The SAKALA Seven

Industries Haiti Will Own

SAKALA doesn't run aid programs. SAKALA launches industries.

Wesley Bertil, BARSS LLC · Daniel Tillias, SAKALA International · April 2026

The Thesis

Haiti exports raw. Everyone else finishes. The finish is where the value is.

SAKALA finishes in-country. Each industry follows the same franchise infrastructure: the $3,600 atom grows itself into a full organism that produces finished products, not raw exports. The Harvest Box... 975K diaspora mapped, 1,604 churches identified, quarterly delivery... is the launch vehicle for all seven.

The Current Pattern

The SAKALA Pattern

The Harvest Box: Launch Vehicle

Every product from every industry reaches the consumer through one channel: the quarterly Harvest Box, delivered to 975,000 mapped Haitian diaspora members across 1,420 ZIP codes, anchored by 1,604 identified churches. The $90/quarter subscription creates guaranteed demand before a single product is made. No broker. No distributor margin. No shelf-space fee. Direct from franchise to diaspora doorstep.

Market Overview

Haiti's Raw Advantage

Haiti supplies 54-70% of the world's vetiver oil. That is not a typo. More than half the global supply of one of perfumery's most prized base notes comes from Haitian soil. The island's terroir... volcanic slopes, specific humidity, altitude variation... produces a vetiver chemotype that perfumers in Grasse consider irreplaceable. Firmenich, Givaudan, IFF, and Symrise all source from Haiti. Every prestige fragrance house on earth depends on Haitian farmers.

Beyond vetiver, Haiti is the primary global source of amyris oil (60 tons/year, $90/L wholesale, used as a sandalwood alternative) and produces bitter orange/neroli ($354/oz retail, under 2 tons annual global production, used by Cointreau and Grand Marnier). Castor oil grows wild across the island ($1.4B global market; Kreyol Essence already proves the concept).

Current Extraction

SAKALA Play

No farmer-to-fragrance brand exists from Haiti. The lane is completely open.

Phase 1: Cooperative distillery. A pilot distillery serving 50 franchises costs $21,000-36,000. The same steam distillation equipment processes vetiver, amyris, bitter orange, and lemongrass. One facility, multiple oils, year-round operation.

Phase 2: Finished fragrance. Basic perfumery lab costs a few hundred dollars (graduated cylinders, beakers, pipettes, carrier oils). ISIPCA and Grasse-based institutions offer online perfumery courses. Production cost per 50ml bottle at a 500-unit run: $22-38. Retail price: $150-300.

Margin per bottle: $112-262.

Revenue Projections

Franchise Infrastructure

• Vetiver plot: 30m² per franchise, part of Full Organism land allocation
• Cooperative distillery: Shared facility serving ~50 franchises. Steam distillation unit, condensers, separator flasks, storage vessels.
• Perfumery lab: Centralized. Graduated cylinders, pipettes, carrier oils, bottle filling station, labeling.
• Bitter orange / amyris trees: Long-term planting in Year 2-3, revenue from Year 4+.

Competitors & Benchmarks

Regulatory Requirements

• FDA: Cosmetics (including fragrance) do not require pre-market approval. Must comply with labeling requirements (FPLA), ingredient listing, and safety substantiation.
• EU (if exporting): EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC 1223/2009) requires safety assessment, CPNP notification, responsible person in EU. IFRA standards for allergen disclosure.
• Organic / Natural certifications: USDA Organic, COSMOS, Ecocert. Optional but command 15-30% price premium.
• GMP: Good Manufacturing Practices for cosmetics (ISO 22716). Not legally required in US but builds buyer confidence.

Harvest Box Integration

Market Overview

Haiti's Raw Advantage

This is not about rabbit farming. This is about what the rabbits eat.

Haiti's indigenous herb ecosystem... wild thyme, flat-leaf parsley, oregano, moringa leaf, Scotch bonnet pepper... creates a flavor profile in rabbit meat that is impossible to replicate outside the island. The same terroir principle that makes Kobe beef or Iberian ham irreproducible applies here. The herbs are the moat.

