Final Hurrah in Haiti

Today was our final full day in Haiti. It’s hard to believe how quickly our time has gone and how much has been accomplished. We started off the morning going in many different directions. Some ventured to the preschool and elementary to teach, others spearheaded more tractor operation training, and a small group tested soil in the lab. These activities took us right up to lunch.

Following lunch we all made our way to teach an English lesson at the elementary. Once we had completed our lesson we split into two groups. One prepped a meal for the feeding center and the other helped move medical equipment from the clinic up to the university. We then came together to make our way to the feeding center to distribute the meal to the young children in the community. Upon our return we took time to recognize the students from UCCC for their hard work over the past week. We presented certificates of recognition for “Tractor Fundamentals” and “Problem Solving Workshop.” It was evident the Haitian students were proud of their achievements from the past week.

We concluded our day with volleyball and more intense games of spoons. It has truly been an unforgettable experience with a group that has become more like a family than friends. Great things were achieved this past week, but there is a lot more work yet too do. We look forward to continuing to collaborate and move agriculture forward with our partners in Haiti. Stay tuned for some exciting news from this partnership coming in the next couple of weeks!

Sunday Reflections

Today was a little bit slower paced. After enjoying cinnamon rolls for breakfast we walked up to check out Sunday School before church. We then attended the church service and heard beautiful music and a great message from JeanJean. On Sunday’s the kitchen help gets the day off which means it was our time to cook and do dishes. Thanks to Julie for spearheading lunch. Following lunch we had some down time to reflect on what we have accomplished in the past couple days. Some enjoyed the hammock, others visited while soaking in the sun, and overall we took time to relax. Something that most of us do not take time to do in our fast pace lives back home. We truly can learn a lot from our friends in Haiti. We could all take a little more time to slow down and reflect on things.

Late afternoon we went for a hike to a cave in the side of the mountain. It was great to get out and about and see where they collect a fertilizer source for crops. They collect guano from the cave for fertilizer. It was also great to eye many different crops and livestock on our hike to the cave. After our hike we once again enjoyed refreshing sour orange juice from the local juice bar.

Tonight we enjoyed a barbecue chicken dinner and the wonderful sounds of the local men’s choir. This choir has been together for over 37 years. They even invited us to join them and sing “When the Saints Go Marching In.” We look forward to our final full day in Haiti tomorrow.

Mingling in the Market

We woke up to more rain this morning which made us rework our teaching plans for the morning. Yes! We had students show up on a Saturday morning for class. By the time most of the students had arrived the rain had stopped. This allowed training time for a couple more students on the post hole digger operation and general tractor operation. By mid morning we began assembling a two row planter side by side with the students and ran some seeds through it to test it and teach them how to make adjustments. It was rewarding to see so many students show up on a Saturday morning to learn more.

After a morning of education we loaded up and headed to Pignon to the market. The overnight rain left the roads a little sloppy. Thanks to the expert driving skills of our driver we arrived in Pignon with no problems. The market was packed with locals purchasing everything from clothes to medication to agricultural products. It was great to see how they marketed fruits, vegetables, meat, and livestock.

After we returned to campus we ventured out to deliver more rice and beans to area families. It was great to connect with the local Haitians and see more of the countryside. After our delivereies we visited the juice bar again and enjoyed a refreshing sour orange juice. We tried to catch a sunset from the third floor of the university tonight, but the clouds spoiled our plans. We enjoyed pizza for supper before an evening of conversations and cards with great friends!

Mudding With the Bus

Today we had an awesome opportunity to take a field trip to the Hinche area to explore agriculture. A group of about 35 from UCCC and Hawkeye had this opportunity thanks to the sponsorship of Orchard Hill Church farmers from Iowa. Due to the unusual rain yesterday the roads where a bit slippery to say the least. I think it is safe to say it was the first time most of us have been “mudding” on a bus. Before lunch we were able to visit an area outside Hinche that is partnered with Whispering Roots, an organization in Omaha, Nebraska. They are producing about 12,000 tilapia in cages and have large gardens. It was great to see the interaction between the farmers from Hinche and the students from UCCC excahnage information and have great discussions. While in the area we, also, stopped by and visited an organization that shares farming practices with Haitian farmers. They focus on plant and crop production, but had aquaculture as well.

