As rural communities in Haiti struggle with the immediate needs of about 600,000 refugees from Port-au-Prince, the Colorado Haiti Project has begun working to solve long-term housing and hunger problems.
“The rebuilding of Haiti is going to take a long time and will probably involve a very significant, sustained effort,” said Paul Casey, executive director of the Colorado nonprofit group.
The Colorado Haiti Project has worked for more than two decades in Petit Trou de Nippes, a rural comunity 80 miles west of Port-au-Prince. The group’s work has been primarily in education, health, vocational training and support for women. The group also has worked on developing a clean-water supply for the community.
The nonprofit team now is working on agronomy and homebuilding proj ects.
Sustainable food production
The team includes 37 Haitian women who work at the grassroots level in the food-distribution network.
“They talked about the need to increase local food production because they knew aid won’t be sustained over time but the need would continue,” Casey said.
As a solution, they are exploring an agronomy project that would include creating a large garden at the St. Paul’s School, which opened in 2006. Also, there are hopes of recruiting experts in agroforestry in order to plant food-producing trees.
Strong ways to build homes
Nic Remington, a structural engineer with Denver-based firm Martin/ Martin, traveled to Haiti with the team after the Jan. 12 earthquake and is focused on new building methods.
One idea is based on Asian design, in which strong houses are made from bamboo.
“It’s very easy to cut with menial tools, and no nails are needed,” he said. “It can be tied together and is easily bendable into arches, which are very strong.”
They also are developing a building-skills vocational-training program for men.
“They can help in rebuilding the homes in their area, and they’ll also be very employable in other areas of the country,” Casey said.
Sherry Boyd, a building-industry marketer based in Evergreen, recently raised $11,000 for the building program at the Concrete Decor Show in Phoenix.
“There were a lot of architects, designers and other people in the building industry, and the idea really resonated with them,” she said. “There is so much need for rebuilding, and people can improve their skills in the process.”
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
