An Allelulia Kind of Day

There is an elderly woman who lives across the road in Deslandes, in a small hut off the outdoor kitchen at Benitta & St. Geste's. I have never learned her name, but she starts each day by sweeping the dirt courtyard, singing Alleluia. She is a tiny thing, and might have limited capacities, but when she sings Alleluia, it comes from the heart. It is a wonderful to wake up at 5:30 or 6:00 to that sweet song. She'll walk around barefoot sweeping, and muttering a bit to herself. It is hard for me to understand her, and she has mostly been stand-offish with me, but on my last day in Deslandes, I had a short conversation with her in which I partially understood her. 

Brooms in Haiti are made of natural materials, naturally. There is a daily ritual of sweeping the dirt courtyards, and then either collecting the leaves and putting them in a compost pile, or just throwing them under the cactus hedge. Last year Ian got quite a chuckle out of that, because of course the next day the leaves and debris were all over the courtyard again.



Sweeping is a daily chore, one left to women and children, and "my" little girls often swept our courtyard. The brooms take a bit of getting used to- not quite as easy as all that to get into nooks and cranneys!



While Deslandes doesn't have nearly as much garbage as other cities, and certainly nowhere near the problems of Port au Prince, there is still debris littering the schoolyard, and everyone seems to have a 'pitch pile' on their property for throwing plastics and tin cans, which will later be burned. Sighhh.

I can't get over the fact that everyone here is so...beautiful. Cleanliness is of utmost importance, and try as I may, I can never get my laundry as clean as Haitians do. I'm told that they use a harsher soap- and perhaps that's true, but some of my girls helped me do laundry one day, and they definitely have a different technique. You see women and children doing laundry all across the country- in any river they have access to, or in tubs in the courtyard. They are also immaculate all of the time- I have no idea, in such a dusty country, how they can't have grit all over them too. I can't for the life of me keep dirt out of my fingernails, yet I can't remember seeing a Haitian with dirty fingernails.

I love Haitian women dressed in black- that is a particularly beautiful combo. A few of my friends consented to photos. I don't have a photo of my alleluia lady- I have a strong vision of her in my mind, but somehow, it didn't seem appropriate to take a photo of someone I couldn't really communicate with.



                    

My Alleluia woman lost her husband last year to cholera- he was elderly, and likely feeble already. I was in the village when it happened, and after the one night of wailing, we were back to the alleluia start to the day. We (my Endeavour group & I) were discussing the hardships of living life in Haiti (for Haitians), and how impressive it is that people keep going forward. Almost everyone I have met here was directly affected by the earthquake in 2010, and you can only imagine the hurt that comes with that, but although death happens, sometimes frequently in a community, people seem to have the ability to pick up the pieces and go forward. No time to make an appointment to see a therapist, nor money...but only the knowledge that in order to survive, there is work to be done, water to be collected, food to prepare. I have known since my visit here that Haitians are resilient, strong, and resourceful, and I have a lot of respect for them. There is a lot about how Haitians behave that I still find difficult to understand, but I'm sure they could say the same about me.

Here in Port au Prince, church service starts early- on average these days at 5am. And how do I know, you might wonder...why, it is conveniently broadcast with quite loud speakers from a couple of doors away from us. This morning's singing was softer and more in pitch than other times, and the preaching wasn't that yelling kind of preaching that is really unpleasant to wake up to. Given the choice, I'd take an alleluia kind of day anytime!

On that last day in Deslandes, as I was walking across the school field to go back to my room, I heard the little woman singing Alleluia again, and it was the perfect bookend to my day.

Hairdos and Plaster

This shot has nothing to do with this entry, but it's so gosh darned cute. A goat on the porch of the school in Deslandes.

Another hot day in Port au Prince, but a lovely evening breeze is picking up, cooling me off on the front porch of the Ti Kay Pay. 

I went to the market with Benitta the other day when I was still in Deslandes- I observed her haggling with some of the vendors over various items. One such item was a piece of meat- goat meat, I imagine- she picked up a chunk of the meat from a bowl (sitting out in the open, not on ice, of course, and covered with flies), and asked how much it was- the vendor named her price, and Benitta scoffed and said no way (I'm imagining that's what she said in creole!), put the meat back in the bowl, wiped her meaty hand off on the branch of a tree, and walked away. We did the other groceries, and then went back to the same meat vendor- and this time Benitta picked up the same piece of meat, handed it to another vendor who examined it carefully, and without a word, gave it back to Benitta. She paid for it, and I asked afterwards if they were charging more because she was with a blanc, and she said yes, of course. So, I let her go to market alone after that incident! The meat handling, and passing it to the other vendor to handle, was strange. 

