Cazale is located about 12 km from Cabaret and 70 km from the Haitian capital. This village is the main center of the Polish community in Haiti. The name Cazale originated from “Kay Zalewski,” which means “House of Zalewski” (“Zalewski” is a well-known Polish last name). The village is populated by descendants of Polish soldiers sent by Napoleon in 1802. Initially, their mission was to fight on the French side in order to discipline the slaves. However, seeing the cruelty of the French towards the slaves, they changed sides and helped the slaves defend themselves. There were dark days in the history of Cazale. On March 27, 1969, the Tonton Macoute (Papa Doc militia) killed more than twenty Cazalais for having fiercely opposed the regime of François Duvalier a.k.a. Papa Doc. After that massacre, most of the Polish descendents left Cazale.
Cazale is exceptionally beautiful. There are a lot of rivers. It is a region in Haiti that gives hope. If there was a good system of agriculture in the country, Cazale would have become the barn of Port-au-Prince. Alas, less people are interested in gardening and farming. Unfortunately, Cazale is not an exception to the rule and a lot of people are leaving the countryside to go to the big cities or to other countries.
Therefore, INHO has decided to invest in the young men and women in Cazale in order that they see the value of their village. INHO wants to raise awareness about the importance of agriculture and to start exposing the young people to farming and gardening.
