GlobalGiving.org: Future Fuels Rebuilding Livelihoods in Haiti

Update: Biomass Briquettes for a Sustainable Haiti

Lauren Frederic — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:11:41 GMT

The Haiti Sustainable Vetiver Initiative utilizes a market-based facilitation and training approach to support the environmental, economic, and community security and development needs of farmers in the Vetiver growing areas of the South of Haiti. EVI builds the capacity, through technical assistance and training, for farmers and distillers of Vetiver oil to adopt sustainable practices and then acquire certifications, such as organic, and recognition for sustainable practices which facilitate access to new markets and international premiums for environmentally and socially positive essential oils. These efforts incorporate environmental and social value directly into the Vetiver Oil Value Chain. The environmental and social added value includes:

Increasing incomes of essential oil crop farmers from market premiums for certified sustainable products
Addressing the effects of climate change, such as increased storm surges, through enhanced watershed management, reforestation, and soil erosion control
Developing alternative, clean energy fuel sources to abate deforestation and provide alternative income sources for farmers through the growth of alternative fuel microenterprises

Beginning in Summer 2009, EVI utilized donor support to travel to Haiti and engage multinational companies in the beauty products and cosmetics industry to encourage increased purchasing of Vetiver from Haiti and to incentivize sustainable practices within the sector, particularly regarding sustainable harvesting. EVI also examined possible income generating supplements for Vetiver farmers through the growth of the sector. This includes the development of biomass briquette technology, which is used as an alternative fuel in the distillation process of Vetiver oil.

In December 2009, EVI visited Haiti to engage with a private sector distiller to facilitate the adoption of organic practices and record keeping systems. This resulted in organic certification for the distiller and its network of over 25,000 growers. The outcome of this technical assistance was increased access to new markets through organic certification and higher incomes based on the organic premium.

After the January 2010 earthquake, EVI's work in the south of Haiti focused on supporting the recovery and sustainable development of Vetiver Essential Oils, and in so doing, revitalizing and expanding an industry that provides livelihoods to so many. In 2010, EVI utilized donor funds to conduct an impact assessment of the earthquake on Vetiver growing areas. This assessment has helped to identify the four key areas that the Haiti Sustainable Vetiver Initiative will focus on:

Food aid and distribution to rural areas impacted by mass migration from urban areas impacted by the January earthquake.
Adoption of sustainable land management and harvesting practices by farmers in the south for the purpose of soil erosion control, increased water access, increased soil fertility, and disaster management and prevention
Increased incomes for farmers through the diversification of economic activities
Promotion of alternative fuel sources to prevent further deforestation and avoid health risks associated with the use of wood and charcoal cooking fuel

EVI’s 2011 activities focus on the development of a Business Model and Financing Strategy for sustainable biomass fuel briquettes. EVI’s team has dedicated significant time building this social enterprise model to increase the production and sale of biomass briquettes to household and private sector markets in Haiti. The anticipated outcome will be the decreased use of petroleum fuel in the Vetiver distillation process – a climate mitigation strategy, cost savings for Vetiver distillers – supporting the overall growth of the sector, an additional income source for Vetiver farmers through the production and sale of briquettes, and decreased deforestation as biomass briquettes lessen the need for charcoal collection.

If you would like additional information, please email Lauren@eco-ventures.org

Partner Update Two: Mouvman Moum Mango (3M)

Lauren Frederic — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 18:48:21 GMT

John O’Malley Burns, a retired organic certification inspector who leads the 3M initiative, is currently working to slow the rapid spread of cholera in Haiti by teaching growers to make homemade oral rehydration salts (ORS) which are not currently available in the marketplace. ORS rehydrate individuals who have lost dangerous amounts of water due to severe illness. In Haiti, providing the knowledge to make ORS at home in extreme situations heightened most recently by Hurricane Tomas, which hit the island last week, is key to saving lives. In this difficult time, we ask for your thoughts and support as 3M continues its efforts to rebuild a stronger, more sustainable Haiti.

Partner Update: Mouvman Moum Mango (3M)

Lauren Frederic — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 20:17:05 GMT

Organic Inspection

Mouvman Moum Mango (3M), Haiti

Mouvman Moun Mango, or Movement of Mango People, is a volunteer organization lead by retired organic inspector John O’Malley Burns. 3M organizes and works directly with small mango growers in ten regions by assisting communities to attain and maintain organic and fair trade certifications, allowing growers to receive a higher price for their mangoes.

In partnership, EVI and 3M support sustainable farming practices including training and technical assistance to farmers who are pursuing new methods of growing and processing agricultural goods. This encourages farmers to pursue added-value practices such as certification and crop diversification which increases a products market value and benefits the environment.

