The Recipe for Change
Joumou, Creole for squash or pumpkin, has been grown in Haiti since it was a slave colony. The enslaved people of Saint-Domingue often made the rich, luxurious Soup Joumou for their enslavers, and were themselves banned from ever eating it.
On January 1st, 1804, when the revolution officially earned Haitians their freedom, they celebrated by eating the forbidden soup–and the tradition has continued each year on January 1st to celebrate Haitian independence.
The history of konbit also stretches back to the Haitian revolution. Konbit—like a pot of Soup Joumou—is a core part of Haiti’s culture, a tradition that provides a recipe for the future.
2025 has taught us the power, and necessity, of collective action. To make konbit possible, it takes all of us, from our partners in Haiti to our donors here in the US. As 2025 comes to a close, we’re asking everyone to add an ingredient to our shared konbit pot of change.
Our Goal
Our goal is to fill up ten pots of soup—one for each department of Haiti—with our Recipe for Change.
Each pot needs one of each ingredient—the equivalent of $2,500!
Every pot of soup we fill will be MATCHED 100% thanks to generous donations from some of our top supporters,
making that $2,500 into $5,000!
And, if we fill ALL TEN pots of soup, we unlock another $10,000 of matching funds!
Total Raised so Far: $0
Ingredients
Konbit’s Recipe for Change has 17 ingredients–12 principles and 5 values. Explore them all by clicking on the ingredients of the soup joumou!
Adaptation
Interdependence
Flexibility
Innovation
Transparency
Ethics
Sharing
Responsibility
Sustainability
Participation
Reciprocity
Perseverance
Equity
Collaboration
Respect
Solidarity
Trust
Sharing
Solidarity
Equity
Transparency
Interdependence
Responsibility
Respect
Adaptation
Ethics
Perseverance
Innovation
Reciprocity
Participation
Sustainability
Collaboration
Flexibility
Trust