Let's Build Gonave, Haiti!

Apiary # 1 Anse-a-Galets Haiti. Establish a apiary in the city of Anse-a-Galets on the island of La Gonave Haiti.  We will setup a fundraising goal of $350.00. Fundraising Thermometer Provided free of charge by: Easy Fundraising Ideas

Many areas of the world have emergency sirens and signs that alert the public to impending issues. These issues could be wildfires, tornado, hurricane, earthquake, etc. With the city of Anse-a-Galets, there is currently no such system. Being the largest village on the island and having the main hospital on the island, such a city in the region should have some sort of protocol that notifies the public of such issues. Not only from the stand point of having such a system is good for the public, but it is also important for the future of the island. Businesses want to know that an area has the infrastructure in place to keep the public and their interest safe. Establishing a Regional Emergency Management and Homeland Security group would be something that could impact the entire island. These systems are not only for notification outdoors, but also should notify people who are indoors. Radio alerts, TV alerts, and text notifications would all be something that a Regional Emergenc...

The island of La Gonave doesn't have any outside presence that is on a large national scale. Many of the non-profits have a limited budget and are focused on programs that are not for the entire island population. While La Gonave lies many miles from the coast of the mainland, it doesn't have any organization that can bring focus to the island when a national disaster happens. Given that Hurricane Irma missed La Gonave (barely), is proof that in times of extreme weather, we need an organization like The Red Cross. It does exist on the mainland, and is well established. We need to get the organization onto the island and setup a small office presence there. Given the size of Anse-a-Galets, a small 5,400 sq. ft. space would be a great starting point. Having this presence will be a lifeline for the island residence when they get cut off from services from the mainland during a natural disaster. Go Gonave!

I wrote about how La Gonave would no longer be sold. During the time that the decree was signed vs when it was voted down, many potential and real investors have walked away from La Gonave. In that blog I wrote how they would have lost any investment they put on the island. We even halted projects just to see what would happen with the Haitian elections and the decree the island was under. Both of those issues are now solved! Thank Goodness! Now we have to work at the beginning to bring folks back to the table to consider developing the island for the sake of the people, and not some underhanded offshore deal. With that said, the small village of Megasin could be the focus city for development. Megasin is a village NW of the city of Anse-a-Galets and has a population of under 100 people. With a smaller population and close proximity to Anse-a-Galets, the landing strip and the wharf, Megasin is ripe for development. The development would be stretched over a period of time and ...

Not long ago, the now ex-President Michel Martelly signed a decree that allowed the island of La Gonave to be entered into a long term land lease. The company, which was foreign, would have been able to own all things on the island (movable and immovable), and would have setup accounts to a foreign bank for a tax haven. In return, the company claimed it would build up the island and provide jobs, housing, education, etc for the island's people. Most local Haitians on the island felt that this would not happen and they would get the short end of the stick. In fact we stopped working on the island when we found out the decree was signed. Anything that we would have put on the island would be owned by this company. So why invest in something just to have it tied up in legal battles and even possibly loosing your investment.? What stopped the process at the time of the decree was that Haiti didn't have a full Parliament so they couldn't vote on it. Without a vote, the d...

Composting Facilities are critical for Haiti Currently Haiti as well as Dominican Republic are in the midst of Cholera crisis.  While this bacterial infection was caused by improper sewage dumping from UN peace keepers, it is causing massive destruction on Hispaniola.  Many people end up drinking contaminated water, which increases the illness. Proper handling of raw human sewage will prevent this situation from spreading further.  Given that there are virtually no sewage treatment plants in Haiti, this can quickly spiral out of control.  Composting human waste is the best thing that Haiti can do.  When you look at the massive cost of building a waste treatment plant, the cost of laying down sewage pipes, the lack of water, having a large scale waste treatment plant for Haiti is not in the cards.  This may change over time, but in the immediate future, composting treatment plant(s) is a solution.  These facilities are inexpensive to build, can...

When you look at La Gonave many folks will say that the different villages and towns lack critical infrastructure.  Fire, schools, police, hospitals, post offices, clinics, parks, community centers, administrative buildings, etc.  These are buildings that I am calling common core structures. These are buildings that are typically needed in most villages and towns.  If you look at a blue print for building up the island, establishing common core structures is a starting point.  The idea is to build only those structures I mentioned above in a concentrated area, with no streets.  Streets may form a border around Common Core, but pedestrian paths would be used between the structures.  The goal is to lower the overall cost of construction, but mimic the type of structures in one village to another.  Hence the name Common Core since these are common buildings that form the core of the villages.  Think of them as the downtown of the villages. These ...

