Zakasòl, founded in 2021 by Emmanuella Marc and agronomist Jesumène Ninger, supports farmers in La Vallée-de-Jacmel with fertilizers, training and technical guidance. Recognized by the Haitian government, the initiative strengthens local agriculture, stabilizes input prices and empowers farmers and youth.

PORT-AU-PRINCE — It all began with a desperate phone call. At the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Emmanuella Marc had just learned that the Creole term Agrosòl, which she planned to register for her new business, was already taken. She called her friend Magdala Louis, insisting she wouldn’t leave the office without another name. Minutes later, Louis called back and said: “Name the business Zakasòl.”

“Without hesitation, we wasted no time registering it,” Marc told The Haitian Times.

“Zakasòl is a combination of two words: Zaka, a symbol of hard work and peasant knowledge in Vodou culture, and sòl, which means soil — the foundation of all life.”

The company is rooted in La Vallée-de-Jacmel, a commune in Haiti’s southeast, about 58 miles from Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.

Zakasòl — an agricultural and training enterprise — was born from an idea of agronomist Jesumène Ninger, Marc’s cousin. For years, Ninger dreamed of creating a structure in La Vallée where farmers could access fertilizers, seeds and adequate training

Since 2021, Zakasòl has supplied fertilizers, tools and seeds to dozens of farmers, along with processed goods such as peanuts, akasan, chanmchanm, corn and banana flour, cassava flour, ginger powder and animal feed. The company also produces natural fertilizer through composting.