On my last night in Deslandes, some of my favourite girls (dating back to my visits last year) joined me on the porch, to sing songs I had taught them the first time, plus some new songs (it's so fun to come back after a year and hear kids singing songs you learned together!). 

My girls, hanging out on the porch with me

They did some dance pieces- kind of evocative dance to gospel music-who knew?! (One day JP was doing some teaching in a class, and the kids came to get me- they were practising dance pieces for Carnaval, and their teacher wanted me to see. The older girls did a dance piece, and then a group of wee ones- maybe 7 or 8 years old, did their dance piece, complete with some dirty dance moves- I couldn't believe how they could move, or that they were even moving that way- wowie! I felt so white, and like such a non-dancer!). 

 The girls gathered around me, asking me to take their photo, and then they took turns playing with my hair. I rarely comb my hair, and certainly haven't done so in Haiti. The girls ran their fingers through it, untangling the mess, and trying to braid it. They touch so easily- kids and even some adults love to touch my white skin- I guess they think it will feel different, and I suppose it does. I have a couple of little growths that look like warts on my neck, and it's surprising how many different kids in Haiti have tried to pick it off. If you have dirt on you from plastering, they will wipe it from your skin, as I witnessed when these same girls picked the plaster chunks from Meg's feet. I have had women as well as children touch my hair- they seem to be quite taken with it- in part, I suppose, it's quite a different texture, but I think it's also the colour- you don't see much silver hair here.

Hair is important in Haiti- women spend lots of time doing one another's hair, and mothers do a different hairdo for their daughters every single night- I watched as Lélé did her daughters' hair one night, and I swear, it takes at least half an hour per child...and she has four in her charge! Driving around the countryside and in cities, it is a frequent sight, to see women sitting in a row doing each other's hair. 

Taken in the back yard in Deslandes in 2011- look at little Mimi here!

My girls, last year, taking care of one another's hair.

Dine, washing Maquise's hair

 

It was the perfect going away party- me & my girls dancing and singing on the porch, and the icing on the cake was singing Mimi almost to sleep. She is such a bright light, that one!

Today, there was a group of women from Cité Soleil (a poor and often unsettled part of the city- there are frequently security alerts that warn us not to go there) came to our compound today to do a month long training course on building with blocks of styrofoam that are bagged up, reinforced with rebar, and then plastered. I gave them the tour of the straw house, and then of Andy Mueller's (Greenspace Collaborative) new Senf Kay (bottled walls, and clay/straw walls). I decided that since this is a group of all women getting construction training that I'd toot my own horn a bit and tell them about me running a construction business, how many of my employees are women, and how women can do anything they want to. In Haiti, the men on construction sites are always surprised to see me there, and when I work, they're astounded- wow, you work as hard as a man! It's funny, since at home, it's so common (in the natural building world, that is) to have women on-site. I shared some slideshows with the women on building with bales, told them to ask lots of questions, pay attention, and make sure that whatever type of building they do in the future, that they be thinking of sustainability, and earthquake & hurricane resistant construction. All in all, I'm pleased that I 'butted' in to their day of training. 

There was a lot of cars honking today, sirens going, and helicopters flying over. I'm never sure if these things are due to security alerts, demonstrations, or what. The prime minister resigned a little over a week ago, and things have heated up in different parts of the city as a result of that. That's the last thing Haiti needs now- more political unrest! 

Apart from that, I continued working on the finish plaster inside of Andy's building. I think I have a recipe that I can live with, especially once we paint an aliz coat over it.

This is a previous attempt at the finish coat- I was outside mixing, when I should have been inside supervising- it went on waaaaaayyyyy too thick. 

 So, my goal is to finish the interior plastering before I fly out on Wed.- this will mean a busy schedule, but one that I think is possible.

Oh, Canada. Oh, snow. Oh, home, sweet home. I'm ready for you!

