Highland Dreams

The Sevane, Haiti

The air has turned torrid once again, challenging us with intense humidity and a complete lack of breezes. Our morning was given over to making a survey hike of the Cange Valley. We all were in a state of dehydration by the time we got down to the bottom of the mountain valley. Our goal was to determine the best route for six thousand feet of high pressure waterline. We had several options to consider and we had nearly decided on laying high pressure polyethylene pipe down the valley until we learned that slash and burn agriculture is common here. Fire and polyethylene pipe don’t mix. We are now looking at putting down galvanized pipe some distance from the existing dirt path that the current pipe follows. A national highway is supposed to be put through here in the next eighteen months and its construction is slated to destroy four hundred houses along with our current water line. Engineering issues make for a lot of uncertainties that need to be carefully weighed before we drag twenty tons of pipe into the valley. Fortunately, we have good people working on the logistics. We hope that a pipe routing can be flagged in December and laying of pipe done before the next rainy season starts.

We were astounded to find that a large crew of men has been working two days on the second wall of the dam and has made great progress. There is a profoundly satisfying sense in seeing much concrete and rock work on the dam and knowing that local men are earning good salaries for honest hard work. We had a deep awareness that this was the way development should be done - empowering the local members of the community with meaningful work and a sense of ownership of the infrastructure that will make such a great contribution to the quality of their lives. For me seeing this work was the high point of the week. We then again climbed that epic staircase of 1,500 steps to find our way back to the compound for cold water and a big meal that would replenish strength and electrolytes.

During the afternoon we climbed over 1,200 feet about Cange to a highland savannah known locally as the Sevane. The setting of the high grassland is spectacular and a cool breeze greatly refreshed our wilted beings. The mountain and lake views would easily command $400 a night if there was a good hotel sited here. Alas, the leadership of this struggling country has kept the people from benefitting from their beautiful natural resources.

We are interested in determining the feasibility of getting water to this region. The flat rich soil is quite promising for agriculture, except for the lack of irrigation water. We made a survey of plants that have medicinal value. It was quite inspiring to see just how many plants have been found useful as natural remedies. We found a small number of people living in the highlands. Most migrated down the mountain years ago to live near the water system installed in the mid 1980s. It is this system we are in process of replacing.

On the return I found a fifteen foot flower stalk on a yucca-like plant. It was adorned with intense gold flowers similar in size to sunflowers. I later learned that this rare variety blooms but once a year. It was a magnificent specimen that one would expect to find in the Lost World.

During the evening we returned to the compound where it seemed the United Nations was convening once again. It has been a great joy to have this international exchange.