“Many Small Potatoes Make a Load”: Harvest Festival 2019 Underscores Power of Collective Action

“Who is responsible? We are all responsible,” Agronomist Raphael emphatically repeated throughout his speech culminating Petit Trou’s 3rd annual Harvest Festival, which takes place every June on St. Paul’s Campus.

Agronomist Raphael (right) stands with Vladimy (left) and a young Harvest Fest attendee. Raphael gave the keynote speech of the Harvest Fest. Vladimy, the Entrepreneurship teacher at Paul’s School, emceed the event.

“Let us take the first, small steps at St. Paul’s School,” Raphael proclaimed in the same refrain as he called for incremental and collective action toward building self-reliant and sustainable agricultural communities in Haiti. He accentuated his remarks with a Haitian proverb, Anpil ti patat fè chay. Roughly translating to “many small potatoes make a load,” the phrase speaks to the impact of small contributions to a larger societal goal.

Raphael also illuminated how St. Paul’s School’s agriculture program benefits the local population. He reflected on the community pride he sees as a result of families and students growing their own healthy food, learning about agriculture, and sharing their expertise in workshops and trainings.

The crowd of students, school administrators, civil representatives, and U.S.-based staff reacted to Raphael’s words with loud and enthusiastic applause. The festival’s activities complemented Raphael’s speech; there were plays about environmentalism, and students sold produce and small crafts at a boutique farmer’s market.

Many Harvest Festival participants also joined a community trash clean-up game that offered a bicycle as the grand prize. For every ten pieces of trash collected, a participant received a raffle ticket to win the bicycle. The game’s winner was a student named Schneider, who pledged to share his prize with other peers living in his neighborhood.

The public excitement of the day was echoed in Raphael’s closing words. “I believe that with us, another Haiti is possible, as we are very talented. With resources, we will have the opportunity to discover the extraordinary talent hiding in Ti Twou.”

Read a full transcript of Raphael’s speech here.