NEWS

With great sorrow I am writing to share the news of the death of Edvy Durandice.

I am currently back in the US after a complicated trip and planning process.

It was a pretty hot day last July.

We were all shocked that someone had ripped out seedlings.

The earthquake has dominated the news but it has not dominated everything.

We went to assess the situation in Les Cayes.

It’s too early to get much news.

There’s a reason you haven’t heard from me recently.

By now everyone has seen the headlines: Haiti is in a state of siege following the assassination of President Moise.

Reforestation here in Haiti has to be done with one eye on animals. Feral goats threaten new seedlings so folks are vigilant about protecting new plantings.

As an American living in Haiti, I constantly navigate cultural and social matters.

I met Madam Enez when she was the cook at the Diklo School construction site where I was working years ago.

Tree planting in Haiti is not a whimsical effort. Our CODEP partners are highly disciplined about reviews, audits, and documentation.

Haiti has been celebrating Flag Day since 1803. It was in May that year that the Congress of Arcahaie brought together the various factions in Haitian society, formed an army, and adopted a flag — all as crucial steps in their revolt against French colonial rule.

The nine young people in the Reforestation Mentoring program are exhausted. Just exhausted. And you can understand why.

This year we have a big plus-up that supports our Arbor Day appeal. It’s a carbon calculator on our website which gives a quick estimate of the number of trees you should plant in order to offset your carbon footprint.

Living in Haiti as I do is wearing. Politics, poverty, lack of services, human drama, and more make each day something of a marathon. Our new Reforestation Mentoring Program, however, has given me a shot of excitement and enjoyment that I, frankly, wasn’t expecting.

Every child knows that by counting the rings of wood, you can estimate the age of a tree. CODEP folks started planting trees over 30 years ago. We know their age but it remains a thrill to measure their growth – whether by “feet” or inches.

When we changed our name to Haiti Reforestation Partnership three years ago, we wanted our name to speak to our mission of reforestation and our core principle of partnership that was reflected mostly by our relationship with CODEP – the group of rural people in Haiti working to reclaim their mountainsides.

Guyland Brioche is a CODEP Animator who has been working to resurrect fishponds. The idea of creating another food source by raising fish was in vogue over a decade ago…. and then the 2010 earthquake damaged or obliterated nearly all of the ones installed across the mountains.

One of Barbarah Cenard’s earliest memories is helping her parents plant a hardwood tree near their house. She didn’t know much about hardwood trees back then as a wee child. Things are different now.

Young People! Five women and four men are building their forestation chops in our new mentoring program. We are having a ball.