Current Extraction

There is no current extraction because there is no current industry. Haiti has no commercial rabbit production at scale. This is a greenfield opportunity. SAKALA does not enter an existing market... SAKALA creates a new category.

SAKALA Play

"Lapin aux Herbes d'Haïti" ... herb-fed, vacuum-sealed, French-tagged. Three product tiers:

Production Economics

Revenue Projections

Franchise Infrastructure

• Hutches: Already in Full Organism design. Elevated wire-floor hutches, 3-tier system, natural ventilation.
• Butchering station: Included. Stainless steel table, drain, knife set, cleaning station.
• Vacuum sealer: Included. Commercial-grade, handles both fresh and jerky packaging.
• Solar dryer: Shared with moringa and breadfruit operations. Used for rabbit jerky.
• Herb garden: Already in Full Organism. Provides both rabbit feed and seasoning for finished products.

Competitors & Benchmarks

Regulatory Requirements

• USDA FSIS: For US export of fresh/frozen meat, USDA inspection and import approval required. Haiti would need equivalency determination or USDA-inspected facility.
• Alternative path (jerky/charcuterie): Shelf-stable dried products face lower regulatory burden. FDA jurisdiction (not USDA) for dried/processed products below certain thresholds.
• Local PaP market: No US regulatory barrier. Immediate revenue stream while export certifications are secured.
• Halal/Kosher: Optional certifications that open additional premium markets. Rabbit is halal but not kosher.

Harvest Box Integration

Market Overview

Haiti's Raw Advantage

Haiti already has 80,000 moringa trees across the SFA (Smallholder Farmers Alliance) network. The trees are in the ground. Growing. Producing leaves every 35-40 days, 7-8 harvests per year. Moringa trees mature from seed in 60 days. They thrive in Haiti's climate, tolerate drought, require minimal water, and produce continuously for 20-30 years.

Kuli Kuli, which controls approximately 70% of the US moringa market, already sources from Haiti. The supply chain exists. Haiti just captures none of the finished-product value.

Current Extraction

SAKALA Play

Solar drying takes 6-8 hours. Grinding takes minutes. Packaging takes seconds. These three steps... drying, grinding, packaging... are the difference between $0.40/kg and $120/kg. SAKALA does all three on the franchise.

Revenue Projections

Franchise Infrastructure

• 40 moringa trees: Already in Full Organism design. Planted in Year 1, producing by Day 60.
• Solar dryers: Shared across moringa, breadfruit, and herb operations. Low-tech, high-efficiency.
• Grinder/mill: Electric or manual grain mill. $50-200 for manual, $200-500 for electric (solar-powered).
• Packaging station: Heat sealer, bags, labels. Under $100 setup.
• Cold press (oil): Cooperative-level equipment, shared across 20-50 franchises. $500-2,000.

Competitors & Benchmarks

Regulatory Requirements

• FDA: Moringa leaf powder is sold as a dietary supplement or food ingredient. GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status. Facility registration required. Nutritional labeling (Nutrition Facts panel).
• Organic certification: USDA Organic requires 3-year transition period, $2,000-5,000 initial certification cost. Haiti advantage: most moringa is already grown without synthetic inputs, making transition straightforward.
• EU: Novel Food regulation applies. Moringa leaf has authorization history in EU. Requires notification.
• Shelf life: Moringa powder: 12-24 months. Moringa oil: 12-24 months. Both Harvest Box compatible.

Harvest Box Integration

Market Overview

Haiti's Raw Advantage

Scotch bonnet and piman zwazo peppers: 100,000-350,000 Scoville units, but... and this is what matters... with a sweet, fruity, tropical flavor profile that is unique to the Caribbean and fundamentally different from Mexican, Asian, or American hot peppers. The heat is there, but so is the flavor. This is not "hot for hot's sake." This is culinary heat.

Haiti's indigenous pepper varieties combined with its herb ecosystem (thyme, parsley, garlic, lime) create a flavor base that cannot be replicated by a factory in Texas buying commodity cayenne.

