Blogs from Haiti, Central America Caribbean
April 13th 2012
Hello all! Well some of you are aware of this news, but I have accepted a position here with SOIL, the organization I came down to volunteer with. Things are exciting around here: we're building a new composting site, we've got goats at the farm, and the mangoes are now in season (avocados are next)!! I'll probably be down here for the next year or so, so if you're down in the Caribbean area, stop over and say hi - or we can meet in the D.R. - I'd love to go back and visit.... The slacklining is going well, and my 2 good friends here and I have been invited to be in a big showcase! I've never performed on a slackline before and so we're now working on a routine, and I'm looking for ... read more
March 8th 2012
Well this was the first weekend I didn't do any work at all! And much needed too because I've been here in Haiti for a month and haven't yet gone to the beach...poppycock. And being up here in Cap Haitian, the beach is much more accessible than in Port au Prince. I hopped on a moto and took a short ride over the hill, and voila! Paradise lays before me. I walked through the entrance of a hotel to the beach to plop myself down and was promptly informed I had to pay U.S. $5. Hello?! I'm cheap. So I walked down the beach to go hang with the local haitians, and as it so happened quite a large group of Chileans. They give me bread, cheese, beer, and chocolate - this sounds like a waaaaay ... read more
March 3rd 2012
Well I'm here in Okap (Cap Haitian) for about 2 weeks, sent up from Port au Prince to help with the SOIL office finances and operations. Ashley, the new program manager, was supposed to come at least a week ago but has fallen ill and doesn't know when she'll be able to make it down from the U.S. Hence, I'm here and happy to change scenery for a little bit! I'm living on the roof of the office in a big room with a huge rooftop garden. There's a great view of the bay and the surrounding mountains. Okap is the 3rd largest city in Haiti, but very very different than Port au Prince. For one, it wasn't impacted by the earthquake so the infrastructure is intact and there are 4 story buildings here, paved streets, ... read more
February 23rd 2012
Alo Kanaval!! Well, the festivities started close to home - in fact, at the soccer field next door where Konbit Mizik was putting on an evening show. Konbit Mizik is an organization making available recording and sound equipment to music groups and individuals so I got to see a variety of haitians performing mostly hip hop, rap, and reggae. My favorite was watching an 8 year old tear it up on the mic. So 2 friends Nick and Vincent are pioneering the first LGBT cultural center and cafe in homophobic Haiti, which is rad! You can view their project (called Kouraj) at url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1515852513/kouraj-presents-haitis-first-lgbt-bar-and-culturalhttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1515852513/kouraj-presents-haitis-first-lgbt-bar-and-cultural. They threw their kickoff party last week and it was the funnest time I had dancing so far in Haiti, shaking my boot... read more
February 22nd 2012
Only a small portion of Haiti was open to us. We tried to walk down a roadway leading out of a shopping area but we were stopped by guards. The seven or so hours we had were more than enough time to explore the beach and wooded areas that were open to us and the many "shops" along the way. Most of the merchant areas were small huts side by side about 6 by 8 feet in size. One merchant called me into the shop and I realized that the hut was actually two shops ran by two different people. One on the left side of the hut and one on the right. The two merchants began a tug of war with my attention, both trying to persude me to buy from their "store." It was ... read more
Awesome Eco(San) Projects
Published: February 19th 2012Central America Caribbean » Haiti » Port-au-Prince
February 16th 2012
Bonjou tout moun (Good morning everyone), Well this last week was filled with visits to other projects around town - it was great to see what else is going on out there. So here's a recap (and the pictures are in order): Sineyas After-School and Garden Program: This is a project of Give Love (SOIL's sister humanure org.). GL built several toilets for little kids to go along with the after-school program after the earthquake. The seats are small and not UD (urine-diversion) because the anatomy of kids doesn't allow for separation. So everything (urine and feces) gets composted along with food scraps from the kitchen, and they're making some beautiful compost. These are the most thriving gardens I've seen yet in Haiti - and Sineyas is right smack in the middle of one of the ... read more
Burning Man gone very very wrong??
Published: February 14th 2012Central America Caribbean » Haiti » Port-au-Prince
February 13th 2012
It's dusty. It's hot. There are tents and quansets and "theme camps" set up by NGO's everywhere. Law/military presence is real. There are a lot of people and not many resources....sounds like the start of a description of Burning Man, no? Yeah, except that there are TOO many people, there is trash EVERYWHERE, a lot of projects have gone wrong or weren't thought through all the way, malnourishment is evident. Doesn't sounds like radical self-reliance to me. In fact, Haitians have had little-to-no choice in the way they sustain their economy. Already with a history of being colonized, exploited, and having to pay reparations to the country (France) that enslaved them in order to be free (ironic, huh?), the earthquake 2 years ago did nothing to help the situation; and the following response did/is not addressing ... read more
M'pa Comprann Kreyol (I don't understand Creole)
Published: February 4th 2012Central America Caribbean » Haiti » Port-au-Prince
February 4th 2012
After getting hasseled at LAX to buy a return ticket, not making it thought security twice because I forgot to check the kitchen knives in my bag, freezing still 5 minutes for an airport red alert, barely making my flight, cursing myself for choosing the middle seat in the only row that doesn't recline (bc it's in front of the exit row) for the overnighter, almost not making it through customs in Haiti because I forgot to write the SOIL address down (but fortunately had made friends with my neighbor on the plane who argued in Creole for me).... I'm here!! It's day 4 now and I'm settling into this new space, language, culture, organization. I've already visited the 2 main composting sites and have seen some of the dry toilets set up in communities. We're ... read more
Haiti: Feels like home!
Published: January 2nd 2012Central America Caribbean » Haiti » Port-au-Prince
November 28th 2011
Everything you heard about Haiti is probably not true. For one, everybody is not dirt poor and the country (at lease Port au Prince) is not crumbled. There are still buildings standing. Yes, some of the folks that lost their houses to the earthquake are still living in camps. The cholera epidemic is gone. I think you should visit, assess the situation first hand before making a judgment. If you ask me, I would tell you Haiti is just like any of the country I have visited in Latin America. I had a good time in Haiti. In fact, Haiti just replaced Colombia as my favorite country! I travelled with four of my friends from the university and we met up with another friend that graduated from the same uni who now works in Haiti. I ... read more
November 4th 2011
An Amazing Day! Yesterday we set up the clinic and organized the meds. Today we examined over 100 of the orphans. Danny and Kevin have been supporting this orphanage for about 5 years and we see the result of their effort. The children were well-nourished, wounds cared for, very little lice or scabies. We did find one new case of a 10 year old with heart disease and one 18 year old with asthma who will be a much improved soccer player with medication! The highlight was watching the kids interact with the other kids and have a fantastic time. Andi and Bella showed their leadership skills and organized events and activities. Alanna became part of the wild gang running around the property and would come in to give the kids their vitamin after their physical ... read more
