Author Archive
The Sustainable Haiti Coalition is seeking contacts, partners, and support for two related proposals—one aimed at creating local Social Enterprise Catalyst organizations to foster a wave of social enterprises in Haiti, and the second as an example aimed at expanding the sustainable cultivation of bamboo and the development of multiple industries around this and other […]
Dear friends of Haiti, In March of 2011, over 250 Haitian Business Owners and Members of International Non-Profit Organizations came together at the first ‘Buy Haitian, Restore Haiti Conference’, to address the need for local purchasing in an economy dependent on aid. Since last year’s conference, the results of local purchasing by International organizations have […]
Haiti’s Tragic History By ADAM HOCHSCHILD Published: December 29, 2011 For the better part of two centuries, outsiders have been offering explanations that range from racist to learned-sounding — the supposed inferiority of blacks, the heritage of slavery, overpopulation — for why Haiti remains the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. None of these work: […]
The Haiti Rejuvenate Symposium that was to be held Thursday, January 12, 2012, at Essex County College in Newark, NJ, has been postponed until June of 2012. For more information, see http://HaitiRejuvenate.org. Here’s the original program:
Former U.S. president Bill Clinton says Haiti has the potential for sparking competition in the Caribbean that would transform the island nation into a regional leader. He made the prediction in New York City at the yearly Clinton Global Initiative, or CGI, a leadership forum that tackles some of the world’s most pressing problems. Clinton […]
Saturday September 03, 2011 06:45 AM ET (courtesy BelPolitik.com) VIDEO REPORT – Haiti needs a Prime Minister because his signature is needed to start a wide range of projects… President Martelly’s job is arguably the toughest job in the Western Hemisphere, AlJazeera says… Watch Al Jazeera’s Craig Mauro’s report from Port-au-Prince.
I have posted my April 16 Haiti Update presentation at the Morristown EcoCenter in two formats: Viewable Online (no videos), or downloadable Player Version with Movies. I now plan to complete my notes on the trip, enter all of our new contacts, and follow up with messages regarding specific projects, as well as a general […]
Opportunities and challenges in the sustainable redevelopment of Haiti: Can we imagine an alternative future for “the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere”? Haiti is perhaps the most powerful example of a society suffering from a deficit of triple-bottom line outcomes-ecologically, economically, and socially, though it continues to have a strong culture and an indomitable […]
[Some of this is reconstructed from handwritten notes and from memory. Beginning with Day 3, I had trouble keeping up with the stream of events, and fell asleep before I was able to get it all recorded; and at the end of the fourth day the charging mechanism in my MacBook failed, taking with it […]
Our second day in Haiti was filled with more surprises, more insights, and several further misadventures. Our night sleeping in tents at the GRU property proved to be more difficult than any of us imagined, between the high heat and humidity, the hard ground, and the mosquitoes who somehow got past the tent’s barriers to […]
After less than a day in Haiti, it’s already clear what many of the obstacles are to establishing a successful business or series of businesses here. For one thing, the combination of heat and humidity is oppressive, even at night, especially when there is no breeze, and nowhere to retreat to that is air-conditioned. It’s […]
The Team Heads to Haiti “Co-founder Jonathan Cloud, along with colleagues Matt and Sandy Polsky, head out fearlessly in stormy weather…” Good thing we still have a sense of humor, as it looks like we’ll need it. As of this writing, it’s been snowing for a day and a half in Central Jersey, but supposedly […]