Saturday morning I went out to the site of the future
chicken coop with a couple of the Religious of Jesus and Mary volunteers. The
three of us rode the four wheeler. It took us less than half an hour to drive
out of town, down the river bed and up the donkey trail to the chicken coop
which is situated about 15 miles outside of Gros Morne. Saturday morning is “laundry
day” and the river was bustling with activity. We were cautious to avoid not
only the people washing their clothes, but also all the clothes drying on the
rocks. Quite a colorful sight!
The chicken coop is a 1500 square foot “egg laying facility”
that is currently under construction. This project grew out of a business proposal
formulated by one of the RJM volunteers a few years ago. Most of the eggs in
Haiti are imported from the Dominican Republic. It is estimated that once this
chicken coop is up and running it could supply 15% of the local demand for
eggs, not to mention a number of jobs for the local people. From this business
proposal “Hens for Haiti” was hatched (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun), a
non-profit organization that has been set up to acquire funding for the project
and to work with the local people to see that the project comes to fruition (www.hensforhaiti.org ).
On Saturday we constructed a model feeding station for the
chickens from a two-by-four and an eight foot section of four inch diameter PVC
pipe using a hand saw. Other components of the facility that had already been
constructed including: nesting boxes, a water stand, & water troughs. Before
the hens can come to roost solar panels will need to be installed. Apparently
hens require a lot of light in order to lay eggs, available natural light is insufficient
for most of the year. So this chicken coop will run on solar power. The hope is
that the chicken coop will be self sustaining within a year of completion.
I continue to be amazed by the dearth of what I consider basic
foods here in Haiti. Certainly, I never gave much thought to where the carton
of eggs in the refrigerator came from or how much care and feeding is required
in order for the chickens to produce the eggs. All these factors are further
complicated in Haiti by the lack of a stable infrastructure. It is edifying to
see the dedication of the young adults who continue to work on this project in
an effort to empower the people of Gros Morne and provide them with a local
source of eggs.
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