Guiding Principles

Si nou mache men nan men nou ka rive lwen,
nou bezwen fè youn lòt konfyans,
nou youn bezwen lòt pou nou ka avanse.

If we work hand in hand, we can go far.
We must trust each other because we need each other to go on.
– a song of the co-operatives

The community cooperative structure is understatedly the single most effective way to restore Haiti. Co-ops are economical enterprises motivated by a need for self-reliance and a desire to control one's own and collective destiny. To this end, FIDA has sought to encourage and teach rural Haitians, who choose to organize themselves, to reach within their own well of resources to harvest a living and ensure a tomorrow for their children and their children's children.

FIDA has chosen to undertake development programming in communities with people who are economically disadvantaged which might not otherwise be served. FIDA uses the term "end of road communities" to describe those rural villages which are beyond the secondary road access and not likely to be as aware of opportunities presented by larger programs. An "end of road" approach hopes to foster development in such a way that families and farmers are less tempted to leave their home for the imagined advantages of the urban centers. In practical terms, the "end of the road" community offers an opportunity for more precise monitoring of the program's outcome because of the population's stability and because there are fewer confounding external influences.