SPRINGFIELD – Every weekday morning around 10:30, the kitchen at 577 Carew St. comes alive with the smell of fresh coffee, as women sit to share baked goods across a big table and talk business.

ENTERPRISE, Ala. — The transition from the bustling Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to a small Alabama city on the southernmost tip of the Appalachian mountain range was challenging for Sarah Jacques. But, ...