Page 2 - The Daily Builder - Day 05
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an incredibly difficult situation.  75 families received animals and  farmers, giving them the tools
                                                                                                                                      In 2016, Heifer Haiti teamed  seeds during a second ceremony  and resources to better their
                                                                                                                                    up with International Flavors  in 2017.                                 own lives. And with Passing on
                                                                                                                                    & Fragrances (IFF) to launch          “I am more than happy and  the Gift, one of Heifer’s core
                                                                                                                                    a program designed not only  thank Heifer and IFF very much  tenets, this program will have a
                                                                                                                                    to produce a higher quality of  for such amazing gifts,” said  massive ripple effect - for every
                                                                                                                                    vetiver oil, but also to improve the  Cidieula François,  whose family  family who received an animal
                                                                                                                                    lives of the farming families. The  received livestock, seeds, and  from Heifer, they will pass on the
                                                                                                                                    program, called Vetiver Together,  training sessions. “I promise to  first female offspring (along with
                                                                                                                                    is designed to address three main  take care of the animals to the  training and seeds) to another
                                                                                                                                    areas of need: food security,  best of my ability. This is the  family in need.
                                                                                                                                    women’s     empowerment,      and very first time vetiver farmers             Thanks to Heifer International
                                                                                                                                    reforestation. This is achieved by  are being thought of (by outside      for letting us share this story. More
                                                                                                                                    providing families with alternate  groups) - and not only for what       information about this program and
                                                                                                                                    sources of income, reducing  we can offer.”                              the usage of vetiver can be found on
                                                                                                                                    their dependence on money from        Programs like Vetiver Together     Heifer’s Blog, World Ark Magazine,
                                                                                                                                    vetiver, so that they can have  help to increase the power of                          and the IFF website.
                                                                                                                                    successful and fulfilling lives
                                                                                                                                    outside of the once-a-year vetiver
                                                                                                                                    harvest.
                                                                                                                                      In the first wave of assistance,
             Bernard Thelemaque holds a handful of vetiver roots, pulled carefully from the ground to keep them intact in
             order to preserve their complex, highly sought-after smell.                                                            75  farming  families  were  given
                                                                                                                                    goats, chickens, turkeys, and
                                                                                                                                    seeds. These all help supplement
          The SweeT Smell of VeTiVer                                                                                                income, as well as increasing
                                                                                                                                    food security during the long
                                                                                                                                    stretch of time waiting for the
          By Worldbuilders                    be replanted, and its roots will  have come to rely entirely on                       vetiver roots to mature. Farmers
          Photos by Lacey West                slowly regrow over 12-18 months. the income they make from                            also received the education and
                                               Over half of all commercial  harvesting vetiver roots.                               training Heifer is known for,
            In Haiti, deforestation has  vetiver comes from southwestern           Though vetiver is so reliable                    learning about crop and livestock
          degraded soil so much that any  Haiti, produced by 30,000 small-       and profitable, the time it takes                  production, soil conservation, and    Using a pickaxe, Bernard Thelemaque carefully cuts around clumps of
          sort of agriculture has become  scale farming families. Bernard  for the roots to regrow and be                           improved nutrition. An additional     vetiver grass in order to pull them from the field.
          difficult. However, there’s a grass  Thelemaque is one such farmer,  ready for  harvest  again leaves
          called vetiver that grows well in  who has found amazing success  farmers in a difficult economic
          stressful conditions - and actually  through farming Vetiver. “I  situation. Since the plant needs                          Why VetiVer?                                        chameleon among scents. Because its fragrance is
          needs just the sort of environment  make more money with vetiver  12-18  months  for  the  roots  to                                                                            so complex, it can be used for a variety of different
          Haiti provides in order to produce  than other crops,” he said. One  regrow, this means farming                               Vetiver, which smells both earthy and sweet, is   notes in a wide range of men’s and women’s scents.
          its valuable oils.                  vetiver harvest earns him 15,000  families must either harvest early                    especially popular in scents made for men. It’s a   It’s a popular ingredient in citrus scents, since it adds
                                                                                                                                      key ingredient in scented products that range from
            Vetiver is highly sought-after  gourdes ($237), while a year  and  end  up with a much  lower                             deodorants found in most drug stores to the most    warmth and richness to balance out a citrus smell’s
                                                                                                                                                                                          harsher notes.
          in the fragrance industry for  of corn harvests only gets him  quality product, or must stockpile                           expensive perfume in the world, Clive Christian No. 1,   It also has a long lifespan with excellent fixative
          its unique and complex scent.  2,500 gourdes ($40). “Sometimes  food and money to last them up to                           which sells for more than $2,100 an ounce.          properties, and can be used as a base for a long-lasting
          The roots are dried and turned  with  the  corn,  I  might not  have  a year and a half before they can                       Vetiver oil provides a deep, complex scent—earthy,   fragrance without overly coloring the main smells a
          into an oil that will be used in  anything, if there’s no rain.”  harvest again. This isn’t possible                        smoky, sweet, warm, leathery, dry—that is a sort of   perfumer wishes to attain.
          countless products. The grass can  Many farmers like Thelemaque  for most families, leaving them in



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