OS story re: improving Haiti's environment

[Christine Whitney Sanchez]

Hi John,

Thanks for sharing this story and report.  I intend to pass it along to some
environmental literacy folks here in Arizona who are considering Open Space.


I love the visual of the practice of Open Space blossoming in Haiti.  How
heartwarming it must be to see some of the many seeds you planted coming to
fruition. 

Christine
 
Christine Whitney Sanchez
KAIROS Alliance Inc.
2717 E. Mountain Sky Avenue
Phoenix, AZ  85048
480.759.0262
www.kairosalliance.com <http://www.kairosalliance.com> 

-----Original Message-----
From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of john engle
Sent: Monday, November 28, 2005 8:54 AM
To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
Subject: OS story re: improving Haiti's environment

Hi friends.

Recently I was reminded again of the power of sharing good stories.

I thought I'd share a report that my friend and colleague Melinda Miles
wrote about the OS event her organization sponsored in September. I had the
wonderful opportunity of accompanying Ulrick, who facilitated. Some of you
know Ulrick, who participated in Practice of Peace gathering on Whidbey
Island.

Ulrick is thriving, facilitating open space events right and left and
helping others to learn os as well. Fremy and many others in Haiti are
thriving as well. I just thought it would be good to share a little update
from one of the many places I'm sure, where the practice of open space
continues to blossom but because most of the practitioners don't speak
english, they are not present on this list.

Melinda posted the report below on a popular listserv for people interested
in Haiti. I think there are about 1,200 people on it, most of which are
outside of Haiti.


Dear Friends of Haiti,

At the end of September, Konbit Pou Ayiti/KONPAY hosted nearly forty
Haitians in Jacmel, Haiti, for a three day conference on the environment. 
The conference was an opportunity for Haitians from throughout the country
to gather and share experience and knowledge and launch a national working
group on the environment. KONPAY is excited to share the following summary
report of the conference with you. If you are interested in learning more or
getting involved, please don't hesitate to contact us, melinda at konpay.org.

For a green Haiti,

Joe Duplan and Melinda Miles Co-Directors, KONPAY, www.konpay.org

Building a National Working Group on the Haitian Environment

Summary Report of the Konbit Pou Ayiti/KONPAY Conference, September 2005

CONTENTS: 1. Introduction

2. Resolutions for a Green Haiti

3. Resolution on Women

4. Education and Training

5. Carrying the Work Forward

6. KONPAY Activities for National Environmental Initiative

7. Get Involved!

1. Introduction

At the end of September, Konbit Pou Ayiti/KONPAY hosted a three-day meeting
in Jacmel, Haiti on the theme: How can we build a national working group on
Haiti's environment? Participants were recruited from strategic geographical
areas and professional sectors. Forty Haitians from throughout Haiti arrived
to share their experiences with environmental protection and rehabilitation
and to contribute their ideas to this critically important topic.

A diversity of current initiatives on behalf of Haiti's environment were
represented, including national peasant movements, non-governmental
institutions, small-community based organizations and groups working with
international and church support. Among the participants were agronomists,
agronomy technicians, a forestry engineer, community organizers, educators,
anthropologists and people with years of on-the-ground experience.

KONPAY chose to use the Open Space method to facilitate the greatest
possible exchange of ideas. Open Space gives participants the freedom to
create an agenda that covers what is most important to them, based on the
logic that passion creates motivation. As a result, the agenda of the
meeting came from participants who are not only engaged in environmental
work but feel the affects of Haiti's environmental problems first-hand in
their communities.

Major themes discussed during the conference include: Poverty and
environmental degradation The importance of planting trees and preserving
remaining forests; Alternatives to charcoal; Solutions for garbage and
pollution; Responsibilities of the government and lobbying the authorities;
Training, education and raising awareness; The importance of women in
environmental work; Why a "konbit" (a community work group) on the
environment; and Carrying the work forward, collaboration and outreach.

