Creating sustainable jobs & clean burning biochar

A Word from the Field

At a time when travel is curtailed, communication has been relegated
to spotty phone calls and WhatsApp messages, but we wanted to give room in our
newsletter for our Haitian employees to give their perspective.
Our agronomist Fan-Fan wanted to highlight the impact BonZeb has had on the community. “On
the agronomic view; Bon Zeb is teaching the workers about the cutting and different plants” used
for charcoal, and “about using the natural fertilizer and specially to not burn the land in order to protect the lives in the soil. The workers also see how the soil is becoming more fertile by respecting some agronomic principles.”

But BonZeb’s impact is not relegated to farm practices. As Fan-Fan wrote, “In fact, many of our
workers said before Bon Zeb, they had less children who go to school but with the presence of Bon Zeb, they are able to send more children to school.” Good reliable wages have given our employees opportunities to expand their own fields, send their children to school, and feed them more nutritious food.

Helping Students Closer to Home

The Covid-19 crisis has not been easy for international scholars: travel restrictions, remote learning, and an uncertain future. Even before Covid-19 hit, Concordia University Portland decided to close their doors. And now along with thousands of undergrads, the latest HEAR scholar Edris Allonce fell into scholarship limbo.
While the pandemic puts up roadblocks in the US, we are looking to expand our reach within Haiti. We are focused on creating new scholarship opportunities at Université Notre Dame. We are focusing on funding students in bioscience, agronomy, and business.
At the high school level, in partnership with the Salesians in Haiti, we are trying to set up a scholarship for students across the country. Unlike a single high school scholarship here in the States which cost thousands of dollars, we could send twenty students to the Salesian program for five thousand dollars a year.

Expanding the Board
BonZeb is looking for a new board member, ideally someone with grant writing experience. If this describes you or someone you know, please contact our president Tom Stein at tom@bonzeb.ngo.

2020 started on a very promising note for BonZeb. Haiti was reopening after months of political strife and protests. During our January trip we built the foundation for our kiln and prepared to move it from Port au Prince to Bernaco. We had many fruitful meetings with Notre Dame Universities in Hinche, Cap Haitien and Gonaives. We also began building relationships with the Salesian schools in Cap Haitien and Gonaives, as well as with the Novitiate and Boys and Girls Club in Tabarre. We left on a high note having interviewed 9 candidates for our HEAR scholarships at Concordia University in Portland. We also presented a scholarship to one person, who was to start this past fall. It was a wonderful way to start the year, even with a hint that all things were not well in Haiti.

February was a completely different story. Concordia University Portland unexpectedly decided to close its doors after 115 years of operation. After dealing with many disappointed prospective students, we reached out to all the schools who took in the 5,000 students displaced by the closure and inquired about one of them also accepting the 2 HEAR scholarship candidates each year. None was responsive.

At our spring board meeting we decided to refocus our efforts on scholarships for students in Haiti and we are delighted to say we have four scholarships for the Salesian Trade and Technical schools in Cap Haitien and Gonaives and one scholarship for Notre Dame University Bioscience school in Hinche.

Then Covid-19 hit, and our March trip was canceled as were plans for June, September and even January 2021. Unrest flared once again in Haiti and the country ground to a halt as people sheltered in place to avoid the violence in the streets and the pandemic.

Amid all this we were able to purchase a team of oxen and a plow for our neighbors to use in preparing their fields for planting. Over a dozen farmers took us up on our offer and were able to plant crops more quickly and in deeper furrows, which we hope will provide larger yields in the spring. We increased the number of acres under cultivation on our farm and continued our discussions with Fuller Homes about building an office and guest house. They have selected a location on the factory property, but with the postponement of our January trip we have not been able to finalize the plans.

This past fall we finally had a well digging company visit the site, but we were told that the road was not in good enough repair for their truck to make it to the site. Every year when the rains come the road becomes an off-roaders paradise. This year the record number of tropical storms and hurricanes made them even worse. We hired local help to fill the potholes, divots, ruts, ditches, furrows, and canyons caused by the water runoff.

Even with the road repair there are two curves that are too tight for the well digging truck to maneuver. Thus, no well. So, on to plan B, building a spillway on the stream next to the property and hopefully the neighbors will let us run a 400-meter pipe from the river to the property. We will also have to install tanks to store water for our use and the neighbors’.

As the year came to an end, we were extremely excited to finally be able to return to our project and visit with our friends and colleagues.  But alas, our January 1^st trip was postponed by the airline and then the country was raised to a level 4 do not travel warning by the US State Department.

So, to sum up our year, it was like everyone else’s 2020 filled with hopes, dreams, planning, frustration, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, and more waiting.

We thank those of you who have helped us this year with your generosity, your prayers and your ongoing support for our vision.

May God bless each of you and your families in 2021.

Tom