Madan Sara

Although a few Madan Saras operate internationally and at a large scale, the great majority are small middlemen with little education or capital who are in constant motion between their suppliers in rural areas and their customers in rural and urban markets.

The origin of the term "Madan Sara" is the Haitian word for the village weaver, a small, noisy bird that congregates in flocks and often lives in colonies of many nests.

[1] The origin of the Madan Saras was in the 18th century when Haiti was a colony of large plantations utilizing slave labor.

They move their produce on foot, donkey, horse, or public transport to markets, some local and rural, others in the largest cities of Haiti.

Most are among Haiti's poor who number 59 percent of the country's population and survive on less that two U.S. dollars income per day.

She accomplishes this by loaning money to farmers before the harvest to obtain discounts for the final product.

Given her ability to finance farmers and retailers, plus her capability to minimize transport costs through her intimate knowledge of her region, the Madan Sara can often deliver merchandise to the market at cheaper prices than her larger competitors.

The informal sector has been defined as “a diversified set of economic activities, enterprises, jobs and workers that are not regulated or protected by the state”.

"[6] Since the 1970s, the ability of Madam Saras to perform their customary role had been impacted by corrupt government, violent criminal gangs, increased imports of food, stagnation of domestic food production, and natural disasters.

Haitian farmers and the Madan Saras have been displaced from some markets by imported food.