Whole Foods Joumou Recipe

Haitian households celebrate their country's Independence Day with bowls of this comforting soup. The national holiday falls on New Year's Day, when Haitians walk from house to house to pay friends and family the first visits of the New Year. Although this is a vegetarian version, add small cubes of browned beef stew meat along with the pumpkin, if you like.

Ingredients: 

  • 2 pounds (1-inch) chunks seeded, peeled butternut squash or pumpkin (about 7 cups) 
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 
  • 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers 
  • 10 whole cloves 
  • 4 carrots, sliced 
  • 2 turnips, peeled and cut into small chunks 
  • 1/2 small head green cabbage, cored and roughly chopped 
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice 
  • 1/4 pound vermicelli or capellini 
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 

Put squash, 10 cups water, salt and pepper into a large pot. Stud peppers with cloves by pushing them halfway into the flesh, then add peppers to pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer peppers to a small bowl and set aside. 

Working in batches, purée remaining contents of pot in a blender or food processor until smooth, taking care as it will be very hot. Return puréed squash mixture to the pot along with peppers. Add carrots, turnips, cabbage, nutmeg, lemon juice, salt and pepper, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in vermicelli and parsley, cover again and simmer gently until pasta is tender and soup is thickened, about 10 minutes more. Because the texture of squash and pumpkins can vary, thin the finished soup with a bit more water, if desired.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/haitian-pumpkin-soup

Haitian New Year - Soup Joumou

On January 12 2010, more than 300,000 Haitians died in less than 35 seconds... On January 1st 2011, every Haitian household, whether in a permanent home or under a tent, will be making, drinking, and sharing some Soup Joumou. It is a symbol of our strength... Haiti will survive!

It is not a coincidence that "Soup Joumou" is consumed in every Haitian household all over the world on January 1st of every year.

This symbol is the last symbol of unity and freedom we have left. 

  • We make Soup Joumou every New Year...
  • We eat Soup Joumou every New Year...
  • We share Soup Joumou every New Year...
  • We do it EVERY JANUARY 1st of every New Year in order to remember our past, our struggle for FREEDOM, and our ongoing fight to remain free.

 

What better way to celebrate the New Year than with the very soup that we were not allowed to drink as slaves?

The most important New Year Celebration in Haitians history is New Year's Day, January 1, 1804.

We fought for nearly thirteen years before this day so that we could initiate this symbol of freedomfor ALL slaves ALL over the world.

Before 1804, A Haitian slave was NOT allowed to touch Joumou, a delicious and aromatic pumpkin that was a favorite for her white French master.

Haitian Slave Diet: He/She was to eat one ounce of salted meat or fish and one bottle of lemonade per day.

When our ancestors finally kicked the French out of the island, The Party was on!

We fought the French and we won!

(source) http://www.haitianinternet.com/articles/soup-joumou-haitian-soup-of-freedom.html

Haitian New Year - Soup Joumou

A Haitian New Year's Soup

On January 1, the people of the island nation remember their fight for freedom, spoonful by spoonful

By Tequila Minsky

As a reporter for a New York City newspaper that covers the Caribbean community at home and abroad, I have traveled, and eaten, throughout Haiti. I've savored the island's distinctive cuisine, with its African, French, and native Taino elements and its iconic dishes, from lambi, sautéed conch and red snapper in a spicy tomato-based creole sauce, to riz djondjon, a rice made almost black with dried mushrooms. But I've never experienced a Haitian dish quite as beloved as soup joumou, a savory pumpkin soup.

Soup joumou (pronounced "joo-moo") is the soup of Independence, the soup of remembrance, and the soup that celebrates the new year. The soul-warming dish commemorates January 1, 1804, the date of Haiti's liberation from France. It is said that the soup was once a delicacy reserved for white masters but forbidden to the slaves who cooked it. After Independence, Haitians took to eating it to celebrate the world's first and only successful slave revolution resulting in an independent nation. 

