June 13, 2011

What a pleasure for me to finally visit Grassroots United. I (John Engle) have been sporadically communicating with founder Sam Bloch since right after the earthquake. Our paths crossed a couple time in the US too. But, it’s only one week ago that I visited there operation which is within walking distance of the airport and a hub for inter-organizational collaboration, sustainable building models, technology, and more. I highly recommend that anyone coming to Haiti visits. And, if you’re looking for an extremely inexpensive way to come to Haiti and volunteer, contact them: http://grassrootsunited.org/

Below is a quick video of the Earthship home. This is just one of the many models and projects right there on site. Thank you Sam for the great welcome and for all that you and your colleagues are doing!

The same day, my wife and I had the wonderful opportunity of hosting Chelina Odbert with KDI and her colleague Jessie Henneghan. I’ve heard about Chelina’s work in Kenya and Northwest Haiti and it was a pleasure to learn more and to get advise as we work with the local community in planning Haiti Partners’ Children’s Academy.

Haiti Partners cherishes connections like these. The wisdom of many is key to good ideas, useful contacts, and vital information, which all equates to working smart. Add to this that people like Sam Bloch, Chelina Odbert and Jessie Henneghan are wonderful to be with and very inspiring.