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The works of such increasingly sophisticated artists as Rigaud Benoit, Andre Normil and Prefete Duffaut are already selling at hundreds and even thousands of dollars. But bargains can still be had if tourists are willing to search out true primitives like St. Pierre, who works as a caretaker at a large home on the road to Kenscoff and paints in his spare time. He sells his characteristic bird-and-leaf designs for as little as $10.
Although Haiti is an exotic and unique vacation land, there are signs of change. Outside money, particularly in tourist-related businesses such as ho-telbuilding, is coming into the country at the rate of $60 million a year. In the most ambitious of the new proj ects, the island of Tortuga, off the northern coast, is being developed into a resort that will include 13 hotels, condominiums, private homes and a large airport. There are also a number of heady proposals to build expensive new roads to Haiti's southshore beaches, which are as beautiful as any in the Car ibbean but still practically inaccessible.
As the tourists and the money begin to flow in, they raise the specters of commercialism and exploitation in a land that may not yet be ready for them.
They also raise a haunting question:
How long can Haiti remain unspoiled?