Haitian ex-pats return to build lake enterprise

Two Haitian brothers came back to their homeland to build a livelihood on Lake Azuei, a turbulent expanse of water that has often been cruel to those living along its shore, flooding homes in the border town of Fond Parisien and blocking a key highway into the Dominican Republic.

In this April 26, 2018 photo, people ride in a loaded truck, serving as public transportation, on the highway that leads to the Dominican Republic along the shore of Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

Hans and Patrick Woolley left careers in online startups and hospital administration in Los Angeles and New York to invest in their home country and try their luck at fish farming in the lake, which is less than an hour away from Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince. Their cousin Gilbert Woolley gave up a hospital administration job in L.A. to join them.

Working near the ghostly ruins of flooded homes sitting in the lake, the three graduates of U.S. universities spend their days overseeing their start-up, Taino Aqua Fish, which uses fish cages just below the lake's surface to produce affordable fish for Haitians, who complain about a lack of fish.

"Fish is a luxury in Haiti, but we want to change that," said Hans Wooley.

The Woolley family inherited some land along the shore and then bought more in the 1970s as it dreamed of raising crawfish, but the land went unused until the two brothers decided to try fish farming a few years ago.

Many residents of Fond Parisien long looked for jobs elsewhere in Haiti or more often in the more prosperous Dominican Republic, but now people approach the Woolleys' fish company.
Laguerre Espadien is grateful that the fish farm gave him work and allowed him to move back to his hometown and get away from the violent crime in Port-au-Prince.

"When I quit my job in the capital I thanked God because I'm alive. Now I'm taking care of my three children on my salary," said Espadien, a 36-year-old who joined the farm's delivery department when the company opened.

In this April 17, 2018 photo, Taino Aqua Fish farm workers pull in a cage of tilapia fish on Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. The small company started with 16 cages in 2014, building some out of PVC pipe and netting and repurposing others from Taiwan that were once used to raise tuna. Today they have 20. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 17, 2018 photo, Taino Aqua Fish worker Berthony Nelson removes tilapia from a cage in Lake Azuei Fond Parisien, Haiti. A week's crop can reach 20,000 pounds. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 17, 2018 photo, two Taino Aqua Fish farm security guards return to shore at dawn after sleeping on the lake in two different locations to keep watch over fish cages on Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. The company has 60 employees, including security guards who keep watch during the night to keep thieves from raiding the cages. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 19, 2018 photo, an alligator sunbathes in the water treatment area of the Taino Aqua Farm fish plant, next to Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. The fish farm treats the water that gets bloody from the processing of its tilapia fish, before sending it to the town's sewage system. The alligator was acquired from a local fisherman and put here to isolate it, where workers feed it and give it fresh water. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 17, 2018 photo, a Taino Aqua Fish worker throws food to tilapia fish being grown within a netted area in Lake Azuei Fond in Parisien, Haiti. Hatchlings are raised on a vegetable-based feed and are ready to sell after four months. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 26, 2018 photo, a Taino Aqua Fish worker strains freshly killed and gutted tilapia at the factory on the shore of Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. Many residents form this border town long looked for jobs elsewhere in Haiti, or more often in the more prosperous Dominican Republic, but now people approach this fish company that got started in 2014. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 17, 2018 photo, a Taino Aqua Fish worker cleans a large fish cage on Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. The cages are cleaned out once a day, when workers remove some fish that were killed by very gusty wind, to avoid live fish from eating them. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 20, 2018 photo, a youth pulls a donkey carrying a one gallon bag of water he fetched from Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. Behind are homes that were flooded from rising water levels brought by heavy rain. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 19, 2018 photo, Taino Aqua Fish owners Hans Woolley, front, and his cousin Gilbert Woolley put stickers on packages of tilapia fish at their fish farm factory on Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. The two U.S. university graduates returned to their native Haiti to invest in fish farming with the goal of boosting the supply of affordable fish for Haitians, who complain about a lack of fish. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 17, 2018 photo, Taino Aqua Fish workers pull a cage of tilapia to shore on Lake Azuei Fond Parisien, Haiti. Hans and Patrick Woolley left careers in online startups and hospital administration in Los Angeles and New York to invest in their home country and try their luck at fish farming in the lake, which is less than an hour away from Haiti's capital of Port-au-Prince. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 26, 2018 photo, Marjorie Dorcena cooks tilapia from Taino Aqua Fish farm for a guest staying at a small hotel known as a guest house in Fond Parisien, Haiti. In a country where most people live on less than $2 a day, Taino tilapia costs about $3.50 a pound, which is $2 less than the more common pink fish. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 27, 2018 photo, Taino Aqua Fish worker Bernard Pierre Emil advertises that their tilapia fish can be bought at a stall outside the Kay Djo supermarket in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Taino markets its crop, which can reach 20,000 pounds a week, to small, informal markets as well as supermarkets, hotels and restaurants. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 17, 2018 photo, a Taino Aqua Fish worker cleans tilapia as children take a field trip to the company on Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. One of the company's goals is to make fish affordable for all Haitians. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 29, 2018 photo, a fish vendor picks out fish for her client at the biggest fish market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The capital's main fish market opens as early as 3am, selling local fish from all over the island's coasts. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 20, 2018 photo, fisherman Miguel Louis checks on his nets with his 12-year-old son Dabens Louis, placed amid old, abandoned flooded homes on Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. A fish farming company growing tilapia set up their operation on this lake in 2014. "Even small fish are hard to find" said Louis. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 26, 2018 photo, Gerline Louis, the six-year-old daughter of fisherman Miguel Louis, carries the five fish her father caught in Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. Most people in this small border town, like Louis' family, get most of their meals from fish from the lake. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

In this April 26, 2018 photo, fisherman Miguel Louis pulls his children in his boat after checking on his nets set up in Lake Azuei in Fond Parisien, Haiti. His 12-year-old son Dabens Louis bales water from the old, wooden boat, due to a small hole. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery)

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Photos were published with the story Haiti Fish Farm Photo Gallery by Dieu Nalio Chery.

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