SAIKA AP VIV LAVI AN KOULÈ

Welcome to another interview of the series Lavi an koulè, a series dedicated to featuring Haitian creatives, entrepreneurs, artists and more; bringing colors to our lives through their work and personality. In order to celebrate summer and it’s colors all season long, we will keep the conversation flowing around joy, Haitian childhood memories, seasonal fruits and everything in between.

Introducing Saika in this Kreyòl piece….

Bonjou, bonswa tout moun! Mwen se Saika, yon kreyatè dijital. Mwen kreye kontni sou janm viv, sa mw wè ki bèl nan jem. Sou rezo yo,mwen rele Saiti ki se yon melanj ak prenonm Saika epi Ayiti. Paske malgre tout bagay, se Ayiti ki fèm. Mwen komanse asepte tit enfliyansè a selman nan lane 2020. Men mw komanse pibliye kontni seryezman en 2016 sou Facebook epi an 2017 sou Instagram.

Kisa ete vle di pou ou?

Pou mwen, ete vle di pi bon moman nan ane a. Menm sim leve an Ayiti kote li toujou fè cho, ete a toujou gon lòt anbyans. Pou mwen ete se pwofite lavi , se kè kontan, se avanti, se yon sezon poum rechaje batrim pou rès ane a.

Ki pi bèl souvni ou genyen de vakans ou?

Mwen gen anpil bèl souvni de anfans mwen Ayiti. Mwen te vreman renmen fè lago, jwe marèl, jwe kay , kawo, ak kouzen m yo epi kèk lòt timoun nan vwazinaj la. Nou te konn renmen envante resèt ak sa nou te gen anba men nou, soti nan chodyè a ki te fèt ak mamit, engredyan Nou pran lakay nou an kachèt ,etc. Nou te renmen fe eksperyans anpil anpil. Preske chak ane Nou konn ale Jakmèl kay matant mwen Meyè. Lotbo a mwen gen souvni jounen plaj yo, bon mango, kokoye ak zaboka ki soti nan pye bwa lakou Nou. Ti mache nan lavil Jakmèl, etc.

Ki fwi ou pi renmen manje nan epòk vakans ete?

Sanm pa menm ezite : mango ak melon. Menm sim voyaje e ke fwii sa yo disponib pandan tout ane a, pou mwen ete se pi bon moman pou apresye frui sa yo. Sa raplem kijan nou te konn itilize po melon a pou n rafrechi figi Nou lel fè cho lem te piti.

Kisa ki ede ou kenbe kè kontan nan lavi a?

Apre relasyon m ak Bondye, se lanati. Pou Mwen se pi bel mèvèy ki genyen. Mwen renmen bote ki genyen nan ti bagay senp yo. Zwazo kap chante, pebwa yo kap danse gras ak van an, tande lapli kap tonbe, solèy la kap kouche etc.

Kijan wap simen lajwa nan lavi ou ete sa?

Nan pase moman kalite ak moun mw renmen. Nan vizite nouvo zòn, nan pase tan nan lanati, nan redekouvri sam deja genyen nan lavim, nan pratike gratitid, nan kontinye cheche e apresye bote nan bagay ki pi piti yo.

MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW SAIKA ON INSTAGRAM. DO NOT FORGET TO GIVE THEM A FOLLOW AND SUPPORT BY SHARING WITH FRIENDS!

Daphne from TISAKSUK, sharing her colors this summer

Welcome to Interview 1 of the series Lavi an koulè, a series dedicated to featuring Haitian creatives, entrepreneurs, artists and more; bringing colors to our lives through their work and personality. In order to celebrate summer and it’s colors all season long, we will keep the conversation flowing around joy, Haitian childhood memories, seasonal fruits and everything in between.

Introducing Daphne Valmond, founder of Tisaksuk…

Daphne is a Haitian born and raised entrepreneur. She is a mom of 2 who turned a hobby into a business, Tisaksuk, who’s mission is to bring sustainable economic and social development to the people of Haiti through apprenticeship at Atelier Tisaksuk, job creation and the promotion of civic engagement.

Tell us more about Tisaksuk? What is the story behind it?

Tisaksuk is a nickname given to me by my now husband. We grew up together and he always called me that. I started this business out of pure love for Haitian arts and crafts. I was always in awe of how talented we are as a people and felt it important to help showcase, promote and sell made in Haiti to help artisans live off of their talents. Tisaksuk is based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and offers a large variety of products, and promotes the use of made in Haiti locally and abroad. Tisaksuk works with local artisans to design and create wonderful pieces using different mediums, than serves as a link and venue to sell these merchandises

What is your favorite summer memory as a Haitian kid?

