A Locally Led System In Haiti

our network

Roots of Development provides direct support and services to a local aid structure made up of effective, community-driven Haitian organizations. These organizations serve a wider network of local leaders and community groups across all ten of Haiti’s departments.

our shared vision and values

We partner with Haitian-led, community-powered groups and organizations that share our vision, values, and approach to aid and development.

Roots and our partners believe that community-led approaches, anchored in the Haitian tradition of Konbit, are simply more effective in the long run. Our research shows that community-led approaches are set apart from conventional ones by their ability to strengthen social cohesion and foster local ownership, both of which feed into building trust.

OUR local partners

Rasin Devlopman

Rasin Devlopman, in addition to being a founding member of Gwoup Konbit, is our original local partner, based on the island of La Gonave. Their mission is to strengthen the capacity of local leaders so that they are better equipped to manage their own development and improve quality of life on the island. In addition to improving quality of life through community-led projects, Rasin strengthens civil society by fostering leadership and offering support to other groups and initiatives on the island. Rasin serves as a prime example of the practical implementation of Konbit’s values and principles, a laboratory through which to test and learn from these approaches in a contained environment like La Gonave.

Click Here for Rasin's Website

Gwoup konbit

Gwoup Konbit is a national social movement based on Konbit–a deeply Haitian tradition of mutual aid and solidarity stemming from rural agriculture that can be traced back as far as the country itself. Gwoup Konbit is reviving Konbit within Haiti in order to bring into fruition a society built on Konbit’s values and principles. The five values of Konbit are: solidarity, responsibility, collaboration, reciprocity, and participation. The twelve principles of Konbit are: sharing, transparency, trust, respect, equity, ethics, perseverance, flexibility, adaptation, innovation, interdependence, and sustainability.

Click Here for Gwoup Konbit's Website

the la gonave community leadership & development center

As part of our long-term strategy to bring Haiti to the forefront of conversations about locally led approaches to aid and development, we have partnered with Ayiti Community Trust to help our partner Rasin Devlopman construct a Community Leadership & Development Center on the island of La Gonave, Haiti.

This 10,000 square-foot, million-dollar facility is specifically designed for bringing together community leaders on the island and across Haiti and the world to learn, exchange ideas, and create real change. Construction is currently underway on Phase One of the Center.