Show notes
"Without community, sustainability cannot exist." β Sidney-Max Eitenne
This week on Herbal Radio, host Lucretia VanDyke is joined by Sidney-Max Eitenne from Grown in Haiti. Since 2014, Grown in Haiti has planted and distributed over 25,000 trees, restored degraded soil, and shared regenerative knowledge across rural Haiti. Join us as the explore:
- Gathering the community to regenerate the soil
- Listening and learning from the patience of Elders
- How plant relationships teach us about human relationships
- Food security by having sovereignty over the seeds grown
- Avoiding plant trends and turning to the plants around you
As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to have you tag along with us on this ride. Remember, we want to hear from you! Your questions, ideas, and who you want to hear from are an invaluable piece to our podcast. Email us at podcast@mountainroseherbs.com to let us know what solutions we should uncover next within the vast world of herbalism.
π₯ Watch the video version to this episode here: https://youtu.be/5uEbEqSnMTY
Learn more about Sidney-Max & Lucretia below!
πΊ Sidney-Max Etienne is the founder and executive director of Grown in Haiti, a Haitian-led regenerative agriculture nonprofit in Cap Rouge, on Haiti's southern peninsula. He arrived in 2014 and lived in a tent for more than two years, hauling water from a spring while planting the first trees. The organization grew out of that time on the land.
Grown in Haiti now runs a community nursery, a farmer network called AgriNatif, and water catchment holding close to 50,000 gallons. Its Farmer Support Program prioritizes women. More than 25,000 trees have gone into the ground through the work, and over 300 volunteers have come through the property.
His practice is syntropic agroforestry, planting in dense succession so that soil and canopy build together. Much of what grows in Cap Rouge was never planted by anyone. Documenting it has become part of the work, with more than 100 species recorded on iNaturalist so far, including nine birds found nowhere outside Hispaniola.
He teaches a free syntropic farming course through the Earthed platform and spoke as a finalist at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin. He also serves as vice president of the Caribbean Agroecology Institute. In 2026 he completed research through the Caribbean Institute in Gender and Development at the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, on women's socio-economic contributions to Haiti's agricultural sector.
Born in Haiti, raised in the United States, he moves between Brooklyn and Cap Rouge.
Where to find Sindey-Max & Grown in Haiti:
π» Website: https://growninhaiti.org
πΈ Instagram: @growninhaiti
π± Facebook: @Grown in Haiti
π₯ YouTube: @GrownInHaiti
πΆ TikTok: @GrownInHaiti
πΏ Donate to Grown in Haiti: https://growninhaiti.org/donate
π Read Grown in Haiti's article in Vogue: Following Haiti's Devastating Earthquake, These Environmentalists Are Busy Supporting Their Community
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π» Lucretia VanDyke began her herbalism journey as a little girl mixing herbs, clays, and muds on her grandparents' farm. Today, Lucretia VanDyke has been in the herbal industry for over 20 years. As a holistic educator, speaker, herbalist, ceremonialist, spiritual light coach, intuitive energetic & reiki practitioner, diviner, storyteller, artist, and world traveler, Lucretia has accumulated over 3000 hours of training. She has studied with indigenous healers and some of the greatest minds of our time. Lucretia has been a holistic esthetician & healing arts practitioner for over a decade focusing on integrating indigenous healing rituals, plant spirit medicine, and meditation into modern-day practice. Lucretia brings her vivacious spirit and message of self-love in her work to inspire others to embrace their unique beauty and purpose. She is currently collecting stories throughout the south while working on expanding her BIPOC community healing arts and herbal education program.
Where to find Lucretia:
πΈ Instagram: @lucretia.vandyke
π» Lucertia's website: www.lucretiavandyke.com
π Lucretia's Book: African American Herbalism
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