Our Story
The Mission
Haiti Made is united around quality products, dignified jobs, and economic sustainability in an effort to diminish families deep-rooted cycles of poverty in Haiti.
Haiti Made was born out of Hands & Feet Project’s deep desire to see the Haitian people empowered by secure and dignified employment as a part of a larger effort to fight to keep families together. More than half of Haiti’s people live on less than $2.50 US daily, and the orphan and child slavery crisis in the nation is largely fueled by a lack of economic opportunity. Job creation has proven to succeed where perpetual aid measures have failed. Employment means the provision, stability, and preservation of family. One job created in Haiti often supports up to ten others in a household or small community. Our purpose is to see the Haitian people holding the keys to their own economic recovery, confident to envision a more promising future.
Our team takes pride in crafting products of the highest quality, design, and functionality using leather sourced within Haiti. The Haitian team members include young men and women who have transitioned out of residential care, parents seeking to provide for their children, individuals who have been rescued from human trafficking, and countless other members of our local communities. Like most Haitian people, they are not looking for a handout, they are looking for an opportunity to participate in their own economic future. A job is the driving force for all to live and thrive, not just survive.
Haiti Made is committed to paying a living wage. Team members earn at least 2-3 times Haiti's minimum wage, and each team member has an equal opportunity to grow within the organization. Haiti Made is Haitian an equal opportunity organization, licensed in Haiti, and follows all Haitian government labor laws and regulations. Self audited by the governing bodies of the Fair Trade, we also follow and practice all other international manufacturing standards and regulations. All Haiti Made products have been tested and have passed environmental hazard and impact standards.
Our leather is old-world saddle grade leather, certified veg-tan, and finished with neatsfoot oil. Our leather is sourced from the Hawtan S.A tannery in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Our partnership with Hawtan is one of many that helps support the 126 jobs at their leather tannery in Port-au-Prince. The cowhide supplied to Hawtan comes from certified grass-fed cows in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, and Iowa. Here at Haiti Made, we believe the leather says it all, with each "side" being special and unique, having a history, and carrying marks and character making up each handmade product.
Our products are handmade with love and prudence, each one its own unique art piece. Some Haiti Made products are made, start to finish, by one Haiti Made team member individually. Other Haiti Made products require a more collaborative production effort and thus have been touched and made with many different hands, each doing their part to get to the final product, resulting in beautifully handmade products, supporting jobs in Haiti.