Building in Haiti

 **Photos to follow- slow connection

My group and I were involved in many different building projects this time- it’s quite a variety when I think about it. Metal container conversion (turning part of a shipping container into living quarters), earth block, clay/straw walls, plastering, making paints from local natural materials, and plastering a plastic bottle/ clay/straw house…wow! What a ride.

We originally thought we’d be plastering the earth block school in Deslandes, but they had machine issues, which slowed down their progress, so they were nowhere near ready to plaster. Instead, we opted to finish the compost toilet facility that Ian and I had started last year.

This involved laying earthblock for the interior walls, finishing the clay/straw walls (which I had been told were finished, hehe) and then plastering it. We had hoped to make and install the doors, but alas! they couldn’t find local wood. JP and Shane both created relief sculptures on different sides of the building which they later painted. I’m returning to Deslandes to put a protective finish coat onto the building- I’ll use the glue/water wash that we used on the Ti Kay Pay in Port au Prince last year over the earth plaster- I’m impressed with how the plaster has held up, having been through a rainy season.

It was an interesting experience, to bring a group of people with various skills and from different backgrounds to this building project. It was great to see natural leaders emerge, and see how they chose to prioritise tasks. Everyone pitched in and contributed in meaningful ways, and because of that, we were able to meet our goal of finishing the toilet. It seems crazy that in two weeks, it was all we could do to make paint for the earth block school & get colour on the walls, and finish the toilet facility, but in a country like Haiti…EVERYthing takes longer. The heat mid-day takes a lot out of you, so our work days were shorter than usual…laying block was a lot of work, especially with all of the ‘helpful’ hands who pitched in. Sometimes help can hinder more than speed up a process, but all the same, there was a lot of educating going on at the same time, which we were all happy to do, to a certain extent…and then we got to a point where we realised we needed to focus on completing the building.

I wasn’t sure how comfortable I was taking a group to Deslandes- not knowing their personalities, and being so protective of this fabulous community, I just wanted to make sure that everyone was safe, comfortable, and respectful. This worked out for sure…with a few recommendations for making it go a bit more smoothly in the future, and to be able to better adhere to the community code of conduct. Overall, positive feedback from both sides...certainly from me. I feel fortunate to have had such a stellar first group.