Harvey in Haiti

[wroughtn_harv]

Harvey, I think you need to start a "Harvey in Haiti" thread in the Rural Living Forum, that's pretty rural. I saw your welding post, only by doing a search on your name. Questions to answer: Where are you staying? How long are you going to be there? Have you started making the blocks? Are you going to build the first house there? Are you training the people there? Are they receptive to the concept? How are the beaches? Is the steering wheel taking the place of the handle? Do they use tractors there? That wooden chair in the last picture is the most laid back chair I've seen. The thread will be so interesting!!!!

1. I'm a guest of Grass Roots United dot org in Haiti. GRU's mission up to now after the earthquake has been to help other NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations).

2. I bought a one way ticket and arrived on August 11th. It would be nice to go home about the 10th of September. At least three times a day that looks plausible. Five times a day it doesn't. If we get a program going where my presence isn't necessary then I will go home for at least a little while. My wife and I are on the same page when it comes to me staying if I'm needed.

3. We made our first four blocks in Haiti Friday morning. It was exciting. I'm making two machines with one of them a couple of steps ahead of the other. I rigged the one so we could make some blocks for samples.

I sent one block to Haiti with Sam Bloch who is the executive director of GRU. Mutual friends and interests got us in contact with each other. He changed his intinery in the states and visited us in Wylie Texas. He made a block and brought it here with him. When I got here I was given quite a tour by some real nice people from the UN. They took that block and my pictures to show them to others and get the pictures laminated for me. That was two weeks ago.

Two others were sent to Haiti via someone else. I have tried to locate those blocks here without success. The person who has them refuses to communicate with me. If by any chance anyone anywhere attempts to raise funds using my blocks or my name my advice is to sit on your wallet until you are comfortable we are involved.

4. The first Ubuntu-blox house built in Haiti will be built on the GRU compound. The best reason for doing this is they already have an Earthship House. It is amazing, amazing. There is a strawbale house. There are two container houses, an unfiinished Yurt of one kind or another, an unfinished Super Adobe, and our house here would give those interested a good chance to compare apples to apples at the same place you might say.

5. This about Haitians. We will leave and the Ubuntu-blox construction will have a Haitian name and face. Haitans like the idea with one reservation.

6. Haitians like everyone dislike the idea of a house being made of trash. I explain this be using the idea of road kill properly prepared for supper. You wouldn't want a house made from trash or a supper made from road kill. But the truth is we have been making house out of trash forever and our meat is dead when it's prepared for us to eat.

We had the same thing happen at SMU when we built the house for the Hunt Intitute. But when the house was done and it was a great house the thought of trash as part of it was all positive. People are people. Haitians are people.

I haven't been to the beaches. My days here are similar to the days we spent outside Lexington Texas. I work and enjoy people. Today is Sunday/funday, no meals served by GRUso my one meal today will be at a restaurant about a half of a mile away. The kids will stare big eyed stares, more so as December gets closer. Some adults will smile and some will glare because I am a foreigner eating native in an off street restaurant.

There is a lot of heavy equipment around. The joke is a fifty million dollar grant to help Haiti involves forty five million dollars worth of equipment to sit in a compound next door to another coumpound with millions of dollars of heavy equipment. Always enough money for equipment, never enough for work.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I'm in Port Au Prince, PAP. There are millions of people here. I started my morning off like most of the more fortunate do. I took a Haitian shower. I filled a five gallon bucket about half full of water. I got my head wet using a mug dipping the water. I rinsed my hair after shampooing the same way. Then I lathered up a wash rag and scrubbed myself down. I rinsed using the mug/dipper. It's a new day and I'm a new man.

 

[IslandTractor]

I'm in Port Au Prince, PAP. There are millions of people here. I started my morning off like most of the more fortunate do. I took a Haitian shower. I filled a five gallon bucket about half full of water. I got my head wet using a mug dipping the water. I rinsed my hair after shampooing the same way. Then I lathered up a wash rag and scrubbed myself down. I rinsed using the mug/dipper. It's a new day and I'm a new man.

Been there and done that!:laughing: I was in Haiti last year from early Feb to April. The issue I saw with housing was that the existing standards were so poor (minimal rebar, single brick walls etc) and ubiquitous that it was difficult to get ordinary folks to think seriously about more substantial building codes/practices. The government was so weak that effectively there were no building or sanitation codes observed anyway. A number of the NGO favored housing designs would be great if they were adopted locally but typically only the directly NGO funded houses get built and there is little chance that local construction standards will change.

Good luck.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

If you wonder why I'm here and what this is all about check out these photos carefully.

The photos with man in the middle of all the plastic trash?

You need to know some things about that. First you need to know that those pieces of foam he is standing on are acting like snowshoes. If he falls through the plastic trash he is in raw sewage. He's literally walking on water.

The second thing you need to know is he is recycling. Yup, he's cleaning up Haiti one plastic bottle at a time. You can see the difference his efforts are making, can't you?