The group enjoyed a chicken lunch at a cozy restaurant in Hinche, before we returned to the Caiman area. This was a rare experience for the students and it was great to see their excitement from the day. When we returned to campus we trekked out to deliver rice and beans to families in the area. We are grateful to Randy and Jill Konken for purchasing the rice and beans to be delivered. While walking back to campus we found some area children playing soccer and joined in for a bit. Many took the opportunity to get some additional physical activity with a volleyball game on campus upon our return.

After dinner tonight Nelson, who is a former witch doctor, joined us to share his story. It was an eye opening experience for the group into the history and culture of Haiti. There is no questioning the dedication of the students here in Haiti. They are excited to join us on Saturday morning to learn more and help us assemble the one row planter.

Breaking Ground in Haiti

Today was another productive day of agricultural education! We started off the day by continuing to prep the ground for planting. While we were utilizing the plow and teaching students how to plow ground we had a serious discussion on conservation tillage and the importance of conserving and building up soil. It was great to see the Haitian students taking what we had taught them and turning around and teaching their classmates.

After our time in the fields we had a great workshop on problem solving in agriculture. This was an interactive workshop that got the students out of their comfort zones a bit. It was rewarding to hear the students excitement that we were asking for their thoughts and expertise in solving agriculture problems, instead of others telling them what to do.

Following lunch we split the students into two groups and worked side by side with them to assemble a post hole digger for the tractor, that will be used for a variety of applications, and a workshop on how to research material utilizing the internet. We are excited to see how they will use both the post hole digger and research knowledge to move things forward.

Late afternoon we traveled to one of UCI’s nearby feeding centers that provides three meals a week for the local children. We assisted with serving the children a rice and bean meal. We didn’t spend as much time at the feeding center as usual as a rain shower moved in. The unseasonably rain gave us time this evening to visit with each other on the front porch of our dorm and enjoy papaya juice from the nearby “juice bar.” Once again we ended this evening with intense games of spoons!

Professional Rock Picking Team

Today was our first full day in Haiti! We got a lot accomplished, but realize we have a lot left to do. We started off the day by visiting UCI’s broiler chicken house. This is their second group of 1,000 broilers. The first group of laying hens will be arriving within the next week. Next we explored the irrigation gardens where they produce a variety of fruits and vegetables and raise talapia. It is amazing to see the production in this area and shows the true potential of agriculture in Haiti.

Before lunch Kristie took us for a tour of the UCI campus. She shared the story of UCI and how things became the way they are. It is truly a remarkable story! After lunch some of us worked with the university on tractor safety and operation  while others organized clothing donations. For the tractor crew we went over prepping land for planting.  Although it’s not a popular job we started with picking rocks. We have determined that we have the best rock picking team this side of the Dominican Republic! From there we went over running the brush mower and tomorrow we will cover plowing.

We ended the day by taking in a very competitive volleyball game between neighboring towns, packed rice and beans for distribution, and engaged in an intense game of spoons. We look forward to getting back at it tomorrow morning!

Heating Up in Haiti

It was a long, but rewarding day of travel to Haiti! We started our morning out meeting at Hawkeye at 2:30 AM. With the -19 degree weather at home unfortunately our van to the airport would not start. We quickly made back-up plans and utilized personal vehicles.

After a connection in Atlanta we arrived in Port au Prince to 86 degree weather. We gladly welcomed the 100+ degree temperature swing! We made the roughy three hour van ride to UCI near Caiman. The drive allowed us to see some of the countryside and have great discusssions on Haitian culture and agriculture.

When we arrived on campus we were treated to a delicious meal of Haitian spaghetti. We are concluding the night by gathering under our favorite tree for conversations and great laughter. We look forward to diving into Haitian agriculture tomorrow!

