Let's Build Gonave, Haiti!

There is an idea to connect part of the island of La Gonave.  Possibly you have heard the calls from some to have a road built between the cities of Anse-a-Galets to Pointe-a-Raquette.  There is even a petition the is asking the President of Haiti to take this on, and build such a road.  Below is roughly the location and route of the road that is being proposed. As you can see based on how I plotted it, it follows the route that a few other sites and experts have asked for.  The need to connect the two cities is very important.  The drive time to connect the two cities is horrible, and to get patients to hospitals in Anse-a-Galet from Pointe-a-Raquette is more than a mission.  So many have said that a road is needed. I have a problem with this on some fronts.  I do support a road, preferably a two lane bi-directional highway.  I even signed the petition to get this project done.  I even feel that along the route a solar panel strip alo...

As I mentioned in the past, we are constantly looking to expand the honeybee program, and today I got word from a local group on La Gonave that they are interested in the honeybee program.  They have two separate farms near the city of Anse-a-Galets. This literally allowed our program to triple in size, and also we have a reserve site as well.  I can't express how happy I am that we have a new group working with us.  The traction is there, and it is seems like we will be moving full steam ahead. The new sites would have to have programs that align with our honeybee association and Co-op programs.  Also this new site would have to wait until we do queen rearing before they have a site.  This news literally allows La Gonave to have multiple sites around the city of Anse-a-Galets. We are now working on site locations at Pointe-a-Raquette as well. Go Gonave!

Today marks almost a month since the Bidens Pilosa have germinated.  The plants are not flowering, but the leaves are starting to change.  Not long ago the plants created additional stems with leaves.  Now it appears that the leaves are starting to change their design. As the plants start to grow, you will see that the next stage will be flowering.  I really am excited about how these plants transform and change.  In the wild, these plants would grow much faster in more ideal conditions. Go Gonave!

Above is the logo of the honeybee program on La Gonave.  The project is nearly complete as far as research goes, and moves toward the financing phase.  I can say that from a reforestation prospect, moeny for that phases is at 100%.  The next costs would be for the hives themselves. Currently we are going to buy two hives, including the bees, and boxes from the mainland to move over to La Gonave.  It is very exciting, and we feel we can now display the logo of the honeybee program.  The logo can also appear like what is shown below. We are slowly but surely inching our way to landing this project to the island of La Gonave.  Stay tuned as we continue to make progress. Go Gonave!

So this is the third week of the Bidens Pilosa, and I feel that they have to be transplanted into something else.  These plants are now growing secondary leaves.  Before they had the two leaves, now many are growing four leaves per plant. This will replicate many times per plant which is why the Bidens is so good at being a plant for butterflies and honeybees.  Each area will grow its own flowers, so one plant can have many flowers at a time.  See below. Go Gonave!

Love the natural you!

The company that listed it will build a similar housing and retail structure on La Gonave, is still in the mix.  The above photo is an idea that Hurko gave me last year as to what they are considering building on La Gonave, but didn't give a timeline. Recently the company stated they will build the hives at La Gonave, or finance the building of the initial hives.  They are planning on the eventual training of building the hives to locals.  I have also talked to the company about my plants for the honeybee project and they feel that it makes great sense to have a small scale economy of beekeepers.  Beekeeping on an island is a good thing as it will keep the bees there on the island, so those that do leave the hive will not travel to the mainland.  It keeps potential disease that may hit the mainland from impacting the bees on La Gonave.  The company is still very interested in working with La Gonave and building up the economy. Potential plans for ...

When visiting La Gonave later this year, we will be discussing with the Mayor of Anse-a-Galets many things from housing to jobs.  We are wanting to build a greenhouse and a pollinator garden.  The greenhouse will not only have seedlings and starter plants for vegetables which farmers can then grow on their property, but it will also have flowers and wild plants for bees and for reforestation. So what will the pollinator garden look like, and what is its purpose?  The pollinator garden will be on about 1 acre of land, and contain many flowers that will help honeybees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other bees.  The land will also contain a 12' x 32' hoop-style greenhouse.  The greenhouse will also contain at least two honeybee hives which will aid the greenhouse and nearby pollinator garden. The garden will help with reforestation efforts in a controlled environment.  In this garden various trees will be grown.  Moringa, various banana, palm, bambo...

The honeybee project on La Gonave is still on-going.  I often get inquiries about the status.  We are still working on the plans to bring honeybees to La Gonave.  The actual dates of having honeybees on La Gonave is Jan of 2016, so in less than 1 year you will see honeybees on La Gonave. As I mentioned in many blogs, having enough food on the island of La Gonave is very important.  It will be a project that will be constantly on-going.  One of the more affordable ways to build hives in  Haiti would be to use less wood and use plastic food grade barrels.  Honeybees normally build hives in trees and naturally build comb in a particular way.  The traditional top bar hive isn't exactly the natural way, but still allows the bees to build their own comb in a similar fashion.  Top bar hives are now some of the most expensive hives to purchase. At Let's Build Gonave, Haiti, we want to make things extremely affordable for future beekeepers on t...