The rainy season is starting and we've been seeing a lot of threatening, dark clouds that occasionally will deliver a heavy, brief downpour. We have not received any long days of rain yet, but what we have received is helping the newly planted crops grow.
Today the administrative staff at l'Hopital St. Boniface made a visit to our recently-planted community garden project to view the progress that is being made. The project is funded by a donor in Texas and its purpose is to test different growing techniques for vegetable production.
A large plot of land for the project has been donated for use by Pastor Jean Thomas and his neighbours and is located near the water in Dugue. The project also received a large diesel pump from Food for the Poor to provide irrigation from the stream to the crops. The garden is being overseen by an agricultural technician and the labour is provided by members of the community. Part of the crop will be used to feed patients in the hospital and also will be used at local schools to provide the children with a healthy lunch.
The Fond des Blancs region is not traditionally a high vegetable production area because it is mountainous, rocky and dry. It is our hope that this garden will demonstrate to our community that it is possible to successfully grow vegetables here. The impact would be economic, with more production for local farmers to take to market, and also help improve the health of the population as these nutritious foods would be more readily available.
Photos of the garden are posted here.
[1 comments]
Ellen,
Is there any chance cotton could grow in Fond des Blancs?
I am the artist that has helped design projects for the d’Artisanat for years. It would be great to have raw materials for projects at hand, and not have to import everything we use into Haiti. If people think there is a chance and know of a way to get cotton plants or seeds, please plant a few test plants for me. Funds are availible in my account at Cooperative d’Artisanat.
By Ellen Evett on April 20 2010, 11:23am
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