Former Uganda missionary, Mark Long,  joined with Haitian workers to construct our first earthbag house during our brief summer evaluation trip, July 8-15. This demonstration home for Pierre Charles, long-time farm worker and now night watchman (who will be joined by two abandoned orphan boys) will be his first house. Since the completion of the house, admiring neighbors have become frequent visitors and are asking that they have one built. 

I admit that I had never heard of earthbag houses until April when one of our former med students, Dr. Theron Hutton, who now works in Uganda, spoke of such housing during his visit to our Wednesday night medical school class. Because of the great challenge of finding affordable, earth-quake resistant, and appropriate housing for Haitians, I had conducted an extensive internet search for weeks after the earthquake trying to get building ideas that would be acceptable to Haitian people. I rejected most of them for several reasons. 

Mutual friends in California told me of Mark and his past work with building an earthbag dome house in Uganda. After seeing his video and meeting him in Los Angeles, I was impressed with his knowledge and building skills. I then became convinced that Mark would be the right man to lead the successful construction of our first earthbag house. Indeed, he was THE man for the job! 

Some previous visitors to Haiti encountered disruptive cultural challenges in their work in Port au Prince. Pacius assured us that our experience would be different. Was he correct! The mason foreman and his three workers were superb and completely  cooperative partners for this project.  Joining them in the long days in early July with the 115 degree heat index were farmer (tractor driver) Hervey Madden and senior Bible major, Andrew Riley. Mark detailed the process with brief narrative and excellent pictures. 

This first house had to be raised about three feet with a rock wall which was filled with dirt. This and the addition of a concrete floor added to the costs. In spite of the high cost of building materials in Haiti, this very strong and functional house will cost between $2100-2500. Pacius and the mason foreman were so impressed with it that they are asking that we build a dormitory (to house visitors and some of our refugees) using this type of “technology.” Depending on our assessment with its durability over time, several other relief houses may be built. 

More about the earthbag houses can be found on the home page of the excellent websites  www.earthbagstructures.com and  www.earthbagbuilding.com.

New persons working in Haiti frequently find it frustrating that even when they have given of themselves and have given sacrificially of their money, they fail to hear those precious words, “thank you.” For many years the United States and its citizens have given abundant resources to Haiti and created a welfare mentality in many. And years of expectations of gifts has stunted the growth of a culture of thanksgiving. But, being so oppressed and lacking in the basic necessities of life can harden almost all.

I absolutely love the man above, Wixner, the schoolteacher who also serves as the preacher in Gros Morne. We met him after the flood of 2008 and learned of the need of his people. With 80 people meeting each Sunday in the classroom of a Seventh Day Adventist school, this congregation exudes the kind of love and joy brought by the joy of receiving our aid that actually permeates all of our brothers and sisters in the Gonaives/Artibonite area. 

Wixner reported: "Thank you so much for this great help. We have many refugees, but our own people are hungry also. Our usual number attending is 80, but we have had 15 more visitors, and we were able to share these precious buckets with all 95 people."

John Peter of the Bongnon (Bayonaisse) community said: “This food has been a marvelous help. The season was dry when we expected rain to plant our crops. We didn’t know anyway to feed our people, especially the extra (refugees) people. This is the true way to help. More people are coming to church. They are saying that ‘only the church  . . .  can do this.’ The distribution was so popular. There are people just asking for the buckets.” 

More food is available, but the government has delayed for more than 5 months our access to the 4 containers of supplies in the port. Still, all who have received food feel so blessed, and say in the best way they can, “thank you.”

Before the flood of 2008, food production in the Gonaives area had stopped because there was no longer a government tractor available to break up the land for planting. Some generous friends made the purchase of a nearly new used tractor. After the flood, some other good friends saw the need for a front end loader to help move the deposited silt off of the land.

So many decisions had to be made about a piece of equipment rarely seen in the area. Would it be appropriate for the farm whose goal is to teach people to work with simple tools? How much help would it really be or would it be too expensive? Could we find adequate drivers and repairs?

Our initial doubts have dissipated. Although its use has been limited by inadequate trained personnel, visiting farmer, Hervey Madden, has in a short time transformed the farm. Flood damaged land has been restored, the outer wall has been reinforced by earth reinforcement, construction of the water system was enabled by visiting workers, the construction of the earthbag house was facilitated and the project time shortened. Roads have been improved. And the list tractor enabled successes continue to grow.

Technology like the tractor will never be available to most farmers. Still, it has some specific uses for the people and has given us the ability to recreate the farm and retransform it to the state prior to the flood. And now we can improve the farm into a very special retreat for seminar students and families. This has been in great part facilitated by the tractor. THANK YOU donors who made this possible!

The 2010 HCDP team was composed of people from Houston, Texas, Nome, Alaska, Little Rock and Searcy, Arkansas and points beyond.  Medical, dental and eye clinics were conducted in the Gonaives area.   There were also a number of projects on the HCDP farm preparing it for use again after it was destroyed in the 2008 floods.   

HCDP March 2010 Mission Trip Accomplishments

CLINICS

Medical/Dental/Eye Clinics were held:

1. Twice at the HCDP Farm for the Bois Marchand community (Gonaives suburb).
2. Once at the small church in the village of Bayonais (about 10+ miles east of Gonaives).
3. In an office building in the small town of Gros Morne.  The church there does not have a building, but it’s members have absorbed about 30 refugees from PAP.
4. The Liberte church in downtown Gonaives.  
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