Development, Environment, Program available at CHF International - 2010 Haiti Earthquake (SHELTER SUPPLIES/DEBRIS REMOVAL/SHELTER CONSTRUCTION)

CHF Continues Reforestation and Erosion Control Efforts in the Rural Mountains of Haiti

Source: CHF International

Date: 16 Oct 2010

October 16, 2010—CHF is completing the third week of a three-month soil conservation and reforestation project in Marre Danjour, a rural mountain community high above downtown Petit-Goave.

Only 5 kilometers south of downtown Petit-Goave, the farming community of 5,000 is also the site of a crucial watershed - it hangs directly over the Riviere La Digue, the largest river in the area, and one that constantly threatens the city center during the rainy season. While the riverbed marking the lower boundary of the project site lies 300 meters (1,000 feet) above sea level, the upper reaches of the watershed climb up to more than 1,000 meters (3,300 feet). The area is the origin point of much flooding in the area, so CHF is installing terracing and vegetation that will mitigate against topsoil erosion as well as slow the velocity of water runoff.

CHF's work at Marre Danjour covers 50 hectares of land and will, when complete, account for 10 kilometers of stone terracing. Additionally, CHF will use the terraces to plant 2,000 fruit saplings, 2,000 hardwood saplings, 1,000 bamboo shoots, and 75,000 seedlings of various erosion-mitigating grasses and tubers.

CHF currently employs 132 residents of Marre Danjour to work on the project, each of whom receives at least US$5 per day for their effort. In addition to stabilizing the topsoil and preventing catastrophic downstream flooding, workers will take home a combined US$42,000 in salaries alone, a major stimulus for the economy of this rural community.

Since launching work in Petit-Goave in 2007, CHF has completed soil conservation and reforestation projects that have protected 250 hectares of land, all of it in rural mountains and foothills.

CHF's project at Marre Danjour is paid for by a generous private donation from the Brickman Group, a U.S.-based landscaping specialist. Established in 1939, Brickman is a leader in the commercial landscape industry with over 160 branches serving 29 states in the US. For further information, please visit their web site at www.brickmangroup.com.

Edit | Back to Conditions | Back to Facility