Let's Build Gonave, Haiti!

A few people have asked me what will the Bidens Pilosa look like.  Many times I have posted pictures of individual flowers, or in the case of the ones that we planted it shows a grouping of the sprouts.  So just what can you expect to see on La Gonave? Well keep in mind that the Bidens Pilosa can grow from 1.5 to 4 feet tall.  Below is an example of what you can expect to see on La Gonave. T The image below is more like what you will see on La Gonave.  A large group of Bidens Pilosa.  We will eventually plant these type of rows in drainage ditches and sides of roads. Go Gonave!

Bidens Pilosa are about 3 to 3.5 inches after Day 13.  After replanting the plants stopped their fast growing, but has since started taking off again.  They are in a heat room and that seems to also have helped as well. The plants are starting to stand up again.  One sprout was laying down after repotting them, but now has stood up.  Soon I will plant some seeds outside to see how well they do in the warm Spring temps here. Go Gonvae!

The Bidens Pilosa are still doing great.  Their growth has stopped, unless they are growing more slowly.  They have appeared darker in color, and look to be getting thicker.  Given the small amount of space they have, this could be why they are not getting taller, but could be that this is the stage where they have slower growth. The plants are beautiful, and I will keep updating about the progress.

The Bidens Pilosa are doing really good.  I had to change out the pot due to how fast they were growing.  Some of the plants are not standing like they were, so it could be that replanting them isn't a good idea and that where they are planted, they have to stay.  Understand that this is my first time seeing the plant and working with it. Keep in mind that the amount of sunlight that these plants have had has only been about 18 hours total since they were planted.   Above is Day 6-----------------------------------------------  Above is Day 7----------------------------------------------- This is Day 8------------------------------------------------- The plant did have strong long roots for being just on Day 7.  I expect that the plants will be stronger looking tomorrow. I also noticed that one sprout was coming out of the soil and stayed the same height for about two days.  The next day it was gone.  It was as if it killed itself for the sake of the others. 

Our goal is to allow families on La Gonave to have jobs by creating their own.  The best way is to be their own business people.  By doing small scale farming, they will ensure their own food needs, but also some income as well. Our hope is to have farming ideas that are not extremely labor intensive, so that one could also have a job at an employer.  We want the average income on La Gonave to eventually exceed that of the mainland.  We think having honeybee farms, Talipia farms, rabbit farms, and vetiver grass fields are easy but high income jobs.  Wouldn't it be great if tourism was big on the island?  One could work full-time in the service industry and part-time farming. This fish is easy to raise, and produces a large sum of fry.  Given that there is already a very large operation on the mainland, we have already been in talks of creating farms on La Gonave.  These fish will aid in the food distribution that is needed on the island, and lower the island's dependence

So to do an update on the Bidens Pilosa, which are only 4 days old and over an inch tall.  These plants are very vigorous in their growth.  When I go to La Gonave in October I will be there for about a week.  I know now what to expect as far as these plants are concerned.  Literally before I head home, these plants will already get their start.  Keep in mind while our setup does mimic the conditions on La Gonave, it isn't ideal. The soil is of better quality than what is on La Gonave, however in areas where we plant wildflowers we will treat and condition the soil with natural fertilizer and compost.  Given the humidity, full sun, and good fertilized soil, I expect these plants to do even better in the environment. As you can see, the sprouts are growing very fast.  This is a real example of how we can create a successful product regardless of the environment.  The best strategy for the honeybee program is to have plants that can grow fast and reach maturity very quickly.  Ke

The only strong path forward for La Gonave is for the Haitians to do for themselves.  Many groups and organizations will supply shipments of food that last for a very short time, but few are doing large scale projects to teach the Haitian's skills, providing large scale farming programs, jobs, etc.  La Gonave and Haiti needs jobs, not food hand outs.  Many of these programs are a form of welfare.  When the money dries up, so does the food.  The Haitians are then still back to to where they were. Money from these organizations should be in helping the locals start businesses.  Offer micro-loans, set the locals up with business ideas.  The less involvement foreigners take in Haitian people's destiny, the faster the Haitian's will take control of their lives.  Most Haitians want to work, want education, want safety, food, and shelter.  The best way to do this, is to help local farmers with farming programs.  Build schools and hire teachers.   Build homes and have locals wor

