Kombit

A method of agriculture frequent during the slavery period in Haiti which is still being in practice today. Kombit was used for several major crops including cotton, coffee, tobacco, indigo, and sugar plantations.

A Kombit is known as a rotating cooperative approach of farming which is totally different that the current practice of working for a paycheck. Planting and harvesting, usually done by the community and there is no exchange of money involved.

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This is a farming method that was popular during the slavery period in Saint Domingue, now known as Haiti. What is exactly the Haitian Kombit? It was the perfected method of working the land during slavery, It is called a rotating cooperative approach to planting and harvesting. This method is still being used in many regions in Haiti today

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In Haiti, a Kombit is organized as follows: When it is time to plant, there is an announcement in the community of the event. By announcing the event, everyone is also invited usually accomodation is made for as many participants as necessary
Usually, the functions in a Kombit are distributed based on gender and age and ability. The men are usually involved in digging holes and usually women and young children plant.
The charm of the entire process is the singing. There are usually lots of singing and funny jocks in a Kombit to keep the spirits up. The participants are also served breakfast, Lunch and dinner.

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Here is an agricultural system that is unique to Haiti, the Kombit system. What is a Kombit in the Haitian meaning. A Kombit is a system of interacting that is based on sharing and not selling.
The community makes use of the community members to perform the various functions. In a Kombit, everyone is involved in everything. They plan the crop and harvest it by sharing the task among themselves

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Here is a picture of a Haitian Kombit. The Haitian President Michel Martelly is participating in a Haitian Kombit.

What is a Kombit:
The emphasis of the concept of Haitian kombit is to have people helping each other. In a Kombit, the entire village is involved and no money is changed hands. It is simply the sharing of products in a communal sense, not selling for profit.
The way a Kombit would be done is that a farmer will announce a planned Kombit day or a day for planting. As many people in the community are invited. They serve food and drinks. Men as well as women are invited and they perform different tasks

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Here is another Kombit Picture in Haiti. In this one, several women are involved in the hard labor of working the land.

Many people believe that this concept of Kombit can be use for the development of Haiti. It captures the essence of community and the concept of Union Fait La Force. It is associated with a tradition in the Haitian tradition and culture.

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