You also need to know those pictures reflect your future because you won't have one if we don't clean this up. Most of that plastic you see is styrofoam products like food trays and cups. There's alot of film plastics in there too. These plastics break down into small pieces when exposed to sunlight very quickly. Ocean wave action increases this process of deterioration. Those very small pieces of plastic float in the ocean and our smallest ocean inhabatants ingest them and die. If we lose the smallest animals in the sea eventually the seas will be dead. So will the planet.

It would be nice if this one canal in PAP was the problem. It isn't. Most humans live along the coasts. Most of our worst living conditions are there also. Most of the trash on our planet finds its way to our oceans by way of seasonal flooding. Seasonal floods flush the roadways into the waterways and the water ways into the oceans. There is no natural way of processing all that plastic trash. It accumulates. This is a planet problem because every major city in the world contributes.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Been there and done that!:laughing: I was in Haiti last year from early Feb to April. The issue I saw with housing was that the existing standards were so poor (minimal rebar, single brick walls etc) and ubiquitous that it was difficult to get ordinary folks to think seriously about more substantial building codes/practices. The government was so weak that effectively there were no building or sanitation codes observed anyway. A number of the NGO favored housing designs would be great if they were adopted locally but typically only the directly NGO funded houses get built and there is little chance that local construction standards will change.

Good luck.

What I've see so far is commercial entities jumping on the opportunity to market inappropriate and unacceptable housing to government and international charities. The Haitians have voted by digging in their heals. Besides that the housing shortage isn't houses for the middle class but the poor. All of the commercial ideas I've seen so far are targeting a small percentage of the Haitian population with ideas the Haitians find laughable. Haiti's biggest problem is lack of government while imposing government raises it's own issues.

Traffic is a good example. It works because the rules are no rules. You can put a traffic cop at an intersection directing traffic and instantly you have a traffic jam for miles in all directions. No rules works if the rules are no rules believe it or not.

 

[IslandTractor]

Traffic is a good example. It works because the rules are no rules. You can put a traffic cop at an intersection directing traffic and instantly you have a traffic jam for miles in all directions. No rules works if the rules are no rules believe it or not.

Yep. Last year I was working with the UN and we could see the Ministry of Health up the hill from the airport about four miles away. It would take at least two hours to drive each direction. Too hot and dangerous to walk so it would literally be almost a day's work to have a single meeting. Meetings never started even close to on time as participants were stuck in traffic for hours.

Just trying to do site assessments at the hundreds of encampments was horribly inefficient primarily because of the transport issue. Lack of effective government and way outgrown infrastructure were more of a problem than the earthquake itself.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I was invited to build two machines for making our ubunt-blox http:www.recycledplasticblockhouses.com and to start a house made with those blocks.

I'm usually a pretty good worst case scenario assumer. I failed miserably on this one. I brought a welding hood that I could lose, about twenty or so angle grinder cut off wheels, and some soap stone etc. I asked for a picture of their welding machine and wanted to cry. I really dislike lincoln tombstone welding machines. I brought some 1/8 and 3/32 6011 just in case.

When I got here I discovered I had three pair of vice grips for welding clamps, one of them coming from a wood working set. I have one c clamp, vice grip, three inch from the wood working kit. I can't weld when the generator is charging the batteries for the inverters. Grid power is spotty, appreciated, but spotty.

Then I got the good news. New metal is thin gauge and expensive. This I decided gave me an opportunity to make a statement. Anyone can make something when they have access to all of the right materials and tools, right? But if I could make the machines using what the Haitians would have as far as tools and equipment then maybe they would be more likely to do it.

One of the tools I use the most is a simple bender. I needed one but there was a serious issue. I had a piece of three quarter inch rod, some three eighth plate but no drill bits bigger than a half inch, no torch, no files, etc and no more.

I have a skill saw blade for cutting steel that I brought with me. I cut three quarter inch slots and then welded back in plug so I had square 3/4" holes. They work.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

The bender paid for itself yesterday. I use a steering wheel, bigger is better to turn the acme threaded one inch rod to compress the plastic trash into blocks. I discovered quickly that I could probably make one a lot cheaper than finding one, save a ton of time too.

I have been taking apart steel scrap as I find it. One of the treasures was a window grill made from 3/8 and 1/2 inch round rod. I made a circle with the bender. Then I made loops and welded the loops to the circle.

whatchathink?

 

[IslandTractor]

You are having way too much fun jury rigging tools. Nice job. Hope you are able to share tips with the local blacksmith.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

You are having way too much fun jury rigging tools. Nice job. Hope you are able to share tips with the local blacksmith.

Neither of us will be the same by the time I leave. I will be so much smarter and they will be looking at things a little differently, LOL

 

[jinman]

Well, if you get a chance you should tour the Barbancourt Rum Distillery. They were damaged by the earthquake, but the distillery is one of the primary economic engines of Port au Prince.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Yep. Last year I was working with the UN and we could see the Ministry of Health up the hill from the airport about four miles away. It would take at least two hours to drive each direction. Too hot and dangerous to walk so it would literally be almost a day's work to have a single meeting. Meetings never started even close to on time as participants were stuck in traffic for hours.

Just trying to do site assessments at the hundreds of encampments was horribly inefficient primarily because of the transport issue. Lack of effective government and way outgrown infrastructure were more of a problem than the earthquake itself.

