Haitians are fiercely proud of their independence, history, and religion. In the two years since the earthquake, the capital city of Port-au-Prince has started to rebuild. Unfortunately, no amount of foreign aid could have healed the decades of political turmoil, broken health and social systems, and extreme poverty that continue to plague the nation. Port-au-Prince was voted the most dangerous place in the world in 2004, and suffered the devastating earthquake that killed an estimated 300,000 people in 2010.
Just weeks after the earthquake in Haiti, Matt Bingham and Martin Weiss of McGill University were on the ground involved in relief work. Upon their return, the pair wrote a business plan for a company that would combat the roots of poverty and foster human capital. Armed only with an idea, the pair headed back to Haiti and launched Moral Fibers in January 2011. Moral Fibers is a clothing that cultivates a community of artists in Carrefour, Haiti, the second poorest district in Port-au-Prince.
The artists receive salaries of five times the average national income, and get to choose from 4 benefits: education subsidy for one child, home rental subsidy, healthcare subsidy, or an entrepreneurship fund. In exchange, Moral Fibers’ artists must deliver 12 pieces of art per month, be actively attending school, and volunteer in their community.
***
-
- : Jean-Mark Delphonse is a tent camp resident and experienced artist. Moral Fibers buys his art every month and translates it into men’s and women’s clothing.
-
- This is an intersection near Carrefour, Haiti. The busses are used for transportation between districts and towns, not for schoolchildren.
-
- the National Cathedral in Port-au-Prince just months after the earthquake. In the foreground is a child sawing steel out of concrete to sell as scrap.
-
- A year later a man kneels to pray in the same cathedral.
-
- A trash filled water-way in downtown Port-au-Prince near sunset. Smoke from trash fires obscures the distance.
-
- Makeshift wiring to power a home in Port-au-Prince
-
- Children in Pitye school—Moral Fibers’ three youngest artists attend this school.
-
- A woman in Port-au-Prince transports food received from an aid organization.
-
- Port-au-Prince in the weeks following the earthquake.
-
- Smoldering buildings in the immediate aftermath of the quake.
-
- A father cares for his child.
-
- A crane attempts to repair a roof by a river-side. Pollution of the river has made the water a deadly source of cholera and other pathogens.
-
- One of the numerous shanty-towns that still exist throughout the city.
-
- School children.
-
- A women’s shirt made using art purchased from Delphonse. This piece is entitled Ocean Waves, follow the link to learn more about the artist and his work.
-
- One of our models wearing Sunlight by the Water, an original by David Antoine. Please take a look around our site to learn more, and visit http://www.moralfibers.co/grassroots to learn about other ways you can help!
***
***
Photos Courtesy of Moral Fibers
