Sun City Cribs

Welcome to my home in Bwa Nef, Cite Soleil, where i've been living now for the last  5 months.  :) 

I needed to upgrade from my initial temporary shelter, which was essentially 4 blue, plastic tarp walls, one door and a tin roof.  I had pitched my tent on the rubbly floor inside to sleep.  Needless to say, it was as hot as hell in there.  I had nowhere nice to chill during the day because it was too hot inside, and i had no yard or personal space outside.  Plus, there are so few trees in Cite Soleil that it's nearly impossible to escape the fierce, haitian sun.  

cozy, eh?

So, with all this heavy in my mind, one day, I spotted some trees [!] that were popping up over a small fenced in area.  On tippy-toes, I peeked over the fence to look inside and I saw a little shady yard w/ a little, rusty tin shack in it.  A woman and child were sitting in the yard.  I said hello and that I really liked her spot and then expressed to her that I wished I could live there.  She said, "Really?  Ok, then!".  So I replied, "But if I were to move in here, where would you then live?", to which she replied that she would just find another place and to come back tomorrow to talk.  And that is exactly what I did.  Within the week, I had my very own shanty house and shaded yard for the price of $250 for the year (and I was being generous)!  

cooking station

It was/is definitely an undertaking, but I'm one who loves these types of projects.  I painted over the rusty scrap metal walls, started replacing the dilapidated and dangerous scrap metal fencing with woven coconut palm fronds, had a new front door built, and got some free scrap wood to bang together some simple furnishings.  It sure has been a process, but I'm now living quite comfortably.  

composting bucket

There is electricity most of the time so I have a 2-burner electric stove for cooking and an oscillating fan for staying cool at night.  I now have 2 beds (a double for me and a single guest bed).  I use a simple bucket composting method for a toilet.  And I had a private water line run into my yard (it's all about who you know), so no more hauling water for me!  For bathing, i use the simple, yet refreshing, bucket bath method in an enclosed area outside.  I've also organized the rubble in the yard and hauled in some good soil to make a vegetable garden.  Life is shaping up for me in Sun City.  

Next upgrades will be a kiddie pool and a hammock!     :)  

i have a big bed!  :)

I've also recently placed my guest bed on Couchsurfing and hope to host some adventurous spirits in Cite Soleil soon and show them that it's nothing like what they've probably heard.  It has its days, for sure, but I like my life here.  Feel free to visit!

lakay se lakay [home is home]

ah!  bucket bath w/ peppermint bronners!

front gate

simple things..

after a few days of being under-the-weather (just feeling weak, tired, no appetite), i finally awake this morning feeling rejuvenated and back to my normal self.  i'm not one to fall ill so easily (even after drinking the tap water and eating street food on a regular basis, even in the slum of a country such as haiti), so when i do catch a bug, it really makes me realize the value of good health.  there is nothing that comes before it.

and now that i'm feeling normal again, i can once again appreciate all of the other simple, beautiful things that life has to offer.  for example… these teeny, weeny flowers have been raining down from the moringa tree in my yard for a week now, littering the floor of my outdoor bathing area.  and, although i've always appreciated seeing them, scattered about at my feet, i'd never taken the time to look closely and realize just how exotic they are… like miniature orchids.  

so, that's all.  i just wanted to share one of the itty bitty things from my daily life that give me great pleasure.  don't forget to take time to smell the flowers.   have a wonderful day!

i'm back!?

seriously, it has been so long since i've posted, and i only keep putting it off because i really just don't know where to begin.  catching up….. since my last post…  a lot has been going on!  

spent about a month in the states from early august to early september… family, friends, love & my first burning man.  vacation well spent.  :)

snake (soley leve's graffiti artist) tagging his way thru the cite

back in haiti, things are rocking & rolling in Cite Soleil.  Soley Leve (the rising sun movement) has been getting lots of attention and has found some financial support!  this means that not only can we achieve a lot more regarding community development, but also that i will have a stipend to cover my living expenses, allowing me to stick around a while longer!  you see… just go after your dreams, do what you really love, and things generally work out for the best.  love it!  

soley leve truck brings the sound & the party

So life in the Cite is pretty good… there has been some violence in my hood since being back, but things seem to be stabilizing now.  Each day this week we've been holding community action days in different neighborhoods to revive the movement in a big way.  The events have been a big success… every day we load up the Soley Leve truck (yes, we have a truck now!) w/ a big sound system, bringing the party to the street where the action is happening… envision crowds of people dancing w/ brooms, shovels and paintbrushes in hand.  It makes getting dirty a lot of fun!  Monday is a Haitian national holiday commemorating Dessaline's death.  There will be a big march through the Cite, followed by a big party in Plas Fyete, the public plaza.  i love my life.

