Sidney-Max Etienne is the Founder and Executive Director of Grown in Haiti. Born in Haiti and shaped by years in the United States, he returned to Cap Rouge and began the work in 2014, responding to erosion, the loss of planting material, and the knowledge that remained in the farming community.

He works alongside farming families to grow native trees, save seeds, restore soil, and develop agroforestry systems. That work has grown to include a nursery, community water infrastructure, and the AgriNatif field initiative. His approach begins with the knowledge families already hold and the conditions of the land they steward.

In 2025, he presented Grown in Haiti’s work as a Falling Walls Engage finalist in Berlin. He also serves as Vice President on the board of the Caribbean Ecology Institute and teaches syntropic farming on Earthed.

In 2026, Sidney-Max participated in the Caribbean Institute in Gender and Development (CIGAD) intensive programme at The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, in Barbados. His research component is ongoing. He also took part in the Second Island Food Systems Summit in St. Thomas in September, including mutual-aid field activities supporting local farms.

His forthcoming book, Agrikilti Rejeneratif Pou Ayiti, explores ways of observing and working with the land through field experience and the knowledge carried by Haitian farming families. English and Kreyòl editions are coming soon.

As a father and a farmer, Sidney-Max understands regeneration as an ongoing relationship with the living world. The mountains of Cap Rouge remain at the center of his work.