March 2018

Hi Everyone!

It’s been a very busy 4 months since last writing anything. Let’s get you up to date!

December saw us harvesting AND planting since the weather is cooler. Eggplants were abundant since we had a tiny miscommunication while I was in India which resulted in 10 ROWS of eggplant! Not a terrible problem to have…. we have been able to donate over 100 pounds of it to the main orphanage we work with, MADO. When feeding 75 kids a day it can be put to good use immediately.

 

When we totalled all the pounds of food up for 2017 we realized we were able to send over 1500 pounds of food to MADO last year! We grew over 3000 pounds of food on Bonne Terre and the rest went to staff lunches and other local organizations. Our goal for 2018 is to beat those numbers significantly!

 

Our staff took their annual vacation time after we had our annual Christmas Celebration under the mango trees and we were able to bring in the students to cover the gaps when they were on Christmas break. Always fun having them around, learning and helping.

January saw us planting tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, arugula, kale and harvesting eggplant, congo beans, squash and guava. We have also increased our chicken flock due to an increased demand for eggs! Thanks to the support we received, we were able to increase to 33 chickens! We also improved their watering system so now we provide continuous access to water with our 55 gallon drum system. As well, one of the boys from our agriculture programs brought one of his chickens over to produce chicks with our bi rooster.

    

They hatched this week and are adorable! 8 in total. AND we have wheels now! The Jeep Liberty including supplies safely arrived in Haiti! We can now do deliveries of produce and get places even if it’s raining! Very thankful for the support we were given for that as well as the supplies and help getting it down here.

    

February saw the farm get power and planted more trees in the Moringa area as we prepare to revamp that space and make it more intensive. Pineapples are blooming and producing (they take a YEAR) and plantains and bananas are producing and being sent to MADO.

March is a great time to get some projects done. We are renovating the composting toilet and shower area making it bigger, and more user friendly for staff and guests. THANK YOU for the support we received when we posted about the need for it on our facebook page. We also are commencing stage one (because we have the funds) for our gazebo!!! Pretty excited about it as it will be wheelchair friendly. 2nd stage will be a roof to protect from the rain when we have raised the funds needed. ($1800)

On a personal note:
Since September I have been living between the orphanage and the farm. Living full time on the farm since my return from India. Renovating space on the farm has been a challenge but it is almost over. Power was installed in February! Completely off grid we have solar panels. Water lines are next, along with tiling, and kitchen cabinets and the plumbing. It will be a tiny house in Haiti. Under 300 square feet. One of the cool things about having power again is that we built a board so that all our staff can bring their phones and light bulbs to charge! Otherwise they would have to pay to charge them so that lets us help them.

   

One of the reasons for the move was economics. Things change, sponsors come and go as things change in their lives so it was a needed move.
If you are interested/able to come on board to help we would love (okay we need) monthly support.

You can do that through our support page on the…

—> Support Page <—

In the top right corner is the place to switch between CDN/USD currencies.

USD support that requires a tax receipt please contact me personally (jen@bonneterrehaiti.org).
At this time we can not give CDN tax receipts for support.

REMINDER
We post almost daily on our BONNE TERRE HAITI facebook page!

Upcoming Support needed:
Monthly – ongoing
Finish the gazebo! ($1800)
Staff Uniforms ($750) includes tshirt, pants, boots
Summer Student Staff ($350 per student)

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Jen Wride Founder Bonne Terre Haiti

At Bonne Terre Haiti, we depend on donations from people like you to keep the farm running at full speed. Donate now to help us continue our work.