HAITI FRIENDS - HTRIP Nursery in Deschapelles Haiti

A couple of months ago on my last trip to Haiti I visited with the HTRIP staff at the central nursery in Deschapelles. Here under the shade of flamboyant branches thousands of seeds sprout out of small recycled plastic bags. This is one of several nurseries we have in Haiti. Dispersed among the nurseries we have more than 400,000 seedlings sprouting before we distribute them for planting among the 2015 graduates of the HTRIP program. May 1st we had our graduation with more than 1,000 graduates. 

Here we mix soil and compost which we use to fill recycled water bags for seed germination. 

Here we sift the dirt through a screen to remove rocks and break up large chunks. 

we also germinate certain varieties in elevated boxes like this one. 

We amass thousands of bags with rich soil and place seeds we collected from the end of the previous season. 

Over time the seedlings sprout and when they are ready we distribute them among our participants who plant them on their land. Our technicians continue to work with participant communities for the following 10 years tracking the growth and health of the trees. We are now in our 9th year and have more than 2,000,000 trees planted. Each are accounted for and are monitored and studied. 

Foreign aid in Haiti making a difference

IN HAITI: A farmer who will benefit from a new water-diversion dam just outside Port-au-Prince walks through his field.

IN HAITI: A farmer who will benefit from a new water-diversion dam just outside Port-au-Prince walks through his field.

Foreign aid in Haiti making a difference

BY JEAN-ROBERT ESTIMÉ JESTIME@WINNER.HT  02/25/2015 6:58 PM 
 

It can be easy to be cynical about foreign aid in Haiti, but a deeper look reveals that Haiti has made real progress in recent years. President Michel Martelly’s inauguration of a world-class water diversion dam just outside Port-au-Prince this month is an example of the kind of progress that the American taxpayer makes possible and yet is seldom aware of.

The Rivière Grise, where the new water-diversion dam was built, is a fast, flood-prone river that supplies irrigation water to an important agricultural area called the Cul-de-Sac plain.

When a hurricane destroyed the original dam in 1978, thousands of farmers in nearby Cul-de-Sac were left without a permanent structure to divert water year-round into their irrigation system and to protect them from floods. This lack of infrastructure limited their ability to grow crops during the dry season and made them vulnerable to destructive flooding during hurricanes and heavy rainfall.

I personally witnessed the devastation caused by floods in 2012, when Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy struck within months of each other. The river ate away at the banks before my eyes, and I was reminded of just how vulnerable these farmers were to climate shocks.

Earlier this month, President Martelly, USAID, U.S.-based development firm Chemonics, and engineering firm CH2M Hill formally inaugurated a brand new water-diversion dam on the site of the old dam. Designed to withstand twice the destructive power of the worst hurricane to strike Haiti in the past 50 years, the $8.3 million dam brings a big return on investment and could serve as a model for flood prevention and improving agriculture across Haiti. 

This dam alone, along with 25 miles of rehabilitated canals in the Rivière Grise irrigation system, will ensure year-round irrigation for 20,000 acres, allow more than 12,000 farmers to grow up to three crops per year instead of just one or two, and protect 50,000 people from flooding.

From an engineering perspective, the structure is a first in Haiti. Beyond including a nearly 500-yard barrage, water-control gate, sediment basin and spillway, it introduces to Haiti a technology called “interlocking spurs.” These are essentially arms of sheet pile and mounded earth that jut into the river.

They work by slowing water and concentrating it in the center of a riverbed, and have been used in other countries to protect riverbanks and reduce flooding. They were not part of the original design of the dam on the Rivière Grise. But after the chief engineer also witnessed the effects of Sandy, he added spurs to supplement the gabions and enhanced the infrastructure to withstand even greater force. 

The entire water-diversion structure was constructed in nine months using steel sheet piles instead of concrete, which cut construction time in half and reduced costs without sacrificing quality.

Perhaps most important, Haiti’s new dam and rehabilitated irrigation system are set up to be managed in a sustainable manner by the very people they are meant to benefit. Haiti’s Ministry of Agriculture owns the dam and is responsible for its maintenance, but to control the gate and to maintain and operate the Rivière Grise irrigation system, USAID and Chemonics established and trained a water user’s association made up of local farmers. 

