One of the first prioties in rehabilitating Haiti is to address the lack of cooking fuel for the country. Propane is still considered a luxery fuel; the majority of the country is using charcoal for cooking and relatively precious kerosene for lamps at night, if they have some spare money.
It is important to remember that Haiti used to be a major exporter of exotic woods and has been using charcoal and wood as their primary cooking fuel since its beginning. Haiti's total deforestation has led to the loss of topsoil, numerous food crops and forage for livestock. In some regions, tree roots are mined for charcoal production. Ironically, the ban of commercial charcoal production in the Dominican Republic has led to Haiti exporting charcoal to their neighbor, which only exascerbated the problem. Thousands die from landslides during hurricanes and whole communities have simply vanished
Some may think that giving Haiti kerosene or propane stoves and enough fuel would curb the deforestation, but it would be far more practical to import fuel made from agricultural waste imported from the US and other countries to give Haitian biofuel crops a chance to be established. Converting Haiti to petrolium based cooking fuels is litterally throwing gas on the fire since it unforseeable that they will be affordable to majority of the population within the next 20 years.
Both the DR and Haiti could benefit from the introduction of bagasse pellet production. Bagasse is remnant of the sugar cane after the juice has been pressed out. Much of it is used in the processing of the cane juice into sugar and the rest is typically used as fodder or in large scale power production. Improvements in mill efficiency could increase the supply of bagasse that could be converted into cooking fuel.
What other crops could be grown as biofuels? The Pencil Tree(Euphorbia tirucalli) could be one option as it already grows wild on the island. As a crop it could produce some 10 to 50 barrels of biodiesel per acre, it can be intercropped with food and other crops, and can also be used as a hedgerow. It is not suitable for coverting into charcoal and goats can browse the plant without killing it. It also has a big advantage in that it grows virtually anywhere.
Much of Haiti's so called development has been modeled after Pacific rim countries, where the production textiles for export to the US have benefitted few and there is no interest in improving the workers' wages-- that would make them less competative. Sadly, there is no shortage of workers who will work 10-12 hour shifts for a few dollars a day. Haiti could do far better by making biofuel and other agricultural production its economic center. It would shift Haiti back to its agrarian roots and benefit to the most Haitian people for their immediate needs of fuel and food security. We have tried for 50 years to fix Haiti from the top down. It is time to give bottom up management a try.
Good post
and thanks!!
On the English Haiti list serve, we have been discussing this for a couple of years.
Here is the problem we are up against with propane in Haiti..
The poor do not have enough money to fill a propane tank.
Now,,,, if we could find refillable containers more on the size of camping fuel that we have in the States... THAT would be great.
Also the type of propane tank that is used in Haiti has a connector that is outlawed in most countries (but of course written into LAW in Haiti probably by the guy who runs the business).. so that has to be changed so that tanks and propane can just come in from the DR.
The Bagasse pellets have not yet proved to be economical. Ditto the Jatropha stoves.
But both of them are in use in some parts.
The other issue is the culture of charcoal... a mom starts the charcoal fire in the AM, puts on the rice and beans, and can leave a child to tend it since there is only enough fuel to cook that pot. There is no chance of fire or of wasting fuel. A propane stove requires constant tending.
The same is true for solar stoves.. it has to be turned and tended.
Not that these are insurmountable problems but they need to be considered.
Aside from Clinton and the factory owners there is little support in Haiti for the development model being pushed on them of the factory work. They had that and those factories were the first things to be looted and shut under JBA-
There does seem to be longing for self sustainable argiculture on the small and medium scale... to bring the country back to food sufficiency.. which it had, really, I believe until the 80s when the pigs were slaughtered and the subsidized US rice started to come in.
It is good to remember that Balaguer introduced the gas stove and subsidized propane here in the 80s.. and set aside vast tracks of National Parks under protection.. So I am sure that many Dominicans appreciate that there but for fortune...
Not to forget the trade winds which bless this side of the island and the mountains which curse the other.
But Haiti is broken now, on her knees. The people have lost everything in PAP and are now going to the countryside where their families will be hard pressed to feed them, as well, shortly.
If anyone can figure out how to refill those little propane tanks... we may have a good opening to get them in production and over there.
Thanks again for a great post!