Let's Build Gonave, Haiti!

Walking street is a plan that I brought up several months ago when I first started this blog.  After seeing the plans for Hurko's Focus City development, I sent this to them. Recently, they mentioned that the streetcape could look very similar to what I produced.  "Absent of street furniture, and bike lines, this design is very close to our ideas", said a unnamed source with Hurko Co.  So to give you an idea of what they proposed and the image of "Walking Street", I have included both. Below is my idea of Walking Street which would have streetlamps, bike lanes, signage, and street furniture.  You see 4 story buildings with the bottom floor being retail while the upper floors could be residential or office.   Below is Hurko's plan for Focus City.  As you can see it looks very similar, however the buildings are 5 stories, with bottom floor being retail, the street lamps are removed and hover above the street, and there are no bike lanes, or street...

The Focus Area along the eastern tip of Gonave is planned to have a Wi-Fi throughout the zone.  According to Hurko Co., the company that is proposing the mixed use development, would equip the area with free Wi-Fi that would allow laptops, cell phones, and tablets to connect to the world effortlessly. The plan would allow for Gonave to have retail units on the bottom floor, along with a walking plaza between the buildings.  Also a 100 room hotel is planned, along with street booths for food on the go.  No exact time frame for the development has been released. Go Gonave!

We have updated the Gonave Government Portal GONAVEGOVERNMENTPORTAL.TK .  This is part of the updated news we have gotten from Hurko, but also we corrected a page that we had on the site. Things are coming together to make this site the go to place for citizens of Gonave.

I was sent this picture of what the first initial housing would look like in the Focus City area.  These mid-rise buildings would have retail on the bottom floor with residences on the above floor.   These buildings would not have a large amount of parking.  And instead of 50 rooms, these buildings hold almost 400 units. Let me first discet this plan.  Starting with the gravel road.  Hurko mentions that while there will be a main gravel road that is 2 lanes wide, it isn't pictured here well.  If you look off to the right of the image, you see a small piece of that gravel road along with a line of trees.  Also this photo doesn't contain the 2 MW wind turbines.  I'm told that the trees will be a flowering type of tree, possibly honeysuckle trees, which bee's love.  They mention that nearby will be farms, also pictured off to the right.  On these farms will be bee farms and fruit tree farms. Off from the 2 land road, will be another...

More information on the first Focus City, (Focus Site) on Gonave.   I have been in constant communication with Hurko Co to know what the plans are for Gonave.   Most of the intial investment from Hurko will be basic infrastructure. As I mentioned in the last blog, the first areas of focus will be a two lane gravel road, and large 2 MW wind Turbines.   Hurko mentioned that due to the strong winds on the island, it made sense to take advantage of the wind currents.   Also along the two lane gravel road will be street lights based on LED technology.   So most of this project sounds very “Green” as it will use zero emission power technology, and powerful LED street lighting, which most American Cities don’t even use.   I got more information yesterday on the plans.   Along the route will be a 1 to 2 mile heavy rail track using standard gauge 4 ft  8   1 ⁄ 2  in ( 1,435 mm ) track.   It will be a single track lin...

There is no question that wind would be a good way to power Gonave.  I have wrote a few different blogs that talked about wind farms on land and in the sea.  Given Gonave's location and the strong winds that blow across the island, wind turbines are a no brainer. The wind turbines produces different amounts of power, but according to Hurko Co, a company that is proposing to build a Focus City on Gonave, the ones that could be developed would be 2 MW of power each.  The would look similar to the photo above (courtesy of earthtechling.com).  This photo was sent to be Hurko Co as a model for what they expect for Gonave.  They would build a road (most likely gravel) to connect different communities, and along the way build these large turbines. Potential grant money from the United States could be used to build these turbines over a stretch of 1 to 2 miles.  The power created would be enough to start small scale manufacturing, and even powering homes on ...

Early on in my blog writing I mentioned building reservoirs to help with Gonave's water troubles.  Wells serve a small purpose but a larger more stable piece of infrastructure would be reservoirs.  Much of the rain that falls on Gonave isn't captured, and just runs into the ocean or absorbed into the soil.  Once absorbed, wells are usually dug by NGO's.  While this is a great thing, and we encourage it, building wells is places a bandaid on a bullet wound.  Reservoirs provide a stable source of water, which can be treated, and then supplied to nearby homes and factories.  Even building a 5 acre reservoir that are a few feet deep will provide a large source of water.  Water collected from homes, buildings, etc, can then be diverted in special channels to help fill up the reservoir.  Along with the water conservation efforts I mentioned in a previous post, water will be less of a concern and issue.  When you couple this with using natura...

When Gonave is developed, it needs to have a plan setup immediately to deal with many different issues.  One issue that should be of high importance is Water Conservation.  This can be achieved in many different ways.  Given the poor water availability to begin with, it is very important that a water conservation plan be developed early.  A big way to help with water conservation is to reuse water.  Gray water, or water from showers, kitchens, washing machines, etc can be reused.  This water can be used for irrigation, to flush toliets, and to water parks.  Many other uses can happen with gray water. Miniminimizing the amount of water that is used is another way for water conservation.  Having toliets that hold less water, and toliets that have different water volumes for liquid vs solid waste.  Special shower and faucet nozzles that slow the amount of water that comes out are also good ways. Gonave could require that no one is allowed...

So as you may know I moved my offices from Albuquerque, to Seattle.  The move was pretty smooth, and only when I arrived in Seattle did I have a few hiccups.  So I am sorry for not having any updates. I will have a few updates starting tomorrow when I talk about water conservation on Gonave.  I also will re-visit the topic of water, and things that could be done early on to move Gonave in the right direction and be a leader in the region on water conservation. Future updates will focus on the topic of compost, and beer.  I have been working on the New World Ale beer, and I am still going to go the Ginger Beer. Go Gonave!

It is finally here.  The new website for the Gonave Government Portal is now available.  We will still make finishing touches to it over time, but we wanted to deliver it to the public. You can view the live website here at http://gonavegovernmentportal.tk/ .