Dreaming Of Plastic Crates In Haiti

By Caitlin Kenney

Published February 12, 2010 at 1:00 PM PST

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Before the earthquake, mangos for sale in Port-au-Prince.

Dreaming Of Plastic Crates In Haiti

On today's Planet Money:

We meet "Mango Man," Jean Maurice Buteau, who heads JMB exports in Port-au-Prince. Jean Maurice buys mangoes from rural Haitian farmers and sells them to the US. Unfortunately, between the mango farm and his office near the port, almost half the mangoes get damaged. If Jean Maurice could just get his farmers to put their mangoes in plastic crates, he could double his revenue and the farmers' income.

We take a look at why a simple idea like plastic crates, is in Haiti, not simple at all.

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