2. Resolutions for a Green Haiti

Throughout the conference participants reaffirmed their consensus around one
major goal: building a green Haiti. The focus of the conference was to
create a new working group who will lead a national initiative toward this
end. The first step was to bring leaders from diverse locations and
backgrounds together and to create trust within the group. The conference
allowed people the opportunity to get to know one another, begin to build
connections, and to form consensus. The participants in the conference
arrived at several points of unity:

1. We need to take action now. We have to plant and protect trees. We need
measures to conserve soil across the country. Where there are no irrigation
systems, we must build them. Where there is the opportunity to transform
agricultural products, we have to create the means for transformation. Where
we have tourist spots we should develop eco-tourism and arts and crafts. We
will take the initiative to create a national "konbit" (working group) for
the environment with people from each of Haiti's ten geographical
departments.

2. We will combat poverty. The environmental problems we are facing call us
to create something more than an isolated movement; we have to work on the
causes of poverty.

3. Education and raising awareness are critical to efforts to save Haiti's
environment. Public education campaigns to inform the general public about
environmental issues and community schools for peasant farmers should be
established. People need to learn the importance of trees - educate the
young people. Work should be done to raise awareness among charcoal
producers of the alternatives to charcoal.

4. The government must take its responsibility. It needs to make laws to
conserve soil and protect trees. Measures have to be taken to find
alternative systems for the owners of dry cleaning, bakeries and other
businesses that use wood for fuel. The state should provide more resources
and work harder to help people respond to the needs of the families. We will
work together to pressure the government of Haiti to take its
responsibility.

3. Resolution on Women

Considering the marginalization of women in Haiti's society, juxtaposed with
their integral role in agricultural and family life, the participants of the
conference expressed the importance of empowering women to participate in
the national working group.

We will include women in all of our meetings and assemblies. We will help
women free their minds from the instruction of inequality they learn from
their families and society. We will raise awareness with men so they can
understand women, and with women so they can be integrated into all
activities.

4. Education and Training

Participants in the conference were unanimous in their belief that education
and training are critical elements in efforts to protect the environment. 
Education and training must be made available to the general population
about the environment in which they live. This includes the means and
methods for protecting their land, methods for recycling and composting, the
importance of trees to people and soil, and the necessity of rotating crops
to renew soil. Public service announcements should be ongoing and should be
complimented with educational events that reach people in their homes,
schools, churches and other community venues.

5. Carrying the Work Forward

As the conference drew to a close, participants tackled the question of how
to follow up and continue the work that was started during the event. The
group decided that each individual and his/her organization must share the
results of the conference with his/her community. It was suggested that a
follow-up conference be held in one year to include broader participation
from national stakeholders in the environment. Also, a group was formed to
review and organize conference results into a bound document for broad
consumption of references on education, training, resources and the national
initiative.

Why a konbit for Haiti's environment? Participants discussed the reason for
choosing to create a konbit, or working group, as opposed to a national
network or other more formal institution: A konbit is a group of people who
put their heads together for one goal because we are all aware, and we are
all victims. If we want to save the environment, a konbit is the last card
in the deck, and it's time to play it. A konbit is the right philosophy,
because the environment is the work of everyone. The environment is complex,
so we need a team that includes agronomists, forestry engineers, women, and
educators. We can have a group designated to keep contact and inform others
of the work of the konbit, and local groups can help their communities get
involved.

Participants agreed that because it overlaps with KONPAY's current
activities, KONPAY should coordinate follow-up activities determined by the
conference participants. Tasks include: 1. Facilitate ongoing communication
among participants.

2. Conduct follow-up activities to achieve our long-term objective of an
active, grassroots-based national working group for a green Haiti.

3. Permit decentralization by visiting communities in remote rural areas and
integrating them into the initiative.

4. Coordinate and facilitate relationship building and training among
participants.

5. Keep a community calendar of events on the internet.

6. Encourage participants to stay engaged.

7. Envision an action plan for the initiative, using input from entire
working group.

6. KONPAY Activities for the National Environmental Initiative

Konbit Pou Ayiti/KONPAY (Working Together for Haiti) strengthens existing
organizations, builds national networks and creates relationships between
individuals in the U.S. and Haiti. KONPAY focuses on Haitian solutions to
environmental, social and economic problems and provides training and
funding to grassroots and community-based projects.

