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Saturday, May 14, 2011

GrassRoots United

I’ve spent the last 15 days at the grassroots united compound in port-au-prince and I’m all sorts of stoked, jazzed and inspired about what’s going on here.  Grassroots united is a disaster relief org that set up shop in Haiti right after the earthquake in January, 2010. 

earthship
They’ve basically rented a chunk of land, conveniently situated by the main airport, plunked down a bunch of shipping containers full of medical supplies and started operating as a distribution hub and logistics facilitator for any and all organizations working in country.  They work with a lot of sweet partner orgs and, just over the past year, they’ve helped a helluva lot of people and have diversified their capacity to make a positive impact.  this bunch likes to work hard and party harder.   

straw bale house


The compound now serves as a demonstration site for alternative building and appropriate technologies that are ideal for disaster prone areas.  They've got an earthship, a dome, a straw bale house, a hexayurt, a treehouse, container housing and there's a superadobe structure in the works.  and they've got composting toilets, chickens and a greywater system.

chicken coop


right now, they're hosting a permaculture design course with the vast majority of the participants being haitian and this is what brings me here.  i was invited to translate for the course and i'm so glad to be here.  the permaculture instructor, larry santoyo, is a diamond in the rough and i'm learning a lot, as usual.  doors continue to open and the road keeps rolling out behind me.  :) 

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