IBSA Fund Annual Report- HAITI

Partners

Municipality of Port-au-Prince; Ministry of Public Works; Ministry of the Environment; Sanitary Action Committee of Carrefour Feuilles (CASCAF); UNDP Haiti

Overview

This project organized and mobilized a community with a history of violence and gang clashes around the labour-intensive process of waste collection and recycling. It helped to develop a culture of waste disposal and collection, and improved livelihoods by aiding pacification efforts and reducing the incidence of disease. The project had a positive environmental impact, particularly by introducing cooking briquettes from recycled paper products.

Key Achievements

• The project, as part of pacification initiatives, organized the target community in collaborative work. It contributed towards the 2009 reclassification of Carrefour Feuilles from a security red zone to a yellow zone.
• The project offered decent employment to 400 heads of households; 57% of project workers were female. Two females were on the community board of the project.
• 50 waste-collection points were established, 70% of the neighbourhood waste was regularly collected and removed, and 30% of the community waste was recycled. Cooking briquettes made of recycled paper products provided an alternative to charcoal as a source of energy.
• The project withstood the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 and contributed to early recovery efforts as part of a cash-for-work scheme.

Challenges

Unplanned activities to address natural disasters such as earthquakes may present various challenges to the effective implementation of the project and the meeting of demands of the target communities and stakeholders.