Page 12 - aruba-today-20190701

A12 WORLD NEWS
Monday 1 July 2019
Amid crisis, Haiti fights to save oil used in fine perfumes

By DÁNICA COTO Lelion, a 59-year-old who
Associated Press has been working in vetiver
LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — fields in the mountains that
High up in the hills of rural surround the coastal city of
Haiti, where some women Les Cayes since the age of
sit topless on porches and 10. He has seven children,
bleating goats break the including three sons who
silence, a group of men used to help him but have
gather roots to produce an since migrated to the South
essential oil used in fine per- American country of Chile
fumes ranging from Chanel in search of a better life. For
to Guerlain. now, they are able to send
Then they load heavy him enough money so he
bales of the beige, stringy can keep buying roots and
roots culled from the veti- planting them.
ver plant on each other's "Everything is expensive,"
backs as clouds of dirt en- Lelion said, adding that
velop their bodies and a there are no other jobs in
deep musty smell fills the the area. "Death is the only
air. thing that will separate us
In the poorest country of from vetiver."
the Western Hemisphere, On a recent weekday, a
this is ground zero for a In this May 27, 2019 photo, Alsonce Jeune 32, extracts vetiver oil, used in fine perfumes, in Les rooster crowed as women
multimillion-dollar industry Cayes, Haiti. carried buckets of water
responsible for more than Associated Press on their heads and workers
half the world's vetiver oil. hunched over hundreds of
"It's our biggest income right 15,000 to 60,000 farmers, he said. "If we can't keep "Desperate producers, in thousands of grass-like veti-
now," said Hilaire James, the majority of whom are the quality of the product, order to seek out additional ver plants. The plant is in the
a Haitian agronomist with based in the southwest re- the whole industry will col- income, cannot wait for an same family as corn and
Catholic Relief Services. "I gion where good soil, mild lapse." annual cultivation and end sugarcane, and it grows up
call it legal cocaine." temperatures and ocean Haiti produces more than up extracting the roots ear- to 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall,
Vetiver oil — which is also winds allow fields to flourish. 70 tons of vetiver oil a year, lier," he said in a statement. with the roots pushing as far
used for cosmetics, soaps While it takes at least a year surpassing Indonesia, Chi- The majority of vetiver farm- as 13 feet (4 meters) deep
and aromatherapy — is the for vetiver roots to reach na, India, Brazil and the ers make less than $2 a day, in the denuded brown hills.
one bright spot in a flailing their ideal length to pro- neighboring Dominican Re- with 90% overall saying the Some workers hacked the
agricultural industry in Haiti duce a top golden-brown public. It is one of the coun- crop is their sole income, growth with a machete
beset by widespread ero- oil, a number of farmers are try's top exports, with up according to a 2018 study while others pulled up roots
sion, lack of funding and unable to wait a full year to to 10,000 hectares (24,700 commissioned by Heifer In- that were then beaten with
extreme weather condi- get paid. As a result, they acres) harvested annually. ternational and New York- a wooden club to clear the
tions including droughts are increasingly harvest- But more than 60% of the based International Flavors dirt. Before the oil can be
and floods. ing plants too early in the crop still comes from indi- & Fragrance, Inc. Many of bought by top perfumers,
But the country's deepen- season, possibly affecting vidual producers, many of those farmers have been roots must also be distilled
ing economic crisis is now the oil's quality, said Hervil whom are struggling finan- hit hard by Haiti's record to their essence in a pro-
threatening a sector that Cherubin, director of Heifer cially, according to Gabriel inflation and face steep in- cess that takes more than
generates an estimated International charity in Hai- Gelin, a spokesman for the creases in the price of food, 24 hours.
$12 million a year and ti. United Nations Environment utilities and transportation. Thomas Absolue, 64,
employs anywhere from "This is the hardest part," Program in Haiti. Among them is Richard leaned against a bale of
roots as he ate rice from a
Thousands rally to back Brazil's president, small, recycled plastic tub.
He used to harvest sugar-
cane in the Dominican Re-
justice minister public before returning to
Haiti in 1982, lured by the
essential oil.
Associated Press neiro. "Vetiver gave me every-
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The online news site The In- thing I have: house, school
Supporters of President tercept published leaked for kids, food for my fam-
Jair Bolsonaro have taken messages it says show Moro ily," he said. "As long as
to the streets by the thou- while a judge worked too I'm alive, I'll work in vetiver
sands in several cities to closely with prosecutors in fields. It's what saves us."
defend the government going after leftist former But increasingly early har-
and its justice minister, who President Luiz Inacio Lula vests are also leading to
faces accusations of he'd da Silva, whom he convict- erosion, yet another prob-
acted improperly while ed of corruption. lem threatening the indus-
overseeing corruption alle- Demonstrators said they try. While the vetiver plant is
gations as a judge. doubted the content of known for helping prevent
Justice Minister Sergio Moro the leaks and suggested soil from wearing away,
A supporter of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro holds a sign in tweeted acknowledgment they were part of an ef- culling it too soon worsens
favor of Justice Minister Sergio Moro, during a pro-government the issue, especially if en-
rally along Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sun- of the crowds, saying "I see. fort to end the sweeping tire plots are pulled up at
day, June 30, 2019. I hear," along with photos crackdown on corruption one time, which happens
Associated Press of a mass rally in Rio de Ja- that Moro led.q
often.q