New Year in Haiti

We will be kicking off the New Year with our partners and friends in Haiti. Early on January 2nd a group of eight of us will depart for Haiti. We will have a long day of travel and get settled on the 2nd before being immersed in Haiti culture and agriculture on the 3rd. We will spend time exploring agriculture in Haiti and working side by side with students and agriculture professionals in Haiti. Students from Hawkeye will share lessons with students at the Universite de la Communaute Chretienne de Caiman (UCCC) and the students from UCCC will share their agriculture trials with the students from Hawkeye.

We look forward to learning more about agriculture and culture in Haiti and share what we can with the people of Haiti. Over the next week we encourage you to follow Katelin, Morgan, Kendra, Alex, Jamin, Darwin, Julie, and Brad's adventures in Haiti on this blog!

Travel = Flexability and Adaptability

Sunday marked a long day of travel back to Iowa from Haiti. We enjoyed some delicious cinnamon rolls and said our goodbyes before hitting the road for a three and a half hour drive to Port au Prince to catch our first of three flights for the day. It was an interesting day of travel as flexibility and adaptability were the themes of the day.

We had an excited passenger on our flight from Port au Prince to Miami. This lead to him receiving a personal escort off our plane when we reached Miami. Police, boarder control, and TSA were happy to come on the plane and show him to the exit when we landed. Due to this it delayed us slightly as we looked to deplane and make our way through customs. It was tight, but we made our connection to Chicago. Upon arrival in Chicago we started to make our way to our gate for the final leg of our trek home, when we received notification of our flight being delayed an hour. While this was not good news we did take the opportunity to grab food many had been craving while in Haiti.

After making our final connection to Waterloo we touched down a little after 10:30 PM. Unfortunately, three checked bags did not make the same travels we did throughout the day. Flexibility and adaptability were definitely traits we looked for on our travel day as well as the entire week. Thanks to all who ventured to Haiti, supported us, and continue to look to the future! Great things are ahead as we continue our collaboration with UCCC!

Friday Night Pizza and Pop

We started off the day by students working together to test soil samples from their gardens. We found many of the same results from past years. Soils often were low in nitrogen and potassium, adequate in phosphorus, and a pH above 7.5. Some of the students even brought soil samples from home to compare to their gardens to analyze different practices. We, also, had a discussion on practices to improve production.

After lunch we trekked out to deliver some rice and beans to families in need before we headed to a feeding center to distribute Christmas gifts. We took time to toss a frisbee, play games, and interact with the children at the feeding center. It is always amazing to see their faces light up, laughter had, and the interaction that can take place even though you cannot communicate through words due to language barriers. When we returned to campus we took a walk to find the professors dorms and deliver rice and beans to some additional families.

As we made our way back to campus we headed to the new third floor of the university to watch the sun set behind the mountains. We enjoyed Friday night pizza and pop under the famous tree out front of our dorm. We have had a relaxing evening of visiting and playing games as we prepare for our final full day in Haiti.

Agriculture, Presents, and Earthquake

Today we ventured out from campus. Following breakfast we met many of the Ag students at UCCC and made our way to the irrigation gardens. The students from UCCC  shared their successes and challenges with us for a variety of crops. This is their dry season so they are growing their second crop. The students from Haiti and the U.S. worked together to collect soil samples that we will test at the university lab Friday morning.

While we were at the irrigation gardens we took the opportunity to explore the irrigation canal and surrounding gardens. On our way back to campus we stopped by the local brick oven bakery to pick up some fresh bread to snack on. Before lunch we ventured out to the local community to deliver rice and beans to area families.

After lunch we had the opportunity to help with games and delivering Christmas presents to children at one of the feeding centers. Our crew lead some exciting games of Simon Says and Duck, Duck, Goose. Following the games we gathered the children to assist with the gift giving. We then returned to campus where we met up with a couple of the UCCC Ag students who led us on a late afternoon walk to their newly constructed broiler house for chickens. The chickens are set to come in later this year.

