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Ecological Restoration River Raisin Monitoring River Raisin Restoration Initiative Oak Savannah Management |
| Sustainable Living Development Natural Building Project: Kensington Children's Cottage Sustainable Development in Haiti: University of Fondwa & Peasant Association of Fondwa Urban Agroforestry: Gesu School and ALCC |
| Sustainability Awareness Motherhouse Tours Earth Day Bioneers Conference Green Building Conference |
| The Institute Our Mission Contact Us Press Releases Calendar |
| Of Further Interest Great Lakes Green Initiative Health Matters |
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Energy-Technology and Training Project
Representatives traveled to UNIF in June 2007 to begin the assessment and planning phase of work on this project. Two training workshops were held at UNIF for 26 participants. Project planning activities continued throughout the year and the solar and computer equipment was purchased. The equipment was due to ship to Haiti at the end of February. However, multiple roadblocks impeded the project's completion. Several challenges in Haiti including issues of civic unrest, corruption, starvation and oppression, and a hurricane that devastated the island were beyond anyone's control. Also, February brought an end to our involvement with this project although we continued to follow the project's progress. Shipment of the containers to Haiti was delayed until the end of April due to corruption in the Haitian customs and port system and the Haitian government's efforts to address the issues by closure of the ports in February. The shipment arrived in Port-au-Prince in mid-June and was held in the customs warehouse. The shipment finally cleared customs in mid-September and was safely delivered to UNIF.
This work was made possible through the collaboration and financial support of many organizations. With a grant from the Sisters of St. Joseph, Nazareth, Mich., and working in partnership with Partners in Progress, Association of Peasants of Fondwa, and Monroe County Community College Information Systems and Construction Management Technology departments, this project will help to advance UNIF's mission by meeting its need for alternative energy and adequate technology needs. The project objectives included:
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| Vision Phase 2006 | |
In June 2006, delegates from River Raisin Institute and Partners in Progress traveled to Leogone, Haiti, to meet with the Association of Peasants of Fondwa (APF) and the University of Fondwa 2004 (UNIF) to exchange knowledge and strategies for addressing building and energy needs of UNIF.
 The small university is training a new generation of people who participate with determination and conviction in the sustainable and integrated development of their country and who do not put their own personal interest first.
UNIF has critical infrastructure needs that must be met in order to increase student enrollment and make the school economically viable. There is also need for renewable energy source for a recently implemented water project that supplies the school and surrounding community with clean water. The specific objectives accomplished on this trip included:
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Delegates traveled to Leogone, Haiti in 2006 and met with faculty at the University of Fondwa 2004 (UNIF) to assess their energy needs and the potential of solar and wind energy. The school buildings have almost no electricity and space is cramped and inadequate. There is also need for renewable energy source for a recently implemented water project that supplies the school and surrounding community with clean water. 
Best Electric and students and faculty at Monroe County Community College assembled the solar equipment in January 2008. The equipment 
In October 2008, representatives from Monroe County Community College in Monroe, Mich., Oakland University in Macomb County, Mich., and Partners in Progress in Pennsylvania traveled to Fondwa for the installation of the solar equipment and computer systems and the final training sessions. 
UNIF is dedicated to reversing the destructive cycle of economic impoverishment, rampant health crisis, and environmental devastation caused by centuries of violence and oppression. Years of unsustainable plantation agriculture and the forced displacement of peasants from fertile plains to mountainous slopes has resulted in severe deforestation, soil erosion and water contamination. Most Haitian people lack access to clean water and fresh produce. Many children are malnourished and suffer from preventable and treatable diseases.
