This morning, we completed our last work session of this trip: Helping our Haitian friends widen about 100-ft of road. The process can be quite involved.
The most involved part is the removal and setting aside of the cactus fence that lines one or both sides of the road, digging out a new trench (several feet beyond the original edge of the road) so as to provide a conducive area to replant the previously removed cactus plants, removing any trees (even large ones) that stand within the travel way of the expanded road, followed by the replanting of the previously removed cactus plants.
The most fun part is the tamping of the soil around the transplanted cactus plants. The way all of this works is as follows:
- First, the men cut several sturdy branches from the newly felled trees;
- Following this, the men give the branches to several of the women on the work crew;
- Then, some of the older men begin to "play" their digging equipment and to belt out one of three or four Haitian spirituals as the women sing along and tamp the soil in unison to the beat of the music. While somewhat subtle, the tamping movements look a lot like line dancing. :o)
To be quite honest, this whole "process" looked a lot more like just a bunch of people dancing and having fun than a road crew building a road. I think we can gain a lot from such people who have learned to incorporate times of celebration and laughter into their work (as an integral part), and not just as an accompaniment to it. I'm going to be thinking about this one for a long time.
Road widening is an extremely beneficial thing to the Haitians in Bohoc. Most roads begin as two- to three-foot wide foot paths and then widen as farmers begin to use the paths to bring their livestock to and from the daily or weekly markets or to and from the most advantageous watering locations several times a day.
A chief component of the village vision is the creation of multiple micro-businesses, where villagers begin to transition away from subsistence gardening to small- to medium-scale farming (often in a cooperative fashion). To do this, though, the roads must be wide enough to allow for vehicular access so that produce, farming implements, and livestock can be transported in and out in greater quantities and with greater speed. Since four-foot wide roads are insufficient to the fulfilling of these functions, community road-widening projects are absolutely critical.
Okay...that's it for now.
Soon, we're going to head out to the Bohoc souvenir market and then back to Kris Sel Epswa for more pandemonius activity with 240 exuberant children. I think we're going to try a large rendition of duck-duck-goose (I think they call it poulet-poulet-kanna [chicken-chicken-duck]) with the kids. I'll let you know how THAT goes.
Until later, God's peace, everyone!
Dave (On Behalf of Team haiti 2012)
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