement our work

100% of Singing Rooster's efforts go BACK to Haiti; our goal is to provide direct assistance to rural coffee farming communities through interrelated support for the sake of self-sustainability, dignity and economic autonomy.

Every donation to Singing Rooster is equally valuable. If we are running low on donations toward a specific fund, we direct monies from the most over-funded area toward areas of most need. This ensures your donation is put to the best use.

Donor Privacy Policy: We take you donation AND privacy seriously. We guarantee we will never sell, trade, or rent our donors' personal or contact information with anyone, nor will we send mailings on behalf of other organizations.

Great Fundraising idea: use coffee. If you're a Non-Profit, school, or charity organization, add Singing Rooster's Haitian coffee to your fund raising arsenal. We've helped hundreds to raise thousands. Here are other ways you can help. 100% of Singing Rooster's efforts go BACK to Haiti; our goal is to provide direct assistance to rural coffee farming communities through interrelated support for the sake of self-sustainability, dignity and economic autonomy.