Who We Are
Daniel Tillias
CNN Hero. 20 years of youth development in Haiti. Founder of community programs across seven departments that have placed 160 young Haitians into cooperative agricultural production. Daniel's work is not theoretical. It is measured in acres planted, harvests delivered, and youth employed.
Co-Founder & Board Member, SAKALAWesley Bertil / BARSS Analytics
Forensic economist and data analyst. Designs cooperative financial models, supply chain analytics, and institutional partnership frameworks. Handles the numbers so Daniel can focus on the ground.
Analytics LeadSAKALA Cooperative
SAKALA is a youth agricultural cooperative operating across 7 departments in Haiti with 160 active youth producers. We grow moringa, peanuts, vegetables, herbs, honey, and dried lalo. We raise rabbits. We produce hot sauce and mamba (peanut butter). Every product is cooperative-owned, locally grown, and transparently priced.
SAKALA is not an NGO asking for funding. It is a supplier offering product. We grow food. We need buyers. That is the relationship we are proposing.
The Alignment
Food for the Poor feeds 184,700 students across 700 schools in Haiti. The SHINE program already sources from 600 local farms. Haiti's national target is 50% local sourcing by 2026 and 100% by 2030.
FFTP needs more local suppliers to hit that mandate. SAKALA is a cooperative-organized supply chain with 160 youth across 7 departments, growing exactly what school feeding programs require.
| What FFTP Already Does | What SAKALA Adds |
|---|---|
| Feeds 184,700 students daily | 160 youth producing food across 7 departments |
| SHINE sources from 600 farms | Cooperative-organized supply chain (not scattered smallholders) |
| Imports food at scale | Locally grown moringa, mamba, vegetables, dried lalo, herbs |
| 50% local target by 2026 | Ready-built cooperative network to accelerate toward 100% |
| Needs transparent, auditable sourcing | Cooperative-owned, single-source, clear unit pricing |
Why This Works for Both Sides
FFTP gets a reliable local supplier that helps meet Haiti's sourcing mandate. SAKALA gets a stable institutional buyer that provides income to 160 youth. No one is asking for a favor. This is supply meeting demand.
What We Grow
| Product | Form | School Feeding Use | Est. Price/Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moringa | Powder (dried & milled), fresh leaves | Porridge additive, nutritional supplement, soup enrichment | $8-12/kg powder |
| Mamba (Peanut Butter) | Ground, jarred (250g, 500g) | Protein source, sandwich spread, porridge enrichment | $2.50-4.00/jar |
| Hot Sauce (Pikliz-style) | Bottled (150ml, 250ml) | Condiment for rice and bean meals | $1.50-3.00/bottle |
| Dried Lalo | Dried jute leaves (250g bags) | Traditional soup base, high-nutrition meal ingredient | $3.00-5.00/bag |
| Herbs | Fresh bundles, dried sachets | Seasoning for cooked meals (epis base) | $1.00-2.00/bundle |
| Honey | Raw, filtered (250ml, 500ml) | Sweetener, nutritional supplement | $4.00-7.00/jar |
| Vegetables | Seasonal fresh (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, greens) | Direct meal ingredients | Market rate per kg |
| Rabbit Meat | Dressed, chilled/frozen | Lean protein source (high feed-conversion ratio) | $6.00-9.00/kg |
Nutritional Advantage
Moringa alone contains 7x the vitamin C of oranges, 4x the calcium of milk, 2x the protein of yogurt, and 3x the potassium of bananas. Combined with mamba (protein), lalo (iron, fiber), honey (energy), and fresh vegetables, SAKALA's product mix delivers a more nutritionally complete school meal than imported rice and oil alone.
Why Local Beats Import
| Factor | Imported | SAKALA Local |
|---|---|---|
| Shipping Cost | $0.15-0.25/lb ocean freight | $0 |
| Customs & Duties | 15-30% tariff on commercial food imports | $0 |
| Port Transit Risk | Gang-controlled road corridors from port to warehouse | Direct farm-to-school, bypasses port infrastructure |
| Lead Time | 6-12 weeks (order to delivery) | 1-2 weeks |
| Freshness | Processed, preserved, months in transit | Fresh or minimally processed |
| Supply Chain Visibility | Multi-layer international chain | Cooperative-owned, single auditable source |
| Community Impact | Zero local employment generated | 160 youth employed across 7 departments |
| Mandate Alignment | Works against 100%-local-by-2030 goal | Works toward it |
The Security Advantage
Haiti's port infrastructure is increasingly unreliable. Imported food must pass through gang-contested road corridors between Port-au-Prince and distribution points. SAKALA's 7-department footprint means food moves farm to school within the same department. No port, no highway chokepoints, no import delays. Local sourcing is not just cheaper. In today's Haiti, it is safer.
