Angers Nursery & School Room by Dror Yaron

GigapanMagazine.org  vol 3 issue 4

It's a long ride up the mountain from the Hospital to the village of Angers, and an even longer walk. The evidence of centuries of deforestation in Haiti is all-too visible on these mountains. Conservation in the developing world is a complex problem that requires innovative solutions. Understanding that agroforestry in formerly deforested landscapes is a promising strategy, Friends of HAS Haiti developed the Haiti Timber Re-Introduction Project to address the environmental, economic and health needs that are so urgent in these parts of Haiti. A marriage of agriculture and literacy training, HTRIP empowers local landowners and communities who participate in the program. Each graduate of the program learns how to grow three types of trees – fruit-bearing, lumber-producing, and soil-enriching. Built in 2006, this particular experimental tree plot was one of HTRIP’s first, and is situated alongside a school. This schoolhouse is built to house students from first through twelfth grade at once. One instructor will attend to one group of students at a time, before moving along to the next. At this school, the sessions only last for a half-day, at the end of which each student is allowed to collect a bucket of water from the cistern to take home to his or her family. When this shot was taken, school had already let out for the day. The gentleman seated in the empty schoolroom is, himself, a graduate from HTRIP’s education program, and also a landowner. His own plot is situated near to this school.

Learn more about the Haiti Timber Re-Introduction Project here: friendsofhas.org/projects/htrip.php3 
Silent video exploring this nursery and its surroundings: seehaiti.posterous.com/anger-15750