Day three of the Bidens Pilosa.  So when we replanted the seeds of the Bidens Pilosa, we didn't expect them to germinate so quickly.  So I will do more updates on this plant due to how quickly they grow.  As mentioned we added more seeds and slightly covered them on March 16th.  Below is a picture of what those seeds have done. Now keep in mind this is only day 3 as there was no activity before.  The fact that this plant can sprout in less than a week will make it the perfect plant to start with some ground cover in areas of La Gonave that has no vegetation. Also future plans of constructing roads will need plants like this that can be planted along the roadway and ditches.  These plants will pull out any pollution that is in the soil.  As a result the runoff water is cleaner as it enters waterways.  Due to the plant absorbing pollution, any plants that are along the roadway should not be eaten.  The Bidens, while very healthy to eat will be raised in a controlled environme

The Bidens Pilosa has started germinating in soil.  We had to put the seeds indoors and in a room that is set for temperatures of 70 - 80 degrees.  With us adding more seeds, and a very thin layer of dirt over the seeds, it took the seeds only two days to show results. This is a major step in our research of not only reforestation, but also proving plants that have many benefits to people as well as pollinating birds, animals, and insects.  The plants will help with our later farm projects as well.  These plants will serve as seeding plants only.  Meaning we will harvest these plants and get the seeds to expand our project in Haiti.  The seeds will be in their raw form to be planted, and some will be turned into paper that can be planted We will post the progress of the Bidens Pilosa on our Gonave TV channel on YouTube once the plant has reached its full size. Go Gonave!

To aid in the future honeybee project as well as aid in human nutrition, Moringa Tree seeds have been planted in La Gonave in the city of Anse-a-Galets.  Let's Build Gonave, Haiti has teamed up with Greater Good, Haiti to start this project. The goal is to have many shared programs and the planting of the Moringa Tree seeds is one such program.  This will allow the honeybee project to move forward and aid in the development of better health and food for the Haitian people. This project will also help aid in the future forestation project for the island of La Gonave as well. Go Gonave!

       At home or outside, La Gonave is the place for families!

Our efforts to reforest La Gonave and aid in the honeybee project got a boost on March 11, 2015.  At our North American facility in Seattle, WA we planted Bidens Pilosa in a greenhouse that will mimic the environment in La Gonave, Haiti.  The Bidens Pilosa exists in Haiti, and often in the US you will see the plant along roadways.  The plants help pull pollution out of water, thus it is very helpful in filtering water, and pulling water into the ground. The Bidens Pilosa will be a major contributor to the honeybee project on La Gonave.  In Florida the plant is a major source of nectar for honeybees.  Also the plant is planted amongst mango trees to help pull nitrogen out of the soil.  Too much nitrogen and mangos don't manage well. We are excited that we are starting the first steps of producing wildflowers on a scale to be planted on La Gonave.  While the plant does exist on the mainland, there has not been any confirmed reports of the flower existing on La Gona

As  I mentioned in a previous post, we ordered Bidens Pilosa (Photo 1.2).  These wildflowers are a key plant that Floridian honeybees use for honey.  The plant can flower throughout the year.  The plant also has many healthy benefits for people. Today we test planted the seeds on top of the soil.  We have a small greenhouse test box that will mimic the temperature and humidity of Haiti.  We will test how fast the seeds germinate, how fast the plants grow, and just gaining basic data on the plant. The Bidens Pilosa will form a future Forest Floor for La Gonave.  To understand the forest floor of what Haiti is suppose to look like, see photo 1.0. Photo 1.0 The Bidens Pilosa doesn't tolerate shade, but initially it would form the forest floor.  (Photo 1.1) Photo 1.1 Once the Under Storey and canopy is developed by Moringa and Banana Trees, the Bidens Pilosa will soon fade away and grow only in areas that lack the canopy cover.  The great thing

While many organizations will give to people that are in crushing poverty, many times that can create a major problem.  If people are enabled and not given tools to survive, then they have no choice but to rely on those that give hand outs. What happens when those that give the hand out runs out of cash?  What happens when their host economy takes a nose dive?  What happens when the food runs out?  Well this has happened over and over again.  This is one reason why Haiti is still in its current shape.  There is always a time and place for everything.  Just putting a band-aid on a broken bone not only gives a false sense of hope, but gives a great sense of hopelessness.  People of Haiti want to work!  People of Haiti want to go to school!  People of Haiti want to do for themselves! So expect change to happen.  Slowly it has on the mainland where you are seeing development, new tourist plans, better farming, etc.  On La Gonave, not as much activity has been going on.  Given the sm