Batey Libertad featured in new documentary
December 6, 2009 at 12:46 pm Jon Erickson 2 comments
A new documentary by Fleischer Films entitled “Cane & Able: Hope in Hispaniola” highlights both the community gardening and HIV/AIDS prevention education projects at Batey Libertad. The film explores the legacy and current conditions of bateyes in the Dominican Republic, communities originally developed as work camps in Dominican sugar plantations for Haitian migrants. The two projects highlighted at Batey Libertad have grown out of collaborations between the community, the University of Vermont, and non-governmental organizations working in the Dominican Republic. The first project developed with University of Vermont students and faculty and the NGO Seeds of Self Reliance, a group working in the DR and Haiti on building “community through gardening”. To view a clip about the origins of the community farm, click on the YouTube video below.
A second project, also a collaboration with the University of Vermont, grew out of a pilot project with the international NGO Grassroot Soccer. Today, Futbol para la Vida is an HIV/AIDS prevention education program based at Batey Libertad and working through a network of schools, NGOs, and communities in the Valverde and Puerto Plata provinces. To view a clip about the FPV program from the documentary project, click on the YouTube video below.
Entry filed under: Batey Libertad, University of Vermont.
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Fundación de Libertad 
1.
cmcguir8 | December 6, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Great video! I’ve been in the DR since the end of August and have had the privledge of working with the Futbol Para la Vida coaches a great deal. It’s nice to see their hard work being recognized by Fleischer Films. Keep up the good work!
2.
Ana Marte | April 20, 2010 at 10:37 am
I remember when I used to play soccer with the whole team in Batey Libertad… Good times. Good times made possible by the help you guys give to these poor communities. I think its sports are a really good way to keep youth away from AIDS. Also builds confidence and a sense of team work, which is something needed and very important in such communities. I hope I could do something like that to help others the way you guys do it. Great article!