SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND POTABLE WATER

To provide sustainability for each village, more issues than simply housing must be addressed in a country with limited

economic opportunity such a Haiti. Breaking the cycle of poverty in rural Haiti can be the carrot which draws people out

of the over crowded streets of Port au Prince and into the countryside where a better life can be achieved.

Providing adequate housing is only CD-MAC's first step in an overall plan to break the cycle of poverty that currently exists in Haiti,

By instituting 21st century agriculture methods, each village can achieve 100% sustainability within a short period of time.

In conjunction with our livestock and poultry farm a Managed Sustainable Agriculture system will be instituted. This program

has proven  extremely successful in undeveloped rural areas around the world and is the ideal answer to the food shortage problems

that have plagued Haiti for the majority of the 20th century

The surrounding 40 acres of farmland in our village will be used for cash crops to bring in currency and for feed for livestock and  the

poultry farm.The poultry farm will supply a high grade fertilizer for agriculture. Each home will have a garden area to be used to sustain

the community with fresh nutritious vegetables for personal consumption.

The backbone of CD-MAC's agriculture system will be the EarthBox™. It is a product that will help our village residents

to adopt sustainable agriculture practices and reduce the costs of cultivation. The EarthBox is a perfect solution to Haiti's unique agricultural

problems. It will address the major causes of agriculture distress, such as, environmental degradation, displaced local knowledge and unsustainable

agricultural practices.

The EarthBox™ radically changes the intensive production of high-value, highly nutritious
vegetables and offers solutions to malnutrition, income-generation and environmental degradation.


The EarthBox is an “agronomic game-changer” with respect to:

•  Location and space (including uses/cost of land and proximity to markets)
•  Input-consumption and costs (huge savings in water, fertilizers and labor)
•  Adaptability and ease of operation


Using EarthBoxes, high-value fresh vegetables can be grown directly alongside and by the neediest,
most “at-risk” populations. Further, high yield production can take place literally adjacent to the
most lucrative markets, in virtually any environment.


Consider:


1. Each EarthBox literally represents the creation of 1/3m² of the most fertile, most
productive land possible;


2. The EarthBox can be installed virtually anywhere – urban or rural – with a minimum of
training and essentially no operating costs.


Essential EarthBox Facts:


• Water consumption reduced by 60-80%;


• Fertilizer use reduced by 50%;


• No run-off or potential for ground and ground-water contamination;


• Labor inputs reduced by 40 – 60%;


• Agronomic concerns re: location, cost of fertile land, pest control and environmental impact
are no longer valid;


• Issues of soil fertility, prior land-use and soil toxicity are irrelevant;


• Costs of transport/access to market reduced to a minimum, with increased freshness and
increased nutritional benefits;


• Organic certification can be obtained during the FIRST cropping cycle;


• Training / installation / operations are simple and immediate.

 

EarthBox Advantages


• Install virtually anywhere: patio, roof, doorsteps.

• Minimal space required. • Highly flexible: individual households or in multiple/commercial-scale usage.

• No need to seek / rent / purchase expensive, highly fertile land.


• Ideal for both urban and rural settings.

• Grow vegetables in non-traditional areas (brown fields / post-industrial).


• Achieve high yields directly adjacent at the marketplace.


• Eliminate most transport/storage costs.


• No water or fertilizer run-off.


• No contamination / no negative health or environmental impact.


• No soil impact, erosion, toxicity.


• Reduced carbon footprint through savings on inputs (fertilizer) and vastly reduced
transport/machinery use.


• Minimal water required – 60% to 80% less than in-ground plants

 

The best growing medium for the earthbox is cocoa peat. The most abundant supply of cocoa peat in the world is in the

central Dominican Republic within driving distance of our first village in Pignon, Haiti.

 

POTABLE DRINKING WATER FOR OUR VILLAGE IN PIGNON

An epidemic cholera strain has been confirmed in Haiti, causing the first cholera outbreak in Haiti in at least 100 years. Cholera is a

potentially fatal bacterial infection that causes severe diarrhea and dehydration.

The disease is most often spread through the ingestion of contaminated food or drinking water. Water may be contaminated by the feces

of an infected person or by untreated sewage. Food is often contaminated by water containing cholera bacteria or because it was handled

by a person ill with cholera.

The outbreak has spread to all areas of the country. Affected hospitals are strained by the large number of people who are ill.

This outbreak is of particular concern given the current conditions in Haiti, including poor water and sanitation, a strained public health

infrastructure, and large numbers of people displaced by the January earthquake and more recent flooding.

An estimated 884 million people in the world still use unimproved sources of drinking water.Lack of access to safe drinking water contributes

to the staggering burden of diarrheal diseases worldwide, particularly affecting the young, the immuno compromised and the poor.

Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhea. Diarrhea kills more young children than AIDS,

malaria and measles combined .Drinking contaminated water also leads to reduced personal productive time, with widespread economic

effects. Approximately 43% of the global population, especially the lower-income populace in the remote and rural parts of the developing

world, is deprived of household safe piped water. Thus, there is a pressing need for effective and affordable options for obtaining safe

drinking water at home.

