( CNN ) -- Living amid the garbage-strewn sewage canals , residents of Haiti 's Cite Soleil endure a grim battle for survival every single day . The shantytown in the northern reaches of capital Port-au-Prince is one of the countries poorest areas , blighted by poor sanitation and violence . Shacks , on average , house nine people and around half the population earn less than $ 0.50 a day . It 's little wonder then that life expectancy is n't much more than 50 years , according to the healthcare NGO , Haiti Clinic . But one man is hoping to challenge this statistic , planting the seeds of a healthier future for the district 's 250,000 population by transforming a garbage dump into a vibrant urban garden . `` Growing up in Cite Soleil we have the situation where people think it 's somewhere nothing good can happen , '' says local resident Daniel Tillias . `` But myself and some members of the community wanted to have something to turn it green and nothing could be better than a garden . '' The results are extraordinary . Jaden Tap Tap ( Tap Tap Garden ) covers half-an-acre and is the largest urban garden in the country . Teeming with plants and people planting and picking them , the garden is hugely popular with locals . `` We grow about 20 different vegetables in the garden , '' explains Tillias . Founded in 2011 , the garden has an abundance of vegetables and herbs : eggplants , peppers , chard , radishes , potatoes , parsley , basil . It 's a cornucopia of healthy green vegetables that rivals any community farm in the world . `` People get in mind that it 's not possible to garden in Haiti -- the soil is no longer good , we do n't have water . But you see we have accomplished something really amazing , '' says Tillias . The bulk of the produce is used for the local soup kitchen providing much needed nutrition for the community . Whatever is left is sold at market . It 's not just the plants which catch your eye , but also the recycled pots and containers . Old tires , shoes , footballs are filled and planted . Even toilet bowls and old suitcases have been put to use . `` We use whatever we can find . The whole point is first we want the kids to feel connected with what seems like nothing much , because this is something that would just float in the canal . We say : 'No ! It could grow parsley , ' '' Tillias says . `` I want them to be able to eat , to make money out of the garden and to feel more peace through the garden . If I can see these three things happen , I would feel as if I had fulfilled my dream . ''
Community garden project a symbol of hope for Haitian shantytown . Former garbage dump transformed into largest urban garden in the country . Score: 6