Economic Growth Haiti Project #20505

Creating sustainable jobs & clean burning biochar

by BonZeb, Inc

Project Report | Mar 11, 2026
Faith can move mountains

By Tom Stein | President

Good afternoon.

I hope this missive finds you in good health and happy.

It has been a positive two weeks since our last update. The team has been making progress on the new fields, and the workers are very busy. When we talk about fields in Haiti it is easy to imagine the flowing fields of grans in the Willamette Valley, but they are much different in our neighborhoods of Boucantiste and Benaco. A field here is considered 3.2 acres, a carreaux. That is the goal each time we clear, prep, and plant a field. An acre can be cleared and prepped in about a week with 100 workers. That is how it all started in 2024. Now do the economy and issues within the country we try to get by with teams of 7-8 workers, so it takes much longer. The fields are steep and rocky, and that also takes its toll on the timing. Thank you for your support for the team and for our mission. Another item of interest to many of you is what happens to the food crops that we are currently raising. Peanuts, pistachios, sweet potatoes, tapioca and corn are grown for the workers to pick and cook during their shifts in the fields. This helps them to leave more calories on the table for their families, which is a huge benefit. Your gracious gifts make this opportunity possible. Another upcoming event is the purchasing of a newer motorcycle for the farm. Fanfan has found a a Hanjin 200cc for $2,000 USD. This vehicle will replace our 9-year-old 150cc and make the climbing on the mountain a bit easier. Thank you once again for your ongoing support and prayers. Luke 6:38: "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.

Thomas J. Stein

President

BonZeb, Inc.

Haitian Educational Aid and Resources, Inc.

tom@bonzeb.ngo

Phone: 503-333-5959

The Good Grass Solution

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Nov 12, 2025
Forests are the lungs of our land

By Tom Stein | President

"A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying hte air and giving strength to our people. Franklin D. Roosevelt

Most people know a few things about Haiti. One, it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and two, it has been hit by far too many natural disasters.

When I first arrived in Haiti with my wife and four of our children we were greeted by four consecutive hurricanes, Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike in the span of three weeks. Welcome to the island. Then shortly after I returned home the island was hit by a 7.0 earthquake that took over 300,000 lives. A week later it had another 6.1 and then a cholera outbreak and hurricane Tomas.

That is a lot, but they have since that time been hit by Sandy, Matthew, Laura, Iota, Eta, Delta, Elsa, Grace, Franklin, Fiona, Isaias, Humberto, Dorian, Sara, Rafael, Oscar, Beryl, Erin, Imelda, and Melissa. To name a few of the storms that have continued to devastate the island.

In 2021 they had another 7.2 earthquake that barely made it into the news.

One of the reasons that Haiti misses out on the needed relief is that as soon as a storm like Melissa, Sandy, Matthew, etc. hit the coast of the US the focus chances. We are not interested in the damage there anymore, because now we can report the dollar amount of the damage done. We attach a dollar sign to the storms and tend to forget about the human suffering that these storms have already cost in poorer nations throughout the Caribbean.

This week we are thankful that the flood waters have dropped and the airport in Les Cayes has reopened and our farm manager was able to return to Central Plateau. This means that our team will be able to get paid for their efforts over the past month to keep our crops safe in the storm. Flooding is always a danger to the soil as many of you saw in our last post. It destroys road and infrastructure, and that destruction can take years to repair if it is ever repaired.

The people overcome these setbacks by creating new pathways and they work together to rebuild homes, businesses, and families.

They seem to understand what Paul tells us in Romans.12, “Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality.”

What we could really use right now is help in raising the funds for a crusher, mixer and briquetters for our operation in Benaco. The approximate costs for these items is $10,000. A mule train (10 mules) for transportstion of the grass and charcoal will cost an additional $2,000. These items will help to continue our mission to bring cleaner charcoal, curb tree harvesting and assist in reforestation in the communitieds we serve.

We want to thank all of you who have been supporting our mission over all the years and praying for our safety and for those whom we serve. As you may know, December 2nd is Giving Tuesday. “Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Join the movement and give, whether it is some of your time, a donation, or the power of your voice in your local community.”

We hope you will join us in making a difference in the lives of those we serve by donating to BonZeb. You can donate by sending a check to address on the left of this page, or you can use the website, PayPal, Venmo or Zelle. You can also us Candid.org, or Every.org.

Every dollar raised goes directly to serve the people of Haiti.

Your prayers are extremely helpful for keeping us on task, even when we are in the eye of a storm. “Our help is in the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:8

Thank you and may God bless you and your families.

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Jul 28, 2025
The mission continues

By Thomas J Stein | President

Sugarcane starts

Today our farm manager attended the funeral of our first team leader from Boucantiste. He was with us in the very beginning in 2014. He over saw his team in the clearing, prepping, and planting of the first fields of elephant grass. We pray for him and his family today, as we pray for all our workers each day.

We have been though a lot of ups and downs over the past eleven plus years. The roller coaster of activity on and off the farms has been constant. But also the support and hard work of our team. We have survived fires, floods, hurricanes, droughts, gang viloence, political unrest and more. Yet we are still standing. Actually, not so much standing as moving forward. Step by step we are working to improve the lives of those we serve.

With proper funding we will be able to continue with our grass to charchoal efforts, as well as our new sugar cane operation. These go hand in hand with our farmer's assistance and new crop development.

We each task we get closer to our goal and an self sufficient operation, but we need your help to make this happen. We need to finish the purchasing of a sugarcane motor to extract the cane juice for market. We need a crusher, mixer and briquetter to be able to supply the charcoal briquettes needed to go to market. Once these items are in place the whole operation will become self sufficient and also scalable to other organizations.

Our gaol is to raise $20,000 to put these pieces of the puzzle in place and fulfill the dream that Prud'homme signed up for all those years ago. He saw the vision and came on board with all his energy to make a differnece in the lives of not only his family but the lives of his neighbors as well.

Thank you for your past support for BonZeb. We look forward to your conintued support and if you haven't been able to support us in the past maybe today you can.

Our trust is in Lord the make of heaven and earth.

Thank you.

Cutting the Tapioca

Tapioca cutting and planting

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