Let's Build Gonave, Haiti!

As I have been told and even expereienced, the cost of doing business in Haiti is too high.  This can be said when doing business with the private and public sector.  I will focus on the private sector. Given that Haiti is one of the poorest places in the world, and given that it is the poorest country in the Northern Hemisphere, the cost of doing business is very expensive.  I live in Seattle, WA where the average house price is $500,000 US.  The average apartment (1bdrm) is about $1,400 to $1,800 and we are talking a very small space of 480 to 650 sq ft.  With that said Seattle also has many billionaires who call it home.  It is the world headquarters of Expedia, Costco, Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon, and Warehauser, to name a few.  Also the worlds richest man, Bill Gates call Puget Sound home. So it is understandable that America's fastest city is expensive to live and do business.  Haiti on the other hand is also very pricy to do business....

While it is known that Haiti had to repay the French after Haiti successfully gained and earned its independence.  Haiti had to pay France for the profits slave owners lost due to the Haitian Revolution.  Now the debt, while unjust, was paid in many ways.  One way that has lasting effects, is through timer.  Haiti was at one time a lush tropical paradise.  Due to paying France in timber, it led to deforestation of Haiti. In my honest opinion, Haiti must reforest, and never again allow any deforestation on a grand scale to happen again.  This includes locals cutting down trees for charcoal making.  The ways to solve the lack of housing on La Gonave, and even Haiti is to import timber from the US and/or Canada.  The timber industry in the US has been alive and well since the late 1700's.  Given America's vastness and large forest reserves, it has allowed the US to be the largest producer and consumer of wood.  With that said, to preve...

A soap manufacturer had contacted me about potentially locating on Gonave.  The company provides soap to different retail businesses in Canada and the US.  While no firm commitment was actually made, the company, which for now the name will be excluded, mentioned that Gonave could make sense.  The lack of power, water, and freight options are a problem.  These are all things I mentioned in many of the blogs I placed before. What makes Gonave so important is that there is a large pool of workers to run the machines that is needed to make the soap.  Also it is cheaper to employ people on Gonave vs people in Florida.  Makes complete sense to me, but again Gonave and people that live on the island must start to focus on how to make these things happen.  I have outlined a few things, but it will take a village (Gonave), to make this happen. I will have a YouTube channel coming soon, so stay tuned! Go Gonave!