Our Solution
a Unique, Innovative, and inexpensive Solution: grasses
To break the cycle of poverty, the Haiti Grass Project focuses on planting grasses to reduce erosion. The grasses we are planting are perennial. This means they grow year after year without having to be replanted.
These grasses quickly establish themselves. After the first couple of weeks, watering and other maintenance is low. Once established, the grasses help retain topsoil that may have washed from other areas.
Why do we choose grasses?
Most attempts to address the environment through tree planting have found little success.
Haitians do not harvest grasses for charcoal, as they do trees.
Bermuda grass and Bahiagrass grow well in Haiti. Under the tropical conditions of hot weather and high rainfall, once established the grasses grow surprisingly faster and healthier than in Florida.
Care for the soil as bedrock for economic development
What has the grass planting achieved so far? It has:
Reduced soil erosion, a key problem that has crippled the economy of the country.
Decreased silt which has rendered dams and water bodies of no use.
Stabilized the soil and reduced mudslides that worsen the death toll during hurricanes.
Provided habitats. Loss of vegetation has robbed animals and birds of their habitats.
Reduced the amount of eroded soils in the ocean; once there, these soils cover seaweed and other marine plants.
Moved toward opportunity for media images of healthier land and ecosystems in Haiti.