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Food sovereignty summer camps for young people from the MPP

Summer camps for young people from the Papaye Peasant’s Movement (MPP) have been organized every year since 2004, in August. These camps take place at the Lakay Center, the MPP’s training center, over six days, and welcome young women and men aged between 18 and 30.

In total, 460 young people took part in the 2024 edition, whilst 350 have been expected : the MPP is seeing a very high level of enthusiasm amongst young people to take part in these camps. Each young person may attend several times, but after two or three participations, they must make way for others, so as to allow as many young people as possible to get involved in this initiative. The MPP applies a gender parity policy for participants in these camps.

These camps are organized by the MPP’s Youth Sector. Each year, the camp’s topics are chosen around the main theme of food sovereignty- one of the MPP’s key areas of focus- with the aim of engaging and mobilizing young people within the MPP’s activities. During the various sessions of the camp, young people are encouraged to discuss of agroecology, the climate crisis and good dietary practices, as well as current affairs in Haiti and around the world. These are also talks on sexual health and the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Camp Schedule and Operations

A typical day is divided into four parts : theoretical sessions, practical work, sport activities, and self-management (maintenance of communal spaces). Informal time, such as breaks and lunch (approximately two hours), allows participants to interact more freely.

Workshops are led by internal facilitators (MPP staff), as well as external facilitators depending on the topics covered. Participants are divided into groups of 30 and 50 young people, supervised by instructors. Workshops alternate between lectures and discussions, group work, and practical activities (composting, sowing seeds, and making natural insecticides).

At the beginning and end of the week, the team offers young people an activity called “The Revolutionary Mystik”. Participants observe and interpret together a sign related to a given theme (such as solidarity or the environment). Unlike a sociodrama, the Mystik takes place without dialogue.
After this presentation, the facilitators offer a space for discussion, allowing everyone to express their understanding and share their perspectives on the topic.

For more information on this awareness-raising tool, see the Mystik sheet in the right-hand column of this article ->

Challenges and Benefits of Summer Camps with Youth

For MPP members, organizing a camp with a large number of young people presents several challenges :

Helping young people get to the camp location, given the security situation in Haiti
The camp brings together young people from different organizations, which requires an adjustment period for them to learn the camp rules.
Camp leaders have to manage many young people and get very little sleep during the camp.
Despite these difficulties, both MPP members and participants highlight many positive aspects : the established principles, the moments of sharing, meals shared together, practical work, the creation of a self-management committee, and the cultural evenings. After these camps, young people are more involved in MPP activities : they better understand the organization and its areas of focus. These camps allow young people to take action and put what they have learned into practice.