Port-au-Prince, Haiti
October 29th, 2010
Every Home Needs a Stove – An Improved Stove!
October 29th, 2010
Every Home Needs a Stove – An Improved Stove!
In early February 2010 International Lifeline Fund (ILF) arrived in Haiti to provide emergency relief to victims after the devastating earthquake that struck the island on January 12th 2010. ILF came to Haiti to share their experience and passion for alternative cooking technologies. ILF knew that, more than ever, after the earthquake families would need safe and efficient stoves to help them rebuild stable and sustainable lives amidst the rubble. Whether living in a tent, under a tarp or repairing a broken home, improved stoves offer families daily savings on cooking fuel that can make the difference between eating two meals instead of one per day or being able to send a child to school. ILF has witnessed that even small fuel savings, of 50 cents per day, add up to meaningful differences in the lives of our Haitian brothers and sisters.
I (Elizabeth Sipple) joined the ILF team as the Haiti Country Director in May 2010. I have lived and worked in Haiti full-time for over four years. In 2002, while completing a GIS research and mapping project in the rural mountains of the Artibonite Valley, I was confronted by the incredible challenges that rural Haitians face (lack of health care, schools, infrastructure, technical assistance, food security). I was struck that almost every family I met hoped that their children would have the opportunity to receive an education so that at least some of the children could find work away from the land. Farming was so hard with so little profit that the younger generations were losing all interest in working the land; farming was no longer a respected profession. It was painful to see that the farmers felt minimized by society, by the very society that they were nourishing through their labor. I believe strongly in the abundance that nature can offer when stewarded correctly. I also personally feel a deep respect and awe for the capability of those who work the land tirelessly to feed their families. After my initial experience in rural Haiti I had already hatched a plan to return and as soon as I returned to the United States I decided to redirect my studies to the science of Agroecology. I choose Agroecology because I wanted practical tools to address what I felt were critical challenges in Haiti. Overtime, I have come to better understand the complexity of the challenges that Haitian peasant farmers face, many being political and not agricultural. In Haiti I have worked with people to achieve small sustainable victories (private tree gardens, small community nurseries, the strengthening of community organizations…) and I continuously learn how to work more effectively in a country full of complexity.
I (Elizabeth Sipple) joined the ILF team as the Haiti Country Director in May 2010. I have lived and worked in Haiti full-time for over four years. In 2002, while completing a GIS research and mapping project in the rural mountains of the Artibonite Valley, I was confronted by the incredible challenges that rural Haitians face (lack of health care, schools, infrastructure, technical assistance, food security). I was struck that almost every family I met hoped that their children would have the opportunity to receive an education so that at least some of the children could find work away from the land. Farming was so hard with so little profit that the younger generations were losing all interest in working the land; farming was no longer a respected profession. It was painful to see that the farmers felt minimized by society, by the very society that they were nourishing through their labor. I believe strongly in the abundance that nature can offer when stewarded correctly. I also personally feel a deep respect and awe for the capability of those who work the land tirelessly to feed their families. After my initial experience in rural Haiti I had already hatched a plan to return and as soon as I returned to the United States I decided to redirect my studies to the science of Agroecology. I choose Agroecology because I wanted practical tools to address what I felt were critical challenges in Haiti. Overtime, I have come to better understand the complexity of the challenges that Haitian peasant farmers face, many being political and not agricultural. In Haiti I have worked with people to achieve small sustainable victories (private tree gardens, small community nurseries, the strengthening of community organizations…) and I continuously learn how to work more effectively in a country full of complexity.
On January 12th I was in Port-au-Prince to experience the horror of the earthquake – the shock, the rush to action, the sadness. I must say, however, that what will always stay with me is not the chaos or the sadness but the solidarity and the sense of hope that I felt all around me in the days following the earthquake. In a time of so much need I saw giving and sharing everywhere. Under the pain of all the loss there was a vein of deep hope that this tragedy would be a catalyst for change – that all the lives would not be lost in vain but instead remembered as the foundations of a new beginning for Haiti. It is now 10 months after the earthquake and dramatic change is not readily apparent but I keep the hope of the people that there will be meaningful change. Through my work with ILF I am personally committed to laying bricks in this new Haitian foundation, which must be built sustainably with the ability to endure overtime.
