woven vetiver

fair trade

Haiti

This simple birdhouse is woven from Vetiver and has a natural look that will blend in with any backyard environment. Or you can hang it in your home, like my friend Amanda Pays did with hers, because she loves the smell of Vetiver so much.

The entry hole, sized for most domestic birds such as finches, wrens, chickadees, and nuthatches (approximately 1-1 1/4) has been specifically crafted to keep out larger predatory birds and animals.

Vetiver is an aromatic grass indigenous to Haiti. Lately, its contribution is to soil and water conservation. This grass is becoming globally recognized as a first line of defense in sediment control, land stabilization, and rehabilitation. During the embargo, Haitians deforested their mountainous island for firewood, exposing the slopes to erosion and landslides. Vetivers deep and fast growing root system binds the soil and prevents erosion from water runoff. Vetiver is an excellent pioneer plant on disturbed land. It improves the micro environment so local and native species of trees and shrubs can establish themselves later.

Haitian artisans have woven, twisted, and turned this useful grass into unique birdhouses. Your support will help artisans make a living from vetiver- a renewable resource. The Haitian artisan that made this craft lives in a country that is often considered the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, thanks in part to a history of decades of dictators, plus economic embargoes and sanctions since the early 1990s. Much of the land has been recently deforested by the people for firewood.

The average income is $25 per month with health-care and education unobtainable dreams for the impoverished majority. Four percent of the population is infected by AIDS, infant mortality is over 10%, malnutrition is a common ailment, and 47% of the population is illiterate.

Despite this adversity there is hope. For centuries Haiti's skilled craftsmen have transformed natural materials like vetiver, sisal, banana leaf, and vine into functional baskets and works of art. And now these products are beginning to find acceptance by consumers outside of Haiti that appreciate their natural beauty, simplicity, and aromatic scents.