2 for 1: Safe Drinking Water & Planting Trees

Project Needs and Beneficiaries

Almost 1/3 of Haitians have no access to safe drinking water, resulting in disease and a high death rate for children. Haiti is described by the U.N. as one of the most degraded countries in the world. Without trees to protect the land, flooding from hurricanes destroys homes, lives, farmland and ecosystems. Our poorest neighbor in the Western Hemisphere needs an urgent plan to plant trees and provide safe water for 600 peasants in the village of Chato.

Activities Peasants in Chato asked Lambi to help build a network of 10 water cisterns. They also want to reforest the area with 100,000 trees. They will provide the labor and, with your help, Lambi will provide construction materials, training and seedlings

Project Update

Cisterns Having built 5 cisterns last year, Konbit -2004 has completed the construction of 5 additional cisterns. Today all 10 cisterns have been built as planned. The last five cisterns were constructed at a cost of $4286 per unit, a significant increase caused by the rising price of materials.

Workshops On August 8-9, 2008 a workshop was conducted on water purification. About 30 members of the organization were in attendance.

Nurseries The organization is ready to launch the second phase of its reforestation efforts. About 50,000 seedlings will be produced by December 2008 and the remaining 25,000 will be produced in early 2009.

Project Impact:

The cisterns brought great relief to the community of Chato. In addition to providing access to potable drinking water, the cisterns brought great relief to Chato’s young girls who traditionally have to walk long distances to get water and are unable to go to school.

Activities Peasants in Chato asked Lambi to help build a network of 10 water cisterns. They also want to reforest the area with 100,000 trees. They will provide the labor and, with your help, Lambi will provide construction materials, training and seedlings. Accomplishments:

Cisterns: 5 cisterns have been built within the village of Chato by members of the peasant organization Konbit 2004. The cisterns are fully operational. The construction of these cisterns has resulted in greater access to water by families who in the past had to walk for hours to the nearest source of water. One of the benefits described by Chato residents is that girls no longer have to miss school in order to supply water to their families. The proximity of the water cisterns has made this possible.

Greenhouses and Seedlings: Two greenhouses have been built. Members of the organizations have produced 10,000 seedlings and have distributed 5,334 for replanting.

Training: Members of Konbit 2004 have received intensive training on cistern construction management. Members also participated in a workshop focusing on reforestation including greenhouse construction, tree selection, seedling production, tree planting and maintenance.

Consultant: An engineer was retained as a project consultant, working with the Chato community. Lambi Fund’s staff agronomists have been working with the organization.

What remains to be done:

Cisterns: Five Cisterns remain to be built. Following their consultant’s advice, members of the organization waited for the rainy season to test the structural soundness of the cisterns. Some flaws were identified and the lessons learned from the initial experience will be applied to the construction of the remaining 5 cisterns. Sites for the cisterns have been identified and members have begun to dig foundations.

Greenhouses: Additional greenhouses will also be constructed near the cisterns. The initial seedling production and tree distribution strategies are being assessed to improve reforestation efforts.