Darkness and Light in Haiti

Life here is highly regulated by natural light and darkness. I see people moving around in the darkness, walking home along the side of the road, and I think, do they have a light where they are going? Are they afraid of the dark? More than half of Port-au-Prince and 85% of all Haitians lack access to electricity. Electricity is a poorly run state-operated monopoly, Electricité d’Haïti (EdH). For reliable electricity, one must have a generator (which I learned recently cost $800 and up).



We regularly go to bed by 9:30 PM because even at our big house, the lighting is poor and the darkness gets to your brain and says, "Go to sleep." When we don't have power from the grid or a diesel-powered generator, our computers die, and we sit around brainlessly. We stay still to avoid running into things such as powerless power cords. 


For the average Haitian, U.S. standards experiences of electricity are simply beyond their reach. Their tools to combat darkness are low-tech and dangerous: charcoal, candles, kerosene lanterns, sometimes battery-powered flashlights. Dangerous, but not more dangerous than going without light in a tent city. Kerosene, also used for cooking, costs up to 30 percent of a family's income. 


A small step towards a better electricity supply for Port-au-Prince arrived last month with the inauguration of a new power plant in Cite Soleil which will sell electricity to the state and meet 15 percent of the capital's electricity needs. This project was jumpstarted 6 years ago by E-Power, a consortium of 54 Haitian and Haitian-Americans and took 18 months to build. The investment this power plant represents is also highly charitable considering that according to the World Bank, an estimated 35 percent of electricity in Haiti is stolen and there is an unattractively low number of paying, metered customers.


There are opportunities to harness the light that add profoundly to the quality of life. One local group taking advantage of that opportunity is ENERSA, which began producing photovoltaics and solar-powered streetlamps in 2004. "To date, ENERSA has installed more than 500 solar streetlamps, which run about 1,400 dollars each, in 60 towns. But their long-term target is 35,000 streetlamps in 500 municipalities." ENERSA is one of Fonkoze's largest clients in their Business Development program. This past year, ENERSA has been struggling to compete with the influx of donated solar power products after the earthquake. 


Solar power has also been driving down costs of providing important services for the most vulnerable. Donated solar power products are what have been powering water-pumping stations in the camps of Port-au-Prince. The Solar Electric Light Fund committed to lighting all 10 Partners in Health clinics (which provide free medical care) in rural Haiti with photovoltaics by the end of last month. The downside of solar is that it requires a large upfront investment by an institution, limiting its reach into the poorest, neediest communities.

Beyond solar power, another method of creating energy independence in Haiti is through locally produced biofuels. Sirona Cares works to alleviate energy poverty in rural areas with their jatropha project, which locally produces biofuel using the oil from the seed of the native jatropha tree. Their jatropha project is designed to give rural Haitians the ability to produce, use and sell biodiesel. They have enrolled 1000 farmers so far who will grow this tree along with their normal crops. The biproduct of crushing the seed to remove the oil is called seedcake, and can be used as fertilizer or charcoal briquettes. 


You can donate to the Solar Electric Light Fund or Sirona Cares at their websites. As well, if you would like to help bring a little light to the darkness, for $10-20 to donate a solar flashlight to a Haitian family in need via Light Haiti. This project endeavors to deliver 500,000 flashlights by March. I could use one of these myself, especially as I take my bucket bath in the dark (our water pump requires electricity too).


While researching for this post, I found a wonderful quote about Haiti that I think is a fitting end to this discussion.


One day I was asked by a foreign individual to describe Haiti and my response was as follow: "Haiti is a black woman sitting on a stool in a pitch-black dark room; she holds a single strike-anywhere-match in her left hand, a candle in the other hand, and a veil covers her face. She is patiently waiting for a man who is able to see in the dark to come into the room, find the match she is holding, light her candle, and remove her veil. Then, and only then, it will be revealed how beautiful she is."