Building the La Gonave Community Leadership & Development Center
A Hub for Community-Led Development in Haiti and around the World.
There are places like La Gonave, Haiti, around the world—forgotten pockets of peoples, where development is accepted to be practically impossible because of purportedly immutable circumstances and decades of failures. Like the people of La Gonave, these communities have been left to fend for themselves.
The La Gonave Community Leadership & Development Center will become the nexus of Community-Led Development efforts around the world, where others can come together to learn and share their experiences, creating an alliance of like-minded people dedicated to Development without Dependency.
A Promise to Future Generations.
La Gonave is an island that’s been all but forgotten by NGOs and its own central government. Haiti has been written off by the global community as a sinkhole for aid money, where a never-ending barrage of natural disasters and a seemingly overwhelming amount of violence and corruption makes long-term development impossible. While traditional aid work has failed across Haiti, the residents of La Gonave have figured out how to do better, more sustainable community-led development.
The La Gonave Community Leadership & Development Center will put La Gonave on the map as not only a place where development can work, but one that has a model to be emulated throughout the world.
3D Model of the future La Gonave Community Leadership & Development Center
Roots of Development and Ayiti Community Trust are working together to support our community-based partner in Haiti, Rasin Devlopman, build a permanent community leadership and development center on the island of La Gonave.
The center will provide the island’s population (approx. 85,000 residents) with a meeting and training facility where local authorities can strengthen their management and leadership skills and communities can come together to plan and organize sustainable projects that improve quality of life on the island.
The facility will also include a guesthouse and additional office space for rent, which will provide Rasin Devlopman with a sustainable source of revenue and greater financial independence.
The Impact
A PERMANENT RESOURCE FOR LA GONAVE AND ITS LEADERS
The Community Leadership & Development Center will serve as a meeting, teaching, and project implementation space for decades. It will help strengthen and develop new leaders on the island for generations to come.
A SOURCE OF SUSTAINABLE REVENUE FOR RASIN DEVLOPMAN
The Community Leadership & Development Center will be owned and operated by Rasin Devlopman. It will house its headquarters and include a guesthouse and additional office space for rent, which will provide the organization with a source of revenue and greater financial independence.
A HUB FOR COMMUNITY-LED DEVELOPMENT FOR THE WORLD
The Community Leadership & Development Center will be a meeting place for community leaders from across Haiti and beyond. It will be a hub of community-led projects and a symbol of a stronger, more sustainable approach to development.
Project Budget: $1,040,186
Current Phase: Fundraising for Phase 1
The construction of the La Gonave Community Leadership & Development Center will be carried out in two phases. We are currently taking pledges for Phase 1 of construction. Construction will begin only when the full amount needed is pledged and/or collected. Funds collected will be kept in reserve until that time.
Phase 1
Building A (2 levels): $200,248
- 70-seat auditorium
- Restrooms
- 26-person dining room
- 3 training rooms
Building B (2 levels): $85,189
- Kitchen
- Employee restroom
- Storage area
- Laundry and drying room
Building D (1 level): $34,897
- Veranda
- Reception area
- Office space
Central Atrium: $176,730
Solar Energy System: $67,836
Internet Infrastructure: $12,155
Total: $577,055
The completion of Phase 1 will allow the center to begin operating and serving the island of La Gonave, even if construction of Phase 2 is not ready to begin. To learn more about the construction phases and how to make a pledge, click here.
“Rasin Devlopman’s decision to build on La Gonave sends the message that it is here to stay. It is taking root on the island and will grow wings, an act that is both innovative and fundamental.”
– Daniel Elie, Architect
The Design
Learn more about the significance of the La Gonave Community Leadership & Development Center and the elements in its design from the architect, Daniel Elie of Moun Studio, in this interview:
The Architect
Moun Studio is a Haitian architecture firm led by architects Daniel Élie and Philippe Châtelain. Mr. Élie is the former director of the Institute for the Safeguarding of National Heritage (ISPAN), an autonomous body of the Haitian Ministry of Culture responsible for the conservation of monuments and historical sites. Together, Mr. Élie and Mr. Châtelain have collaborated on a number of high-profile restoration and conservation works in Haiti, including the the Citadelle Henri Christophe in Cap-Haitien. The attraction of a well-known Haitian architect with deep ties to Haiti’s history and culture to the island is a testament to the significance of the Leadership Center to both La Gonave and Haiti.
