[GSBN] Bales for Haiti

[kim thompson]

Hello all,

Following and pondering Haiti with you all.
I recently contacted friends who worked in Haiti for many years for  
their thoughts on some of the GSBN conversations.
and forwarded to them Martin's post (see below) - Barbara's comments  
follow, with some good links,

Thank you Kelly and David for for your ever wise sign posts on this  
complicated journey.
What a dance balancing action with wisdom, experience, and compassion.

Kim


Dear Kim,

Thanks for the interest in Haiti and the website Haiti Patrimonie.     
As you know I am no expert on Haiti, but I have talked to many who  
are, so here are  couple of quick thoughts about the comments in this  
thread:
1.        There is rice grown in Haiti, but no evidence of bales, and  
unknown quantities of available straw.  Hand baling, or rebaling, may  
be necessary.  Shipping bales to Haiti has its ironies, but is better  
than many of the toxic and unsustainable materials being shipped  
there right now.
         There may still be some rice grown in Haiti but the rice- 
growing was wiped out a couple of decades ago when the USA insisted  
that Haiti drop its protective tariffs on rice.  The market was  
immediately flooded with cheap US rice and farmers were out of work.   
They flooded into Port au Prince to find jobs, which were not there,  
and languished in the huge and terrible slums of Cite Soleil, La  
Saline and others.
         In my view it is not a good plan to ship natural products to  
Haiti -- you don't know what insects or diseases you may be  
inadvertently importing.  Hispaniola is an island, and may have  
specialized ecological needs or vulnerabilities.

2.        Earthen or stabilized earth floors.
During the dry season this would work but in the rainy season  
torrential tropical downpours turn the earth to mud.  Shelters need  
to be on some sort of raised platform (rubble?) so that the water can  
drain underneath.  In addition many areas are subject to flash floods  
because of the deforested mountainsides.  Haitians, and NGOs which  
have been active in Haiti for many years, know where the dangers lie.

3.     I don't want to preconceive what's appropriate, which is  
always the central question.  What’s appropriate?
         Good point.   Haitians need not only shelters but training,  
jobs, and perhaps most of all, respect.  All development work in  
Haiti , from water supplies to health to shelters needs to include  
education, a living wage for Haitian workers (as many as possible),  
and involvement of Haitians, either community leaders or government  
officials, in the planning and implementation of any plan.  Also, all  
development aid should aim to include funding for ongoing maintenance  
for at least a decade.

4.  Please do not do anything that would encourage large numbers of  
people to stay in Port au Prince.  There is essentially no city left,  
and it may be dangerous for a long time -- the fault that  
precipitated the earthquake has probably not finished moving.  Most  
Haitians have family in the countryside and mountain villages, and  
Haitians still tend to live in extended families.  With some help the  
land can be fertile again, and the mountains can be re-forested for  
water and soil retention.  Labour-intensive agriculture within a  
decentralized government structure would be a good way for the nation  
to start to feed itself and slowly rebuild.

Here's a little background information that anyone going to Haiti to  
help should pay attention to:

~CBC The Current Special on Haiti: http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/ 
2010/201002/20100203.html
-- part 1, with Wade Davis, is particularly good on voudou
-- part 3, interview with Patrick Delatour, who seems to be in charge  
of rebuilding.  Whoever goes down should try to get a meeting with him.

~Recovering from Disaster — Partners in Health and the Haitian  
Earthquake
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMp1001705

~Video: Fault Lines (Al Jazeera) includes excellent interview with  
Haitian economist by Avi Lewis: http://www.youtube.com/watch? 
v=AuUt12usDVs

Apparently Medecins Sans Frontiers and the Seventh Day Adventist  
Hospital in Haiti have gone to World Shelters: http:// 
worldshelters.org/home  -- not sure whether it's help for housing or  
medical suites.

Thanks for giving me a chance to put my/our two-cents worth in.

Cheers,
Barbara

Kim Thompson
Straw Bale Projects
2699 Northwood Terrace
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 3S9
tel. 902-453-2429
e mail: shipharbour at ns.sympatico.ca
www.naturalbuilding.ca

"Tradition and modernity are merely two sides of the same coin - and  
must be dealt with simultaneously. Building cannot be a rigid dogma,  
but a living, organic, ecological project. It is about continuity,  
based on memory, common sense and experience and is the foundation of  
invention."   Hasan Uddin Khan


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