Since the earthquake ILF has been working with its Haitian team to identify the best alternative cooking technologies for the Haitian people – technologies that are culturally acceptable (user-friendly), fuel efficient, offer families economic savings, are clean burning (healthy) and durable. ILF is especially interested in stoves that are able to use alternative fuels that eliminate the need for charcoal and wood completely. Haiti is less than 2% forested and deforestation for fuel wood is the major culprit. With deforestation comes soil erosion, floods, lowering water tables, disappearing springs, unpredictable rainy seasons and draught – and all of these phenomenon lead to diminishing crop yields and disappearing rural livelihoods. Every year thousands of farmers abandon the rural parts of Haiti for the urban centers with the hope of finding work and a living that the degraded agro-ecosystems can no-longer provide. Those who stay in the rural areas struggle to eke out a living on the denuded mountain slopes. The deforestation of Haiti affects everyone in the country through high food and fuel prices, food shortages, over crowded cities, flash flooding… and yet every day more than 8 million people rely on burning wood or charcoal to cook their food. This is the vicious cycle that ILF is working to intercept with improved stoves. Through our work ILF is looking to promote two forms of sustainability: The first form of sustainability is environmental sustainability - by decreasing the demand on wood-based cooking fuels that lead to deforestation.
The second is economic sustainability for families – by helping families decrease their cooking fuel expenses. On average our urban beneficiaries were spending 57.27 gourdes ($1.4 US) per day on charcoal before they received an improved stove. With the StoveTec stove that ILF has distributed to earthquake victims our monitoring results show that families average daily expenditure on charcoal dropped to 29.47 gourdes. On average displaced families are saving 27.8 gourdes ($0.69 US) per day due to fuel cost savings from their StoveTec stove or 778.4 gourdes ($19.4 US) per month. To give you an idea of what 778 gourdes can provide a family we have listed some common items and their prices below:
Since the earthquake ILF has been working with its Haitian team to identify the best alternative cooking technologies for the Haitian people – technologies that are culturally acceptable (user-friendly), fuel efficient, offer families economic savings, are clean burning (healthy) and durable. ILF is especially interested in stoves that are able to use alternative fuels that eliminate the need for charcoal and wood completely. Haiti is less than 2% forested and deforestation for fuel wood is the major culprit. With deforestation comes soil erosion, floods, lowering water tables, disappearing springs, unpredictable rainy seasons and draught – and all of these phenomenon lead to diminishing crop yields and disappearing rural livelihoods. Every year thousands of farmers abandon the rural parts of Haiti for the urban centers with the hope of finding work and a living that the degraded agro-ecosystems can no-longer provide. Those who stay in the rural areas struggle to eke out a living on the denuded mountain slopes. The deforestation of Haiti affects everyone in the country through high food and fuel prices, food shortages, over crowded cities, flash flooding… and yet every day more than 8 million people rely on burning wood or charcoal to cook their food. This is the vicious cycle that ILF is working to intercept with improved stoves. Through our work ILF is looking to promote two forms of sustainability: The first form of sustainability is environmental sustainability - by decreasing the demand on wood-based cooking fuels that lead to deforestation.
The second is economic sustainability for families – by helping families decrease their cooking fuel expenses. On average our urban beneficiaries were spending 57.27 gourdes ($1.4 US) per day on charcoal before they received an improved stove. With the StoveTec stove that ILF has distributed to earthquake victims our monitoring results show that families average daily expenditure on charcoal dropped to 29.47 gourdes. On average displaced families are saving 27.8 gourdes ($0.69 US) per day due to fuel cost savings from their StoveTec stove or 778.4 gourdes ($19.4 US) per month. To give you an idea of what 778 gourdes can provide a family we have listed some common items and their prices below:
- One gallon of oil = 250 gds
- One 25 kilo sac of imported Tchako rice = 750 gds
- One 25 kilo sac of local beans = 1,200 gds
- A Trimester (3 months) at a mid-range primary school = 2,000 – 2,500 gds (667 – 833 gds / month)
I would like to personally thank those who make ILF’s work in Haiti possible through their generous donations. Without you ILF would be unable to provide improved stoves to Haitian families– 4,500 stoves and counting!!! Thank you very much for your generosity and your solidarity with the people of Haiti. To learn more about ILF’s work in Haiti please visit the Haiti section of ILF’s website (www.lifelinefund.org).
With love from Haiti,
Elizabeth Sipple
Haiti Country Director
E-mail: esipple@lifelinefund.org
Tel.: 011 (509) 3 622 6228
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