Located in the lower 5^th District/Section of Saint Marc, Haiti is a group of villages that are currently separated by dry dusty fields. The villages are Gervais, Balalie, Des Fourneau, La Grange. These villages account for 1,200 families or over approximately 5,000 people.

These families are primarily farmers with rice being their crop of choice. Yet for the last 3 years there has been a lack of water to irrigate their fields adequately enough to plant crops. It is torture when you think that these 900 acres of farm land is located next to a river that has an adequate water supply that could irrigate this land! So, what’s the problem? A large water pump.

Everything is ready. They just need a PUMP!

The land has a maze of irrigation canals that have already been built. They were designed to release water from the river to reach all 900 acres. Normally these canal would fill from the river during raining season, but due to an insufficient amount of consistent rainfall the river has not risen to a high enough level to consistently fill the canals, thus the rice patties remain barren.

How have they survived?

These families have been surviving on creating charcoal out of dead trees, shrubs or drift wood found near the river. They also catch small amounts of small fish through carefully laid fish traps. Salt is harvested as they are near the ocean. Some have cows they milk, goats and pigs for butchering. All these items they can trade or sale in the market, but they cannot survive with such meager means.

The Answer; Help Them Feed Themselves!

Youth With A Mission would like to see this changed! The Answer: Buy a 50 HP Tractor with a 540 PTO system that could power a Gator 12” Trailer Pump. (Want to watch a Video? http://gatorpump.com/gator-pump-tarpon/)

The river remains, even in dry season, a consistent 10’ to 20’ below the entrance of the main receiving canal. A 50hp tractor with a 540 PTO and a 12” Gator Trailer Pump would fill the main canal with 6,000 gallons of water per minute. Once the water enters the main canal it can be distributed by gravity throughout the 900 acres of land. This would enable 900 acres of farm land to be utilize for growing rice that could feed and provide income for over 1,000 families.

If we had $60,000.00 USD we could see this project begin! Youth With A Mission could purchase all equipment needed, have it shipped and delivered to the project sight and begin pumping. It is that easy!

That’s it? It is that easy?

Well…. Yes, it is that easy, but there is more to it. It will take YWAMers (Youth With A Mission Staff) to put the project in motion, teach and train personal to maintain equipment, work out an agreement with the families to give back a percentage of the gross crop to pay for the use of the equipment and fuel and manage the project, until others are raised up that would be capable to do it.

They would pay back with crops?

We in Youth With A Mission do not want to create dependency but independency concerning economics. We believe in the concept; “Give a fish and a person eats for a day, teach them to fish and they eat for a lifetime.”

It would be impossible for these families to purchase a Tractor and pump at $60,000.00 USD. They do need a partnering hand to launch this project. With our long term relationship with this grouping of villages Youth With A Mission believes we could be an agent that could make the initial start (with your help), train and manage the project until the people are able to do it on their own.

But, is it possible!

YES! With this equipment we estimate it will cost only $9.00 to flood one acre to the height of 12”. Within the $9.00 we include the replenishment of the equipment based on a 5 year plan. The equipment should exceed 5 years to 10 and 15 without major problems. But, in just 5 years, if they are able to give back $10 x 900 acres x 2 harvest a year x 5 years = $90,000.00 USD – (9,000 Gallons of Fuel/Oil at $3.444 USD per gallon =) $31,000.00 USD = $59,000.00 USD. At which time we could buy a second tractor and pump to continue with a faster rate of fill or a backup system to maintain consistency in case of breakdowns.

WOW! HOW CAN I HELP?

“Help Them Feed Themselves” Project only needs people like you to send a gift today to kick this project off! Once we have raised the $60,000.00 USD we will purchase all equipment and put the project in motion.

*** We have received FULL SUPPORT for this project, thank you everyone! We are currently making it happen and stay tuned for updates on this page ***

Update March 31, 2016      Click here to DOWNLOAD this document

Dear Partners, Friends and Interested People,

Help Them Feed Themselves project has become one of our most talked about transformational outreaches. I am excited to share an update with you. I hope you will spread the news. May God receive the praise for what He has done in uniting our hearts as one to see this happen.

March 22, 2016 the new Mahindra Tractor with the 12” Stingray Gator Pump officially started irrigating water through the fields of the lower 5^th Section of St. Marc. This pump will directly affect approximately 1500 families amongst the villages of Balalie, Gerves, Defouneau and La Grange.

In just three hours of pumping, the dry land received an estimated 1,080,000 gallons. It has been five years since this land has received any significant rainfall or water flow through the irrigation canals.

The canals filled rapidly. No one could imagine what 6,000 gallons of water per minute looked like. It was more water than most anticipated. There were overflows and breaches throughout the canal system but this was not a problem as everyone laughed and smiled, repairing the breaches as possible and attempted to direct the flow of the large volume of water. Their hearts were filled with hope and life. Look at what God has done! http://www.ywamhaiti.org/ministries/help-them-feed-themselves/

WHAT NOW!

Now comes the hard work of filling the fields, planting the seeds, tending the crops and then reaping the harvest!

PUMPING; On March 28 we began pumping large volumes of water and became aggressive in timing water flows, repair of canals, training people and verifying our data system. This is an important time as we need to make sure all is functioning well and our data system is accurate. This will enable us to regain appropriate operating cost and depreciation of equipment when the harvest comes in.

THE WAY IT WORKS; After we complete our testing and are satisfied, we will begin filling rice fields that have been measured by Hectares. We know it takes 815,000 gallons of water to fill a Hectare. We also know how many gallons of water we can produce per minute, 6,000 gallons. We then calculate gallons per hours and we know the cost of operating the equipment.