The association is responsible for collecting the $10 annual user fee per acre for maintenance and management of the irrigation system. Having already seen their productivity double from better access to water and new farming techniques, farmers overwhelmingly support the association and are willing to pay the fee.

The dam is great news for the people of Haiti and a step in the right direction to boosting the country’s agricultural production. There is still a lot of work to do, but progress is not hard to see if you know where to look.

JEAN-ROBERT ESTIMÉ IS CHEMONICS’ DIRECTOR OF THE USAID-FUNDED FEED THE FUTURE-WEST/WINNER PROJECT IN HAITI. PREVIOUSLY, HE SERVED AS HAITI’S MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, DEPUTY MINISTER OF FINANCE, AND AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE. HE IS THE SON OF FORMER PRESIDENT DUMARSAIS ESTIMÉ.


Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article11170820.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

The Brasserie Quartier Latin - Petionville - Great Sunday Brunch

BY BEE SCHINDLER

It was the second day in Haiti. We woke up at different times - Eddie already in the Hotel Karibe garden, drinking coffee and checking in on the world on his laptop. By the time I moseyed down and grabbed a cup of joe with a spoonful of raw sugar, we were thinking of our day, and getting ready for food to break the evening's fast.

Very different than the wintery mix in Pittsburgh, the day was clear and warm. Eddie and I drove through the winding city streets, headed to Brasserie Quartier Latin, a favorite brunch spot for folks visiting or living in and around its Petionville location.

We walked through the main restaurant, past a spiral staircase against a red, white and blue striped wall - it's horizontal spaces used by people over time who left their mark using pen and marker to say hello or leave their name. 

"Sascha"

"Jasmine"

"Love this place"

Thoughts and ramblings scrolled along the wall as we made our way to the sun-lit back patio - a bricked area with tables and umbrellas. The water came to the table in wine goblets, its refreshing liquid floating the ice. We were seated promptly in the middle of the space, with the best view of the other guests. Next to us a group of friends cheersed and drank mimosas. I ordered the same, while Eddie had a bloody Mary. As we picked out our meals and the server dropped off our brunch selection to the chef, we breathed in the moment. The outdoor dining in Haiti is fantastic - the birds were chirping in the tall mango tree towering above our heads, while real live, planted-in-the-ground palmtrees swayed in the afternoon air. It was magic. 

I got up to take photos, finding myself at a back corner of the patio, a large mural of painted tulips adorned a back wall. I didn't know at the time that it would be a unique experience to see mural art around the city that wasn't an ad for a cellphone or a fizzy drink. I liked the tone of the muted reds and yellows. In the background, a jazz band picked up their instruments and began playing a song that was part Frank Sinatra, part reggae. The band was made up of a four-artist troupe ranging in age and style. They were really talented, and as sipped my mimosa I couldn't believe this paradise.

Thinking it could get no better, the food arrived.

Being a vegetarian in Haiti was interesting. Up to this point, I had a couple of rounds of cheesy breads, many tries of fried plantains, and copious amounts of spicy pikliz. I had fantastic pizza the night before at Papaye - mixing bites of pikliz with the pizza was a new way for me to enjoy one of my favorite meals. At Quartier Latin I ordered a caprese sandwich with a side salad. The cheese and tomatoes blending perfectly on a crusted baguette. Eddie went for the brunch eggs benedict, which looked glorious in its freshness. His side of potatoes perfectly sauteed. 

The brunch was filling in more ways than one. It set off the trip by inviting us in to Haiti's sun soaked opportunities to explore the country's food and people and music. I would be back, and I'd bring my marker to say thanks on the eatery's walls.

Haiti Cultural Exchange - Haiti Film Fest starts May 7th

Thursday, May 7th: Haiti Film Fest Opening Night at DROM NYC

Join HCX for the Haiti Film Fest Opening Night on Thursday, May 7th at DROM NYC. Invited guests include filmmakers, industry leaders, celebrity guests and YOU! This evening will be a celebration of Haitian cinema featuring screenings of select short films and special live musical performances.