Reflections and directions

I haven't had access to e-mail very frequently this trip, nor electricity for charging my computer, so it's been a time of quiet reflection, and I didn't even have a journal to write my thoughts or experiences, and so, rather, I kept jotting  notes into a little notebook that had a few pieces of free paper.

I'm back in Port au Prince, with only two sleeps before heading home. I'll be honest- I'm ready for the cold of our Canadian climate- I crave snow, especially those sunny March days when you can ski wearing few layers. It has been a wonderfully productive trip, but I'm definitely ready to be back home, and out of the heat. I'm ready to breathe in some clean air (my lungs are still feeling a bit compromised, and even as I write this, the 'incense' that wafts into the straw bale house is tinged with scent of burning plastic). I am committed to getting as much plastering done on Andy's building as possible- I have had some challenges finding the perfect recipe, but I have found a solution for that, at least, so...onward. That will be a separate building entry.

In the meantime, I spent some time my last few days in Deslandes with some of my favourite people. I was able to sit in the outdoor kitchen with Benitta and Mme Alyen, helping prepare some of my favourite dishes.

Mmmm, how to make fried plantain, with all the secrets. Note the donated cutting board & cleaver that I sent over to Benitta- she didn't know how to use them (they are so adept at using other devices!).

I can wrestle my way through some conversation now, and when people break it down enough, I can understand bits & pieces. Actually, I can always understand bits & pieces, and now I'm starting to understand things like di mwen (tell me) becomes 'dim' in short form. Tricky stuff, and the sentence order isn't quite the same as french. I'm reasonably satisfied with my creole though.

Things I observed on my last few days, or that I had forgotten to write about

•Free range animals- This morning there was a gaggle, no, a flock, hmmm, a herd- OK, a large gathering of baby goats (kids?) frolicking on the front steps of the school. It was uber cute. I spent about 15 minutes watching them play on my last morning there- head butting, pushing one another off of the steps, etc, and couldn't help but giggle as they played.
Goats, donkeys, horses, cattle- all animals roam freely, so you look both ways before crossing the dirt road to watch for galloping wild life! I love that they can roam anywhere. We did shoo a family of donkeys from the playground the other day, though! All in all, it's quite comforting to see animals wandering about freely.

•Coal production: I had written about the process of making charcoal last year- you cut trees, tree limbs, branches, etc., and pile them in a rectangular stack.

Here's a neat stack of wood, ready to be covered with leaves and sod

Then you pile sod on top of the wood, start a fire within (leaving some holes for oxygen), and 4 or so days later, that pile of wood becomes charcoal. Charcoal is by far the most popular choice for cooking in Haiti, as it burns a hotter heat, and for longer, than wood.

Here's a burning pit of wood transforming to charcoal

You see large dump trucks full of feed bags of coal- which represents a lot of wood being cut. Yesterday, I heard someone hacking at a tree, and went and saw someone high up in a decent sized tree, cutting it down bit by bit with a very sharp machete (yup, not an axe, not a chainsaw- a machete. You can bet your life there weren't any safety belts involved!). There is already so much pollution in Haiti, and so few forests- at least 80% of all forests have disappeared, with very few efforts to replant, so to continue to support making charcoal isn't sustainable in any way shape or form. It's not a pleasant smell to ingest in the outdoor kitchen, either.

A fellow Canadian is here at Haiti Communitère, and he is making solar ovens & cookers. He's ready to do some cooking demonstrations with his first prototype, so I'm going to get him hooked up with the folks in Deslandes. Both Benitta and St. Geste (director of the school) are supportive of having a solar cooker for their kitchen. They have plans to start cooking for the students once again (they had been providing a meal prior to a hurricane a few years ago that caused extensive flooding which dessimated their crops). There is no shortage of sun, free, wonderful sun heat in Haiti, so we're going to try to take advantage of this. All that is required is some fundraising, which I'm prepared to do.

•Lessons learned: In the countryside, people wear clothing most of the time, apart from children, who you often see running nudy butt around their courtyards. However, for river crossings and bathing, it's common to strip down and swim in underwear, or naked- no second thoughts, no gawking as you might find in North America. We did find out the hard way, however, that in the city, you need to be fully clothed. We were walking to the grocery store one day, and one of the blancs in our group was wearing pants and a sports bra/top...we were stopped by the police and told that it was strictly forbidden to walk around like that, and after that encounter (we were almost at the grocery store so continued our journey), there were countless stares from people walking by (Haitians aren't shy about staring when they want to- sometimes they stare at your whiteness, sometimes out of curiosity, but these were deliberate stares, of disgust). A few guys from the military outside of the UN hurled insults our way, so we learned our lesson. I was wearing a tank top one day that has a slit that reveals a tiny bit of my belly, and at the market in Deslandes, a woman commented on it, and touched my belly...so, cover up when in Haiti!

