where we work.

Batey demographics

• 90% of the sugar cane cutters are Haitian or of Haitian descent. (1)



• 66% of mothers, when asked, identify their nationality and that of their children as Dominican; 6% as Haitian; and 14% as Haitian-Dominican (the remainder was unavailable to identify their nationality). (2)



• 6% percent report being born in Haiti; the majority of batey residents are second or third generation Haitians or Haitian-Dominicans born in the DR.



• 97.5% of inhabitants live in the batey year-round.



• The population is young: 29% are under 5 years old and 55% under 15 years old.



• 49.4% are male; 50.6% are female.



• The inhabitants are poor: Approx 40% of households earn less than $105 USD per month. (4)



• Half report no knowledge of Creole.



• 43% can speak and understand Haitian Creole; 2% can read and write it.



• 59.2% of batey men and 92.0% of women were unemployed during the 1998 sugarcane harvest cycle. (13)