Ninety-eight percent of Haiti has been deforested due to logging for timber, slash-and-burn agriculture, and the cutting of trees to fill the great demand for charcoal. Haiti, once known as "La Perle des Antilles" for its lush plant life and mahogany forests, has lost all of its natural forest cover and has severely impoverished water resources.
The environmental problems in Haiti have a direct, negative impact on its people's economic status, their health and quality of life. Trees help with the soil's water retention, and many crops are able to grow faster in the shade of growing trees.
Conservation in the developing world is a complex problem that requires innovative solutions. Understanding that agroforestry in formerly deforested landscapes is a promising strategy, HTRIP was developed to address environmental, economic and health needs which are so desperate in Haiti.
Planting a large variety of trees, HTRIP monitors a tree's performance in different areas, to try and learn what will grow best and where. Native species are introduced alongside more experimental varieties, which allows the unique conditions of each community to dictate which trees grow, and where.
The most common crops in Haiti are corn, millet, and Congo pea. HTRIP staff, volunteers, and educators help farmers experiment with new crops that can thrive in the slightly shaded environment created by growing trees. We hope to find crops that are more productive and/or profitable than the traditional crops, as families growing the traditional crops often suffer from malnutrition because they can't produce large enough quantities).
The farmers choose which trees they want on their land. The trees have to be able to survive the six-month dry season, and the often oppressively hot temperatures in Haiti.