We also learned the hard lesson of gift giving. We had been asked to be very discrete if we were going to give out gifts, but unfortunately, not all of our group respected that, and we soon saw the results of that. There were people lining up wanting gifts, and many kids started asking for things- money, balls, etc. It is so hard to be somewhere like Haiti, where of course, almost everyone you meet truly needs something- shoes, a meal, clothing, etc. That's why I suggested giving the gifts to the school administrators so they could distribute things accordingly to those most in need. Live and learn. We'll have to be more strict about that in future.

Benitta and Mme Alyen, in the outdoor kitchen. Note the charcoal burners

•Privacy: There just isn't much privacy, if any, in Haiti. When you close the curtains and shutters to your room at night, people can't peer in, but your room does adjoin the other interior sleeping rooms, so you are semi-private at that time. I hadn't realised how much I crave my alone time, but now that I'm in PaP again, I can hole myself away in the straw bale house and have some alone time, which feels decadent. I distinctly remember when I was in Thailand commenting on that huge difference: Thai people are much more respectful about personal space, whereas Haitians are more outgoing, and if you are sitting on your porch, there will be kids, and passersby who will come join you. One evening I just wanted to work on my computer alone, so I trudged across the school field and sat on a bench doing my writing...the next morning Benitta commented that she had seen me going there. Haitians have superior night vision- I started training myself to see without my flashlight. Easier on a bright moon-lit night, as there isn't any light to block out the starry sky.

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. 

Symphony of sound

**Previously unpublished post from a couple of weeks ago?

One awakes in Deslandes to a symphony of sound…the roosters start crowing from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, each crow louder and stronger than the previous. Slowly but surely the place wakes up…you hear babies crying, voices speaking as people make their way down the path to get water, or go to market. A few days ago, there was a truck that arrived at around 5am- it had arrived to deliver sand & clay to the site, and started honking (as most vehicles are apt to do!) before it got anywhere near the site, to let someone know to open the gate.

This is a most magical and mysterious place- at time when I think I understand what is happening, I realise that I don’t actually know. (Aside: Love, the little girl who lives behind us, just came dashing over, intrigued to see what I was doing on the computer). She is on er way across the road with a broom. They sweet the courtyards here, sweeping the leaves into the cacus hedge, where the next day they will emerge once again onto the lawns.

There is such a sense of pride here with cleanliness. People take off their shoes when walking onto the cement porch, and most certainly, take the off before entering their room.

I feel very fortunate to have found this little pocket of paradise, this place where people live life simply and fully. The bleakest of memories in Haiti come from the sadness and the strife in the larger cities; of displaced people from the earthquake, of extreme poverty that has befallen some people. Here in the village, as Milfleur, that ever so wise little boy once said, the peasants here are more rich than Canadians- they can go outside, pick a mango, and eat, whereas we (Canadians) have to go to work, make money, and then go buy food. He is one wise soul!

We’re starting to get a great connection with a number of the kids here (and of course, I continue to fall deeper in love with them!). They love spontaneity, and are so creative with making games out of things they happen to find. Yesterday, three little boys used the trench being dug for drainage as a game, and when they noticed a stake had fallen, they put that across the trench and now had something to hop over, and continued taking turns, laughing and enjoying for quite awhile.

Yes, people here live simply and fully, and maybe sometimes don’t get enough to eat, but that doesn’t bother their spirit. We are warmly received by the community. 

Bye bye, Endeavour group!

** I'm on slooooow connection, so photos will be inserted later

Port au Prince

February 29, 2912

And here we are- departure day for the Endeavour group. I’ve had such fun with these guys- I’ll miss them. 3 weeks in a different cultural setting, with intense heat is a long time to spend with people. I feel really blessed with the group who came on this excursion- they are resourceful, hard working, talented, and a lot of fun to boot. Going into this endeavour was definitely an unknown for all of us- not knowing exactly how we would gel, what projects would really unfold, who would emerge as a leader, whether or not people would be able to handle the sometimes tough conditions in Haiti. They definitely rocked it out, and pulled off a lot of projects in our (relatively) short time here.

