The artisans enclave in Abricots

March 17, 1012 - Abricot, Grand Anse, Haiti

The beach of Abricots was not the first stop for Martha, Ed, Amy and me. Our first destination was the local artisan shop, Projet Indiens. Both a craft school and a craft store, we wanted to visit it both for our own interest and for work.
The Director of the school wasn't there when we arrived, but we had only emailed her two days prior. And in these here parts, two days is nothin' for email. Nonetheless, the French and Congolese -- who were visiting her in this artisan enclave tucked into the hills -- were very hospitable, inviting to take a load off and enjoy her petit commune.

As we entered the main building, you can't help notice the view... including the cannons from the French colonial days:

Then I wandered about, noting the views from the open-air windows:The ironwork display art:My friends, Ed and Amy, chatting with our new friend from Congo. Coincidentally, our Congolese friend and Martha had both spent several years in the small town of Bongo, Chad.Never thrilled with seeing caged wildlife, I still enjoyed seeing my first Hispaniolan Amazon in Hispaniola. They've extirpated from Jeremie.It was a lovely view from the porch of this French Riviera / South Pacific Tiki fusion home:The grounds were filled with tropical birds:and tropical flowers:And the artwork was everywhere. Whether it was the colored glass globe or classic Haitian bowls:These bowls are made from some type of gourd that grows on the local trees. People don't eat the gourds that grow to a substantial size. (I've seen them nearly 18" in diameter.) Rather, they use the hardwood shells for bowls and carve lovely designs on the outside.After an hour or so, we left and began the descent to Abricots beach. This is Amy leading the way down the fairly steep path:

Tim White