Solstice on the Farm

The winter solstice demonstrates the enduring cycle of the heavens by an event that has been directly observable, year in and year out, century after century, for millions of years. The new year begins with the turning point of the winter solstice, as it has down through eons-an unending cycle of dark and light, waning and waxing, ultimately representing nature's birth, death, and rebirth. The winter solstice is a time to affirm our spiritual ties to nature through celebrations and traditions that are thousands of years old. The season is a time to renew family ties, take joy in our natural environment, reflect on the events of the old year, and look forward in anticipation to the new. -- Lisa Hutchins

We spent our "new year" on the farm: making a solstice/Christmas wreath with found treasures, delighting in friends and nature, digging new garden beds and playing by a fire. The next day dawned just a little bit earlier.

MCC tree distribution

Two weekends ago we went to Desarmes for livrezon, the annual distribution of trees grown in MCC-supported community nurseries. To learn more about this program, check out this old blogpost from Alexis.

La Réserve de la Forêt des Pins

Over the weekend we discovered a Haitian paradise. Ben and I are mountain people. We love love love the outdoors and love trees and cool air and mist and everything that comes along with mountain forests. Although we hike regularly in Kenscoff and from time to time make the trek to Seguin, we just haven't quite been getting our being-outdoors-in-the-mountains fix. Until now. A short three hours southeast from Port-Au-Prince is la Réserve de la Forêt des Pins (the Pine Forest reserve) - elevation almost 6,000 feet. The Ministry of the Environment maintains at least 13 wooden cabins (we saw 13, anyway) in the forest that date from the 1940's. Trees, trails, amazing flora, and barely anyone around... clearly heaven in Haiti.

Trees in Haiti

Decent organizations doing reforestation in Haiti are Floresta, IOM, MCC

Breathing Space

Our hike to Seguin with Caleb.

peace, love and reforestation

MCC Haiti in brief: peace, love and reforestation... (also upholding and monitoring human rights, empowering the poor and marginalized, facilitating mutually transformative relationships, and so on)

While most of MCC's goals here are hard to measure, my visit to Desarmes and the MCC forestry program was exciting and demonstrative of one of the things MCC does in Haiti: Trees! MCC has helped set up and supports 23 community-run tree nurseries (pepinyè) throughout the Dezam area. The nurseries contract and sell trees to other organizations with forestry programs ie. IOM, and also sell trees at a minimal cost to community members. MCC provides technical and organizational training, some financial assistance and helps to find buyers for the trees, but the nurseries are otherwise run on their own. The goal is obviously that they be self-sustainable. Collectively this year, the pepinyè grew and sold 450,000 trees!

The program also supports privately-owned ti forè, or little forests, which has proven to be the fastest way to carry out reforestation. Individuals receive training (on soil conservation, sustainable harvesting, interplanting trees with corn and sorghum etc) from MCC, purchase tree seedlings and plant forests of their own. The ecological, social and economic (trees are scarce in Haiti and sustainable tree harvesting provides a major economic boost to the owner of a ti forè) impact of these ti forè is notable!

And finally, MCC Dezam has an environmental education program in 14 schools in the area. The MCC team trains teachers, who in turn teach their students about environmental appreciation and protection, the difference between trash and compost, and, with the cooperation of the community pepinyè, how to plant and care for tree seedlings.

I want to end this post with the lyrics to a fun little song that we learned in Dezam:

Piti piti na rive (little by little we'll arrive)
Piti piti si n mache (little by little if we walk)
Yon jou na rive (one day we will arrive)