Today, soup joumou is such a new year's tradition that before any good wishes, you're likely to be asked: "Did you have your soup?" "Where are you having your soup?" or "Do you want to come over for soup?" And asking someone of Haitian ancestry about pumpkin soup opens the floodgates of their memory, both personal and collective. "New Year's eve was the only time we could stay up late," Elle Philippe, a New York-based chef told me of her childhood in Port-au-Prince. "I remember when I was five years old, my mother would start making soup joumou in the evening, and around midnight we could begin to taste it."  
 

Asking someone of Haitian ancestry about pumpkin soup opens the floodgates of their memory, both personal and collective.

 Philippe's mother, like many other home cooks, started her soup with a rustic beef stock. ("You must have a beef leg bone," one friend told me, who insisted that the opportunity to suck the marrow is part of the pleasure of the soup.) Into the broth generally go marinated, seasoned beef; loads of garlic, onions, and other aromatics; and malanga, taro, yams, or other starches. After some time, cabbage, pasta or rice, and the cooked and puréed joumou, or squash, is added. The variety of choice is kabocha, a green mottled, squat pumpkin whose nutty, bright orange flesh flavors, colors, and thickens the soup. 

Though in Port-au-Prince and other cities, people generally prepare meals using indoor gas stoves, in rural areas, I've also watched home cooks prepare soup joumou on the traditional recho, a three-legged circular or square iron basket filled with charcoal where the pot sits directly on the coals. In the most remote parts of the countryside, the soup pot might simply be propped over a wood fire atop a rustic tripod fashioned from three stones. But wherever it's cooked, soup joumou is left to simmer in a deep aluminum pot in amounts enough to satisfy all the family and friends who drop by to usher in the new year, and to celebrate Haiti and its hard-won independence.

(source) http://www.saveur.com/article/Travels/Soup-Joumou

Annual Review of the agricultural sector 2013-2014

As part of the constitutional requirement relating to the filing of the report of activities carried out during the fiscal year 2013-2014 and the principle of accountability, Thomas Jacques, Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARDDR) has made available a detailed document of 134 pages on the Ministry's activities during that fiscal year.

In his introduction, the Minister Jacques summarizes the main points of its record saying that "the overall objective for this exercise was to ensure that the agricultural sector maintains the pace of growth to 4.5% in order to contribute to the improvement of national food security and to increase revenue of rural workers, prerequisites for the improvement of living conditions and well-being of the Haitian people."

To achieve this, the Ministry of Agriculture has benefited for the 2013-2014 period a total budget allocation of nearly 7 billion gourdes (6,921,275,737 Gdes) including operation and investment.

The part devoted to investment accounted for just over 6 billion gourdes (Gde 6,142,354,404), representing 89% of the budget allocated to the MARNDR. It was intended to fund 7 programs, declined in 72 projects, including 40 funded solely or in exchange, by the State Treasury funds. The others were financed by external resources.

Finally, the Minister has indicated in its balance sheet, it was only possible to engage or spend a little more than 4 billion gourdes (4,076,840,160 Gde), 65% of the budget.

Stressing that "This investment has helped strengthen productive infrastructure and to ensure that thousands of producers can undertake agricultural activities during the two main seasons Winter and Spring. Mitigation of major natural hazards and environmental protection have had a central place among the actions that were taken, this in the perspective of sustaining the latter. The impact on unemployment is undoubtedly, in fact, interventions have generated tens of thousands of temporary jobs that allowed people to earn additional income off-farm."

In addition, the Minister emphasized the collective nature of the preparation of this report "Under the authority of General Management, a Review Commission was created. The preparations for this balance sheet followed a participatory approach. First, the Commission has developed a set of tools for collecting information. In addition, a workshop brought together the Agricultural Department Directors, Technical Directors at the central level and the Development projects coordinators to validate and enrich the data collected by the Studies and Planning Unit (UEP)."

Download the document (2013-2014) [PDF 134 pages] : http://www.haitilibre.com/docs/marndr_bilan-agricole_2013-2014.pdf

(Source) http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12817-haiti-agriculture-annual-review-of-the-agricultural-sector-2013-2014.html

6 million Haitians still live with less than $2,5 per day

Even with progress, more still needs to be done...

