Before founding The Haiti Tree Project, Karen lived and did relief work in northwestern Haiti. There, working on desertified lands that could no longer sustain trees, she saw firsthand the impacts of deforestation on the nation’s ecology and economy. In 2011, she moved her efforts to the southern peninsula where she kicked off The Haiti Tree Project by providing families in Cavaillon, Haiti with fruit trees and education on tree care.
Over the last 9 years, The Haiti Tree Project has planted nearly 75,000 native fruit and hardwood trees. Survey results have shown that 90% of fruit trees provided by The Haiti Tree Project survive the first six months. Karen’s emphasis on stewardship education has enabled Haitians to not just plant trees, but ensure that they grow and continue providing benefits to the community.
The Haiti Tree Project’s next steps include expanding into agroforestry and education for tree growers. They are in the process of purchasing land to create a local nursery. In order to incentivize larger-scale planting operations, Greenstand will assist in tree tracking, verification, and facilitation of payment to tree growers. This will be Greenstand’s first project in the western hemisphere. We are so excited to track our first trees together in October!
You can contact Karen at thehaititreeproject@gmail.com.
Next month, we’ll be interviewing a dear friend and leader of another amazing tree planting initiative, Beau Miliken from Kijani Forestry. See you in October!
Erin Baker
Communications Lead, Greenstand
erin.baker@greenstand.org
