With sufficient land available for forestry and agriculture, enough rain, and a young population that yearns for a better future, the possibilities for Haiti are enormous.
We want to assist communities in creating this better future by working together to establish green pearls: safe and thriving communities that are supported by a healthy balance between human needs, natural resources and economic development.
The first pearl in La Vallée-de-Jacmel, in southern Haiti, is in its third year now. Work on a second pearl in Corail will start at the beginning of 2022. Preparations for another two pearls are underway. Together, these four initial pearls will serve as the foundation and inspiration for the thirty pearls to be created in the next twenty years.
Landscape restoration is central to our approach. In collaboration with the local population and experts, we aim to reforest eroded mountainsides, install small dams to regulate the flow of rainwater, and work to identify and establish new sources of income. Alongside this, disaster response teams are being trained and schools are being upgraded to serve as emergency shelters.
This approachhas already proven itself. In a similar project in Côtes-de-Fer, a system of small dams protected the lower-lying areas from flooding and landslides when Hurricane Matthew struck in 2016. Rainwater now also better infiltrates in the soil, which in turn increases agricultural yields. The situation in Côtes-de-Fer has improved so significantly that people who previously moved to the city are returning.
