Ecological Restoration
Haiti Tree Re-Introduction Project
Starry Sprenkle shares photos from her work in Haiti that relies on agroforestry to restore the once forested landscape and improve the nutrition and health of human communities in the remote and mountainous Artibonite Valley. To learn more also read her Restoration Notes in our June and September 2008 issues (26(2):97-100 and 26(3):201-203).
1) Steeply sloping land in the Chaine des Mateux, representing the most degraded and least productive land type in Haiti, which HTRIP (Haiti Tree Re-Introduction Project) targets for restoration. This slope is only occasionally planted with congo pea (Cajanus cajan). Non-native annual grasses cover this slope later in the season, but patches of bedrock are visible in this photo. The Artibonite Valley, the focal region of HTRIP, is in the background. (Photo by Starry Sprenkle)
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2) The 134 graduates of the 2006-2007 HTRIP education program, from ten different communities, hold up their certificates at the commencement ceremony. Education sessions are attended by 20-30 people in each community, and a meal sponsored by HTRIP is served afterwards. Because most of the students are illiterate, HTRIP uses an image and discussion-based format for educational topics including tree care and maintenance, seed collection and storage, nursery preparation and management, soil conservation, composting, and agroforestry. Commencement is a joyous occasion with skits and songs presented by the graduates and a large meal for all afterwards. The community of Source DuPont is in the foreground, with the community leader Edet Tidus in the far right. (Photo by Shannamar Dewey)
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3) Children from the community of Kapis assist American volunteer Shannamar Dewey in constructing rock walls on work day during the dry season. Members of the community of all ages and both sexes pitch in to do the work. Rocks were gathered from within plots and arranged below microcatchments to stabilize them and increase their water-capturing and erosion-reducing capacity. (Photo by Starry Sprenkle)
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4) Community members walk along a microcatchment in Sous Dupon stabilized on the downhill side with piled rocks. This picture was taken before the fence was installed, at a very early stage of site preparation. Other site preparation activities include clearing undergrowth and fence installation. (Photo by Starry Sprenkle)
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5) Community members of Dikas and HTRIP staff pose for a picture inside a plot that they have just finished preparing for planting by building rock walls (two are visible to the left of and behind the group) and planting living fence-posts. Project supporter Thomas Succop stands at the far left and Chief Consultant Starry Sprenkle is crouched in the center foreground (left) with extension agent Frantz Antoine (right). (Photo by Starry Sprenkle)
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6) Project staff (from left to right, Frantz Antoine, Mathurin Dorseus, Agathe Geneus, and Ernst Joseph) inspect a community nursery. Seedlings are growing in plastic bags arranged in rows on the ground. A raised seed bed on the right is covered by banana leaves to keep the germinating seeds moist. The roof is made of a simple string framework covered with palm fronds. (Photo by Starry Sprenkle)
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7) On a work day early in the rainy season, children from the local communityof Larok distribute soil mixed with compost into each of the planting holes. This site is at the base of the foothills, and the relatively fertile Artibonite Valley is visible in the background. (Photo by Starry Sprenkle)
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8) The LaRok demonstration plot just after planting in July 2006 and
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9) Six months after planting, HTRIP staff measure the growth of a tavernon (Lysiloma sabicu) in the Mahoux community demonstration plot. We collect data to learn which species are best for each location. The rocks above the sapling are part of a rock wall designed to catch water for the tree. From left to right are extension agents Maturin Dorseus, Ernst Joseph (rear), Géra Alvarez (crouching), Frantz Saül Louis (front), and André Herbé Cléophat, the Haitian Staff Coordinator. (Photo by Starry Sprenkle)
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10) Project Founder Christian Snavely (left), HTRIP Haitian Project Coordinator Agronome Herbe Cleophat (center), and HTRIP Consultant Starry Sprenkle (right), stand around the tallest spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata) planted by HTRIP (in 2006) after just one year of growth. Located in the community of Larok, this tree was over 5 m tall. Corn plants, part of the agroforestry component, are visible in the foreground. (Photo by Lucille Rawson)
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11) Author Starry Sprenkle holding two products of her work in Haiti, her newborn daughter Jasmine Fritz Hyppolite, born on May 13, 2008, and the June 2008 issue of Ecological Restoration. (Photo by Valli Power)
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