Featuring

Hosted by: Carel Pedre

Featured DJ: Hard Hittin Harry

Live Music Opener: Sanba Zao

Musical Headliner: Ioan Delice

Opening Night Film Screenings

Freedom

by Matthew Brown

New York Premiere

 

La Veuve

by Wood-Jerry Gabriel

Ciné Institute Graduate

 

Click here to purchase your tickets today!

General Admission – $50
VIP Admission – $125
Haiti Film Fest Patron Admission (includes 4 VIP tickets) – $500

 Click here to view the full
Haiti Film Fest screening schedule!

 

For Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact:
Erika Pettersen, Development Manager at erika@haiticulturalx.org

For Media & Community Partnerships, please contact:
Jessica Tong, Programs & Outreach Coordinator at programs@haiticulturalx.org

HCX | Haiti Film Fest Opening Night
DATE/TIME: Thursday, May 7th | 6:00pm – midnight
Exclusive Pre-Event Reception | 6:00 – 7:30pm
LOCATION: DROM NYC | 85 Avenue A, NYC | Map
Take the F train to 2nd Ave.
(closest station to venue)

Check out Haiti Film Fest 2013 by clicking here!
 

 

HCX is proud to announce the Third Biennial Haiti Film Fest taking place in venues throughout the city and kicking things off with the Haiti Film Fest Opening Night on Thursday, May 7th at DROM NYC.  Hosted by Haitian radio personality, Carel Pedre of CHOKARELLA; featuring short films Freedom by Matthew Brown and La Veuve by Wood-Jerry Gabriel, with performances by Sanba Zao of Lakou Mizik and Ioan Delice, New York’s newest and hottest underground rap artist.

____________________

 HCX | Haiti Film Fest Advisory Committee

Arnold Antonin ·  Fritz Archer · Marc Baptiste · David Belle · Edwidge Danticat
Jonathan Demme · Guetty Felin · Henry Louis Gates Jr. · Curtis John · Jerry Lamothe
Anne Lescot · Michelle Materre · Michèle Stephenson  · Patrick Ulysse
Marc Henry Valmond · Frantz Voltaire

Haitian Times - OP-ED: Embracing Haiti’s Connection To Vodou

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By Emmanuel Alexandre Jr.

Emmanuel Alexandre Jr. is a Haitian-American filmmaker and instructor living in New York City.He earned a bachelors degree in media studies from Hunter College and a MFA in cinematography and documentary directing from The City College of New York. He was awarded a Bert Saperstein Grant, which allowed him to direct his first documentary film “Welcome to Batey 6.” 

Emmanuel Alexandre Jr.

The word “Vodoun” or Vodou has always had a negative connotation for me. As a boy I was taught to fear the word. I would never speak about it aloud.  I felt it was shameful. Ask a Haitians about Vodou and you get a sense that the person wants to run for the hills.  We’ve been taught to fear “Hougan” and “Manbo”. They’re seen as sorcerers who deal in the occult and “black magic” for their own personal gain.

I’ve always wondered why?

We Haitians wish to disassociate ourselves from that word. We feverishly make the “sign of the cross”  – we raise our hands to the sky in praise of the Lord – and beg Him to save us.

We would comically use French words like “pardon” or “bien sur” to signal that our social status and education level put us “above” such superstition.  Those feelings ran contradictory to what we were living and experiencing as a people.

I was told tales of “Simbi nan dlo” – the water protector or La Sirene, a character who lures men or children into the water.

The sounds of drums from miles away would vibrate deeply into our souls.

All Haitians know the feeling. Men, women, children and elders alike would drop everything and run to cheer the incoming march of a “RaRa” band. Our bodies moved in unison. We smiled freely in exalted happiness. It was an intense, personal feeling.

The Haitian culture that I know is filled with mystical incantations. My mother had rituals that could soothe her son’s nightmares.

