Let's Build Gonave, Haiti!

By now you know where my main objective is.  The overall improvement for the people on La Gonave is to start with agriculture.  When you look at it, people have farmed for many generations on the island, however poor tools, lack of innovation, poor soil, lack of water, lack of seeds, etc.  There are many things that can be done, but La Gonave must have farmers who will become experts in the crops that they raise. Some NGO's are supplying seeds to farmers, and even go as far as providing water catchment systems, but the support ends there.  Providing seeds and water simply isn't enough.  Sure the farmer will raise the crops more successfully than they would have without adequate water, but again, this simply isn't enough. Farmers have to understand how to conserve and be strong supporters of conservation.  Conservation of trees, land, water, etc.  Then they have to be supporters of strong self sufficient farming practices.  This includes more ...

Norway made news about their goal of creating a bee highway.  Their plan is that all types of bees and butterflies would benefit from this, and many of the bees are considered endangered.  So along the "bee highway", one will find pollen plants, nectar plants, some plants that do both, shelter for bees looking for a new home, etc.  It is looked at as a radical concept that is modeled after the US Butterfly Program .  This is designed to help protect and multiply the Monarch Butterfly as it makes the yearly journey to Mexico from the US. La Gonave is secretly doing a similar project, yet on a much smaller scale.  Our highway would first go from the oceanfront through the city of Anse-a-Galets, and then out to the hillside.  Along the way, would be pollen plants, high nectar producing plants, water, and shelter.  Our goal is to make the life of the honeybee less stressful.  By creating our own version of a highway, we can ensure that beekeepers c...

So working with three different organizations to bring honey bee production to La Gonave Island.  An initial assessment will happen in Feb 2015.  So there will be someone personally that we will have that will go to the island to see if the island can support a bee colony.  The biggest obstacles are the correct plants that will provide enough nectar for the bees.  If the assessment comes back negative, meaning that the island isn't suitable, that isn't the end of the project.  What will happen is plants will be brought to the island from Haiti, or seeded into the soil.  These plants will have to survive on the island successfully before another assessment can be done.  When that assessment is complete and successful, then honey bees will be installed on the island.  The bees will be from a farm on the Haitian mainland.  Also beekeeping will be taught to a farmer or two on La Gonave as well.  This training is very important to keep the...