Remarkable New Documentary on Ecological Restoration and Permaculture in Haiti
"One Day, Everything Will Be Free" is the title of a remarkable new feature-length documentary on an ecological restoration and permaculture community in Haiti. The film is still in final editing, but you can see an inspiring preview and get more information at onedayeverythingwillbefree.com. The movie explores the challenges, motivations, and broader implications of Sadhana Forest Haiti, an unlikely reforestation community organized around an alternative, cashless economy in an area of Haiti devastated by soil erosion and social immobility. The director, Joseph Redwood-Martinez, emailed me the following: After living and working with this community for an extended period, I put together this video as ...
New 100K Jobs for Haiti Newsletter — February 2013
Download the latest newsletter here: 100kJobs4HaitiNewsletterFeb2013
In-Depth Reporting from Haiti Brings More Disturbing News
As one of the co-founders of the Sustainable Haiti Coalition, I've been feeling guilty lately about how little time I'm able to spend on sustaining our initiatives in Haiti. The demands of the local situation, especially after Hurricane Sandy, and following several financially-disastrous years for many of us, have diminished the hope of leading a group of students on a study tour of Northern Haiti, and many other projects have fallen by the wayside. There are some bright spots: we've supported the Partners Worldwide 100,000 Jobs initiative, which is gaining ground. MTB Ayiti, working with Travelcology, have pulled off the mountain ...
Haiti’s first ever pro-am mountain bike race viewed as a success
This event took place over January 30 to February 2, 2013; you can read more about it and view a video here. The Coalition was instrumental in working with Travelcology in the early stages of this event. Please visit this page to keep in touch with the organizing team for the 2014 event. -----PRESS RELEASE------ Partnering with the Ministry of Tourism, MTB Ayiti promotes Haiti as the hottest new destination for adventure travel. Port-au-Prince, January 28.- Mountain Bike Ayiti (MTBAyiti) presented by Pepsi Max, the first ever pro-am mountain bike stage race in Haiti, will take riders from Port-au-Prince to Marigot through some of ...
Solar Power Advances in Haiti
Solar Power Advances in Haiti December 9, 2012: NRG Energy, Inc. has announced the completion of its “The Sun Lights the Way” project in Haiti. The program entailed the installation of solar electric systems at 20 schools, a fish farm and a drip irrigation system supporting agricultural production throughout Haiti’s Central Plateau region, through collaboration with a non-profit organization called Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF). This project helps to improve the quality of education for more than 6,000 Haitian students by providing the electricity needed to power lights, communication systems, laptop computers and other school equipment in remote areas of the country. ...
3rd Annual Haiti Track at Movement Day 2012 NYC September 27th-28th
3rd Annual Haiti Track at Movement Day 2012 ~ TWO DAY TRACK “Redeveloping Haiti: Partnering for Strategic Impact” Hilton NY Hotel Thursday, September 27th 12:45pm-3:45pm and Friday, September 28th 8:00am-4:00pm We recently received the following very special letter from our friend Marie-Yolaine Eusebe from Community2Community:
New Features Extend Coalition Web Site’s Functionality
We're introducing a couple of new features designed to facilitate communication amongst Coalition members. The first is "Community-Submitted News," which allows you to easily submit items for publication to the site. You don't need to register or log in to do this; just go to the submission page and enter your content. (For more details, see this post, which was created using this feature.) In addition, we're adding a Community Portal — see this page for more details. This is still under development, so don't expect much content — yet. But we invite you to add your content, including projects, interests, ...
New Web Site Feature Allows Members to Post News
Now there's a simple way to submit your news items for publication to the site. You don't need to register or log in to create an item like this. Instead, just use the form at Community-Submitted News to post your news items. We'll make sure everything is okay before they're posted to the front page like this.
Follow up to the 2012 Sustainable Haiti Conference
We had a pretty extraordinary time in Miami at the end of April, reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, impressed by the level of development occurring both in Haiti and in the Diaspora community (though of course it is still barely scratching the surface of both the challenge and the opportunity) and determined to make a difference on our return.