Anyone from the corner shoe shine man to the local police officer could tell you in a heartbeat of effective cures for the body’s ailments.

Detaching ourselves from cultural practices that has been passed down from generations is practically impossible.  It’s virtually etched and embedded into our DNA.  The cognitive dissonance in our psyche is not easily reconciled.

When I moved to the States that feeling of rejection was intensified.  We could no longer hide behind that religious or social mask. We’re all Haitians – that name Haitian, however along with that word – Vodou carried a whole new meaning when spoken in our new world. Each can often imply something unspoken – something that is “unclean” or to be feared.

I’ve always wondered – why?

Haitians in America are moved to, not only, reject our African roots – but also to fear them.  Too often, when we should be proud of our strength and accomplishments, we “buckle under” criticism and perceptions that others have about us.  Words hurt. Sometimes they sting so much that we start to believe them.

Vodou is a very old and complex religion. It defies description in sound bytes or academic jargon.  It carries the romance of our ancestral African heritage.  It contains fragments of our interwoven belief systems. These, sometimes, took on new and different shapes as a result of the transatlantic slave trade.  The religion is believed to have its roots as far back as Ancient Egypt.

In Haiti, the religion was forbidden by the colonial masters fearing that its “mystical powers” would invigorate the slaves to retaliate against them.  In 1935 the religion was once again outlawed and forced underground.  In 1987, that ban was lifted with the drafting of the new constitution after the departure of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier from Haiti in 1986.

In 2003, then Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide, a former Catholic Priest, finally recognized Vodou as an official religion in Haiti.  However, that distinction was short-lived.  After the horrific earthquake in 2010, Hogan and Mambo were persecuted and the religion was partly blamed for the disaster.

Vodou never really had a chance to right the wrong perceptions projected onto it.  In America the word Vodou became “Voodoo”, which is synonymous to witchcraft.  “Voodoo dolls” and “zombies” were too often the plots in many Hollywood movies.  What was religious and cultural expressions back home is perceived as a cult. Its practitioners are painted as primitive people at best, often as blind followers stuck in rituals of the past.

In reality, the religion is further from these preconceived notions. Vodou is largely based on the principle of family and the relationship with the ancestors.  These ancestors are family members that have passed on – over time they are “canonized” much like in Catholicism and become the “Lwa”.  These are the spirits that we know of today.  The practitioners refer to each other as family and they pay great respect to the elders of that family because of their wisdom, guidance and their position.

Another misconstrued aspect of Vodoun is the reverence to nature.  In fact, each Lwa or spirit has a reference to the natural elements – for example “Simbi,” refers to water, “Ogou,” refers to fire, “Ayida-Weddo,” refers to the wind and so on.   Manbo and Hougan are skillful herbalists, part of their role is to be a conduit between the Lwa and practitioner to offer cures for comment ailments.


By far, the most romanced aspect of Vodou is the idea of the possession.  The Vodou religion is largely based on the belief of the interconnection between the living and the dead or “life continuous“.  Practitioners believe that the spirits exist amongst us and the Lwa can be summoned or appear within the living through a practitioner or a priest.   Once a believer is possessed or “mounted” the Lwa uses him or her to communicate and navigate through the living.  For this reason the religion often engages in great celebrations with lavish offerings.  It is not as a symbolism but an offering to pay respect to a guest of honor.

When I arrived at Souvenance, Haiti in 2014 , I was immediately overwhelmed with awe at the sheer beauty of it all.  It was a stark contrast to the Vodou that we’ve been taught to fear.  The celebration was inviting, the women were glowing with their beautiful white dresses and bright smiles.

The music was entrancing, you can almost be overtaken to another world.   The sun was shining bright, children played in the moist dirt and devotees frolicked around in the rich brown water, hoping to cleanse their bodies and souls of all negativity.  That experience brought me back to the Haiti that I knew growing up and yet I wondered why this was hidden for all the years.

In Djawento, We’re hoping to initiate the work of changing widely held negative perception of Vodou by presenting an honest look at the religion from the inside.  We present to the world images and concepts that continue to inspire us to create.  We wish to shatter these antiquated stereotypes about Haiti.   We’re trying to reintroduce these visual and sensory concepts, hopefully in a way to invoke curiosity and discussion.