Here's a nice excerpt from the book i'm reading now (Just & Lasting Change: When Communities Own Their Futures, by Daniel and Carl Taylor), which pretty much sums up what i'm doing here in Haiti: 

Go to the People.

Live with the People, 

Learn from the People.

Plan with the People, 

Work with the People.

Start with what they  know, 

Build on what they have.

Teach by showing, learn by doing.

Not a showcase, but a pattern.

Not piecemeal, but integrated.

Not odds and ends, but a system.

Not to conform, but to transform.

Not relief, but release.

~Jimmy Yen

a student of the world, I'm learning every day.  we all have something to offer.  let's help each other out.  

love, light, peace and joy!   will post again soon!  :)

yummy seasons :)

Those who know me well probably know how excited I get about mango season, particularly in Haiti.  I’m talking mangoes EVERYWHERE; lining the streets in pretty little green & yellow piles, heaped in baskets atop the heads of women en route to market, loaded to capacity in big trucks from the country to the city, the sound of one falling from the blow of a sandal, rock or green mango cast by a young boy or girl, and the smell of them fermenting on the ground during peak season (there are that many).  Mangoes of some forty different strains, varying in shape, size, taste, color & texture, can be found in haiti.  I, of course, have my favorites, but it’s fun to try them all.  Another thing that makes mango season in Haiti better than anywhere else is that you can buy a whole big pile of ‘em for about fifty cents (that and people are always gifting them)!  I almost live on mangoes alone through the months of January - July in Haiti.   

And just when I’m about to turn into a mango… avocados come to the rescue!  Mango season is petering out now & the avos are starting to roll in (the absolutely best time ever) here in haiti.  Since the day I spotted the first avocado in the street about a week ago (the lady selling stuff had only one &, after doing a double-take, I turned around to snag it up) I have, no lie, been thriving pretty much solely on avocados an mangoes.  It’s just too friggin’ hot for me to eat a plate of hot & heavy rice w/ beans & sauce.  …but a nice avo salad (avo, tomato, onion, olive oil & balsamic vinegar) has been my daily pleasure (maybe next week I’ll switch to guacamole w/ homemade tortillas ;).  And, here, a beautiful rich avocado sells for about 20 cents each.  Eating those imported things in the temperate US just doesn’t do it for me.  Haiti’s got me hooked.    ;)        

       

ps: i borrowed these pics from the web. 

ladies, be a diva, please

I never, ever, thought I would write about anything concerning a diva of any kind but, hey, look, it’s happening.  It’s just that I’ve been part of one too many conversations concerning menstrual cycles where I couldn’t help but tout the blessings of the menstrual cup.  Sooooo, if you dON’T know what I’m talking about, perk up your ears (or eyes, I suppose) and listen for a sec.  

The menstrual cup is a small, pliable, silicone cup that catches all the goods when inserted in the vagina during your menstrual cycle.  Personally it’s one of the best things that has ever happened to me.  No more buying tampons every month (which are not cheap). No more creating “feminine” waste every month.  And no more being caught off guard (don’t you hate trying to discreetly ask around for a tampon?). 

There are several brands out there, but I have the Diva Cup.  It’s simple, comfortable & so much easier to deal w/ than pads or tampons.  And if you think it may be messy, think again.  Plus, one cup lasts about 10 years! 

That’s all I’ve got to say about that.  Go ahead, do your own research, & go get one if you don’t already use one!  It’s better for you/me & better for the planet.  How can you go wrong?    

I'll be in the states for a month in August, so if you want me to bring one back to Haiti for you, let me know!

revolution baby

painting the town of la reference

According to modern economic standards, Haiti can be perceived as the most helpless and dependent population of the Western hemisphere. There were 4,000 NGOs working here before the earthquake, which leaped to 10,000 on the ground after. $10 billion have been pledged to lift this country out of misery but 18 months have passed and it’s a mystery where all of that money has gone. …or is it (into the pockets of aid workers, perhaps?)?

Port-au-Prince residents, when questioned about the lack of traction on the entire movement, as well as at the individual level, bear the same explanation: “We don’t have money. We don’t have the means for change.” And that's the problem: The mentality is that money is the ultimate solution as well as the universal impediment.