There are a lot of meetings here. I haven't decided if that is because all anyone feels comfortable with doing is talking about it or if it's a poverty in crisis ritual.

They drive here the way I drove in Nam forty five years ago. We haven't had issues with accidents and such and the few times I've been off base we've maneuvered pretty well. If you pause you are passed. The faint of heart fail this driving test.

 

[EddieWalker]

Great to read and see what you are doing Harvey!!!! I love the things you think up to solve a problem, or create what you need to get the job done.

Eddie

 

[IslandTractor]

Well, if you get a chance you should tour the Barbancourt Rum Distillery. They were damaged by the earthquake, but the distillery is one of the primary economic engines of Port au Prince.

Good rum too, especially the reserve versions. Nice sipping "whiskey".

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I don't drink, not a religion thing because I don't go there and am usually irritated by those who do. So I doubt the tours will be on my schedule.

I explained to my wife about a week here that I felt like it was 1965 and I was in the Peace Corps. I'm much closer to being three times the age of most of those around me here than I'm to being twice their age. It is an unbelievable experience to be with kids that are special beyond measure. Nurses, doctors, and people donating their skills and passion to help others without blinking an eye.

No meals served here at the compound on Sundays. I ate local earlier. So they pool some funds and are having a feast that is east coast mexican made with local Haitian products. It is special to sit here and listen to the joy of life that is the young when they are most alive.

These kids live in tents. No a/c, sporatic power, it's been off almost all day and now it's on, bucket showers, and they are exposed to some of the best and worst that humanity can offer on a daily basis. They pay $105.00 per week to have these facilities along with two meals a day six days a week. They provide the tents themselves too. There's also the internet, slow but available most of the time.

I live amongst heroes.

I forgot the toilets. The are compost toilets. You do your business in a bucket and cover it with rice hulls or sawdust. There are two of them here.

If you ever sense me starting a pity party please slap me. twice.

 

[txdon]

Harvey, thanks for the update. A whole different culture, but yet the same, without life's convinces. I like the comparison to road kill, it kind of brings things into perspective. I can see the usage of the plastic waste, but I can't see the end. Unlike you I would be devastated with the pollution and the influx of phthalates from plastics in the food chain and just concentrate on detoxing myself. Your one plastic bottle at a time philosophy is inspiring and overwhelming at the same time, especially after seeing the picture of the dump. I'm looking forward to more info in your new culture and your interaction with the people. I hope they appreciate your problem solving and creative abilities. Just like I thought this will be a very interesting thread.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Morning Don,

Those pictures aren't of the dump. I haven't been to the dump yet. The photos with the man walking on the water is of a canal that flows from the mountains to the ocean. Along the way raw sewage and trash finds its way into the canal. That location is no more than a couple of thousand feet max from the ocean. One good storm and it is out to sea forever.

There are many challenges here. One of them lies in what five years ago was declared the most dangerous slum in the world by the UN. Cite Soleil is where those pictures were taken. That trash you saw wasn't created by the citizens of Cite Soleil but we are trying to find a way to get them involved in cleaning it up. The trash was generated by those up stream that are so much better and more important than the people who live in the biggest slum in Port Au Prince.

An interesting thing is walking through Cite Soleil you don't find trash in their streets like you do everywhere else in town. This is not because outsiders have paid them to clean up their streets. It's because the citizens themselves have decided that if they want a better place to live then they have to do it themselves. If you want to find hope in Haiti you go to Cite Soleil.

They have even started planting trees.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I have a dream. That dream is of an excavator lifting the trash out of the canals and placing it into a large tank. That tank contains a cleaing solution that kills bacteria like ecoli and cholera. Then the trash is rinsed and placed where sorting and processing takes place.

There are some conventional recycling of plastic bottle programs on the island. I've already talked to one about them having processing equipment at this location to pick up the bottles that they want. The really bad stuff like the film and foam plastics will be processed into building blocks for housing. The organic based stuff like paper will be processed into briquettes. Charcoal is the most common cooking fuel here in Haiti.

The big problem for me in this dream is the sanitizing tank. Someone mentioned to me the use of salt water. The ocean is right there. There has to be a salinity level that will kill the bacteria. It would be the most cost effective and natural solution I believe. If you know anyone with the skill set and knowledge to find the answer it would be wonderful.

We want to clean up the plastic trash and provide a way to make the best homes at any price. But we don't want to make Haitians sick doing it.

 

[slowzuki]

Sun / UV is a very good sanitizer. Combined with air, aerobic bacteria break things down quite well.

 

[IslandTractor]

If you want to find hope in Haiti you go to Cite Soleil.

.

Not sure I agree with that. When I was there last year Cite Soleil was openly run by violent gangs and thugs. Urban warlords controlled the place. The local police would not go there at all and the UN security troops would only travel there in heavily armored convoys. We had to have one of our teams extracted by the 82nd Airborne after a dispute over who was calling the shots in a latrine clean up and drainage operation! Maybe things have changed but for a long time Cite Soleil has been a great example of how little authority the Haitian government has even within the capital city and it represented the type of lawless post Armageddon society one usually associates with Mel Gibson's early movies.