Current Extraction

There is no scaled Haitian hot sauce brand. Period. Piman Bouk and Lakay exist at micro-cottage scale on eBay and Etsy. The Caribbean hot sauce market is dominated by:

SAKALA Play

Franchise-produced artisanal Haitian piman sauce. Multiple flavor profiles, all using franchise-grown ingredients:

Production Economics

Revenue Projections

Franchise Infrastructure

• 200 pepper plants: Part of Full Organism garden plan. Multiple varieties for flavor diversity.
• Processing: Blender, cooking pot, bottles, labels. Total equipment under $200.
• Vinegar: Can be produced on-franchise from fruit scraps (cane vinegar, pineapple vinegar). Near-zero input cost.
• Bottling: Manual fill, cap, label. Heat sealer for tamper evidence.

Regulatory Requirements

• FDA Process Authority: Required for acidified foods. Must file with FDA as an acidified food (21 CFR Part 114). A Process Authority (university extension service or private lab) must validate the recipe's pH, acid concentration, and thermal process.
• FDA Facility Registration: Any facility manufacturing food for US consumption must be registered under the Bioterrorism Act.
• Acidified Food Filing: Form FDA 2541a (process filing for acidified foods). One-time per recipe.
• Labeling: Nutrition Facts, ingredient list, allergen declaration, net weight, manufacturer address.
• Cottage food exemption: Some US states allow small-batch hot sauce under cottage food laws for local/farmers market sales. Bridge revenue while FDA filings are completed.

Harvest Box Integration

Market Overview

Haiti's Raw Advantage

Cuba proves it. Caribbean organic honey works. Cuba exports $23 million/year in honey, certified organic by default because Cuba has virtually no synthetic agricultural inputs. Haiti shares this advantage. Most Haitian agriculture uses zero synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers... not by choice but by economic exclusion from global chemical supply chains. The irony: the same poverty that prevented industrial agriculture now makes Haitian honey automatically organic.

SAKALA's moringa groves create the critical integration: moringa flowers are exceptional bee forage, producing abundant nectar. The same trees that generate moringa powder (Industry 3) feed the bees that produce honey (Industry 5). One input, two revenue streams.

Current Extraction

Haiti has approximately 400 beekeepers operating through various NGO programs. Zero operate at industrial or even artisanal commercial scale. There is no Haitian honey brand. The entire market is local, informal, and unbranded. This is pure whitespace.

SAKALA Play

Production Economics

Revenue Projections

Franchise Infrastructure

• 3 Langstroth hives: Already in Full Organism design. Standard frames, removable supers.
• Moringa grove as forage: 40 trees per franchise (from Industry 3) provide primary nectar source.
• Extraction equipment: Manual honey extractor (centrifugal), uncapping knife, strainer, settling tank. $200-500 total.
• Beeswax processing: Solar wax melter (DIY, near-zero cost), molds for candles, lip balm tubes.
• Protective gear: Bee suit, gloves, smoker. $50-100.

Competitors & Benchmarks

Regulatory Requirements

• FDA: Honey is a single-ingredient food. Must meet FDA definition of honey (no adulteration). Facility registration. Nutritional labeling.
• USDA Organic: For organic certification, apiaries must be located where bees forage on organic/untreated land (3-mile radius). Haiti's low-input agriculture simplifies this.
• Cosmetics (beeswax products): Same regulatory framework as Industry 1 fragrances. No pre-market FDA approval. Labeling compliance.
• Import: US allows honey imports with proper labeling. Country-of-origin labeling required.

Harvest Box Integration

Market Overview

Haiti's Raw Advantage

Haiti is not just a player in essential oils. Haiti is the primary or dominant global source for multiple oils simultaneously:

Current Extraction

The essential oil extraction pattern is identical to the vetiver fragrance pattern (Industry 1), but applied across every oil Haiti produces. Farmers grow. Intermediaries buy raw. Foreign companies distill, blend, brand, and sell. Haiti captures 1-10% of finished product value across every oil in its portfolio.

SAKALA Play

Small-batch, single-origin, cooperative-distilled essential oils. Direct-to-consumer online. Not selling bulk oil to Givaudan. Selling finished aromatherapy products, skincare blends, and hydrosol sprays to end consumers.

