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!

A flurry of activity

Sitting outside relaxing after work, with avid story teller Osprival Descommes, founder of CIJ

February 22, 2012

There is a refreshing cool breeze tonight, which is quite out of the norm for here. It was yet another stinking hot day here on the jobsite- we really can’t do any work between noon and 3pm- it’s just too hot. So, we worked from 3 until about 6 tonight- much better. Oh, and of course, we worked the morning shift too.

We have had to shift our goals a few times here…everything happens slower than you think, and even when you know this, you can get caught.

February 24, 2012

The crunch is on- we have one more full day with the entire crew to finish whatever we can, and then one day with a partial crew, as we will be traveling to Port au Prince on two different days. This first Endeavour crew to come to Deslandes has been terrific- everyone has adapted quite well to the pace of life here- we have realised that while it’s wonderful to set goals, they aren’t always attainable- sometimes due to lack of materials, or budget, or energy. It is quite draining to work in a really hot climate when you aren’t used to it, but everyone has done well.

We set a goal to finish the compost toilet facility, and will achieve it, but for making the doors. That was out of our control, as they said they couldn’t find wood locally. This was pretty disappointing to the crew, as we really wanted to have the toilets completely ready for the compost toilet folks to come and install the toilets & compost buckets. We’re close, but not quite there. We did manage to finish the clay/straw on the building, do all of the partition block walls (which took longer than any of us had anticipated), two coats of plaster, and today, JP is doing a sculpture on one side of the toilet building.

Laying partition walls out of compressed earth block

We have had lots of help here and there on the project- especially with collection of materials, and doing jobs that might be more fun, but as for the really dirty jobs, it’s hard to get people to join in. It seems to be cultural- people don’t like to get really dirty here. We always have plenty of spectators at the jobsite- a mixture of kids and adults. There is lots of curiousity and praise in what we are doing there.

Plastering the toilet building- the jobsite is a busy place!

We added some green trim around doors & windows to break up the yellow

We are also in the midst of painting the first school building- it’s rather an experimental paint, with nopal cactus juice, pigment, and water. The colours are vibrant, but it’s a difficult paint to work with- it involves lots of pressure, and going over the same spot several times to work the pigment in- the cactus juice seems to suspend the pigment. We’ll try to paint a clear protective coat over the paint (likely a glue/water paint) to preserve the finish. Unfortunately, this was the pigment that Jim provided us with, but no one checked with the community about the colour (big faux pas!). It turns out that one of the nastiest prisons in Haiti was painted a bright yellow, and for Haitians of a certain generation, this colour is still associated with the prisons. We painted the posts green, and put green trim around the doors and windows- this definitely adds something to the building, and cheers it up in a different way. But again, an important reminder to consult a community before moving forward on any project!

We had lots of help painting

We have been most warmly welcomed here in Deslandes, and the relationships with the kids here have had a strong impact on all of us. The kids genuinely love spending time with us, and we each have certain ones who will follow us everywhere. Some of us have been advancing in creole, while others are able to speak in English and be understood just fine.

We’ll be sad to leave Deslandes in a mere two days, but the people of Deslandes will have had as rich an experience as we have in our time here. We look forward to progress reports on the composting toilets.

Our gang, hanging out on the porch after a day of earth block training

JP sculpted a tree onto the side of the building, and Shane did a sun- I forgot my camera in Verrettes, with shots of their finished artwork. 

Movie night in Deslandes

February 18, 2012

Deslandes, Haiti

Movie screen set up using plywood and a sheet

Tonight was the most magical night…maybe the most magical night of my life. Jim & Adriana (Of Tierra y Cal) had a movie night, and they showed Wally (Wall-ee?). 

The movie!

After at least an hour of problem solving (getting the generator going, and all of the projectors talking to one another), they were up and rolling, without sound (well, there was sound through a small set of speakers). I sat with Mimi on my lap, Mischli lying across my lap asleep, and Dine lying on top of Mischli- I was in heaven, and cried a few tears of…I don’t know exactly what emotion as these precious young beings clung on to me- I was joyful and sad all at the same time. The kids laughed heartily at the appropriate times, despite not being able to hear the soundtrack- animation is a beautiful thing!

Captive audience, all ages

I just went out into the field on my own (at 10:15pm) and I can hear another voodoo ceremony drumming across the fields, crickets singing, and a few roosters crowing. All is well as I get myself ready for bed on this Saturday night in Deslandes.