“The project will rely not only on the physical resources of La Gonave but also on its human resources. As a result, everyone will be tied to the project, something which will have an extremely strong and symbolic significance [for the island], especially since the center is intended to train younger generations in the fields of development and leadership, to give a certain autonomy to La Gonave, capacity to self-develop.”
– Daniel Elie, Architect
The Giving Wall
Institutional Donors
Sandler Family Foundation
The Sandra and Arnold Chase Family Foundation
Seven Hills Global Outreach
Verizon Foundation
Individual Donors
Agnes Castera
Alex Bender
Ann Loraine Roc
Avery Pollard
Betty Marcelin
Catherine Albright
Christopher J Harvie
Corine Lau
Deborah Rivlin
Elodie Manuel
Frantz Derenoncourt
Gueter Aurelien
James Snow
Jenean E. McKay
Joseph Newkirk
Karen Wires
Kristin Schneeman
Linda Rhine
Lyn Freundlich
Marise Schut Aine
Meli Faubert
Nicolas Braun
Reginald Saint-Amand
Romy Antoine
Sasha Rene
Terryl Morris-Adams
Tre-C Leigh Dumais
Ahson Wardak
Alexandra Zaltman
Anne Castera
Barbara Depray
Beverly S. Huneycutt
Chad Groshart
Claudia Nunn
Cost Family
Diane Laurin
Emily Ellis
Genevieve Pierre
Guille C
Janet B Fox
Jenna Willits
Juan M Fernandez
Kate HZ
Lenora Williams
Lorraine Crossman
Mai-Trang Dang
Mary Baranski
Meredith Schoenfeld
Nirosha Lederer
Renee Iverson
Rose Chin
Sri Atluri
Thomas Callahan
Viren Jain
Al Smith
Alicia Willett
Anthony Del Monaco
Barry Shelley
Brenda Huneycutt
Chad W Bissonnette
Clayton Barlow-Wilcox
Dana Cloud
Don Pottinger
Emily Pugach
George Denison
H. Seth F. Barnes
Jean Francois Bauer
Jenny Katz
Judi Flamenbaum
Keith Stebbins
Leslie Sowers
Luba Lepidus
Marie Michaud
Matt Campagna
Miguel Padro
Pascale Wagner
Robyn Isman
Russell Bridges
Suzanne Naone
Tianna Lyons
Wanda Gispert
Alejandra Fernandez
Amol Batra
Arianne Richardson
Ben Knowlton
Brett Pickering
Christiane Laporte
Colleen Fleming and Tony Bernard
Darcy Erwin
Edens Duphresne
Esther Taylor
German F
Holly Stewart
Jean Sebastien Barrau
Joan Voneden
Judith Woltring
Kevin Levy
Leslie Stone
Luc Castera
Marie Onakomaiya
Matt Rosenberg
Ndangoh Babila
Randi Buerlein
Rodney B Solomon
Salmah Rizvi
Sylvie Castera Linge
Torry Stamm
Yordan Santallana
Aleksander Murshteyn
Andrew A MacGregor
Aurelie Mathieu
Bethany Natoli
Brian Averill
Christopher and Nicole Wells
Colleen Gauld
David Valeri
Eileen McGrath
Florent G.
Guerda Nicolas
James Nardine
Jeff Chin
Jonathan Schreiber
Kakoli Caprihan
Kris Clark
Linda Mathes
Luciano Marcelino
Marie-Jose Bauer
Maya Oliver
Neil and Erin Boland
Randy Breidbart
Rodolphe Brioche
Sarah Solomon
Tara Foley
Tracy Kochan
Zachary Gore
If you give to the La Gonave Community Leadership & Development Center at the $1,000 level or more, your name will be permanently and physically recognized in the center to thank you for your generous contribution to the construction of the center. This applies to all donations made via check, transfer, our website , or our Global Giving fundraising page.
