Haiti's beauty is not all under the rubble

Haiti is beautiful even in a season of disaster. Yes, we do have Sundays off in Haiti even though the need never sleeps. How could we pass up telling you about this past Sunday? Here is our proof. This Sunday we journeyed to a Kréyòl bohemia art meets French port city called Jacmel, (Jakmèl in Kréyòl). We had a spectacular ride as we drove up a steep and windy road (hoping to not turn too green) about a hour from our base in Grand Goâve. In this trip we crossed through some of the most beautiful spots we have seen thus far. When we arrived in Jacmel we ate at a posh Haitian hotel and hiked to a gorgeous waterfall area. We finished our day off with waterfall spelunking. It was the best day off we have had yet. Inspiring hope for this country too. Haiti's beauty is not all under the rubble.

Jacmel

Haiti's Future is Tied to Food Sovereignty and Local Farming

This is a powerful article in light of the current situation on the ground. Agriculture is the primary livelihood in Grand Goave, the area where we are living. Local food production is easy to neglect with all the current basic needs that abound. Most NGOs have different priorities than the felt needs of the people. Today, in one of the camps a farmer came up to me and asked if we had any extra seed. As the rainy season has come, many of the fields are being prepared for planting. It is easy to forget about the historical and political impact other nations have left behind in Haiti. The videos explain the structural violence and political backdrop of Haiti and its connection with food issues. The prices on commodities like rice, have risen every week in the local market since we have been here. A disaster tax on the informal economies is apparent. Often when we walk through the market and fields in Grand Goave, filled with many fresh veggies and fruits, we wonder who will listen to the voice of the local farmers?

Check out this article...

Haiti's Future is Tied to Food Sovereignty and Local Farming

and videos ...

IKEA Haiti?

So while my other half is working in hygiene and health education, you might have asked yourself what I (Ian) am up to. A taste of my work days begins and ends with a capital "L." Currently, I am enveloped in latrine land. When I first arrived in Haiti the amount of latrines that were being built was low and the current strategy of trying to build the latrines on site became a logistical nightmare as supplies and resources were limited. The grant we are working on has a target of 500 latrines, bath units, hand-washing units and rubbish pits, all of which must be completed by early May, 2010. Quite a project indeed. Since tens of thousands of people have lost their homes to the earthquake, there are many people living within IDP camps (Internally Displaced Persons). IDP camps are a grab bag - some of them are really organized and well-resourced by local NGOs and international organizations, while many others (perhaps the majority) are chaotic; no organized place to defecate, gather or receive and water and food, and sometimes no resources like plastic tarpaulins to construct a make-shift tent to hide from the swiftly coming rains. With many thousands of people setting up camps on private land, there is no safe way to dispose of human excrement - which obviously lends itself to a more rapid spread of disease.

Needless to say we had to think of a new strategy to pump these latrines out. So about a 2 weeks ago Monica and I were on the beach, and an idea hit me. Perhaps it was a moment of divine inspiration...but I thought that it might be nice to model our latrine production in a prefabricated method, building the floor systems, walls and rafters at our base, and then shipping them to pre-coordinated points within the surrounding area. All that needs to happen in the camps is assembly of the latrine. Thus, IKEA Haiti was birthed. This method maximizes the use of raw materials (even in Haiti) and production adaptation to meet people's needs. Watch out Scandinavia! Here are some pictures of the process...