In its 2014 annual report, "Haiti 2030 on the horizon" the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in addition to reporting the work of UNDP Haiti over the past year, looks back at the highlights since 2010 through a time line, and offers a vision for the future for 2030 through the testimony of the mid-level Haitian government officers, long-term partners within institutions, who have agreed to put their oars in for us.

In the introduction to this annual report, some key figures are put forward "According to the latest United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report published in June 2014 by the Haitian government and the United Nations Development Programme for Development in Haiti, the proportion of people living in extreme poverty, i.e., on less than $1.25 a day, has declined. In terms of education, more than 88% of children now attend primary school. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS has been stabilised and 60% of young people use condoms during sexual intercourse. The target measuring low weight in children under five was reached three years ahead of schedule. Nearly 69% of households now have access to an improved source of water.

However, as stated in the report on the MDGs in Haiti, six million people still live in moderate poverty, i.e., on less than $2.50 a day. The work for ensuring a quality education, reduction of absenteeism and developing public services, however, remains immense. Only 4 % of women are represented in Parliament and Haiti is one of only six countries in the world where one of the parliamentary chambers is exclusively male. Efforts to fight deforestation and loss of biodiversity have not been adequate to halt the trend: at least 62 % of city dwellers live in slums.

When all is said and done, if Haiti has made great strides, new financial resources must be mobilised to lift Haiti up to the emerging country level by 2030. With the support of its traditional partners, but also thanks to the impetus of the South, UNDP continues to support the Government of Haiti towards emergence. In the fight against poverty, in the fight against HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, in the areas of environmental protection, governance and the rule of law, and on disaster risk management, UNDP Haiti is aligned with the development priorities of the Government through national capacity building and improved preparation for the country’s future.

The approach is inclusive and should generate employment for young people and a livelihood for the marginalised. It must integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment.

In a changing world, UNDP is also working towards sustainable modes of consumption and sustainable production. It now places the protection and management of natural resources as a priority within the development agenda [...]"

Download the full report "Haiti 2030 on the horizon" [PDF 28 pages] : 

(Source) http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12819-haiti-politic-6-million-haitians-still-live-with-less-than-$2-5-per-day.html

Extremely worrying situation of mangroves

Deforestation, high exposure to climatic hazards, poor planning of land use, poverty, lack of awareness and education of the population, overexploitation of resources http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-8991-haiti-environment-order-protecting-the-mangroves.html ; Haiti, meets almost all the conditions of vulnerability to climate change.

Natural ecosystems, such as mangroves, which plays a key role in the cycling of carbon and nutrients in coastal areas, are not immune to the adverse effects of climate change. Recall that the coastal waters around mangroves, are generally rich in shrimp and fish and represents a shelter that houses a large animal biodiversity, including various species of crab. Some fish come also breed, others ensure their growth.

The mangrove is of paramount importance both economically and ecologically, and represents one of the most productive ecosystems. Its disappearance, whose average annual percentage rate in Haiti is estimated between 1 and 2%, with losses between 35 and 86% of the initial surface depending on the location, is extremely worrying, especially as it may accelerate according to changes in sea level, due to climate change.

In the South Department, specifically in the commune of Aquin, rampant cutting of mangroves, which are a natural defense barrier for the area, endangering the population of the neighboring coastal towns. The situation is alarming and to remedy the situation the Haitian Government, together with the United Nations Programme for Development (UNDP) is implementing a project to rehabilitate the mangroves of the city of Aquin over two years.

This project aims to protect mangroves by reducing the risk of saltwater intrusion into groundwater, which ensure the availability of water for people, but also to educate the public about the importance of mangroves and the need to protect them.

Aquin is unfortunately not an isolated case in Haiti, where mangrove ecosystems are vulnerable. This is why the UNDP, in consultation the Government of Haiti and Canada are exploring the possibilities to replicate and extend the successful experiences, but also how to ensure continuous information for effective consideration of climate change at all levels of decision decision.