Fween Tree Seedlings

These are Fwenn seedings from the Fween tree, a native forest tree of Haiti. Fween trees grow fast and are a great companion to the variety of fruit trees Haitian farmers and communities are growing.

A month ago, the mature Fwenn trees in the area started shedding seeds. Workers from The Haiti Tree Project collected the seeds and put them aside, hoping to have enough funding to grow more trees in time for October rains. Since the nursery is in the village, community members now see the value in the seedlings and bring them into the nursery. Our nursery manager, Enel, felt obligated to buy them so they wouldn't die.

He showed them to the agronomist who then gave Enel 1,500 seedlings bags on credit to plant them. If we’re able to get enough funding in the next few months, the seedlings will be planted on mountain tops that they usually wouldn’t reach, alongside a variety of other trees.

Community Work

From all steps, the story of these seeds shows the community drive in keeping the nursery going when funds are low. Contribution on all levels shows us that the Haitian communities are aware of the importance of reforesting mountaintops and lands.

It costs over $3.00 to grow and support a tree’s growth for a year. Monthly donors ensure Haitian communities always have trees growing. Steady donations also provided the communities with consistent seeds to plant in the best locations for the most social and environmental benefit. The long-term goal is a reforested Haiti where communities are self-sustainable and have food sovereignty.

We are always in an uphill battle but we’ll keep climbing thanks to supporters like you.

Replanting Next To A Ravine

This week our tree tracker, “Tikouto”, went to visit a land that received an 800 tree delivery for a land right next to the ravine, which desperately needs restoration to stop the river from widening more.

Tikouto found most of the trees still unplanted and a desperate farmer in need of help because he couldn’t plant the trees all alone. The farmer paid for a team of workers to show up and help plant the trees, but unfortunately, when former President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated, no one showed up to work.

Tikouto can’t track trees that aren’t planted. So instead of going to work another job, he stayed and planted the trees alongside Farmer Rober.

Today, Tikouto’s love for his community and the future of his country through reforestation was more important than his job.

Nursery Water Supply Lost

Last week, Hurricane Elsa hit Haiti. The village of Sucrerie was hit and our nursery lost its water supply.

Without water, we’d lose the trees growing in the nursery, so we paid a truck driver to bring water barrels to the nursery. We also helped pay for the new piping to bring a constant water flow back into the nursery.

Unexpected costs come up a lot in Haiti and having ongoing donations is essential to keeping trees healthy and the Haitian farmers and communities supplied with a variety of trees. Without our ongoing monthly donors, we wouldn’t have been able to pay for the truck, water the trees to extend their life, or pay for a new water supply pipe.

As climate change intensifies, we know we’ll have more extensive costs down the line for repairs, paying workers, and getting additional support while repairs are being worked on. Please consider a monthly donation to help us and the Haitian communities budget and prepare for the unexpected.

Trees Along The River

Today we sent 650 trees to the Rivière La Sucrerie bed for owner Jean Rober to plant. Along with his family, Jean planted five fruit and nut trees along the river bank.

Today the river is flowing because of Hurricane Elsa. Thirty years ago, the river was narrow and filled with rushing water. Unfortunately, clear-cutting mountains and riversides have left it dry most of the year, with occasional floods gradually destroying the river banks.

Making Due Without Transport

Today, a priest sent many Haitians to the nursery to get trees. Although a truck was supposed to show up later in the day and help the community members carry them back home, it never showed.

But the community wasn’t discouraged. They grabbed as many trees as they needed, placed them on their heads, and walked back home.

Eight Hundred Tree, Ready to Be Planted!

This week, even though our funds have been low, we were able to transport nearly 800 trees to Haitian communities that have requested them.

These trees need to go in the ground fast. With eight different tree species, some communities will plant them along the river bank to stop further erosion. Other communities will and plant trees high up in the mountains.

l hope that we’ll be able to afford tree trackers to come to these communities and lands. With tree trackers, we can photograph the trees, so donors can see their growth over time, in real-time.

Keeping Overhead Costs Under 5%

At The Haiti Tree Project, we volunteer in the U.S. to bring in support. We direct the project virtually with free tree monitoring services from Greenstand and free communication services from WhatsApp. Both services allow us to keep track of progress and support Haitian communities from afar.

In order to make this communication possible sometimes we have to spend money on phones and batteries. This $150 car battery will serve to charge our three work phones and keep us in communication for a few years, fingers crossed.

Seedlings Reaching The Water Spring

A local car owner pitched in today and helped get many of the Sed trees closer to the water spring where they will be carried by hand to the top. All 1,000 finished planting today and you will be able to see them on Greenstand map.

Planting the Watershed

The treetracker in this video talk about how filling this land with trees filtrates the water down to the spring below. Twenty-five people planted 1,000 trees over two days.

Forest Site 2 - Above the Spring

High above the water spring, a thousand Sed trees will grow. People who live nearby will water them through the dry season. People from all over come to drink here and are extremely appreciative of the work being done. People see trees over the spring and know there’ll be a year-round supply of clean water