Tracking clean cookstoves & fuel in Haiti

Dear PPAF Supporters and Friends,

First of all, a big THANK YOU to all who contributed to very successful fundraising by PPAF, especially through the GlobalGiving Bonus Day in July, and the Little by Little campaign in September.  In addition to the gifts from donors these efforts merited some $1,200 in matching funds from GlobalGiving.  Accordingly, we and collaborating organizations have been able to resume support for the solar cooking and biogas course at the University Notre Dame d’Haiti in Hinche (UNDH-Hinche) and the cooking and sewing classes at the Art Creation Foundation for Children (ACFFC) in Jacmel, Haiti.   We and volunteer team members from KDCK and Solar CITIES Biogas are now finalizing plans for a year-end monitoring and expansion trip, including establishing a biodigester at a community center in Cotes de Fer.

The team leaders at UNDH-Hinche and ACFFC organized a round of users’ surveys for the Haines solar cookers that had been distributed in June.  The results (35 in Hinche, 10 in Jacmel) showed students often used the solar cookers in the setting of their families. They cooked several kinds of food and reported saving money that would otherwise have been needed for charcoal.  The surveys will be repeated and expanded, consistent with guidelines from Solar Cookers International (SCI).  Such news is central to the purpose of our GlobalGiving project.

Our support for the previous course (23 students) at UNDH-Hinche was interrupted from mid-March to early August by the national COVID-19 lockdown.  Final exams for that term took place in August.  A new semester began in September (28 students).  Exams are scheduled for early December.  The tree nursery that had been started with biodigester fertilizer has survived despite the lockdown, and young saplings have been planted around the campus. 

Solar CITIES Biogas and KDCK, with participation from SCI, prepared and provided flashdrives in January with teaching, practice session and reference materials for the solar and biogas wings of the course.  The team at UNDH-Hinche reports these to be very useful. 

The organizers at both project sites have asked for more Haines solar cookers.  PPAF has organized shipments of 30 for UNDH-Hinche and 26 for ACFFC. These are for use by the current classes of students and for promoting solar cooking in the two towns (each the seat of government in its Department).  We and the Haines company look forward to possibilities for eventual local manufacture.

As part of the current semester at UNDH-Hinche, students have been assigned homework construction and class presentation of simple solar cookstoves and small model biodigesters.  They are proud of their experiences, as can be seen in the attached photos.

Giving Tuesday is approaching fast!  We hope you will join us again and help to press ahead!

Links:

• Public-Private Alliance Foundation website

Dear PPAF Supporters and Friends,

Despite the COVID-19 crisis and related lockdowns, our colleagues in Haiti have been able to innovate and promote solar cooking and services to protect against COVID-19. We want to support them as much as possible.

GlobalGiving has announced a special opportunity to help make it happen. One day only, this Wednesday July 15, GlobalGiving will match donations between $100 and $1,000. This will start at 9 a.m. ET, and the higher the amount, the higher the match, while funds last.  

Our project is quite active.  PPAF and collaborators are conducting R&D about solar cookstoves, and will resume work on biodigesters for biogas & garden fertilizer when schools reopen. As readers and supporters know, we aim to promote sustainable development, empower women and girls, and combat climate change. COVID-19 attacks the respiratory system, giving all increased importance.

Just last week, in an online program at the United Nations, PPAF highlighted the recent work at a university and a children’s center in Haiti. PPAF had joined in a virtual seminar on solar cooking as a transformative technology, in collaboration with Solar Cookers International and the Haitian hometown association KDCK.

As a result, PPAF already has requests for more solar cookers for the students. For a quick review of the current situation, please have a look at the attached PDF of the PPAF presentation.

Here are the details of the matching levels that will be active this Wednesday morning --

$100 - $499    Donations matched at 15%

$500 - $749    Donations matched at 30%

$750 - $1,000 Donations matched at 50% 

Please join us in this great opportunity! And act early in the day, while matching funds remain!

Let’s give a big push to help our great collaborators in Haiti.

Links:

• Public-Private Alliance Foundation website

• PPAF presentation at UN - Solar Cooking in Haiti (PDF)