In September KONPAY realized a long-term dream of bringing together Haitian
environmentalists to strategize and plan a national initiative together. 
Over the next year, KONPAY will be coordinating follow-up activities on the
conference and preparing for a larger, national conference next year. This
work will happen on several levels.

First, KONPAY will catalogue existing efforts on the environment. KONPAY
will solicit information from organizations that can be accessed via
internet or phone and will conduct site visits to remote areas around the
country. Staff will visit villages in each geographical department to meet
with local environmental leaders. With the information gathered, KONPAY will
begin to build a library of organizations, cooperatives, and other
initiatives for the environment around the country. The entries for each
effort will include information about what resources they have and what they
need. This directory will be available on the internet. In addition, KONPAY
will begin building a library of information and articles on the environment
in Creole to be available both online and for hard copy distribution in more
remote areas.

The second aspect of the effort is direct assistance to projects throughout
the country. This assistance will sometimes be funding for a tree nursery or
other project. Whenever possible KONPAY will link existing efforts to
utilize resources already available. For example, KONPAY is working now to
put a new group in Hatte-Granmont (Artibonite) in touch with the project in
Gros Morne, which is large enough to offer training and seedlings to
Hatte-Granmont. KONPAY has hired an agronomist, Claudy Pierre, and will soon
be bringing on another agronomist, Carlot Oscar, to work as a team offering
diverse training to groups throughout the country. Claudy and Carlot will
offer technical support to projects and conduct outreach for building the
national konbit on the environment, as well.

KONPAY will keep September conference participants engaged by coordinating
their outreach efforts for the konbit on the environment, visiting their
projects and offering support wherever possible. KONPAY will work with
participants to find new groups and to hold regional Open Space meetings to
begin determining regional and national agendas on the environment. As the
months progress, a small team will begin planning a second national
conference.

Participants in the conference were quick to point out that the problems in
Haiti's environment are intertwined with the crushing poverty the majority
of the population lives in. KONPAY hopes that a triple threat of direct
assistance, training/popular education, and national organizing will have
immediate, short term benefits, as well as long-term results, especially for
rural families who cannot find enough food to eat. All of KONPAY's
environmental work is based on the principle that there are five areas that
require simultaneous attention in order for any environmental efforts to
succeed: (1) Tree planting and reforestation, (2) irrigation and potable
water, (3) soil conservation and renewal, (4) alternatives to charcoal, and
(5) family level food security.

7. Get Involved!

KONPAY and the National Working Group on the Environment are committed to
the principles of Open Space, including "The people who come are the people
who are supposed to be there." If you feel called to participate in building
a greener Haiti, you are welcome to join us! Here are some ways to get
involved:

1. Suggest projects, individuals, institutions, or locations to be included
in the national directory of environmental projects.

2. Send articles for the new Creole library on the environment! Creole is
preferred, but we'll accept articles in English and French as well.

3. Volunteer to help translate materials from English and French into
Creole.

4. Contact KONPAY to get more deeply involved, Melinda at konpay.org.

5. Make a donation to help support these efforts. Your funding will be put
to work immediately! Here is how your funding might be used:

$ 50 Equipment grant for community group

$100 Scholarship to cover one participant in an in-country exchange

$150 Monthly salary for part-time KONPAY agronomist/organizer

$200 Community-wide education campaign

$250 Travel/stipend for trainers and community educators

$450 Community training session (includes stipends, travel, materials)

$1000 Regional Open Space Meeting and Training

$1,500+ Direct assistance to a community project

END



http://circlesofchange.com participatory learning & leadership in Haiti
http://johnengle.net Open Space facilitation

email: john at johnengle.net
telephone: 202-236-6532

P.O. Box 337
Hershey, PA 17033

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