Nonprofit Spotlight: CLES

Nonprofit Spotlight profiles organizations we work with to share how they are leading economic and social transformation in their communities and how HDI helps increase their impact.

New CLES processing facility.jpeg

Collectif de Lutte Contre L’exclusion Sociale (Collective to Fight Social Exclusion) (CLES) promotes integrated development in Northeast Haiti by helping communities pursue economic opportunities in agricultural sectors as well as identify and meet community needs. CLES values solidarity, inclusion, ethics, accountability, efficiency, transparency, and equity.

The Haiti Fund first worked with CLES in 2012, making a $10,000 grant to help build rice harvesting infrastructure and develop improved packaging for market. With this modest investment, CLES was able to increase rice production and sales of the local farmers’ collective.

CLES’s executive director, Mr. Albert Joseph, then participated in Haiti Development Institute’s organizational capacity development program.  Mr. Joseph credits the program with helping CLES:

  • Improve governance and better involve community members in the organization;

  • Operationalize administrative and accounting tools like procedures manuals, inventory management sheets and Quick Books accounting software to ensure better control and transparent management of its resources;

  • Create a website to improve its communications;

  • Gain skills in program monitoring and evaluation;

  • Learn from and develop relations with other nonprofits.

HDI’s coaching model, with frequent follow-up visits by HDI staff, provided direct support that helped CLES in implementing new skills and procedures.  “HDI’s partnership has been catalytic to our success,” credits Mr. Joseph. “The institutional, organizational, technical and financial growth of CLES is linked to a larger vision of change on the part of our leaders. This new vision has been gradually established with the support of HDI.”

Impact of HDI

With HDI’s support, CLES grew as an organization and demonstrated its capacity to implement successful programs.  CLES became attractive to development partners and has become an essential player in development in the Northeast region, particularly in the rice sector within the Plaine Maribahoux area. In addition to providing technical support to producers, the organization invested in the marketing of local rice under the label "Rice Bèl Nègès", a high quality white rice. As a result, CLES gained access to contracts for rice for humanitarian agencies such as the World Food Program. This has contributed to a greater motivation on the part of the members and rice producers of the region, and to an increase in the production and the productivity of the rice plots. The organization benefited from other funds and built the largest warehouse in the Northeast region. CLES is modernizing its processing site (industrial mill, electric dryer and silos, etc.) and purchasing agricultural machinery (tractors, combine harvesters, etc.) to increase the range of its services. It is now offering plowing and rice marketing services. The significant increase in rice storage, processing, and packaging capacity makes it possible to look to the future with much more optimism.

CLES then was able to access funding from additional development partners. Within the past few years, CLES increased its annual budget from $30,000 to more than $1 million to implement food and nutrition security projects (European Union/BON), child protection and workers' rights projects (US Department of Labor funding through CRS), and for the improvement of agricultural services and competitiveness of local rice (World Bank through RESEPAG).  CLES’ programs are improving the lives of more than 5000 rural Haitian families.

“While the timing of these investments in the region was important, the greatest contribution was HDI’s partnership and investments in CLES over the years that ensured we were ready to capitalize on these opportunities as they became available.”

If you are interested in learning more about the work of CLES, please reach out to Pierre Noel, pierre.noel@tbf.org, and we will be happy to connect you.

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HDI believes in the power of local leaders and organizations to transform their communities, when they are given the tools, skills and accompaniment to participate in the decision-making process about their own development. CLES is a perfect example of such approach.

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