I’d like to see more Haitians at home and Haitians around the world embrace their African roots and culture.  I believe that would solve a lot of problems in our society.

The Wealth & Health of Nations

Fascinating graphic that shoes the wealth and health of nations through time. 

http://bost.ocks.org/mike/nations/

Source: Tom Carden, Gapminder.

This is a recreation in D3 of Gapminder’s Wealth & Health of Nations, made famous by Hans Rosling’s memorable 2006 TED talk. It shows the dynamic fluctuation in per-capita income (x), life expectancy (y) and population (radius) of 180 nations over the last 209 years. Nations are colored by geographic region; mouseover to read their names.

As Tom Carden noted, there’s a surprising amount of work that goes into making something look simple. For one, data collected in recent years is consistent, while data prior to 1950 is sparse; although potentially misleading, these visualizations use linear interpolation for missing data points. The lookup for the two interpolation values at each frame is accelerated using bisection of sorted arrays per dimension.

Interested to see how this chart was implemented? View source! Want a fun project? Try adding a Voronoi overlay (as in this airport diagram) to improve mouseover interaction on small targets. Or try a static version, using trails instead of motion.

Kreole Chicken Sauce Recipe

Creole Chicken Sauce

Ingredients 

4 chicken breasts
2 large tablespoons of tomato paste
4 cups of chicken broth
2 large chicken bouillon cubes
1 onion
1 green pepper
Thyme & Parsley tied together in a little bunch
2 cloves of garlic
1 leek
1 tsp of salt
1 hot pepper for taste (take out before serving)

Directions 

Cover chicken with about 6 cups of water, 2 bouillon cubes, and cook. Save broth for sauce. Pestle and mortar 2 or 3 garlic cloves, 1 small leek, and 1 tsp salt. Take1/2 cup of of the broth and put into sauce pan and bring to a boil, add garlic/leek mixture and green pepper, cook 3 minutes, add tomato paste and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Don't burn. Add 3 1/2 cups of chicken broth, parsley and thyme and hot pepper. Bring to boil and cook for 30 to 45 minutes until it starts to boil down a little bit and becomes less watery looking. Spoon over the rice. (The staff uses oil most of the time to fry the garlic mixture, but I prefer less oil and use the broth instead.)

(source) http://www.glahaiti.org/haitian-recipes

“Haiti NOW” Fresh Off the Press

The product of more than two years of research, Haiti Now is a comprehensive resource of culture, history and the built environment.

The Now Institute has been involved in Haiti since 2011. After completing a design for the Make It Right foundation as well as urban design proposal for the city of New Orleans, The Now Institute was invited to Haiti look for potential projects for urban design and renewal. To understand the demanding challenges of spatial understanding and design in Haiti, The Now Institute started with an immense amount of research that has been transformed into a 732 visual almanac titled “Haiti Now”. It is our hope that this book can provide a foundation of knowledge and understanding of Haiti and many issue of development to unite a broad collection of scholars and professionals including planners, developers, aid workers, artists, political entities and cultural investigators.

“Haiti Now” includes a foreword by The Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean.and contributions by former Haitian Prime Minister Michèle Pierre-Louis, Frederick Mangones, Kesner Pharel, Jean W. Wiener, Nadege T. Clitandre, Nathalie Jolivert, Herve Sabin, and Iwan Baan.

The book can be purchased HERE.

Easy Haitian PIKLIZ Recipe

Haitian PIKLIZ

(A twist to your coleslaw! Hot and Spicy!) 

Ingredients

  • 1 small white cabbage
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 1 or 2 bonnet hot pepper for mild or 4 for HOT!  If you can't find Bonnet Peppers, you can substitute Habanero Peppers (remove seeds or it may be too hot!)
  • 3 Shallots 
  • Green pepper
  • White vinegar enough to cover
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice or lime juice
  • 1 cube chicken bouillon 
  • Seasoning to taste (salt and pepper)

Directions

Peel the carrots. Wash all ingredients and dry them. Cut into julienne cuts. (Our staff grates them)
Add vinegar, lemon juice, bouillon cube, and seasoning. Mix well and taste.
(Avoid water in preparation)

Good with rice, fried plantains, and even on sandwiches!

