Haitian Baseball Project
The goal of the Haitian Baseball Project is to revitalize the baseball manufacturing sector in Haiti via an individual centered, fair trade program. Baseball production used to be a staple of the Haitian manufacturing base until labor unrest in the 1980’s pushed the multinationals into other countries such as Costa Rica and more recently China.
The vision of the program is to provide individual Haitians the opportunity to manufacture and sell hand stitched baseballs for resale in the US and appropriate global markets. Participating Haitians would be paid a fair wage for their work, provided an “off the grid”, workshop that can double as familial living quarters.
Components of the baseballs would be sourced abroad and provided to the individual Haitian manufacturers for assembly, collected for export, then marketed and distributed. There are two possible scenarios for manufacturing.
1) A network of self-sufficient manufacturing workshops where individuals can assemble all the components of the ball.
2) Regional facilities that can assemble the major components up to the hand sewing stage, where the partially assembled balls would be farmed out for the final stage of cover sewing.
The method of manufacturing will depend on the cost and availability of textile wrapping machines. Each ball requires 396 yards of wool and a poly blend (combined), wrapped at a specific tension. If we can find a cost-effective method that enables each assembler to have their own machines, we can pursue method #1. If computer based, precision instruments are required, #2 may be more effective. Part of the due diligence process will be pursing local mechanics to invent compatible, cost-effective machines to suit the manufacturing requirements.
Finished balls will be picked up by designated collectors who will check for quality and arrange payment. Collected balls will be packed and shipped to the US for distribution.
Organizations such as Kiva http://www.kiva.org (for micro-finance) and the William J. Clinton Foundation (grants and logistic help) will be contacted and invited to take part.
Initial Tasks
1) Source individual baseball components
2) Develop Haitian contacts who can aid in logistics and manufacturer sourcing
3) Get specifications and costs for portable workshops and delivery
4) Seek funding options
5) Contact Kiva for microfinancing vetting procedures
