The horrendous destruction visited on Haiti last week has sparked a torrent of compassion from around the world. Even the bioenergy community has turned out to support the relief effort.
But when the relief agencies move on to the next crisis and the last US marine has returned home, Haiti will still be an impoverished and broken country suffering the consequences of decades of profound social, economic, and environmental neglect.
There is much talk of planning for the long term stability and growth of the nation. But any development aid and growth plans will take time to bear fruit. Even the replanting of trees and the rebuilding of infrastructure will take years. So, for the majority of the poor people in Haiti, moving up the social, economic, and energy ladder will take a long time.
Bringing greater efficiency to the use of biomass, the main fuel used by Haitians for their daily domestic energy needs, is one area where meaningful improvements can be rapidly made at a very low cost.
The technology exists and significant programs (*) are already under way in the fields of alternative biofuels, improved cookstove technology, more energy-efficient kilns, and sustainable biomass briquettes. The coordinated leveraging of this experience will not only directly benefit the energy-starved people of Port-au-Prince, it will also have a positive impact on the rest of the country’s urban and rural population. Even the forests of the neighboring Dominican Republic will benefit from Haiti’s reduced pressure on it’s timber resources.
Our hope is that the officials set to discuss the short, medium, and long-term reconstruction efforts in Haiti will seriously take into consideration the tremendous opportunity that is at hand when it comes to improving energy efficiency for Haiti’s energy poor. By harnessing existing experience and setting out clear policies, the Haitian people and their government can become a model for the sustainable and efficient use of biomass as primary domestic fuel.
Watch a brief video of President Bill Clinton describing the effectiveness and hope of the paper waste briquette program in Port au Prince.
The mission of The Charcoal Project is also to advocate for the inclusion of energy efficiency across the biomass energy supply chain on a local and global level.
That’s why The Charcoal Project will do everything it can to ensure that a national bioenergy energy-efficiency program is on the agenda of national and international governments — along multilateral agencies — discussing the sustainable rebirth of Haiti.
We will report back to you on the progress we make.
Thanks for your support!
Kim
* MIT D-Lab – They’ve designed several inexpensive, easily manufactured devices that make use of sugarcane waste by successfully converting the biomass into marketable cooking charcoal in Haiti.
* Bethlehem Ministry – They are doing pioneering work with jatropha
* EarthSpark International – Working on microfinancing and experimenting with alternative fuels in Haiti.
* Trees, Water, and People and their partner in Haiti, AMURT – Both are doing great work with the Rocket Stove in Haiti
* Apologies to the many other organizations and projects doing great work on the ground in Haiti.
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