The Haitian handicraft value chain analysis was conducted to better understand the constraints and opportunities of the handicrafts industry in Haiti. The objective of the assessment was to develop a competitiveness strategy focused on greater efficiency, increased differentiation, and accessing new markets. Information was gathered through interviews with over 50 market actors in Haiti, as well as experts in the global handicraft market, with a particular focus on the US market.
The end market analysis identified important opportunities for the unique crafts of Haiti to find greater market share, particularly in the home accessories markets in the US. The in-country analysis identified six principal constraints and opportunities for market actors to increase the competitiveness of the overall sector and to increase benefits to micro- and small enterprise (MSE) craft producers. These constraints and opportunities include lack of access to product design services and timely market information for new product development, lack of capacity to identify and link with buyers in all market segments, lack of access to regular and affordable raw materials, lack of access to production financing, opportunity for intermediary agent services to link producers with foreign buyers, and opportunity for designer/producers to provide design services to craft factories and workshops.
The in-country analysis was followed by a workshop for industry stakeholders designed to enable them to use the results of the analysis to establish priorities activities, plan next steps, and delegate tasks. At this workshop, participants recommended focusing on the first two key constraints: lack of access to product design services and timely market information for new product development, and lack of capacity to identify and establish relations with buyers in all market channels. Upgrading in these two areas would allow artisans to produce a range of contemporary home accessories with distinctly Haitian characteristics and to sell to US and other buyers.
The workshop participants developed a vision of a Haitian handicrafts sector having regained its renown as a source of handicrafts sought after by importers and tourists alike. To promote this vision and tackle priority constraints, the stakeholders formulated an action plan to increase communication among different market actors through workshops, associations, and networks, and to identify existing and potential agents to fill a market intermediation role between producers and buyers.
The assessment of the Haiti handicrafts value chain was a collaborative activity in which the Haiti analysis and workshop were carried out by ACDI/VOCA and the global market analysis was completed by DAI. The workshop was exciting for the facilitators and value chain consultants and the participants, marking the first time the participants had worked with a donor as key players in developing a strategy and plan of action.
The objectives of this value chain analysis were to identify opportunities to increase sustainable competitiveness of the Haitian handicraft sector, clarify market actors’ constraints and opportunities to increasing competitiveness, and test a planning process in which participants in the handicraft sector use value chain analysis to establish priorities activities, next steps, and delegate tasks. The findings of DAI’s recent study of the global market opportunities for Haitian crafts helped shape the context for this analysis and provided focus. The study noted the importance of the US market for Haitian crafts as an outlet for exports and future growth, as well as the continued growth potential for handicrafts made from metal and new market opportunities for papier-mâché crafts.
The studies also noted a growing demand for craft products of a “global style,” which is a blending of contemporary design and functionality with indigenous design. Such products are hard for competitors in other countries to copy successfully and therefore present Haitian craft producers with an opportunity to improve their competitiveness on the global market. Market actors with the current or potential capacity to produce “global style” crafts were examined closely in the analysis.