After supper JeanJean and Kristie's nephew came to tell us his story of the 2010 earthquake. At the time he was in medical school in Port au Prince and in a classroom when the earthquake started. The building was three levels and he was in a classroom on the middle level. The building collapsed on top of him. He was trapped beneath the concrete and rubble for approximately six hours before being dug out of the rubble. Twenty-nine of his classmates and his instructor passed away when the building collapsed. He is now a professor at UCCC and will be involved with the health clinic on campus when it opens.

We concluded a great day with some of the university students joining for another night of card games and welcoming a new team to campus from Spirit Lake, Iowa!

Lizard on the Loose

It was another great day in Haiti! The weather is beautiful and lots of awesome things are happening. Believe it or not, plans changed again today. After a delicious pancake breakfast we headed back to the cafeteria for a question and answer session with farmers at the Haitian Ag Summit. There is a lot of issues with diseases attacking a variety of crops. There was also a tense moment with concern for goats on the loose ravaging crops. Following the Q and A session we had several presentations from students on banana, cassava, and coffee. They covered everything from planting to crop protection to value added practices. Below is a group of students discussing cassava production.

We returned to the dorm for lunch when we heard screams from the girls room. There was a gecko on the loose in the girls room. Some of the girls even found the top bunks without using the ladders. The guys proceeded to try and catch the gecko. Fun fact for the day: Gecko's shed their tail as a defense mechanism and it still has nerve endings. (Wait until I can upload the video!) Our translators stepped in and caught the gecko and removed it from the girls room.

For the afternoon portion of the summit the attendees traveled to the irrigation gardens to see the students work. Due to the large number of attendees we stayed back on campus as they shuttled farmers to the garden in smaller groups to protect the gardens from damage from a large crowd. We will travel to the irrigation gardens tomorrow morning with the students to collect soil samples.

Since we stayed back we took the opportunity to work on our logistics lesson. We assisted Kristie by putting together Christmas gifts for children in the area that have been sent down. When we had the presents put together we took a short walk and purchased two bags of rice and one bag of beans. We then packaged the rice and beans in smaller portions that we will be able to deliver to area families later in the week.

We had several dinner guests tonight! Agriculture students that are supported by individuals and organizations from around the Cedar Valley joined us. After dinner we played games and taught the Haitian students how to play the card game Spoons.

We are now sitting outside reviewing notes from the Haitian Ag Summit. As we reflect on the summit it has been truly inspiring. Farmer after farmer thanked UCCC, the students, and the Global Agriculture Learning Center at Hawkeye Community College for the work that is being done. JeanJean shared that he has received multiple calls today from summit participants that were amazed by all that is being done and look forward to continued partnership to improve agriculture in the area!

"I have a spider in my bag! Want to see?"

It was a fantastic first full day in Haiti! This morning we found out that the Haitian Ag Summit was set to start today and finish tomorrow, January 4th. We changed our plans on the fly and it was a very successful day.

We started off by helping organize name tags and registration for he farmers in attendance at the summit. It was a full room with over 200 in attendance. The students from UCCC shared their test trials and results utilizing compost tea that we have assisted with over the past year. The results they have found have been spectacular with great yield increases. We look forward to digging into the data deeper with the students over the next couple days. After lunch we had an open forum session where farmers shared challenges facing them for us to work with in the future.

Following the summit we enjoyed a tour of campus and the story behind the development of UCI. The progress that is being made is remarkable. As we were heading back to our dorm we were met by a participant from the summit who said, "I have a spider in my bag! Would you like to see?" as he proceeded to pull a bucket of tarantulas out. We were all intrigued, but a little cautious.

We ended the day with a visit from Nelson, who is a former witch doctor who has converted to Christianity. We had a great discussion on the effects of voodoo to the society and agriculture in Haiti. We look forward to tomorrow and the second day of the Haitian Ag Summit. It will be the field day of the summit as we head to the gardens.

Excitement for Haiti

Today started early with us departing from the hotel at 2:30 AM for O'Hare. Our flights took us from Chicago to Miami and then to Port au Prince, Haiti this afternoon. It is always great to see the excitement from the students as we arrive into Haiti and start our travels to UCI near Caiman.

Below we make our way out of Port au Prince as we head to the mountains.

