Maison L’Arc-en-Ciel- How to Utilize Scarce Resources to Maximize Results

Maison L’Arc-en-Ciel has an abundance of some of the resources needed to create a self-sustainable farm, but unfortunately lacks some others, which we will need to subsidize through our work and fundraising. The human capital of the staff and children, who are ready and willing to learn the in’s and out’s of living on a sustainable farm, is plentiful, and is one of our best assets. Utilizing and educating groups of extremely capable children and adults who are all working towards the same goal will expedite the sustainable transformation process, as well as ensure positive change can continue to occur after our stay at MAEC comes to an end. It is critically important that we work to spark genuine interest of the different projects in each child and find what personally excites them enough to want to continue to work and expand the projects long after our work crews are gone.

There is also a large amount of land that can be utilized to reach our goal of becoming sustainable, with a full 8 acres to work with.

What Maison L’Arc-en-Ciel lacks, are natural resources necessary to jumpstart the projects. Currently, MAEC depends solely on rainfall as a source of water, with a limited total storage capacity. In addition to this, all electricity is sourced from a small diesel generator, with a small battery storage system which limits the power than can be stored and the amount of equipment that can be used on the system. In addition to this, the soil lacks nutrients due to the steep slope of the land, and constant erosion that occurs due to lack of agricultural ground coverage in some spots. Luckily for us and MAEC, all of these problems can be fixed. We can improve the cistern system currently in place, as well as work on digging a well, in order to increase maximum storage capacity as well as have a source of water outside of the rainy seasons. We can replace the diesel generator with a clean solar system, and potentially implement a device such as Tesla’s “Powerwall” to increase electricity storage capacity and allow for more equipment to used at the orphanage. In order to improve soil quality, we will need to plant crops that enrich the soil after a season, such as annual clovers, beans and peas, and vetch. This will contribute to and improve the nitrogen content and overall quality of the soil.

By using advice from experts here in the US and in Canada, the Honey for Haiti team can work to improve the overall water storage, energy capacity, and soil health of Maison L’Arc-en-Ciel and help drive them into a sustainable future. To learn more or get involved, please visit us at www.HoneyForHaiti.org, on Facebook @Honey For Haiti, or reach us by email at honeyforhaiti@gmail.com!