Point-of-use (POU) treatment is an alternative approach, which can accelerate the health gains associated with the provision of safe

drinking water to the at-risk populations. It empowers people to control the quality of their drinking water. Treating water at the household

level or other point of use also reduces the risk of waterborne disease arising from recontamination during collection, transport, and use

in the home, a well-known cause of water-quality 3 degradation .

In many rural and urban areas of the developing world, household water-quality interventions can reduce diarrhea morbidity by more

4,5 than 40% . Treating water in the home offers the opportunity for significant health gains at potentially dramatic cost savings over

conventional improvements in water supplies, such as piped water connections to households . Water filters have been shown to be the

most effective interventions amongst all point-of-use water treatment methods for reducing diarrhea diseases. It is not enough to treat

water at the point-of-source; it must also be made safe at the point-of-consumption.

It would not be sustainable to supply the Pignon village residents with bottled water. Our objective is to have our villages self

reliant and sustainable within a short time period.  Local water sources can not be deemed safe in an area where no water treatment is present,

Every aspect of our village concept is to address the environmental problems that exist within Haiti and offer sustainable solutions that

will require no further outside intervention, investment or humanitarian aid.

The most logical solution is point of consumption water treatment. We think we have the solution with a product called LifeStraw. The

LifeStraw has been hailed as one of the 10 most world changing inventions of the past 20 years.

The LifeStraw comes in 2 models. One for individual consumption and one for Family water consumption.

         

LifeStraw® – Product Features

Instant Microbiological Water Purifier


Is a point-of-use water treatment system intended for routine use in low-income settings. Filters up to 18,000 liters* of water, enough to supply

a family of five with microbiologically clean drinking water for three years, thus removing the need for repeat intervention


Ensures high flow rate and high volume of purified water.

Complies with US Environmental Protection Agency 1987 Guide Standard and Protocol

for Testing.


LifeStraw Microbiological Water Purifier:


  • Removes minimum 99.9999% of bacteria (>LOG 6 reduction)*
    Removes minimum 99.99% of viruses (>LOG 4 reduction)*
    Removes minimum 99.9% of protozoan parasites (>LOG 3 reduction)*
    Removes turbidity
    Requires no electrical power, batteries or replacement parts
    Requires no running water or piped-in water supply
    Has an easy-to-clean pre filter and purification cartridge

  • All raw materials are US Food and Drug Administration compliant or equivalent
    *Clasen, T. et al. 2009. Laboratory assessment of a gravity-fed ultra filtration water treatment device designed for household
    use in low-income settings. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 80(5), 2009, pp. 819–823

 

  

 

LifeStraw® and LifeStraw® Family are both point-of-use water interventions – truly unique solutions that address the

concern for affordably obtaining safe drinking water at home and outside.


These water tools have the potential to providing access to safe drinking water, which would yield

health and economic benefits; thus contributing to the well ness of our villages through poverty reduction,

childhood survival, greater school attendance, gender equality and environment sustainability.


. LifeStraw® safe water interventions minimize the risk of waterborne disease, promoting economic gain by
reducing healthcare expenses and increased productivity.


The consumption of safe drinking water through LifeStraw® water filters prevent children from acquiring
diarrhea and other waterborne diseases, helping ensure that children wake up healthy each morning to
continue their education.


LifeStraw® water filters empower women and girls by facilitating access to safe drinking water. LifeStraw® Family
works on highly turbid water, which allows women to convert 'dirty' water collected from any nearby source into
safe drinking water. Saved time, particularly for women and young girls, is a major benefit.

Beneficiaries of water and satiation projects in India reported benefits like less tension/conflict in homes and communities;
community unity, self-esteem, women's empowerment (less harassment) and improved school attendance
(WaterAid 2001).


Globally, there are about four billion cases of diarrhea each year . It is a leading cause of child mortality,
morbidity and malnutrition. Diarrhea is also a very common symptom of HIV/AIDS and a cause of significant
morbidity and mortality amongst the HIV-infected. Safe drinking water through LifeStraw® filters ensures
healthier lives for the immuno compromised, including children under five, pregnant women, the elderly and
those living with HIV/AIDS.


The consumption of contaminated water exposes children to waterborne diseases like hepatitis A and E,
cholera, typhoid, poliomyelitis and other diseases that cause diarrhea. By affecting normal consumption of
food and reducing the adsorption of nutrients, diarrhea is also an important cause of malnutrition, which can
8 lead to impaired cognitive development and physical growth , reduced resistance to infection , and potentially,
10 long-term gastrointestinal disorders .

The use of LifeStraw® point-of-use water filters prevent morbidity and mortality resulting from diarrhea among

infants and children under five. Diarrhea is amongst the indirect medical causes that weaken pregnant women's

immune systems. Provision of clean drinking water through LifeStraw® has a positive impact on maternal health

This product can alleviate the risk of cholera spreading in our villages and give an environmentally sound,

economically viable alternative to other clean drinking water options that currently exist in Haiti.

 

Please use the links at top of page for detailed information on our first village site in Pignon, Haiti .

 

CD-MAC is a US 501-C3   Non – Profit Corporation     57 Sandwich Road - Suite 51-Wareham, MA - US - 02571

Robert E. Minichielli  Director of Development  -781-831-5764

Website Design and Marketing Services by Mortmailers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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