However, despite these realities, a quiet revolution is taking place in Cité Soleil, which is probably the most disenfranchised community in all of Haiti. Sure, they are poor. They say so themselves. But poverty is a relative term. In their case, they are poor because they have always counted the things that they don’t have. But if they count up all that they do have, regarding resources, they will see that they are, in fact, rich. The most amazingly refreshing thing is that THEY GET IT. They finally understand that NGOs can’t and won’t save them. They understand that money is not ever going to come on its own. And they’re finally starting to understand the value of their own heads, hands and hearts. It’s so exciting to work alongside a motivated group of young Haitians without being viewed, personally, as a piggy bank.

new street sign for la reference

So we had initially named the little movement in our community of La Reference, “Pwojè Soley Leve [The Rising Sun Project]” but we now realize that we are not alone. This movement is so much bigger, extending far outside the limits of our street. There are other groups just like ours who have self mobilized to actively put forth a positive image of Cité Soleil.
   

mural at la difference

One is a group called La Difference, who has successfully transformed an area of 4 blocks into a beautiful oasis of cleanliness & security.
 

sunset near the wharf

Another is the Cité Soleil fishing cooperative (OPECS) who, in addition to fishing, organizes voluntary beach clean-ups and works together to maintain clean public toilets, etc.
  
 

CSA share

Then there is a farming cooperative (REMISOV)in the rural part of the Cité who has reclaimed the land once run by the Haitian American Sugar Company to grow organic food crops while creating their own micro financing system.


And the list of groups volunteering to make a difference for their community and rule their own destinies keeps growing. Yesssss….


So my mighty sidekick, Sabina, and I have been working to connect the dots between them so that they realize that the entirety of Cité Soleil can and will change, and soon, if they just combine their efforts and continue on this path. We’ve been having meetings and they are getting organized. This is now the movement we are calling “Rising Sun”. Could it be a revolution? I love this shit.

super-adobe in haiti

house in bigones

Shelter is a big issue in Haiti these days.  Homes are a status symbol here, and one’s class may be determined by their roof: straw/thatch= lower class, tin/zinc=middle class, concrete=upper class.  For this reason, concrete block houses have been considered most desirable and folks will stretch their resources to the limit to have 4 concrete walls and a roof.  In most cases, this has resulted in very weak structures, the cement to sand ration way off.  

This error was exposed to the world all too blatantly on January 12^th of last year, when the majority of concrete homes came crumbling down in and around Port-au-Prince and Leogane, leaving an estimated 316,000 dead, 300,000 injured and about 1.8 million homeless.  A year and a half after that 7.0 earthquake, the cracked, collapsed and piled up remains of these once “high class” structures can still be seen and about 1.5 million people are still living in idp camps. 

building process

Needless to say, Haitians are now generally frightened of concrete buildings.  In most cases, the rubble where they once stood has been cleared to make way for humble shacks of sheet metal or plastic tarps, where people feel safer.  Who knows how long it may take to rebuild this country but, on the positive side, this is a golden opportunity to do it right.
  

What might be the right way?  I would say, one that is affordable, that uses local materials, which withstands hurricanes and earthquakes and that which is appropriate for a hot, tropical climate.  Hmmmm….    There is a lot of experimentation going on here at the moment w/ various building methods but one that I find most interesting is super-adobe.

bamboo air vents

Super-adobe is a building technique using long (uncut) rice sacks filled with a mixture of earth, sand and a little cement (optional), which are stacked upon each other (held together with barbed wire) in a circular pattern and tamped down, eventually forming a dome structure with ventilation at the top.  Such structures have a lot of thermal mass and the ones that I’ve visited in Haiti were surprisingly cool inside.  And, although not traditional in Haitian culture, they are simply beautiful, even by local standards.  What’s perhaps most important is that they are virtually disaster-proof and all of the materials can be obtained locally at a reasonable cost.

I had the opportunity to help build one of these structures during a permaculture design course at the GrassRoots United base in Port-au-Prince last month.  It was definitely a labor intensive process but, with a good group of people and a little organization, it can actually be pretty fun.  Perhaps the best part, though, is sitting back and admiring such a collective work of art as it progresses with each day of hard work.   I hope to see more and more super-adobe homes popping up throughout Haiti over the years to come.  I might just build my own.  ;)

natural light and air flow

Groups working w/ super-adobe in Haiti:

Love & Haiti Project

Konbit Shelter

community center in bigones