Starting with our time at Haiti Communitère and making the Ubunto blox cleaning station and the new hen house, to going to Deslandes and finishing the compost toilet building to painting the earth block school, the group jumped in enthusiastically and met their challenges. We were only sorry that Centre Inspiration Jeunesse (CIJ) couldn’t get wood there for us in order to make doors for the washrooms. Alas, we finished all that we possibly could.

Our work day would start somewhere around 8 or 8:30 am until around noon- early morning is one of the cooler times of day. By noon, the heat was generally unbearable (highs of over 30º every day, with little to no shade cover. We worked straight through the first few days (with a lunch break!), but soon found that we needed a mid day break, and would break for two or three hours, returning to work by late afternoon and working until dusk. This proved to be the best way to survive, and was by far, the coolest time of day to work.

Our jobsite was had constant spectators- mostly youth, but also some adults. Kids were keen to help out. Haitian kids don’t have a lot of toys, and are content to spend long periods of time just hanging out with adults. I think they especially enjoyed spending time with us, as we gave them lots of postive attention. Many kids pitched in to help with various tasks at the jobsite, such as collecting straw for plaster, mixing plaster, painting, and cleaning. They are extremely observant- they carefully watch how you do a task, then pick up a tool (without being asked) and replicate the job. It’s uncanny how good they are at that!

The community in Deslandes is really appreciative our the work that we did there, and of our interactions with them. We were the first invited group to go to Deslandes (who weren’t funders), so we were testing new waters all round. There are recommendations and suggestions from us and from the folks in Deslandes for how to improve the experience for future groups- but we sure were treated well there.

I feel like our venture there was successful- beyond achieving building goals, it was about being integrated in village life for a couple of weeks, of laughing with the community, of playing with kids,  of knowing what water shortages are like, what extreme heat is like, and having to accept that there are always going to be hungry people in such a community, and that we can’t help everyone. We have completed an 8 stall composting toilet facility that is desperately needed in the community, and this model is being replicated in some of the poorest areas in Port au Prince, so we can be proud of our little bit that we have done while here. The lasting impressions of the beauty of the landscape of the Artibonite River, the smiling faces of the children we saw daily, and the beautiful people we connected won’t soon be forgotten.

Strange place to wake up

Haiti is truly a wonderful, wacky place to spend time. I was awakened at 5am (actually I was already awake) by loud piano music and singing- yet another early morning church service. I'm told that they don't actually advertise these services- the loudspeakers do that for them!

Life here at Haiti Communit¡ere is much quieter with my group gone- they all flew home yesterday, and I must say, they brought a lot of new life to this place.

The air quality here is extremely poor- if there's not garbage burning (which in the city, there almost always is, and that usually plastic fumes), really inefficient gas vehicles and diesel plumes from traffic, and, when you're driving, you are breathing in both of these things, in addition to breathing in the fine particulates of the often times dirt roads.
...all of this adds up to really unhealthy air that you breathe in all day. I'm not sure I could stand up to a long term stint here, unless I spent most of that time in a remote community in the mountains, where air would be cleaner, and garbage would be less prevalent period. I have a deep raspy cough and wheezy breathing that goes into my lungs that don't feel like a cold at all- I'm sure it's just from breathing in contaminants.

Haiti is a strange place to navigate- with complicated relationships, code of conduct, and politics. Before my group left, we talked about the dynamics of the village we stayed in, and how difficult it was sometimes to understand why certain things were happening. I expect not to understand what is going on, and even then, it can be frustrating at times. Just working with one or two Haitians, and trying to pass on instructions or guidance to do a job can be a huge amount of work. I guess I'm starting to feel a little tired- coordinating a group for 3 weeks takes a certain amount of energy, as does leading a team of Haitian builders. It will be good to go back to Desandes and just be responsible for me. My group didn't really require much at all, but nonetheless, there's a part of my brain that was always aware, and 'on' regarding them.

And so now, at 6:02, I wait for my 6:00 ride to come pick me up. Last time, it took two hours for the ride to get here, so we'll see where it lands this time...no gas shortage, but apparently there are some demonstrations happening in some places downtown. Oh, here he is- youpi!