Join us for the Sustainable Haiti Conference April 23-25 in Miami
This year's Sustainable Haiti Conference promises to be an extraordinarily useful gathering of people and organizations — with tangible plans, access to investment funding, and innovative solutions to the challenges of rebuilding Haiti. This 3rd annual conference will take place from April 23rd- April 25th, 2012 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. We'll be hosting a session on April 25, on Coalition Building for Sustainable Enterprise Development, and we invite you to join us for this — and take advantage of the resources, contacts, and opportunities present at the Conference, which is now a regular part of John Rosser's remarkable Sustainatopia ...
100,000 Jobs in Haiti Newsletter Just Released
100,000 Jobs in Haiti — February 2012 Newsletter PDF Version: 100KJobsNewsletter
100,000 Jobs for Haiti Site Launched
http://www.100kjobshaiti.org/ The Coalition is happy to support this initiative and host the web site for the 100,000 Jobs for Haiti project created by Partners Worldwide, in association with Peace Dividend Trust (creator of Building Markets, which lists more than 3500 "vetted" Haitian businesses) and Fonkoze, Haiti's leading microlender.
Haiti Trip, March 24-April 2
Sustainable Haiti Conference, April 4-6, Miami
- The Coalition is leading a small delegation to Haiti on March 24 to scout locations and opportunities for sustainable innovation and entrepreneurship. Let us know if you want to contribute ideas, contacts, locations, etc. or have requests for information from us.
- All Coalition members and friends are offered a 20% discount to join us for the 2nd Annual Sustainable Haiti Conference, April 4-6 at the Miami Beach Convention Center (register, then email jcloud@sustainablehaiticoalition.org for this discount to be refunded)
- Find out more about what we’ve been up to and read our latest press release at SustainableHaitiCoalition.org.
National Conference to Feature Sustainable Haiti Coalition: Sustainable Haiti Conference, April 4-6, Miami Convention Center
Doug Cohen, Co-Founder
Basking Ridge, NJ, March 4, 2011 – In the face of cholera outbreaks, political turmoil and faltering development efforts in Haiti, can individuals in America impact the long-term prospects for Haitians? Tamara Apollon, president of Mon Pays Mon Cuisine (i.e. My Country, My Cuisine) (Piscataway, NJ), told a United Nations commission on the status of women on February 22 that more help is needed.
She for one is doing her part. In the past several years, Apollon has traveled to Cuba and Spain, and is also meeting with companies in the U.S., to open new markets for novel Haitian-based products such as mango juice, squash puree and dried fruits. The products support a community cooperative of 300 women fruit growers in Lascoabas, about 90 minutes from Port au Prince. Apollon can generate demand for the products, but further investment is needed to buy generators, processing and storage equipment to bring the cooperative to its full potential, she says.
Read the rest of Beyond Lingering Problems in Haiti, Progress and Vision Spark Hope »
The Sustainable Haiti Coalition welcomes Frank C. Pao, CEO of Atlantis Energy Systems, as a charter member of the Coalition’s Founders Circle. The act of joining the Founders Circle demonstrates the company’s commitment to ethical leadership, the blended value principle of combining business with public benefit and the Coalition’s vision of stewarding triple bottom line solutions for the 100 year resilient rebuilding of Haiti. Read the rest of Frank C. Pao, Atlantis Energy Systems, Joins SHC’s Founders Circle »
The United States has disbursed only $120 million of its pledge (of $1.15 billion), according to Office of the Special Envoy’s most recent update. Source URL: http://www.thenation.com/article/157646/haiti-wheres-money. Posted to the Permaculture Relief mailing list.
Haiti: Where’s the Money?
by Isabel Macdonald
The Nation
January 11, 2011
After a devastating earthquake killed more than 200,000 people in Haiti on January 12, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned [1] that there could be dire consequences “if the effort to rebuild is slow or insufficient, if it is marked by conflict, lack of coordination, or lack of transparency.” At a March 31 UN conference, the international community pledged $5.3 billion dollars for 2010–11 [2] to help Haiti “build back better,” with the United States pledging $1.15 billion.