We have formed committees in each village. These committees are to;
1. Measure the land and verify authorized user is in agreement to pay for water.
2. They are to hold accountable those who may try to trick the system.
3. They are to assure the harvest is brought to the Moulin(Mill) and water bill is paid in full with fruit of harvest.

Consequences of any infraction will mean a delay, reduction or complete halt of water in current or future operations in specific lands or complete villages.

The Leaders of the village committees form the council. The council has direct communication with us, the water suppliers. If there are issues that need to be discussed, decisions made or passing of communication through either party it can be done through the council. The council will meet regularly prior, during and at the end of the water irrigation season. Special meetings can be called as needed.

This project has materialized out of the development of relationships that have been ongoing for 8 years. We are trusting in the success of this project as these relationships continue to grow in knowledge of God and each other. We will use Biblical principals to instruct, correct and resolve any difficulties as they materialize.

Our mission owns the equipment and will retain ownership of it and the responsibility to maintain the equipment. If the project fails, the equipment will be redirected to other locations to be used in same or similar formats.

PLANTING; The farmers are dependent on the Agro Service for the purchase of fertilizer to prep the soil. The normal planting season begin the first week of April. We are currently waiting on the Agro service to release the fertilizer.

Once they have the seed, they will plant small patches of areas until the seed take hold and become seedlings. While waiting for this to occur, they will cultivate their fields surrounding the patch of seedlings. It is during this time the fields will need the majority of their water, and fertilizer is distributed. Once the soil is ready, the seedlings will be transplanted into the larger patties. Water supply needs to be maintained until harvest.

One thing we didn’t take into account was the added 900 acres of land that may receive seed this year. We doubt the Agro Service is aware of our capabilities with the new equipment and we fear there could be a shortage of fertilizer. I have put in an order of 300 – 100lbs bags of fertilizer. We have a revenue issue with this. We need $6,150.00 USD immediately to front the money. This fertilizer will not be given to the farmers, but sold to them as needed. We have already communicated we will sell the fertilizer for cash, not harvest production, with the farmers. They are in agreement. They will need the fertilizer within a week to two weeks. Actually, they will need more than 300 bags but this is the start.

PREP FOR HARVEST; While the fields turn green, we need to prepare for harvest. We are lacking a Moulin. A Moulin translated is “A Mill”. This is not just a piece of equipment but also a building; the place the harvest is brought to once thrashed in the field.

When the rice reaches its maturity, the fields will dry and the heads of rice will turn yellow. The harvesters will cut the rice stalk low to the ground with hand sickles and then bundle the stalks of rice together. Once they have cleared a large enough space of land, they will spread out a plastic tarp and place a large log or rock in the center. They then will take the bundled stalks of rice by the bottom and beat the heads of the stalk on the log. This knocks the rice loose, falling onto the plastic tarp. This grain is collected into sacks and carried to the Moulin on the back of horses or donkeys. The stalks are then used for other things like feed, crafted into mats, hats etc.

The lower 5^th Section, where we are giving water, has no Moulin (Haitian word for mill). The closest is a 30 to 45-minute walk away. We need to build a Moulin closer to our crops. Another reason we need our own Moulin is to control the quantity gathered from the harvest. At the time of reaping, we will separate the agreed upon percentage of harvest to pay for the equipment that produced the water that allowed the harvest. The Moulin becomes the control center.

The Moulin will be built in Balalie, the most centralized village in the targeted fields among the four villages. This is also where we have had the best experience and most success with various projects. Land has been given and the Moulin will be operated by the mission and managed by the Balalie people or residences in the area. See attachment below for cost and plans for the building of the Moulin. We will also need to purchase the mill, the machine used to separate the shell from the rice, but we are still researching prices.

We need your help now! Would God allow you to further join in partnership with this project? You can make a contribution towards this by making your gift payable to YWAM Haiti and include a note designating your gift to “Help Them Feed Themselves” and mail to;

YWAM Haiti
PO Box 236
Akron, PA 17501

Thank you for your participation to Help These People Feed Themselves.

Taking the High Places!

Terry W. Snow
Founder/Director
Youth With A Mission Haiti

Total Square Foot Of Building 3,640.

Total Square Foot Of Porch (Used to dry rice) 5,200.

Materials and Laborer needed for the Moulin;

7,000 Block (28gdes delivered x 7000 =196,000 gdes @ 62% = 3,161.29USD)

2,000 sacks cement (515gdes delivered x 2,000 = 1,030,000gdes @ 62% = 16,612.90USD)

55 Dump Trucks of Sand (8,000gdes x 55 = 440,000 @ 62% = 7,096.77USD)

25 Dump Trucks of Gravel (10,000gdes x 25 = 250,000 @ 62% = 4,032.25USD)

68 Dump Truck of Rock (8,000gdes x 68 = 544,000 @ 62% = 8,774.19USD)

102 Dump Trucks of Fill Dirt (7,000gdes x 102 = 714,000 @ 62% = 11,516.13USD)

Carpenters (Roof 122,500gdes @ 62% = 1,975.81USD)

Masons (300,000gdes @ 62% = 4,838,71USD)

Laborer (120,000gdes @ 62% = 1,935.48USD)

Incidentals 31,711.14gdes @ 62% = 511.47USD)

Supplies already donated;

30 – 2x8x16 Wood
206 – 2x4x12 Wood
4 Boxes of Roofing Screws
1 Case of #6 Nails
112 Sheets of Metal Roofing

Total Expense still needed
3,720,000.00 @ 62% = 60,000.00 USD