This Sunday January 31 from 1:30 to 2:30 Mike and Nicole Carlin directors of CODEP Haiti will be sharing with the local community about their work in sustainability, community and environmental restoration work in the country of Haiti.
This particular informal presentation will be held in the Conference Room at Bellefield Presbyterian Church * (directions) in front of the Bookstore @ The University of Pittsburgh
Two factors led to putting this informative session together. Needless to mention, the first is the current interest in helping the people of Haiti during this crisis. The other being the fact that Mike and Nicole are personally well known by some of us as trustworthy persons of outstanding character and a family committed to sustainability even before their call to Haiti. Some of you may remember the family attending the Paolo Lugari conferences here in Pittsburgh a few years ago.
For nearly twenty years now, Haitian farmers have worked to cut shallow erosion control ditches on the steep mountainsides. At the front edge of these ditches, they plant deep-rooted holding grass and behind, every ten feet or so, a seedling shade tree, which is fast-growing and hardy, will regenerate from the root several times if cut down. In a year or two, when the shade trees are 15 feet or more tall, enough leaves collect in the ditches to make a natural compost where gardens, coffee, and fruit trees can be raised. Over the course of the project, it has expanded to the point where approximately 46 square miles or 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) are covered in a patchwork quilt of reclaimed land.
We also encourage education and nutrition improvements so that the health and hygiene of the people are improved along with the environment. Effecting reforestation is only the first step. People who have been involved for a long time now proudly talk of how their succeeding generations will be able to live and support themselves on the land of their heritage. It is this proud hope for the future that sustains those who have been involved in creating a project that one day will become completely sustainable – environmentally, culturally, and economically.
Donations are welcome
Bellefield Presbyterian Church Oakland
4001 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
For more information about the CODEP project visit
