Haiti is known throughout the Caribbean, Americas and Europe for the quality and creativity of its handicrafts, especially metalwork. The capacity of the handicrafts industry to turn that advantage into a larger and growing market share is constrained by a number of factors. The objective of this assessment is to better understand the constraints and opportunities of the handicrafts industry in Haiti, and to present the findings to key stakeholders in the industry in order to develop a competitiveness strategy focused on greater efficiency, increased differentiation (including quality improvements) and accessing new markets.
Information was gathered through interviews with over 50 market actors in Haiti with additional interviews of experts in the global handicraft market, with a particular focus on the US1, on trends and opportunities in the market. To permit a greater depth of analysis, interviews were limited to market actors involved in metal and papier- mâché crafts. This report focuses on the in-country assessment of the handicrafts value chain in Haiti and the stakeholder planning workshop.
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 U.S. 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 including employees of large craft production firms— focusing in particular on the U.S. home accessories markets.
