“He says with soft eloquence that when he was young the mountains were the color of the palms of his hands. They were bleached and white.”
Folks,
It doesn’t take long for a CODEP visitor to notice Rene Decime. This isn’t because he is noisy or outspoken. Quite the opposite. It’s because he is extraordinarily quiet and calm. This composure signals that he listens and knows something about Haitian mountains and trees that you — and most people — have probably missed.
“Michael,” he says to me. “You have to talk to those mahogany seedlings in your backyard. They need encouragement. And some more water.”
Rene grew up in CODEP. He says with soft eloquence that when he was young the mountains were the color of the palms of his hands. They were bleached and white.
Now, as an Animator, Rene is all about the trees. He hauls sacks of rotten limes and other fruits from the market so the seeds can be picked out for drying and planting. He knows how best to space trees. He explains that — when the terrain is favorable — planting in a grid helps seedlings grow straight and tall. Once he ran an experiment with me. We planted seedlings side-by-side with and without fertilizer. The seedlings with the fertilizer grew noticeably bigger and faster than the unfertilized ones, supporting the Animators’ plea for supplies of fertilizer.
No fertilizer.
With fertilizer.
Rene’s children have grown up with CODEP and are grounded in its environmental and community values. All three attend the CODEP School. This summer they were visiting the building site where Rene as lead carpenter was constructing an incentive house. It will be home to Rene’s mother-in-law who has been a CODEP worker for a full 30 years. Imagine that. Three generations of CODEP people.
Listen to Rene. When he speaks of trees – what they need and what they promise – he is whispering to all of us.
Michael Anello
Executive Director
