The former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited Wednesday, accompanied by Mariano Fernández Amunátegui, Special Envoy of UN Secretary General and Head of the Minustah a a production plant a shoes of the brand "Timberland" in the Northeast of Haiti, in the free zone of Ouanaminthe at the border with the Dominican Republic.

Timberland's vice president of supply chain, Gareth Brooks, reported that "since the factory opened in June 2010, we have recruited and trained nearly 150 employees to make handsewn uppers. Our expansion within the facility continues, and next spring we plan to open our first cut-to-box manufacturing line which will produce our first 'Made In Haiti' classic handsewns [...] We're making products that require specific skills to create [...] Haiti doesn't have a heritage of shoemaking, but our dedicated Haitian staff have demonstrated a willingness to learn."

n addition to creating jobs and training people to fill them, Timberland also has a significant agro-forestry program in Haiti that combines tree planting and farmer education in a way that is community-managed, self-financed and replicable. Three hundred local farmers volunteers operate nursery to be self-sustaining after 3 years. "Our program has already resulted in almost 2 million trees planted in Haiti; in one of the most deforested nations in the world, the importance of trees can't be underestimated" stressed Gareth Brooks.

S/ HaitiLibre

Credit Photo : Jesus Serrano Redondo. UN/ Minustah & Timberland