Poverty is rampant in Haiti. In 2000 three-fourths of the population lived on less than the equivalent of two US dollars per day and half on less than one dollar. Ten years later, in the middle of this poverty, the earthquake struck. Poverty is no newcomer to Haiti. It has been a steady companion for the last half-century or even century. Low incomes have forced Haitians to leave their country to an increasing extent. The modern history of emigration goes at least a century back, to the movement of Haitian workers to Cuba and the Dominican Republic. With time, Haitians moved into the Bahamas, in the 1950s, and thereafter to other Caribbean islands as well as the United States and Canada. Emigration is the safety valve that makes it possible for Haiti to keep its nose above the water. The Haitian dream is to make it to the United States. Without the remittances of the émigrés, the equivalent of around one-third of GDP, would be in dire straits.
Open Source Archives
We strive to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and the implementation of progressive and participatory research methods, with the goal of generating tangible, durable changes in the way research about Haiti is conceptualized, implemented and applied.
ABOUT US
Research Hub & Open Source Archives
EKO HAITI Research Hub is a research and knowledge mobilization platform focused on creative, collaborative and interdisciplinary research and associated research-based learning. We aim to become the intellectual “home” for research about Haiti by creating and providing open access to the largest crowdsourced research archive dedicated to Haiti, by fostering cross-disciplinary research and innovation, and by providing support for progressive research in the form of contextual expertise and training.
“The trees fall from time to time, but the voice of the forest never loses its power. Life begins.”
Jacques Alexis, Les Arbres Musiciens (Paris, 1957)
ORAL HISTORIES
Oral histories are a powerful tool in developing historical understanding
Oral history offers an alternative to conventional history, filling gaps in traditional research with personal accounts of historically significant events or simply life in a specific place and time. Oral histories do more than provide charming details to dry historical accounts. In fact, oral histories help others recapture lived experiences that are not written down in traditional sources.
> Transcripts archive
" Bwa pi wo di li wè lwen, men grenn pwomennen di li wè pi lwen pase l "
The tallest tree says that it sees far, but the seed that travels says that it sees even further.
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Support EKO HAITI
As an independent institute, we rely on crowdsourcing and donations to continue expanding the depth and scope of our archives. Your contribution enable us to provide open access to a vast collection of ethnographic and research material which in turn aims at fostering further research and contribute to a better understanding of the country.