Just when we may think we know what's wrong and what can be done, someone puts out an article that opens our eyes.
I learned today that it was the United States' perceived charity and help to Haiti and other countries decades ago that is still continuing to impact the impoverished country.
From the colonial era all the way to the late 1980's, the country of Haiti had food crops to speak of. Then the US subsidized rice to the Haitians that was so cheap, that all rice farming on the Haitian side of the shared island of Hispanola all but ceased.
Today, thanks in part to Global Warming and the Ethanol movement, food prices worldwide are skyrocketing. Any food that ethanol is also made from (corn, rice, soy, etc) continues to see prices soar.
Haiti is left to stand on imports. As you may or may not know, Haitians depend on more than 90% of their goods to be imported. They can't grow foodstuffs because of the escalating price of fertilizer and the $2/day income that the average Haitian is living off.
In short, please read the attached article, it will open your eyes to the effects of the current food crisis and other matters core to Haitian oppression.
Original Article: http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2008/05/15/roots_...
The Hilton Miami Downtown will be holding the Jatropha World 2008 conference on June 10th and 11th. Check out this conference to really see how competitive Jatropha is as a next-generation biofuel. Jatropha continues to gather momentum as the rest of the world figures out that using our food sources for fuel isn't the most ideal way to cure us of our petroleum habit.
This week the Organization of American States (OAS) delegation completed its second full day of high-level meetings and onsite visits to projects in Haiti. They expressed optimism about the country’s improved security climate and emphasized the need for economic development to be now in greater focus.
It is exciting to see some of the ways the government plans to reduce unemployment in the country. Also of interest is his talk of criminalizing not paying taxes like they do in the rest of the world.
One of the pioneers of Jatropha in Haiti is Georges Valme. He is owner and founder of Share, S.A. They are the leaders and experts in Jatropha nurseries and local cooperatives. Georges focuses on local sustainable farming techniques. They are based out of Miami and Port-au-Prince.
Finally, the World Bank's funding agency International Development Association (IDA) releases $38M grant for rural infrastructure upgrades in Southern Haiti. The Pan-American Development foundation is also supporting the CDDP's because they allow ground up development, where it is needed locally....
Rome Foundation (