By Linda Lemmon

Town Crier Editor

PUTNAM --- A random conversation between two people, followed by another light conversation between two people resulted in a spark to a women's group for development in Haiti.

Pam Brown, a member of the Putnam Rotary Club, recently traveled to Haiti with the nonprofit group, Roots of Development as part of a 10-person team. The 10 visited  the village of Gran Sous. Group members met with several groups working to raise the standard of living in the village.

One of the groups was the Women's Group for the Development and Advancement of Gran Sous (GFDAG). The group has a community business that buys products in bulk in Port-au-Prince and then resells the items at a lower price. The items are then more accessible to the poor and the business creates employment for local women and the revenue from the business will reduce the dependence the women's group has on outside funding for its development projects, Brown said.

After one year in  business, Brown said, the group remains open six days a week and bring in an average of $7,500 (U.S.) per month.  "Most of the profits are reinvested into business development or used to keep vulnerable and orphaned children in school. GFDAG is looking to expand to a larger facility with better security and solar-powered electricity to keep up with growing demand," she said.

Brown got into a discussion with the women and saw that the women kept the money at the store in a drawer. Money was not sorted and it was not accounted for until the end of the day. 

When Brown returned, she was telling the story about the way cash was handled to Fred and Rande Chmura at a Rotary function. She wondered aloud if there was such a thing as a battery-operated cash register.  Fred Chmura looked it up and saw that there was. He obtained one for Brown's Haiti project and the Putnam Rotary Club, feeling it was a good cause, purchased a second one. 

The two battery-operated cash registers will be personally delivered by a member of the Roots organization.

Donations for battery charger, rechargeable batteries, traditional batteries and register tapes are being sought. Donations may be sent to the Putnam Rotary Foundation, PO Box 263, Putnam, CT 06260. Please put "Haiti" in the subject line. Those wishing to help may also go to Roots of Development's website at www.rootsoddevelopment.org.

Brown said, "Until you haver personally experienced Haiti, nothing can prepare you for the sheer poverty and lack of infrastructure in the country. But the people there are beautiful, caring and very resilient. They want to be able to help themselves and Roots is giving them the opportunity to do so. I am so grateful to join my fellow Rotarians in Putnam to support them and the work they do."

 

 

Greetings. There are as many chili recipes as there are people to make them. This one is super easy – don’t be deterred by the long list of ingredients – the spices are ones that you will probably have in you cupboard. If you are not using a lean cut of beef, begin by browning the meat in a pan and pouring off the fat. Proceed with the recipe as directed, including the water, but skipping the 20-minute preliminary cooking of the ground beef.

Chili

2 lbs ground sirloin       2 cups water

1 onion (about 5 ozs), finely chopped (1 cup)

1 Poblano pepper (about 2 ozs), chopped (½ cup)

1 bell pepper (about 4 ozs), chopped (¾ cup)

1 clove garlic, minced    4 tbs chili powder

1 tbs cocoa powder    1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon    ½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried basil    ¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground allspice    2 bay leaves

6 tbs tomato paste    1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

1-2 tbs balsamic vinegar

shredded Monterey Jack cheese for garnish, optional

thinly sliced scallions for garnish, optional

In a stockpot or large Dutch oven, cook ground sirloin with water over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water if necessary so that meat does not become dry.

Stir in onion, Poblano pepper, bell pepper, garlic, and all of the spices.

Stir is tomato paste. Stir in crushed tomatoes. 

Simmer for about 2 hours, adding more water if necessary to prevent scorching. Stir in balsamic vinegar. Adjust seasoning, adding more salt to taste. Serve plain, or with rice.

Top with garnishes, as desired.

 

Then

This is the old grist mill in East Putnam in 2007. Putnam Town Crier file photos.

 

 

& Now

The mill burned down the a few years later.