Officially open for business since October 2012, Caracol Industrial Park (PIC) is expected to become Haiti’s largest private employer and foreign investor. US$ 424 million in development aid from donors including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United States government have been committed to the Park and ten PIC support projects. Women are expected to make up the majority of the anticipated 65,000-strong, mostly apparel assembly workforce. PIC is the linchpin of the Haitian government’s and donors’ development plan for northern Haiti and key to ‘building back better’ after the January 2010 earthquake.
This Gender Action case study presents a snapshot of the Park’s impacts on area residents and women in particular in its first year. It is based on interviews with over two dozen community members, PIC employees, Haitian government, apparel industry, and donor representatives; site visits in and around PIC; and reviews of relevant documentation.
Read the full report: http://www.genderaction.org/publications/caracol.pdf