Like a welcoming present, the plane circled the isle of La Gonave below several times before making its aproach to land in nearby Port-au-Prince.
View of the Capital Port-au-Prince surrounded by the hills of Boutilier and the bay before touch down.
Airplane taxiing into Port-au-Prince Mais gate' Airport.
L-R HAES Chairman/General Coordinator of Envirotech 99, Mr. Noe' Dorestant, Mrs. Jacques of the welcomimg committee of the Haitian Ministry of Haitians living abroad, HAES Secretary/Envirotech 99 Logistic Director, Mr. Marc Antoine Leveille, Mr. Hancy Baptiste, HAES Treasurer, Mr. Max Massac.
No place like home, the HAES team getting ready to eat some delicious Haitian gourmet food in a Petion-Ville restaurant within walking distance of the hotel Villa Creole in Petion-Ville, Haiti. L-R: Mr. Marc Antoine Leveille, Mr. Noe Dorestant, Mrs. and Mr. Max Massac.
Young tree limbs for sale, cause number 1 of Haiti's deforestation and soil erosion problem.
Well dressed countryside ladies walking the street of Ganthier, probably on their way to church.
L-R: Retired (Genetic) Scientist of the U.S. department of Agriculture/volunteer of the Lutheran Church Lazarus project of the Village of Hope, Dr. Calvin Bey talking to Marc Antoine Leveille about his experimentation with vetiver to combat soil erosi on in a mo untain area that had all its trees removed to make charcoal and where it hardly rained, meanwhile Noe Dorestant and Max Massac listen on and look at the surrounding scenery under the hot but bearable sun of the hills top of Ganthier..
Dr. Calvin Bey (Genetic Scientist) showing to Engineer Noe Dorestant the largest non native beans grown in the area. Because of possible harmful effect to human, it can only be used as fertilizer, since it is not fit for human consumption and could ca use calcium lost in the body if eaten in quantity.
Dr. Calvin Bey showing from his solar oven door, dried leaves with medicinal values that he had cultivated from the lands where vetiver had given new support and nutrients to the land so it could once again produce and maintain life.
American widow missionary/philantropist surrounded by supporting Haitian educators of the Village of Hope school of over 300 boys and girls.
Haitian teacher singing along with students during Sunday School in rural Ganthier near Croix des Bouquets.
HAES field trip crew chating with Dr. Bey near wall of vetiver and green banana trees where no one expected anything to grow less than a few years ago.
An impromtue celebration for the result given by the vetiver tree. Link a piece of the rainbow on a t-shirt to another if your eyes can see it and your mind can conceive it. Ironically according to Dr. Bey, Haitians decades ago used to cultivate vetiver in the southern part of the country and sold it by truck load as ingredient to make perfume abroad. In the nothern part of Haiti it was used for soil erosion erosion control in and near exposed river bank. Haiti is experiencing the dilemma of lost civilization, sign of a generation who is loosing the good practice and knowledge of previous generations because of lack of transfer of knowledge from Haitian to Haitian and a great lack of sensitivity to environmental problem.
American Scientist, Calvin Bey and Haitian Engineer Noe Dorestant bidding each other farewell in Ganthier, with the planned hope that they will meet again at the Envirotec 99 conference in Petion-Ville the next day, God willing.
A view of the surrounding valey near Ganthier, with mountain range in the background and the blue lake "Etang Saumatre" along the foot of the first mountain range.
Two youngsters sharing a donkey ride otherwise known as the "Haitian cadillac" in a natural air condionned tree covered areas, just a few driving miles away in the valley opposite the hills of Ganthier.
Our youg tour guides volunteers creating a stone path for our field trip crew to cross the running water without getting our shoes wet.
Our tour guides posing for picture in front of the century old Mapou tree, that is often used for candle light Vodoo ceremony. According to Haitian tradition, the presence of a Mapou tree almost always signal the existence of ground spring water near by.
All, boys and girls taking a very fresh and cool sunday noon bath less than a hundred feet away from the natural undeground spring water near the Mapou tree that turned into a small running river.
Envirotech 99 General Coordinator, Noe Dorestant and Envirotech 99 Logistic Director, Marc A. Leveille talking about the current setting and reminiscing on our own childhood experience in Haiti.
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A Sunday open market in the country side by the river. An exhibit of Haitian peasant peaceful life style of the countryside.
A small man made cement barrage, which collects and holds enough water to give the illusion of a natural pool with its own living tree inside, just merely a few hundred feet downstream from the Mapou tree underground water spring source. As the saying go wherever there is water there will be life. May you all be where the water runs the fresher and where the pasture is greener. Help the environment, be its friend and not its foe, then you will realize how much good companions you and the environment can be. Be a good keeper of the Environment and it will help assure your survival for generations to come. As we are merely hours from the new century (2000), make your comitment for a better millenium for Haiti's and the world's environment that we all depend on for the survival of humanity. "L'Union fera la force dans l'ordre, la discipline et le respect mutuel".
This Envirotech 99 web page was last updated by Noe Dorestant on 12/31/99. Happy New Millenium (21st Century) to Haiti, its people and all the friends of Haiti. All Rights Reserved.
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