This used to be a garden...
It used to be green, and provide food. Now, like so much of Haiti’s infamously
deforested Northwest, it is a stripped and eroded wasteland.
Looks pretty bad.
Is it a lost cause?
We don’t think so.
But first a little history and context:
The history of Haiti’s deforestation began all the way back
in the colonial period, escalating with the establishment of coffee plantations
in the 1730’s. Furthermore, after Haiti
won its independence from the French in 1804, the government exported timber to
help pay a heavy compensation due to France in the conditions of the treaty.
However, the primary modern cause of deforestation is the
massive consumption of charcoal and firewood for cooking purposes. “Charcoal and firewood provide 85 to 90
percent of Haiti’s energy for home and industiral use…” [Agroforestry and Sustainable Resource Conservation in Haiti: A Case Study].
Why is deforestation such a big deal? Not only is it just plain ugly, but it causes alarming soil erosion and even changes the climate.
Did you know that the trees of the Amazon rain forest
generate up to 50% of the forest’s rainfall?
Now, imagine what would happen if you reduced the number of trees in the
Amazon rainforest down to less than 2% of what they are now. I’m sure someone can actually do that math,
but you probably don’t need to in order to see that the rainfall would be
drastically affected. That is in fact
what has happened in Haiti.
You may have seen images such as this one before, demonstrating the stark difference at the Haiti-Dominican border. Haiti is on the left.
Once lush and forested, today less than 2% of Haiti’s land
has tree cover. Drought and erosion are
not a happy combination.
“The most direct effect of deforestation was soil erosion. In turn, soil erosion lowered the productivity of the land, worsened droughts, and eventually led to desertification, all of which increased the pressure on the remaining land and trees.” [Library of Congress Country Studies: Haiti]
Enter a dream…two dreams, actually.
When Samuel Schäfer first visited the Plateau in 2007, he looked at the stripped mountains, and envisioned living on those mountains and replanting them. (At the time, his thought was grapevines, as they tend to grow in dry climates by the sea.)
Several years later, Manis (who, consequently, remembers
those very mountains when they were covered
in trees) and Judy had been discussing an idea of purchasing parcels of the
eroded, washed out land beyond the airstrip and planting mesquite trees. If properly managed, these mesquite trees
could still be used to make charcoal, but in a sustainable way without
destroying the entire tree. The land
would slowly become forested, and the economy of the Plateau could be
stimulated at the same time as families in need were given permission to cut
portions of the trees to make charcoal.
Samuel heard Manis and Judy’s idea, and decided to take it
on. He has purchased a large parcel of
the eroded land, and—working with a couple young guys from the area—has begun
to give it a facelift.
He, Jean-Robert, Charilien, and Wisnik have cleared and
leveled the land and arranged it into sunken plots to better hold rain water
run-off. This is no small task!
Already they have begun planting—casting the seeds of trees
that can sprout and grow in the dry climate, including mesquite. Samuel plans to
establish a tree nursery as well.
When Samuel leaves in 2016 to go back to Germany, he aims to
have the trees growing, the nursery functioning, and management for the land
and nursery established and running smoothly.
At that time, he will turn the project over to Lemuel. Hopefully, as the people in our community see an example of the difference reforestation makes and the value in it, they will be inspired to take similar initiative in planting trees.
If you would like more details, or would like to donate to
Samuel’s efforts, please visit his fundraising page at http://www.gofundme.com/Samuels-trees.
Can we keep dreaming?
One day, Lemuel would love to buy up the remaining land
beyond the airstrip. It’s quite a large
expanse of barren land being rapidly eroded with each rainfall. But let me paint the picture of what we envision
it could look like:
Imagine a backhoe loader or some such machinery quickly and
easily filling in the gullies with earth, levelling the ground, and arranging
it into water-catching plots. Picture fences
being built and trees planted, starting with the tougher, drought-tolerant
ones. Then, as the trees grow, envision the land designated
for different purposes: some for keeping livestock and chickens, some perhaps for grasses to feed the livestock, and some solely
for trees. People from the community find
employment tending the trees and caring for the livestock. These people/families build their
house on the parcel for which they are accountable. Using principles Lemuel already employs in
the community in livestock projects, the trees or animals being tended begin not
only to benefit Lemuel by supplying commodities (charcoal, meat, eggs, etc) and supplementary income, but also
provide for the families. Other families benefit too as Lemuel supplements livestock feed by purchasing the sorghum stalks left over after harvest, thereby increasing the value of yields. And slowly, a desolate waste becomes a place sustaining life…
Beautiful picture? Yes. Easy?
No. Fast? No.
Possible? Yes. Absolutely guaranteed? No.
The most urgent of our needs? No.
Critical for the future? Yes.
There are certainly some intimidating barriers to
overcome. There are other immediate and
urgent needs all around us constantly screaming for our attention. Resources are severely limited.
But without a dream, no vision develops. And without vision, nothing changes.
And we would like at times not only to inform you of what is
happening now, but to invite you into our crazy dreams for the future...into
seeing things the way they could be. (Remember this post from a year ago: Running through Waist-High Mud...and Dreams?)
Some God may establish for His Kingdom; others, perhaps not
or not yet. Please pray for true,
supernatural wisdom and humility for us as we juggle dreams and needs and
limitations, seeking God’s will and glory in it all.
We haven’t reached the mountains….yet.
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Sources used for this blog post:
Agroforestry and Sustainable Resource Conservation in Haiti: A Case Study by Nathan C. McClintock
Library of Congress Country Studies: Haiti by Boulos A. Malik
And a presentation on "Vision" given by Russ Cline on Sunday, October 12, 2014.