Revenue Projections

Essential oil revenue is integrated with Industry 1 (Vetiver Fragrance) through the shared cooperative distillery. The per-franchise vetiver plot generates $62/month amortized across the distillery cycle. Multi-oil portfolio adds additional revenue as the distillery rotates through seasonal crops.

Franchise Infrastructure

• Vetiver plot (30m²): Already in Full Organism design.
• Cooperative distillery: Serves ~50 franchises. Steam distillation, condensation, oil-water separation. $21,000-36,000 pilot investment shared across franchises.
• Bitter orange / amyris trees: Planted in Year 2-3, producing from Year 4+. Long-term value builders.
• Lemongrass beds: Easy to establish, fast-growing, fills distillery downtime between vetiver cycles.
• Bottling/labeling: Amber glass bottles, dropper caps, labels. Under $100 setup.

Competitors & Benchmarks

Regulatory Requirements

• Aromatherapy products: If marketed as cosmetic or for fragrance/relaxation, FDA cosmetic regulations apply (no pre-market approval, labeling compliance).
• If therapeutic claims are made: FDA drug regulations would apply. SAKALA should NOT make therapeutic claims. Market as aromatherapy, fragrance, and personal care.
• Clean beauty certifications: EWG Verified, COSMOS, Ecocert. Optional but valuable for the clean beauty market segment growing at 15% CAGR.
• IFRA compliance: International Fragrance Association standards for allergen limits. Important for skincare blends.

Harvest Box Integration

Market Overview

Haiti's Raw Advantage

Haiti imports 430,000 metric tons of wheat per year. It produces zero. One hundred percent import dependency on a staple grain. This is not food insecurity... this is food architecture designed to extract. The US subsidizes wheat production, dumps it into Haiti via PL-480 and food aid, and Haiti's domestic alternatives atrophy.

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Haitian Kreyol: lam veritab or lamveritab) is indigenous, abundant, and already growing across Haiti. Trees live 80-100 years and produce 110-450 kg of fruit per year each. The fruit is available year-round in Haiti's tropical climate.

Nutritional Advantage

Current Extraction

Haiti's breadfruit trees produce fruit that largely rots or is consumed locally as boiled/roasted staple. Zero is processed into flour. Zero is packaged. Zero is branded. Zero is exported. Meanwhile, Haiti spends $130-170 million per year importing wheat flour from the US, Canada, and France.

SAKALA Play

Processing is simple: harvest → peel/core → slice → solar dry (6-8 hours) → mill → package. Every step can be done on the franchise with existing Full Organism equipment.

Revenue Projections

Franchise Infrastructure

• Breadfruit trees: Already growing across Haiti. Franchises source from existing community trees. No planting required (though supplemental planting in Year 2+ builds long-term supply).
• Solar dryers: Same infrastructure used for moringa (Industry 3). Slice and dry 6-8 hours.
• Mill/grinder: Same equipment used for moringa powder. One mill, two products.
• Packaging: Same heat sealer and bags used for moringa. Differentiated labels.

Competitors & Benchmarks

Regulatory Requirements

• FDA GRAS: Breadfruit flour already has FDA GRAS status (GRN 596). Already cleared. No additional approval needed. This is the single lowest regulatory barrier of all seven industries.
• Facility registration: Standard FDA food facility registration required.
• Nutritional labeling: Standard Nutrition Facts panel. Gluten-free claim must comply with FDA's <20 ppm threshold (breadfruit naturally meets this).
• Organic certification: Same pathway as moringa (Industry 3). Most breadfruit is already grown without synthetics.

Harvest Box Integration

Combined Revenue: All Seven Industries at Maturity

Per Franchise Revenue (Monthly & Annual)

At 344 Franchises: System-Level Impact

Revenue by Industry at Scale (344 Franchises)

The Harvest Box: Complete Product Manifest

Every product from every industry reaches the consumer through one channel. $90/quarter. 975,000 diaspora mapped. 1,604 churches identified. Quarterly delivery.

Infrastructure Synergies: Why Seven Industries Cost Less Than Two

The seven industries are not seven separate businesses. They are seven product lines from a single franchise infrastructure. The synergies are what make the economics work: