Local Development of the Dominican-Haitian Border Zone Through Reforestation with Jatropha Curcas and Community-Level Renewable Energy Production from Plant Biomass

June 13, 2024

Location

Search La Source, Haiti
Elías Piña
Santo Domingo Oeste

Participants

500 poor families on both sides of the Dominican-Haitian border (380 Haitian families and 120 Dominican families) for a total of approximately 4,500 people.

Funding Sources

European Union
Dominican Government

Work is being done to improve the quality of life for families living in the border region between Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the production of biofuels and vegetable oil from Jatropha curcas, a tree perfectly adapted to the region's agroecological conditions. The area has very poor soil and receives no more than 800 mm/year of precipitation, with a 6-month dry season. Families use the oil for lighting in lamps and for cooking their food, replacing firewood, using artisanal stoves that run on fuel oil. The project includes 2 processing centers at extraction companies with a team for transforming the oil into biodiesel, a small artisanal liquid soap production factory, and a small artisanal metal silo factory.

Achievements

300 hectares of degraded land, reforested with Jatropha Curcas producing seeds and mixed crops.

Improvement of Jatropha and mixed crop yields through the implementation of 40 beehives in the plantations starting from the third year, which will enhance the pollination of the trees.

10 community organizations strengthened in planning and organization within a Management Committee and a Cooperative.

A Cooperative and a Management Committee producing at least 150,000 liters of biofuels and vegetable oil per year, marketing 20,000 liters of biofuels per year and by-products derived from jatropha.

500 families with access to an artisanal lighting service, using vegetable oil for cooking and lighting; production of stoves, artisanal lamps, and metal silos.

The IDDI is working hard to contribute to the transformation of human beings, their families, and the community in which we live.

Faced with a common problem, we are all the solution.