(source) http://www.glahaiti.org/haitian-recipes

Haiti - Social : Opening of the exhibition «Noctambules : the hidden transcripts

As part of the 7th edition of Transcultural Forum of Contemporary Art which is held around the theme "Creation and counterpowers" from 2 to 11 April in the main cultural areas of the capital http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13515-haiti-culture-7th-transcultural-forum-of-contemporary-art.html the opening of the exhibition "NOCTAMBULES : the hidden transcripts" realized in collaboration with the "La Fondation AfricAméricA" and the Kolektif 509 ill take place on Monday, April 6 at 7:00 pm at the Villa Kalewès, 99 Street Grégoire à Pétion-ville.

The exhibition will ask which social processes mark the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) in Port-au-Prince as deviant and how homosexuality can manifest itself as a powerful counter-culture in this hostile and heteronormative environment ? 

Which are the communal bonds the LGBT in Port-au-Prince create to resist marginalization and heal the wounds of permanent oppression ? Can art be a mechanism to challenge the heteronormative matrix of power by developing particular queer aesthetic sensibilities ? Can we find certain aesthetic codes that resist against a hetero-centrist colonialization of the visual arts? These questions will be discussed in our exhibition through the photographs of Josué Azor, paintings by Mario Benjamin, mixed media by Tessa Mars and a video installation by Maksaens Denis. 

All four artists reflect with their works on homophobia and the violence society exerts on queer people. They reflect on the socio-political disobedience of men and women in Haiti who search for possibilities to escape social discrimination and oppression by a dominant hetero-patriarchy.

(Source) http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13547-haiti-social-opening-of-the-exhibition-noctambules-the-hidden-transcripts.html

Dous Beniyè

Dous Beniyè (Sweet Fritters)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup pure fruit puree (well-ripened bananas, mango, apricot, or peach)
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • granulated or powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

Mix flour, baking soda, and salt, set aside.  In a large bowl, mix the mashed fruit with the milk, add the sugar and beat until smooth. Beat the flour mixture into the fruit mixture until smooth.

Heat the oil over medium high setting and drop the batter by 1/2 Tablespoons into hot oil.  Do not overload.  Fry until golden, about 1 minute each side.  Use a slotted spoon to remove from the pan.  Place on paper towels to drain.

Sprinkle with granulated or powdered sugar and serve!

These are GREAT and we love them.  They make a nice snack.  We made ours banana fritters.

(source) http://www.glahaiti.org/haitian-recipes

THANK YOU Little's Shoes and Merrell Boots for the Haiti Friends Donation

BY EDWARD RAWSON

For as long as I can remember I've been shopping a Little's Shoes in the heart Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh. It's owned by a local family, the Sigals. I went to high school with Justin Sigal, and he is now very involved with the business. They sell some of the best shoes on the market. They have great sales people that have been working there for years and feels like a family. I shopped with them for shoes almost exclusively my entire childhood. Our deputy director Bee Schindler once worked there in high school. We also met Starry Sprenkle working there before she moved to Haiti with us and help us start the HTRIP program. 

Some of the nicest boots they sell there at Littles are Merrell Boots. So with all that said, it is a great pleasure to announce that Merrell Boots and Little's Shoes has made a donation of brand-new Merrell Boots for entire HTRIP staff. To truly appreciate what a great gift this is one must first understand the terrain and conditions, which our HTRIP staff works every day. They climb up some of the steepest and rockiest slopes in the mountainsides of the Artibonite in Haiti. They dig in the earth with local farmers using hand tools. They're on their feet most of every day. Having brand-new, super-comfortable, ultra-supportive boots will be a game changer for our staff. From Haiti Friends and the HTRIP program we THANK YOU Little's Shoes and Merrell Boots. Great Donation from great people!