Most can agree that the lack of electricity on the island of La Gonave is a major problem.  While there is a public utility company in Anse-a-Galets, the power is only on for a few hours each day.  While that can be sufficient for some, if they have solar panels and batteries, it doesn't benefit most.  At night street vendors are illuminated by the passing motorbike lights. So many issues plague the electric issue on the island.  The geography makes connecting remote places tricky, and urban areas are often too difficult to provide power due to the lack of physical dwellings. So creativity is needed to help solve the issue on the island of La Gonave with respect to electricity.  Obviously solar power is going to be the best bet going.  Solar is getting more affordable daily, it is quick to implement, typically less maintenance, and Haiti has a large volume of sun.  The typical solar setup is using large batteries used in golf carts or tow motors. ...

 These are now trained beekeepers on the island of La Gonave.  In Anse-a-Galets these locals are now trained in modern beekeeping, which will prepare them for a new income stream.  Notice the wooden observation hive in the top right.  This was installed in the city of Anse-a-Galets, the first of its kind anywhere in Haiti. The "Ray of Hope" shining over the island of La Gonave and her people!

One of the things that I find very interesting is that the country of Haiti doesn't have a lot of irrigation systems.  When you look at the current drought situation, the nation should invest in low cost methods of moving water from large lakes to the countryside. While this one is paved in concrete, this isn't something that has to be done as many are built right into the land.  These channels literally allow for water to be regulated so that it can go to farms in need. When we look at places like La Gonave it isn't as easy.  There are no large lakes that are in the countryside, or anywhere on the island.  So while an irrigation system would still work, it would need to be built around reserve water wells.  Wells that would not have public access could be built so that water is then forced out to specific farms.  These farms would have to meet a minimum size and raise crops that the island is highly dependent on, such as rice. These canals would be...

There is rumor that the island has been sold to a foreign development group.  The claim is that the now former President Martially sold the island on the final days of his presidency.  Is this true? From the sounds of it, it seems as if the President signed a contract with a foreign development company.  Now the president doesn't own Haiti so selling the land isn't something that he would be able to do.  Also keep in mind that the Haitian Parliament has to vote on the issue.  Given that there is currently no president in the country, the chances of movement on this issue this year is slim.  Also a new president can possible back out of the deal. Here is my stance.  As I have been advocating for many years now, the island should develop as a Special Administrative Region that is RULED by the HAITIANS on the island!  Period!  If folks would ban together, push for a special region, then the locals can avoid potential issues such as this. ...

We found existing hives on the island of La Gonave, which was great news.  These hives however are kept in logs and rocks by the beekeeper.  This "Old World" style of beekeeping isn't effective in honey production, hive maintenance, and brood production.  We will be working with this beekeeper to supply our stock of bees, since the deal in Arcahaie fell through. While on the island I successfully trained 6 people in beekeeping with 4 becoming beekeepers.  This is a major success as I had originally planned for only 4 people to be training.  With the help of a translator and using Greater Good's Campus, we were able to build a beginning honeybee project and officially launch the La Gonave Honeybee Association. Also I was there and put up the observation hive for Greater Good Haiti.  I assisted in applying for a grant that launched made this observation hive possible.  This hive will be great in teaching young students, new beekeepers, and the commun...

The countdown to La Gonave is coming up.  During my trip there, I will be teaching 4 adult student apprentices about beekeeping.  The goal is to have them at the certified beekeeper level before I leave the island.  We also will be installing 2 or 3 hives. The observation hive may come in time for our partner to bring it with her to the island.  If that is the case, we will install the hive there at that time.  We do know that the $1,500 hive has been awarded to our partner not-for-profit.  This is the first observation hive to ever have existed on La Gonave, and possibly the entire country of Haiti! Since we lost the grant for the pollinator park, we will be teaming up with the same not-for-profit an reapplying for the grant.  This could allow us to continue down the path of having a pollinator park soon on the island soon!  We are extremely excited about this project and are already finding ways to do more with less funds.  We decided t...

Remember late last year when we mentioned how bike paths could be a major step forward for La Gonave?  Well we haven't forgotten how this simple path could be a way for the rural parts of the island to reach major areas such as Anse-a-Galets. While these paths can be made from concrete, asphalt, to even gravel, the costs of such a system is much cheaper and faster to build than say a road.  These paths will allow for greater access to economic development and access to services.  Even tourist can use these paths as a way to go from place to place. It makes sense to build bikeways that can be part of the urban and rural landscape.  Incorporating these bikeways with new development is one way to go about this.  Planning where these bikeways could be will be key where future housing could even be placed. Purchasing a bike is much cheaper for island residents as there are less maintenance cost and no fuel expenses.  Also having a bike lessens the pollut...

