Kakapoul, Haiti

Kakapoul describes seven fishing islands off the coast of Haiti, which have rarely been visited by outsiders. This is a stark and surreal world of microscopic islands in the sea, where makeshift houses built on clumps of artificial land struggle to stand up to the elements. Kakapoul is a journey through a real-life dystopia, where hundreds of people share tiny spits of land out in the sea.

These islands may be small, but they speak to big issues. The chronic food scarcity that has been foisted upon Haiti by the world. The morality of confining a population on a landmass much too small to support it. And, most broadly, the origins of racial capitalism, and the enduring legacy of colonization. Kakapoul demonstrates how Haiti is central to world history and to the struggle for liberation everywhere.

Kakapoul includes twelve hand-drawn maps by Haitian artist Jean Louis Samuel VITAL. A full manuscript is available upon request.