Haiti Earthquake | January 26, 2010 | 3 comments

Sustainable relief in Haiti through permaculture

source: http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2010/01/26/sustainable-relief-in-haiti-through-pe...

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CLGreen
"A well known quote in permaculture is: “The problem is the solution.” In the case of Haiti, urbanization has been a significant problem that devastated the relatively stable economy made up of many small farmers. Not too long ago, Haiti exported rice, sugar cane and many other crops and grew enough food to feed itself. What happened? Well that is a sordid and complex tale, perhaps best illustrated in a novel of intrigue, but when subsidized corporations go out of their way to undersell local rice farmers and put them out of business, one has to wonder – why? Especially when viewing all the suffering that has occurred as a result. The cost has been much higher than any possible profits made by those companies.

Currently, the water situation around Port Au Prince is grim. Well water has been compromised, pumps are down, water mains are broken, and it is the dry season so water tanks are low, if they weren’t ruined completely in the earthquake. Sanitation is also a major issue – there is a danger that human waste will get into groundwater supplies and other vulnerable areas, spreading disease like cholera and typhoid in a city of 3 million.

What permaculturists can do for these problems is to put in sustainable water supply and sanitation systems that will be permanent and will also return a yield. Rainwater catchment systems will prevent the water from running into the ocean, and with greywater systems it can be used more than once before leaving the site. Human waste is one of the best sources of nitrogen, potassium and phosphate around (the three major nutrients for agricultural use)."....
  1. groups:
    Green,   Sustainable Agriculture,   Haiti Earthquake
  2. tags:
    Sustainability,  Haiti,  Sustainable Agriculture,  Aid,  6 more
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3 comments // Sustainable relief in Haiti through permaculture

  • JanforGore
    • 0
      JanforGore  

    • I think even people in Haiti will become resentful after some point. They need to be able to grow their own food, reforest their country, and have control of their own destiny. However, I truly do not see that happening anytime soon. Countries and interests are already lining up to get a piece of the pie, and it will be the people who suffer because of it. It may well wind up being another Iraq without the bombs. And if people are in tent cities for too long that resentment may well turn into violence that may lead to conflict.

    • 2 years ago
  • KJO1968
  • royulery
    • 0
      royulery  

    • permaculture will take a while to establish and it will be effective as long as there is a stable population. meanwhile, how long will the world feed haiti before people elsewhere become resentful. when in the public mind does rescue become burden? i fear that haiti is going to bring out the worst in americans in the very near future. the sour economy has soured the mood of the people in general and it may turn charity into a resented burden.

    • 2 years ago
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