Growing up in Haiti, my parents were quite big on taking us to the country side, my fondest memories were of going to the south. Dad worked there in the summer so we spent the entire time between the beach, river and pool in Jacmel. We had lots of fruits and Haitian junk food. Right across from where we lived was a bakery, sur la gallerie. There was this lady making marinade, I can taste them now. We would buy fresh bread, she would put marinade inside of them and pour a sauce over it with pikliz. This memory has stayed with me and my siblings forever it was so good. I can see us walking the streets of Jacmel, alone as kids, we would dress up in the afternoon for a stroll to go buy TI CAROL (Haitian popsicles) or sugar cane. Good times.

Is there a childhood tradition that still makes you smile today?

I remember locals teaching us how to “tire lobe” at the river. It’s a thing they do in the water that makes the coolest sounds, when done well its like they play music in the water

What is your favorite fruit to eat in the summer? Has anything changed now that you are plant-based?

I love eating mango! I am experimenting with so much! I have to say I am enjoying fruit bowls a lot! Very refreshing in the hot summer.

What is one thing in life that keeps you vibrant?

LIFE. I enjoy life’s moments, however small. So I’ m always happy and grateful for every tiny thing. I romanticize almost everything. I like life.

How are you going to live Lavi an koulè this summer? How are you planning to incorporate more moments of joy in your life this season through your business and daily routine?

These are really hard times to do business in Haiti, to live and carry on every day life in Haiti as you know. I am remaining intentional and trying not to complicate what moments of joy are supposed to be. The energy gets to be too heavy here at times, but if we look around and approach things with gratitude the little moments of joy are all that we have left. I will be intentional about time with family, social/fun activities with employees… a way to break the monotony  and stay grounded are important. 

Make sure to follow their work on Instagram. Do not forget to give them a follow and support by sharing with friends!

Support this Haitian business and use the code “tisaksuk10” for a 10% discount on your purchases at tisaksuk.com

Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share your favorites parts of the series.

Stay tuned for our next guest!

A CONVERSATION ON BLACK JOY

In 2020, the term Black Joy started being heard all over. As black voices were rising to speak up about the deep injustice and murders against black lives, Black joy was introduced as an act of resistance against a system of oppression and racism. Since then, the term has been echoed louder and louder and we had a chance to sit down with two amazing creatives Tash and Anne Marjorie for an authentic conversation about what Black joy means to them.

From Anne Marjorie:

I just love to see Black people happy. Being able to create the life they want to create, moments of love and happiness. I’m tired of being resilient, but I’m embracing joy as an act of resistance.

To me, I practice joy by holding on to this confidence that no matter what happens God is still in control. We as Haitians, coming from a history of slavery, think we always need to be working.

Black Joy is about unlearning that life is about labor. it is about knowing that we deserve to enjoy life.

I grew up in a community where everybody’s life revolved around work, and I think from a heritage of slavery, they believed that they mattered only when they were doing . Finding freedom from that to embrace balance has changed my life tremendously.

I am deeply encouraged and influenced by the work of black creators on the internet, seeing visual representations of people who look like me , practicing rest , enjoying the simple pleasures of life gives me a boost to do the same .

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Through this transparent conversation, both ladies got to share their stories and perspective. It was an enriching conversation where we got to dig deeper into what Black Joy means for everybody and how we can truly live it in our day to day lives. Tash and Anne-Marjorie are doing such a great job at showcasing this lately through their individual Instagram pages. Anne Marjorie recently reached 10K on Instagram and we believe that more people will have the chance to enjoy her purposeful content that always brings light to our timeline.

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From Tash:

To me, black joy is about allowing ourselves to appear soft, to appear gentle, showing that there is more to us than the stories propagated online. Growing up in America, I’ve never felt like what I had to say about my culture, about the way I was raised as a black girl was ever a topic that people were interested in. It wasn’t until 2020 and Black Lives Matter that friends that had known me for years started asking questions and even caring about what I had to say about all of this. It is very important for me to put out all the things we know to be true, that we’ve held sacred for so long. All the things that we cherish as a community, we hold with each other and deserve to be shared and heard and valued. 2020 showed us that we need to show white people who we are and what is important to us.
Black women never appear soft in society. We are always seen as parenting out of fear, but our homes are filled with nurturing and love and more than what you see. Black people across the diaspora are tired of being strong, are tired of the fight. It’s time to live, to enjoy, to change the narrative, and to reposition ourselves for the future.

I deserve to have good experiences and I don’t have to earn them, or need to be worthy in some way to get them. And it’s so important to me raising our daughters that they know they are worthy and deserve certain things. Modeling a life of freedom is what is important to me, and knowing my kids are always watching to observe that, and that’s how I practice Black joy.

Watch our live replay here!

Don’t forget to follow Tash and Anne Marjorie on Instagram