After making our way through immigration and receiving our luggage we loaded up a couple vans and started our trek to campus. We only had to travel about 60 miles, but due to road conditions and the terrain it took us over three hours. Once we arrived on campus we enjoyed a dinner of chicken legs, rice with bean and onion sauce, and fried plantains. Now we are all settling into our rooms and enjoying sitting outside under our favorite tree in front of our dorm.

Tomorrow we are going to tour campus and surrounding areas, help with some Christmas gifts for children in the area, and plan for the Haiti Ag Summit later in the week. We look forward to sharing our experiences with you over the next week.

Chilling in Chicago

This afternoon the majority of our group met at the Waterloo airport to begin our trek to Haiti. We have a great group with a variety of backgrounds for our time in Haiti. We have a layover in Chicago tonight before an early flight Monday morning.

This year we have Alyssa, Katelin, Morgan, and Tessa who are students at Hawkeye; Cole who is a student at Iowa State and Iowa FFA State Officer; Arlan, Bob, and Darwin who are community members; Kelsey who is the Director of Iowa Education Program's at the World Food Prize; and Meghan and Brad faculty at Hawkeye.

We had a great dinner sharing conversations and getting to know everyone better, before some relaxation at the hotel. Kelsey will join us here in Chicago later tonight and we look forward to having her with us over the next week.

Check back for daily updates to follow our adventures in Haiti!

Haitian Agriculture Suffering from Hurricane Matthew

The article linked below discusses the effects of Hurricane Matthew on the country of Haiti. For a country already suffering from food insecurity this concern has been magnified with the recent storm. Read the linked article and spark conversation with others around the globe utilizing the discussion points below.

Food Security of Haitians Threatened

Discussion Points

• How has Hurricane Matthew effected agriculture and food supplies in Haiti? Be specific.
• What do you feel are the immediate and long term steps needed to reach food security in the country of Haiti?
• It is evident the impact that Hurricane Matthew is having on Haiti. What other natural disasters have we seen around the world that have a negative impact on agriculture and to what extent?
• What can be done to better protect farmers and countries from natural disasters in the future?

Reflecting on Haiti

We had a spectacular week in Haiti working with students of all ages sharing our passion for agriculture! We were able to work with students at the elementary and university to promote and improve agriculture practices. We continue to see growth and potential with Haitian agriculture. We built upon the practices we shared last year. To keep things moving forward we are scheduling frequent internet conferencing meetings to provide education for both sides throughout the year and keep things moving forward. We are, also, excited to partner with UCCC to provide a conference for farmers across Haiti in 2017! Below is a picture of the 2016 team.

On the way home we had time in the Dallas airport to reflect on our time in Haiti. I asked each participant the one big thing that stuck out at them and will share the responses now:


Dalton emphasized that there is so much potential. They have so much knowledge and skills they just need guidance and encouragement to apply it.








Mitch enjoyed picking up the relationships that were started last year and building those relationships while forging new friendships.










Kayla was excited to see how religion is such a big part of their culture and intertwines with all they do including agriculture.










Alex was impressed by the knowledge the professors share and seeing the opportunities for applied learning they have before them.

Julie was inspired by the excitement and potential of the medical and agriculture students working together to improve health through agriculture.

Kyle looks forward to staying connected over the next year to move projects forward and keep improving.










Meghan was provided the opportunity to learn about agricultural practices with limited resources. She loved educating Haitians with even more ways to use under utilized resources to improve soil health for a more bountiful food supply.








I (Brad) am excited about the Haiti Ag Summit and potential to share agriculture with a larger group in Haiti to keep moving things forward.







You can see this experience had a great impact both on the students and faculty in Haiti as well as with our group from the Global Agriculture Learning Center at Hawkeye Community College. We cannot wait to see what the future holds!

Goats to Guano

Our time is flying by in Haiti! Hard to believe that we only have one full day left in Haiti. We started off our day by returning to our energetic 5th and 6th graders to elaborate on our agriculture lesson from the day before. After further discussion we had the students build an agriculture chain. Students had to write agriculture facts on strips of paper and hook them together to make a chain that we hung around the classrooms.