Hi all!
We are about to launch our 2 1/2-month Train-the-Trainer for the Nouvelle Vie Youth Corps. Twenty of our strongest Haitian youth leaders will be trained to facilitate community empowerment and meditation workshops, yoga courses, and, of course Permaculture trainings, focused on food security and composting/waste management.
We’ve been searching for Kreyol translations of the PDC manual, to no avail. First off, if any of you know of any translated materials, please let us know ASAP!
Read the rest of Appeal for Kreyol Translation of Permaculture Manual »
It’s apparent, in the light of the last ten months, that things have not gone well with the relief effort in Haiti. More than a million people remain in tent cities; most of Port-au-Prince remains in ruins, with much of the rubble untouched; the displacement of as many as a million other people has also placed severe stress on nearby communities; and the billions promised by the donor countries have yet to materialize. An outbreak of cholera, and of violence, was entirely predictable.
Under the heading “Sustainable Haiti: Rebuilding for the Long Haul,” TriplePundit.com’s Bob Siegel has posted an article about the Coalition, at http://www.triplepundit.com/2010/11/sustainable-haiti-rebuilding-for-the-long-haul/. Check it out.
Webinar rescheduled: Please make a note and inform your colleagues.
For the Tuesday, N0v. 9th, Sustainable Haiti Coalition webinar , please use the following
https://my.dimdim.com/shcoalition/ (will not be active until 3 p.m. EST)
Conference Call in Number…
Dial-in 702-473-3463 Passcode 742 625
- Welcome, Introduction of Purpose, and New Participants
- Whats New & Good: Updates on Coalition Opportunities
- Committee Update, Overview & Action Planning: Announce meeting schedules
- Environmental Scan of What up among and/or known to members
- Closure and SHC Upcoming Announcements
In a remarkable report marking nine months since the earthquake, HUMNEWS gives us a daunting picture of life in Haiti: still more than one million people living in tent cities, less than 2% of the rubble cleared in Port-au-Prince, and only a small amount of the money collected being released for relief and reconstruction.
The reality is that the situation is even worse than the report suggests. There are also a million or more other “internally displaced persons,” who have returned to local communities where inadequate conditions are being further overwhelmed. The HUMNEWS report calculates that the $11 billion pledged works out to about $110 per year for each of Haiti’s 10 million citizens; but the reality is that less than 20% of the amount pledged is likely to ever materialize. There are some very positive initiatives being undertaken by NGOs and by private companies, but there is a much greater level of need and of opportunity than is being addressed.
Our thanks to those participating in last week’s Sustainable Haiti Coalition Webinar. We felt the call was highly successful in having people share information about their initiatives and align on some of the needs for further action.
Our immediate Call to Action – and our challenge to you as Coalition members – is to follow this up with specific proposals, initiatives, and projects both here and on the ground in Haiti, and to have a broader impact on policy and implementation through our combined voice, so as to lay the foundations for a sustainable future.
To this end we are inviting your participation in the Founders’ Circle, Leadership Council, or specific action committees. There is a role for everyone who wants to be involved; our goal is principally to be of service to you, and to the people and the nation of Haiti.
Read the rest of Follow up to the September 28 SHC Webinar »
Program Includes:
- Overview of Sustainable Haiti Coalition progress
- Introduction of Coalition Partner Organizations and spotlighting of cross-sector, cross-industry projects by partners and members [Haiti Fund for Innovation & Reconstruction/Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors; Helping Hands for a Sustainable Haiti, Kleiwerks, One Economy, Nouvelle Vie, USAID/HED, U of Calif, Apparel for Life, VAYA Institute, Profound Sustainability, Atlantis Energy]
- Introduction of participants
- Committee structure and recruitment of members
- Work-study programs
- Announcements and needs & offers exchange: participants’ open forum of what’s current and what they can offer, what they need to get where they are going with goals around Haiti engagements
- Announce Committee meeting time, and next Webinar date/time
Cluster Map of Users