An Observation Hive WILL be heading to La Gonave island in Haiti.  The observation hive is part of a $1,650 investment to the island where the hive will serve to teach children and even locals in the city of Anse-a-Galets about honeybees. This is especially important to me as I wrote parts of the grant.  To get the grant is beyond words.  Our not-for-profit partner Greater Good Haiti will be getting this observation hive.  The hive will be installed this year with honeybees being purchased next month. On top of the honeybees for the observation hive, we will also purchase about two additional hives for honey production which will also be located at Greater Good Haiti.  This location will be our Anse-a-Galets hub for the honeybee network.  Coupled with the observation hive as well as production hives, it will allow La Gonave to have a working and teaching center for honeybees. We still await news on the pollination grant which will build the pollinatio...

I mentioned in a previous blog that the island of La Gonave needs some sort of fire and rescue department.  Also the need of a coordinator that would be responsible of keeping the island departments in shape.  The first part of starting a fire and rescue department is to start a rescue squad. The island of La Gonave could be potentially fatal with respect to ravine falls, children and adults being lost, collapsed buildings, fire, flooding, and individuals being trapped in crashed vehicles. A search and rescue squad would be a volunteer group that could help handle these potential issues.  While they would not be able to stop large fires, they would be able to handle small fires that start.  The startup cost of a rescue squad would be by far cheaper than a fire department.  The advantage of getting the rescue department up first is that these individuals would be trained to handle on-call response calls and train in the above mentioned issues. We all know h...

With the grant that we are hoping to secure we are going to improve the existing park (Public Plaza) with some landscaping as well as adding a few trees to the property.  While a small amount of the grant money will go towards the Public Plaza (some 10-15%), the vast majority of funds will go towards the new pollinator park. With that said, the parks have to be protected and cared for.  While the newly formed La Gonave Wildflower Association will plant and maintain many of the plants and trees, it leaves a very critical element.  That is having someone that will make sure that goats and other farm animals, as well as theft and vandalism doesn't occur.  Also emptying out trash bins and keeping the parks clean would be required.  Having a parks department would not only keep both parks clean and maintained, but any new parks that are added, will have the staff needed to properly take care of them. These parks are public assets and will help the local economy ...

As we are developing the pollinator Garden, we understand that the project will have to be done in phases.  The park itself will be rather large as the first of four section will be some 25 ft. wide by 50 ft. long.  The park will be designed, planned, and built by Hurko Co.  We are look at the company as it will make its introduction to Haiti for the first time in 2016. The funding for the pollinator garden will be determined by Jan. 2016.  The project is being looked at from a few different perspectives.  The project would be drastically cut down in size if the grant is denied.  Part of the pollination/honeybee highway, the pollinator garden will introduce many new types of plants to La Gonave such as the kiwano and Date Palm Tree.  Existing plants and trees such as the Flamboyant Tree would also be grown.  From a conservation view, this park will educate the public on what each plant and tree does for the environment.  Also it will stres...

The pollinator garden/park is now in the design phase.  We are looking at what features the park will have, the dimensions of the park, and just the general layout.  As you know we applied for a grant to build the park in Anse-a-Galets on La Gonave island.  The pollinator garden will serve as a hub of activity for insects and birds, but also will be a year round park.  Below is a general idea of what we wanted our pollinator garden to look like. We want to also have art features throughout the park which will add to the overall appeal to the garden.  So not only do you see insects and birds but also art along the way.  We intend on having a main path through the park, and some secondary paths as well.  We will have an onsite tool storage facility that will also act as a water catchment.  There will be an area for composting as well as education about the importance of composting.  Any vegetables or spices grown on the property could b...

I received an email today asking additional questions from the group behind the Pollinator Grant.  This would be a $1,000 grant that would be used to beautify the existing Public Plaza, create pollinator gardens, and help with the current deforestation and erosion issues on the island of La Gonave. This is an opportunity to push this project further than ever.  This grant will allow us to go full steam ahead and build up the areas near and around Anse-a-Galets.  Anse-a-Galets will be the starting point for most of our projects from the honeybee program, the honeybee highway, to our reforestation efforts. I will specify in the language we provide to the pollinator grant group that we will purchase Vetiver from Haitian suppliers, which will then be planted by locals.  Vetiver is very important as it will establish a strong root system that will go deep into the soil.  This will help prevent soil run-off, but also help to prevent areas of heavy flash flooding....