Next we made our way to the university where we spent much of the morning discussing livestock production focusing on hogs and dairy goats with a little bit of chicken production. There was discussion on all aspects of production from breeding to meat production. The students had many questions for us and we're very appreciative of all that our students shared with them. 

Following lunch we had brief English lessons with the 3rd and 4th graders before we met back up with the university students. They took us to their goat production area where most goats are Alpines or have some Alpine blood in them. We covered topics from feeding to health. We discovered they battle many of the same issues we do in the United States such as mastitis. We were shown an interesting way of checking pregnancy as well. 

After our time with the goats we hiked to a cave where guano is collected for use as fertilizer. This was a great workout and many enjoyed exploring the cave. We then returned to campus where we attended a Wednesday night church service before meeting around our favorite tree to plan our lessons for Thursday. It is great to see the magnitude of learning taking place by both sides, Hatians and Americans!

Precision Farming in Haiti

Today was a great day filled with agriculture and education! We started off the day with 5th and 6th graders at the elementary school. We shared a lesson revolving around agriculture awareness. We had the students create a list of agriculture related concepts in Haiti. They compiled a great list that we discussed. We will return tomorrow morning to address questions that arose from this activity and look at things more in depth.

Following our time with the 5th and 6th graders we met up with the university students to head to the irrigation gardens. Once we reached the gardens we had a brief discussion on the importance of soil sampling and recorded where we took samples with GPS receivers in order to return to take samples in the future. We then took a close look at row spacing, plant placement, and germination which led to spectacular discussions. While at the garden we had the opportunity to jump in and assist with transplanting of some leeks. 

Precision farming is alive and well in Haiti! They precisely place bagas (waste from sugar cane) beside each plant for perfect placement of the fertilizer. They, also, use measuring techniques to assure proper placement of each plant in the row. 

After lunch we had the opportunity to work with second graders learning English before we made our way to the university to test the soil samples that we took. We did basic tests for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and pH. We will review these results later in the week with the students. 

Before dinner this evening we took some time to enjoy the company of our hosts with another competitive round of volleyball matches. Following dinner many students from the university came over for an evening of games and social time with our group. We look forward to the great things to come on Wednesday! Be sure to be checking our Facebook and Twitter pages for photos of our experience in Haiti. 

Market Madness

We started off our Monday with a trip to the local market. You could find everything from rice to super glue to hogs. Several of the group bought some souvenirs. The group tried to buy a goat, but the price jumped drastically when we were part of the purchasing group. We held off and are still in search of a goat to purchase for a local family. At the livestock auction at the market the following prices can be expected: cow = $1,000, horse = $300, donkey = $200, and hog = $250. At the conclusion of our time at the market we swung into the community bakery and enjoyed some delicious fresh baked bread. 

Following the market we had a short walk to Saul's irrigation gardens and the gardens being utilized by the UCCC students. We will return to these gardens tomorrow to do some planting and pull soil samples. We got to see a variety of crops being grown from citrus to egg plant to cabbage. There is a cement channel that runs through the gardens where they can then pump water up the hill and let it trickle back down the hillside. While at the gardens we were able to see the tilapia ponds that are being dug by hand to be utilized by UCCC. Below is a picture of the group at the irrigation gardens. 

After lunch we stopped over to the elementary to assist with teaching English to some first graders. It was a great experience for our group and the Haiti students were thoroughly entertained by our excellent dance moves. 

From there we traveled to one of eight feeding centers that UCI is in charge of. At this feeding center children can receive two meals per week. This is an essential nutrition savior for many children. As the food finished cooking we spent time tossing a frisbee around with the children. When the meal was ready each child pulled out a bowl and spoon from their backpack which they handed to us to be filled with a rice and beans mixture. Below is a picture of us filling bowls for the children. 

Next we returned to campus where we met with the dean of agriculture at UCCC planning out the remainder of our time in Haiti. This evening has, also, been filled with planning agriculture lessons to share with the elementary students.