Raising Haiti Foundation: Changing Our Planet One Tree At A Time
Video produced by the Raising Haiti Foundation. Post-production provided by Locals Video.
In late 2020, we were brought on to create a fundraising video for the Raising Haiti Foundation—a 501(c)(3) organization supporting grassroots initiatives for socio-economic development across rural Haiti. Working with producer Marcia Ross of Floating World Pictures, we transformed a PowerPoint presentation and raw footage into a compelling 2-minute video that tells the story of an innovative program tackling both poverty and climate change simultaneously.
The Organization
The Raising Haiti Foundation partners with the Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA) and the Parish Twinning Program of the Americas to support sustainable development in rural Haiti. Their primary focus is the Tree Currency Program—an innovative social business model that addresses Haiti's severe deforestation crisis while empowering smallholder farming families.
Haiti is one of the most deforested countries in the world, with devastating environmental effects. The SFA's Tree Currency Program works by having farmers volunteer in tree nurseries, and in exchange they receive farming tools, training on improved farming techniques, and access to seed co-ops and animal sharing programs. Farmers who participate increase their income by an average of 50%.
The concept is elegantly simple yet transformative: make trees worth more alive than dead. By creating "tree currency"—credits farmers earn by planting and maintaining trees—the program breaks the cycle of deforestation, low agricultural productivity, and poverty that has plagued rural Haiti for decades.
The Challenge
When we first connected with the project, the Foundation had been using a slide presentation for fundraising that, as Marcia put it, "doesn't cut it for engaging people." They needed something that moved, something energetic and engaging that could capture people's imagination and inspire donations.
The timing was particularly challenging—this was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Marcia recognized that potential donors might be focused on immediate local needs rather than international aid. The strategy became clear: emphasize the universal benefit to the planet. With climate change affecting everyone globally, reforestation in Haiti becomes a cause with worldwide impact that anyone can support.
Our Services
We provided comprehensive post-production services for this project:
Editing: Taking slide presentation content, new footage from Haiti, and sourced materials to create a cohesive 2.5-minute fundraising video
Motion Graphics: Designing text cards and statistics that were visually engaging and easy to read
Music Selection: Finding the right soundtrack that felt both hopeful and urgent
Sound Design: Mixing music and natural audio elements
Color Correction: Ensuring visual consistency across varied source materials
Ongoing Updates: Providing annual text updates as the program's impact numbers grew
The project required translating complex information—statistics about smallholder farmers, environmental data, program mechanics—into an accessible, emotionally engaging narrative.
The Creative Process
We started with a virtual meeting to review all the materials and establish the vision. The Foundation provided us with their slide presentation containing program details, statistics, and testimonials, along with footage shot in Haiti showing farmers at work, tree nurseries, and the communities being served.
The editorial challenge was finding the right balance. The video needed to convey the scale of both the problem (Haiti's deforestation crisis, rural poverty affecting nearly one million smallholder farmers) and the solution (the innovative Tree Currency Program), while keeping the pacing energetic and the message hopeful rather than overwhelming.
We structured the video in clear sections:
Opening hook establishing the dual mission: empowering farmers while tackling climate goals
Context about smallholder farmers (who they are, why they matter—nearly one-third of the global population)
Haiti's specific challenges (severe deforestation, the cycle of poverty and environmental degradation)
The Tree Currency Program solution (how it works, what farmers receive)
Impact statistics and personal stories
Call to action for support
The Program's Impact
The video highlights the remarkable scope of the Tree Currency Program. Farmers earn tree credits that can be redeemed for agricultural training, crop seeds, farming tools, and livestock. Women from farm families gain access to microcredit loans for small businesses. The program also provides university scholarships for rural high school graduates studying agronomy, veterinary medicine, and business—preparing future professionals who return to their communities to assist in local wealth creation.
The environmental impact is equally significant. Trees grown by farmers serve multiple purposes: fruit trees for farms and orchards, living fences, and reforestation of deforested slopes to reduce flooding. Near the city of Gonaives, farmers have reforested large tracts of community land that will eventually be connected to form the first green belt of its kind in Haiti.
Perhaps most importantly, the program revives community traditions. "Kombit" is a Haitian Creole word referring to farmers coming together at planting and harvest times to share the workload. One farmer explained it best: "We now work together for the common good and I care about the community as I care about my family."
Ongoing Partnership
What began as a single video project in late 2020 evolved into an ongoing relationship spanning five years. As the program continued to expand and achieve new milestones, we provided annual updates—simple text revisions reflecting new statistics about farmers helped and trees planted.
The updates were quick turnarounds, sometimes with tight deadlines when the Foundation needed the revised video for grant applications or fundraising meetings. We maintained the project files and could implement changes efficiently, updating statistics at specific timestamps while preserving the rest of the video.
Over the years, the numbers told an impressive story of growth:
2020: 3,600 farmers helped, 95,000 trees planted
2022: 6,725 farmers helped, 207,600 trees planted
2023: 19,000 farmers helped, 531,400 trees planted
2024: 14,900 farmers helped, 442,100 trees planted
2025: Continued program expansion (cumulative annual figures)
Each update represented real families whose incomes increased, real trees planted on Haitian hillsides, real progress toward breaking the cycle of deforestation and poverty.
The Collaboration
Working with Marcia Ross and the Raising Haiti team demonstrated the power of clear creative vision and collaborative problem-solving. When revisions were needed—adjusting graphics for readability, extending hold times on important text cards, finding better musical transitions—the feedback was specific and constructive.
The team understood their mission and their audience. They knew they were competing for donor attention during an unprecedented global crisis, and they articulated clearly why this cause deserved support: because helping Haiti reforest is helping the entire planet address climate change.
Their willingness to return to us for annual updates, even for small text changes, showed trust in the work and recognition of the value in maintaining consistency rather than starting from scratch each year.
Looking Back
The final video, titled "Raising Haiti: Changing Our Planet One Tree At A Time," successfully translates a complex international development program into an emotionally resonant two-minute story. It educates viewers about Haiti's challenges, introduces an innovative solution, demonstrates measurable impact, and provides clear ways to help.
More than just a fundraising tool, the video represents the kind of work that makes post-production meaningful: using our craft to amplify voices and organizations doing important work in the world. Every tree planted by a Haitian farmer through the Tree Currency Program contributes to global reforestation efforts. Every family whose income increases through the program moves closer to economic security. And the video we created helps make more of that possible.
It's the kind of project where the technical work—the editing, the graphics, the music selection—all serves something larger. Where precision matters because the message matters. Where getting the details right means getting the story right, and getting the story right helps change lives.
Locals Video provides comprehensive post-production services including editing, motion graphics, sound design, and color correction for nonprofits, foundations, and mission-driven organizations. Whether you're launching a fundraising campaign, documenting program impact, or telling your organization's story, we bring the same attention to detail and commitment to amplifying important work.
