Squash! Kale!

Fishes!

Big things in the aquaponics this week. First, we filled our last tank with 300 more adorable little tilapia! Salomon and I went together to purchase the fish from Operation Blessing in Port-au-Prince. These little babies, called fingerlings, are only about an inch long but will grow to be 1 lb. by October, at which point we will harvest them. They were transported to their new home at Grace Village, tank 15, in a large plastic bag and after getting adjusted to the new water temperature, were released. I tried to take pictures of this glorious event but they're too small and uninteresting to look at, so I'll leave you with this illustration...

Copyright 2013

Shade Cloth

Last Sunday, a Healing Haiti team helped install a shade cloth over 3 of our 6 troughs. Not only does it cut down on 50% of direct sunlight, it helps control the wind. So far, it's proven extremely beneficial. In just one week, plants that were struggling have really shown improvement and increased in size dramatically. Plus, it helps to hide under when I'm starting to feel too warm!

So shady.

Squash and Kale!

We harvested a small amount of yellow summer squash and lot of kale! Salomon, Andre and I each were able to test them out, but the majority of the crops were given to the cooks to test out in meals for the children. The kale and squash were cooked together and served with veggie burgers.  Like most kids, vegetables aren't the highlight of the meal...but the Grace Village kids are curious about these new foods, most are willing to try them, and some even want seconds. I'd say so far, so good.

We planted 700 more seeds this past week including more kale, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. We need to add as many plants as possible to absorb the extra nutrients from the additional fish. By planting what we know grows well, along with things that grow fast, we can balance the system quickly.

Salomon harvesting the squash, such a natural.

SQUASH! SASQUATCH! SQUASH!

KAAAAAAAAAAAAALE!

I don't mean to brag, but it's the best kale I've ever had  :)

Exploring Haiti

It was a fun week in Haiti as I got explore outside of the walls of Grace Village. On Wednesday morning, as the sun started to come up, a group of us led the 13 older Grace Village children on a hike up the mountain side right in our backyard. Actually, the kids really lead the way. In fact, Ronaldo, a 12 year boy, ran all the way and down the mountain! Trust me, this was no easy hike. I tried it just a few days prior and couldn't make it to the top. With the kids, though, we all made it together. The view was amazing. Grace Village could be seen from the top, with its signature blue rooftops. The kids don't get to outside of Grace Village very often to it was very exciting to see their reactions. We passed many people carrying large baskets on their heads or tools over their shoulders, going to work in Titanyen. Although it was a beautiful hike and amazing workout, I can't imagine hiking over a mountain everyday to get to work! 

After we got back to Grace Village, Ronaldo complemented me and said, "Skye, you're a good runner." Trust me, I definitely was not running; I may have been sweating as if I were running but that's about all my body could handle! I smiled and said thanks anyways :) 

Starting out the hike

Feeling the burn

"Harry! I've reached the top!" - Home Alone 2 (the best movie EVER)

We celebrated Valentine's day in Haiti just like we would at home - homemade cards and chocolate! I LOVE this holiday mainly because I have such fond memories of it growing up, and red and pink hearts are cute! Plus, it's a good excuse to craft! Haitians are familiar with the holiday as well, and one of our drivers asked me if I was going to "make chocolate," which I'm pretty sure got lost in translation. I replied "no, no, I don't make chocolate, I eat chocolate!" And that I did...all day.

Making valentines for my roomies

Actually, I did step away from the chocolate. Kristina, Lynoue, Josea (GV staff), and I ventured over the mountain to check out a new market. Yes, this was the same mountain we hiked the day before, but this time, we took a truck! It was an amazing drive through the countryside. It's a lot more lush and green, in fact, we even saw fresh water and tall trees. 

Along the way, we passed through a couple small towns, but it was mostly farmland. Even though I've only heard how nutrient poor soil is, all I saw was lush, dark earth. It makes sense, the fresh produce I get in the market has to be grown somewhere, and actually most of what these people grow, is sold to not only to the market in Titanyen, but also to markets in Port-au-Prince. So, it was neat to see where our food comes from - can't say I've done that at home.

cute.

cute. cute.

cute. cute. cute.

Before we got to the market, we got out of the car to stretch our legs and we saw a beautiful waterfall! Seeing something like this reminded me that I'm living on the same island as the Dominican Republic - tropical, fresh, and exotic. Absolutely beautiful! 

Lynoue, Josea, and me in front of the waterfall...we all got a little wet!

After the waterfall break, we went to the market. Kristina and Lynoue, the head cook, were on a mission to find better deals. I like this market a little better because it was less crowded, meaning there's actually space to walk in between vendors. I didn't end up buying anything for myself, but I loved watching Lynoue barter prices. If she wasn't happy with a price, she would walk away or possibly talk to another vendor. When she went back to the original vendor, though, she always got what she wanted - if not a lower price, she got more produce. Overall, mission accomplished; we ended up leaving with a truck bed full of food!

This is a typical market - merchants lining the road

Josea and me with sugarcane from the market

The goods! Potatoes, corn, bananas, sugarcane, beans, corossol all for the kiddos at GV

Lettuce!

Okay, sorry, a little behind on the blogging! Don’t worry (Grandma!), I’m doing just fine in Haiti. I've been absent from my emails, blog, and phone because our Internet at Grace Village has been down :( “You don’t know what you've got till it’s gone,” and I definitely didn't realize how much I relied on the Internet every day.  My roommate, Kristina, and I have discovered, the Internet connection periodically works at odd hours, typically between 1 – 5 am. Last week, I was woken by an alert on my iPad that I had 5 messages come through at about 2 in the morning. I was so eager to have access to the world outside of Haiti, I took full advantage to answer my emails and messages, only to see that Kristina was doing the same thing! We make a good pair – we’re definitely the night owls.

The internet is an essential part of my workday...

Anyways, a few exciting things have been happening since my last update. I've now lived in Haiti for just over a month. I’m definitely started to feel comfortable here, getting to know the kids at Grace Village, establishing a routine with my work, and trying to learn a little Creole. In just 4 weeks, I've learned to say “hello,” “I love you” and “how are you,” so you could basically say I've mastered the language. Ha, in reality, I would love to be able to carry on a conversation in Creole, so I am continuing to practice – the kids are the best teachers, even though they laugh at everything that comes out of my mouth...

So the most amazing news I have is I ate lettuce…lettuce that we grew in the aquaponics system! I actually helped plant the lettuce when I was here in November, so it took just over 2 months to harvest. It’s the first produce I've been able to share with the kids so it was fun to see how excited they were to try it. I wish I could report that the Grace Village kids LOVE lettuce...but they don't. Kristina and her kitchen staff did a great job preparing it with veggie burgers, but the kids seem to enjoy throwing at each other instead of eating it. Most Haitian meals include cooked vegetables, not rare, so in the future, cooked lettuce it is. I, on the other hand, enjoyed a fresh salad, adding vegetables from the local market. 

Harvesting

Julie, Kristina and me taste testing. It's a hard job, but someone has to do it.

Grace Village kids checking out the loot.

Dinner!