Through organic certification and sales of Fair Trade Certified™ mangoes to Whole Foods Market in the U.S., farmers groups in five rural regions have been able to receive a reliable and value-added income for their product and have thus, seen their profits rise by approximately 100%. John O’Malley Burns from 3M: “There is an extraordinary opportunity here to bring this economically and socially fractured country together around the common and uniting goal of rebuilding after the quake. How can we make the coming change a lasting change to get the country back to better than it was?”

Future Fuels Haiti Project Fundraising

Kate Davenport — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:14:36 GMT

FUTURE FUELS HAITI DEVELOPMENT FUND

The Future Fuels Haiti Development Fund supports the development of environmentally responsible fuel sources that create jobs and incomes for the poorest Haitians and reverse the over 98% deforestation due to charcoal production. The soil erosion control loss due to deforestation is of particular concern for Haiti because of the yearly flooding and rains that continually devastate parts of the country.

Fuel briquettes made from agricultural waste and residues has enormous potential to replace charcoal as the primary household and commercial fuel source in Haiti. The Future Fuels Haiti Development Fund is bringing together local community groups and organizations, farmers, local and international financial institutions, international researchers and technical experts, the private sector, and committed entrepreneurs to jump-start the fuel briquette industry in Haiti. The Future Fuels Haiti Development Fund is focusing initial efforts on opportunities in the Cayes area of the south of Haiti in partnership with the farmers and distillers of vetiver for essential oil, a major Haitian Export. Initial income generating opportunities for the lowest income populations of the areas will focus on harvesting, collection, and sale of vetiver leaves to a local, briquette production facility.

The potential market value of briquettes utilizing agricultural by-products (including vetiver, sugar cane, corn, and sorghum), based on preliminary research of the MIT D-Lab in 2009, was $27,493,000. If only 10% of agricultural residues are utilized to make fuel-briquettes in Haiti, “farmers and local businesses could generate nearly $3,000,000 in total from sale of these briquettes into the local market” and “nearly 150,000 trees could be saved each year.”

This Fund is initially seeking $65,000 to jump-start the industry in the Cayes area through usage of vetiver agricultural residues in partnership with ground breaking commercial facility. The Fund’s goal over an 18-month period is to create a market value of $600,000 per year for vetiver fuel briquettes and to save 30,400 trees.

This will serve as a demonstration project to facilitate the further development of sustainable, private sector based fuel briquette enterprises across Haiti. The Future Fuels Development Fund will oversee and implement the following activities:

- Community Engagement Processes to Ensure Benefit to Farmers and Lowest Income Individuals - Establish and implement an environmental and social tracking system to ensure the maximum deforestation prevention and employment creation and income generation for farmers. - Identification of and financing for briquette technology purchases. The project will establish an appropriate type of loan fund to incentivize investment into the sector, to provide loans to those entities needing to upgrade their activities and purchase technology. This loan fund will help to ensure the sustainability of the project and the replication of the industry throughout Haiti - Assist a local Haitian small business to establish the first commercial Haitian fuel briquette commercial production facility that provides sufficient quality control and economy of scale to compete with charcoal - Marketing Campaigns and Strategic Partnership to Promote Usage of Briquettes Throughout the Community: Public Awareness Campaigns, Packaging Design, and Local and international celebrity promotion to local Haitian market - Market research on linkage between social behavior change and the development of appropriate packaging to reach potential customers, effective distribution networks - Business training on costing and pricing, record keeping and management, quality control and packaging for farmer agricultural waste collection enterprises. - Marketing of product to existing fuel distribution networks, primarily the charcoal distribution network - Identification of and support to partners to assist the development of the fuel briquette industry including developing relationships with potential financiers for working capital and equipment purchases - Training farmers in the collection of vetiver leaves and development of small businesses to supply vetiver leaves to commercial fuel briquette producer - Review of local Haitian private sector business plans and requests for investment support to set up fuel briquette production facilities or support structures - Design and implementation of a monitoring system, through ground breaking payment for ecosystem services computer modeling, to track progress of the growth of the industry as well as establish key criteria and success factors for replication throughout Haiti - Identification of technical expertise and learning around fuel briquette production from other parts of the world to support the development of the industry in Haiti - Oversight of the management of the Fund, including management of contributions; dissemination of funds to local partners, review of grant request proposals as applicable, administration of the tax deduction paperwork to contributors and additional operational and financial administration as required. - Identification of the needs to set up and maintain a Haitian fuel briquette industry through routine research and reporting

For further information, please contact Kate Davenport, Interim Director of Future Fuels Haiti, at kate@eco-ventures.org or 202-203-8110 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 202-203-8110 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 202-203-8110 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 202-203-8110 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 202-203-8110 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

EVI is a registered United States 501©3 non-profit organization. All contributions to the Haiti Fuel Briquette Development Fund are tax deducible. All contributions to the Fund will be used exclusively to support EVI and its sub-recipients’ fuel briquetting activities in Haiti and will be tracked as a separate fund in accordance with US Government regulations for non-profit organizations.