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Presidential Diamond Trip 2014- Haiti

The Benefits of Vetiver

Andy Goddard: “We took the first two days in Haiti to visit the Vetiver fields. As we drove through Port-au-Prince, there was so much poverty. Natalie and I just wanted to buy something from every street vendor to support their hard work. The impact of the earthquake was everywhere; there were buildings and homes in rubble and there was trash everywhere. Within a few miles, my hope turned to despair as the sheer volume of people in dire need became overwhelming. We saw hungry eyes and people rummaging through trash and bathing in filthy gutters. My thoughts were, ‘If I gave everything I had to Haiti for the rest of my life, it would only be a drop in the bucket.’

“The next day we visited the Vetiver fields and distillery. We met the growers whose families have worked those fields for generations. We met the leaders of the cooperative who manage the Vetiver farms. We met the managers of the distillery who are working closely with doTERRA to maintain standards of quality. The Healing Hands foundation built a water source so that the growers don’t have to walk an hour and a half each way to get water every day. doTERRA is making a huge difference in Haiti’s economy through their principled approach of incentivizing production, attracting strong local leaders, and creating over 3,500 jobs through Vetiver production alone. I wept tears of joy seeing these people with good jobs, clean water, and the chance for a better future. My despair for Haiti’s grim situation returned to hope.”

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“I am only one, but I am one. I can’t do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will.” –Edward Hale
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Betsy Holmes: “We visited this little mountain village in Haiti where they can’t grow their own food because the soil there can only grow certain things. Thankfully for us, one of them is Vetiver. It was life-changing for Paul and me to be there and see how deeply our company cares for the people who are able to produce our essential oils. We were able to witness the process of distilling the plant material into an essential oil. As I watched them, I had an epiphany. I knew that because we buy their Vetiver these people have jobs and their whole village benefits from this. At the same time, all I could think about was my nephew who has benefitted greatly from Vetiver oil. I turned to the man who runs the facility, sobbing, and I said, ‘Do you know how much you’ve changed the lives of my family members because of what you do here?’ He looked at me and said, ‘I hope you know how much you change our lives by using our Vetiver oil.’ I thought that was so beautiful. It wasn’t just that we were helping them, but they help us. It’s such a wonderful, mutually beneficial relationship.

“It was also amazing to see these hard-working, genuine, everyday people all lining up with their bodies pressed against each other. They held their empty jugs, waiting and celebrating the first time they would get water from their mountains without walking three hours round trip. I loved seeing the looks on their faces when they got their water and drank it right out of the jug because it was clean and they didn’t have to go home and boil it. For me, that was the most beautiful image of gratitude and simplicity. I witnessed what our real human needs are. They’re so basic. These people were so content and happy with clean water and received it as such a great and amazing gift. I was grateful to be reminded of that and to see these people be able to have that through other people’s generosity.”

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