ABSTRACT
Modern cooperative ideas were introduced in Haiti already before the turn of the century, by the historian Jean-Baptiste Dorsainvil who suggested that savings cooperatives could be organized to spare the Hait ian peasants exploi ta t ion by usur ious m i d d l e m e n and moneylenders . 1 Dorsamvi l ' s thoughts were not translated into practical action at the time. The idea of cooperative credit unions, however, had a strong influence on the writings of Camille Lamothe who is the individual who has done mos t to spread cooperative ideology in Haiti.
