Photo Update

My last few weeks have been particularly random, but I've seen and done some neat things. Here are just a few pictures that capture what I've done, where I've been, and some of the amazing people I spend time with.

Exploring a (small) limestone cave with Ambioli and Roro

A potential site for a new Cange market. This site would be for a once a week large market, modeled after similar weekly markets in nearby towns. It's about the size of a soccer field and easily accessible from Route 3.

The Dirty Side of Biodigesters

The Clemson engineers have built a new biodigester latrine here in Cange that will provide more sanitary restroom conditions, take care of waste management, and produce useful gas and waste water for agriculture. I've shown you a few pictures of it already, but it has so far been inactive. Yesterday, I joined Sam on an trip to collect 30 gallons of cow manure to seed the biodigester bag preparing it for use by people. Hopefully by next week it will be operational.

When we traveled to the town of Casse to pick up the sack of kaka bef, rain was just arriving. We delicately tossed the large sack into the back of the pickup truck and took off to Cange. On our way through the Casse market, about 10 people jumped in the back of a truck for a faster trip up the road. I suspect they were unaware of the other cargo we were hauling.

Fortunately, upon returning to Cange, the rain finally moved on and we were able to carry the manure down to the biodigester. Here are a few pictures of the professional process of scooping poo into a bag.

Trip to North Carolina

No I didn't leave Haiti to go back to the Blue Ridge Mountains, but Father Kesner did during a two week trip around the Carolinas. On Thursday, Father Kesner and Ferest, who traveled from Cange, met and had lunch with my parents. Jane Chalker and Al Brady were also there.So glad they got to meet each other and connect.

Ferest, Father Kesner, Mom, Dad, Jane, Al

Cange Circa 1983

"It is appropriate for this project, and suits us fine to consider the spring as part of a divine scheme for supply water to Cange and we will not seek further scientific explanations."

That spring is still going strong, supplying life giving water for the village of Cange through a water system built decades ago and updated by Clemson engineers in the past four years. The source of that important spring is still unknown, yet the water still comes.

The remark about the "divine scheme" comes from the original engineering feasibility study from 1983 done for a water supply system to Cange and Ecole Bon Sauveur. The project marked a significant addition to the relationship between the Episcopal Upper Diocese of South Carolina and the town of Cange, Haiti, a relationship which continues today.

Church in Tierra Muscady

Yesterday I got the chance to see one of the nineteen smaller Episcopal parishes near Cange. Father Kesner preached at Eglise Transfiguration de Tierra in Tierra Muscady. That church is supported by Church of the Incarnation in Highlands, NC, where Kesner will be preaching in two weeks. We went to Tierra Muscady with Jane Chaulker and a few others from Church of the Incarnation who were here in Cange for the week.

The trip to Tierra Muscady was one of my first to a village outside of Cange. We were able to take a car to the church, heading up the paved Route 3 until taking a right onto a rocky dirt road.

What Am I Doing?

My assignment in Cange is economic development, a fairly nebulous task that means different things to different people. But over my first two weeks here, I've gained a much better idea of my tasks.

The broadest perspective involves creating a baseline study of the economy of Cange and the surrounding villages to help guide future economic development in the area. For this, I will work together with the economic development project team of Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries and local entrepreneurs to create a report on the economy. This process will include conversations with locals in the market, various store owners, and those who live in smaller villages who produce (or could be producing) agricultural products to sell in Cange.