The Numbers
| Cost Component | Imported Meal (Rice + Oil + Beans) | SAKALA Local Meal |
|---|---|---|
| Raw ingredients | $0.12-0.18 | $0.10-0.15 |
| Shipping (ocean freight) | $0.03-0.06 | $0.00 |
| Customs & duties | $0.02-0.04 | $0.00 |
| In-country transport (port to school) | $0.03-0.05 | $0.01-0.03 (farm to school, same department) |
| Wastage & spoilage | $0.01-0.03 (long shelf life but handling loss) | $0.01-0.02 (shorter chain, fresher product) |
| Total per student/day | $0.21-0.36 | $0.12-0.20 |
Pilot Economics
A 20-school pilot serving approximately 5,280 students for a 200-day school year:
- Imported cost: $0.28 avg x 5,280 students x 200 days = $295,680
- SAKALA local cost: $0.16 avg x 5,280 students x 200 days = $168,960
- Annual savings on pilot alone: approximately $126,720
- Savings redirect to feeding more students or improving meal quality
These estimates are conservative. Exact pricing will be confirmed during pilot negotiation based on specific school locations and product selection.
The Pilot
What We Track
- Cost per student per day (local vs. imported baseline)
- Delivery on-time rate (%)
- Product quality scores (kitchen staff rating)
- Spoilage/wastage rate (%)
- Student meal completion rate
- Supply chain disruption incidents
- Youth employment hours generated
- Monthly cost comparison report
The Ask
We Are Not Asking for Money
We are asking for a meeting with your procurement team to discuss a supply contract. SAKALA grows the food. FFTP buys it. Your students eat it. That is the entire proposal.
Specifically, We Are Requesting:
- A 30-minute meeting with Mark Khouri (EVP/COO, procurement) or Mario Nicoleau (Haiti Executive Director) to discuss pilot logistics
- A 10-20 school pilot with a 3-month trial period and clear performance metrics
- A procurement contract at agreed-upon unit pricing for the pilot duration
If the pilot does not deliver on cost, quality, or reliability, FFTP walks away with zero obligation. If it does deliver, we discuss expanding to 50-100 schools and building toward the 100%-local mandate.
The Full Picture
WITHOUT Food for the Poor: It's Already Great
SAKALA's Site 0 produces Harvest Box products, sells locally and to the Haitian diaspora via direct subscription. The cooperative is self-sustaining without any institutional buyer.
| Metric | SAKALA Standalone (Site 0) |
|---|---|
| Annual Revenue | $59,000 - $90,000 |
| Youth Employed | 25 |
| Market | Local + diaspora subscription |
| External Funding Required | $0 |
| Status | Self-sustaining |
This works. It already works. The question is not whether SAKALA survives without FFTP. It does. The question is what happens when the largest school feeding operation in Haiti meets the largest youth agricultural cooperative in Haiti.
WITH Food for the Poor: It Becomes Incredible
700 schools. 184,700 students. They eat every day. That is institutional demand at a scale no diaspora subscription can match. SAKALA becomes the local procurement arm for FFTP's feeding program.
| Metric | Without FFTP | With FFTP |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Revenue (Site 0) | $59K - $90K | $259K - $590K |
| Revenue from FFTP Alone | $0 | $200K - $500K/yr |
| Pilot Scope | N/A | 10-20 schools, scaling to 100+ |
| Franchise Expansion (via FFTP donation arm) | $0 | $50K - $100K funding 14-28 new atoms |
| Additional Youth Employed | 0 | 140 - 280 |
The procurement relationship alone generates $200K-$500K/year in revenue for SAKALA youth. But FFTP's donation arm can also fund franchise expansion: $50K-$100K deploys 14-28 new cooperative atoms, putting 140-280 more Haitian youth to work growing food for Haitian students. Every dollar stays in Haiti.
THE FULL PICTURE: The Goldmine
Zoom out. SAKALA is not one site. It is a 344-franchise cooperative network designed to cover every commune in Haiti.
| Metric | Site 0 Alone | With FFTP (Pilot) | Full Network (344 Franchises) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Revenue | $59K - $90K | $259K - $590K | $30.1M GDP |
| Institutional Revenue (FFTP) | $0 | $200K - $500K | $2M - $5M/yr |
| Youth Employed | 25 | 165 - 305 | 3,440 |
| Phi (Extraction Leakage) | N/A | 0.00 vs. USAID's 0.987 | |
344 SAKALA franchises supplying FFTP schools locally means $2-5M/year in institutional revenue. 3,440 youth employed. $30.1M in GDP generated. And FFTP gets the one thing no amount of PR can buy: "local sourcing" credibility repair post-GIK scandal. Every dollar goes to Haitian youth, not DC contractors. The upstream extraction constant is zero.
Contact
Daniel Tillias
Co-Founder & Board Member, SAKALA
CNN Hero. 20 years of youth development in Haiti. Ground operations, cooperative management, production oversight.
Primary contact for this proposal.
Wesley Bertil
Analytics Lead, BARSS
Forensic economist. Supply chain analytics, cooperative financial modeling, partnership frameworks.
Supporting analytics and follow-up.