Sadhana Forest Haiti

Our main efforts have been focused on distributing the Maya nut tree which produces a highly nutritious nut that can be used in many different ways – milled into flour, baked into bread, boiled as porridge, extracted into oil, etc. We also distribute other food bearing trees to the local population. We have established a nursery that can produce 50,000 saplings per batch (potential of two batches a year). The planting is done mainly in kitchen gardens and in surrounding villages in the larger Anse-à-Pitres municipal area. 

The planting is done together with the local population and training is offered in Sadhana Forest Haiti’s training center. Another major aspect of the project is focused on sustainable living and water conservation. We are constantly sharing this knowledge and acquiring knowledge from the people who visit us. The project has held Permaculture courses in Haitian Creole, workshops, international Permaculture courses, and is constantly expanding its operations in the Anse-à-Pitres area.

Besides planting and nurturing trees, another major project in Sadhana Forest Haiti (SFH) is water conservation. Because SFH is located on a rock bed, where little soil exists, it is very difficult to do water conservation.

Our aim is to achieve, as close as we can, zero water run-off. Creating earth bunds is not feasible where we hardly have any soil. In Sadhana Forest Haiti we devised a system where we construct the bunds from layers of rocks and used clothing. These bunds help slow down water and help it percolate into the underground aquifer. The trees that we plant also help in water conservation, the roots of the trees slowly break the rock bed and help the water percolate into the aquifer.