Sustainable Change Occurring in Haiti through Alternative Energy

This week brings the end of three years of work in Haiti. As a friend commented recently, we really have come a long way. I am thrilled and amazed by the progress we have made towards our mission to build sustainable communities by placing the power to create, use and sell alternative energy into the hands of the poor. The most exciting thing to report about 2011 is that it was the year in which we empowered Haitians to change the lives of people in their communities, sustainably.

With over 100,000 jatropha trees planted (and an additional 150,000 funded for next year) we will soon see dramatic economic changes in rural Haiti. Each tree produces enough oil-rich seeds to create a gallon of oil that is a drop-in replacement for diesel fuel. This means that for the next 25-45 these 100,000 trees will bring economic improvement to rural Haitians while the trees improve soil and reverse deforestation. A critical byproduct of producing jatropha oil is a charcoal replacement briquette that is made by pressing the residue or seedcake from the pressing process. Our nurseries each produce 10,000 seedlings every three months and farmers eagerly take these seedlings to their land and plant them without displacing any food crops. Our press needs repairs and as soon as it is ready we will make our first oil. 2012 promises to be another incredible year.

We end 2011 with 240 homes that have their first electricity. Far from the grid these homes are serviced by the IEEE/Sirona Haiti Rural Electricity Program. The IEEE worked with Sirona to design and ultimately deploy six Sunblazer units. These are 1.5kW solar charging stations run by entrepreneurial Operators. Each Operator has forty customers who pay a modest $6.70 per month for basic electricity. Customers receive an energy kit that has a rechargeable battery, lights and the ability to charge cellular phones. When the kit is exhausted (five to seven days on average) the customer brings the battery kit back to the charging station and three hours later the kit is ready to return to their home. The IEEE and the Sirona team have been thrilled to see that, due to our culturally appropriate business plan, all 240 customers have paid every month, every Operator has made his lease payment to Sirona keeping the program sustainable, and nothing has been stolen or damaged since deployment in June.

This program has had such success that the Haitian Secretary of Energy has announced that Sirona Haiti's electricity program is the model for electrification of rural villages. USAID is supporting the program by building Sirona a Haitian assembly facility. This spring the first Haitian built Sunblazers will roll out to rural communities and provide the first electricity many have ever had--at a price lower than what they are currently paying for noxious kerosene, candles and cell phone charging.

We are very excited for next year, the groundwork has been laid for amazing progress to occur in 2012. As the year ends we thank all of our partners and friends in Haiti, our supporters, all of our donors, all of the IEEE volunteers and all of the funding provided by the IEEE for the Sunblazer pilot units. We thank the Government of Haiti for including Sirona in the energy sector strategic planning process and inviting us to display our unit at the Caricom Energy Week events. Many have read the article in World Magazine, and we appreciate all of the kind words and donations that this article has generated. Thank you, one and all. 2012 promises to be a very exciting year full of progress in Haiti and beyond. Year end donations are graciously accepted by the Sirona Cares Foundation!

Jatropha Program Thriving with 100,000+ Trees Planted

It's amazing what happens to a community when you give them options for a better future.  It is exciting, and incredibly rewarding.  Since 2009 we have been working with rural Haitians and refining our Jatropha Program.  Because Haitians developed the plan there is a strong sense of ownership and pride associated with the work of planting these trees.

Jatropha is a shrub that produces non-edible fruit.  The seeds of this fruit are rich in oil, and this oil is extracted with a mechanical press.  Once pressed the oil does not need further refining to run in most diesel engines (generators, trucks, tractors, etc.).  Jatropha oil can be mixed with diesel fuel.  This will bolster the economics in rural areas, and lower carbon emissions in Haiti.  As if this isn't enough, the byproduct of the pressing process (seedcake) can be compressed into an alternative charcoal briquette.  This will also generate income in rural Haiti and protect the vulnerable island from further deforestation.

Today we have over 1,000 participating farmers in southern Haiti and over 100,000 trees have been planted.  Hillsides have been bolstered, soil improved, and no food displaced by the process because we either inter crop Jatropha at safe distances or use it as a border crop (because animals do not eat it).  Each of these trees should yield enough seed to create a gallon of oil each year.  If we assume the price of a gallon of oil to be $5.00, that means these communities will bring in $500,000 a year.  Jatropha lives 25-45 years, so in 25 years these communities will have made $12.5 million dollars.  The proposition is exciting, and encouraging.

More encouraging was the news we received from the JDT Foundation last month.  Named for Joseph Dennis Thomas, the Foundation focuses upon improving education, the environment and the economics in Haiti.  Sirona is honored to have received grants from the JDT Foundation which will pay for the planting of our next 100,000 trees in 2012.  In addition, another grant from Dupont will allow us to plant even more trees and begin the process of producing jatropha oil this spring.

It has taken a lot of hard work to get here, but it is gratifying to see the difference that Haitians are making.  The program is run as a partnership with Sirona funding nurseries to generate seedlings, and the trees are then planted voluntarily by farmers to help improve their land.  We are always looking for ways to create even more sustainability, so this past year we allowed 10 farmers to "borrow" $50 each to extend their farms.  Rather than be repaid in cash we elected to have these farmers pay back the debt in food to the local school's lunch program. 

Many thanks to the JDT Foundation, to Dupont, and to our supporters who have gotten our friends in Haiti this far.