Grow Your Own Graffiti

MOSS GRAFFITI: No messy paints, no spray cans, no destruction. If you grow tired of your green graffiti then you can just clear it away and chuck it in your compost bin.

Artist, Anna Garforth has been working with moss for some time. She was inspired by guerrilla gardening and started to make these beautiful grassy sculptures that bring the natural world into our urban environments in a different way. It certainly gives a new meaning to the term Urban Gardening.

“Garforth uses natural and recycled materials to spread her own brand of social commentary and sustainable design concepts. Her ideas are in turn seeds for new growth and a valid and vital avenue of exploration.”

washing clothes

Haiti faces key challenges in the water supply and sanitation sector:

* Haiti’s coverage levels in urban and rural areas are the lowest in the hemisphere for both water supply and sanitation. Sewer systems and wastewater treatment are nonexistent.

* In rural areas those without access to an improved water source got their water primarily from unprotected wells (5%), unprotected springs (37%) and rivers (8%). In urban areas those without access to an improved source got their water from “bottled water” (20%), from carts with drums (4%) and unprotected wells (3%).

* According to the Demographic and Health Survey 2006, 10% of those living in urban areas and 50% of those living in rural areas defecated in the open.

* In almost all urban areas water supply is intermittent.

* In January 2010 parts of Haiti including the capital were hit by a massive earthquake. More than 1.5 million people were displaced and had to live in refugee camps without piped water supply or sanitation, where most of them still live.

* The main public institution in the Haitian water sector is the National Directorate for Water Supply and Sanitation in the Ministry of Public Works, called DINEPA after its French acronym (Direction Nationale d’Eau Potable et d’Assainissement).

* Some of the NGOs active in drinking water supply in Haiti are:
Action Contre la Faim (French),
the Association haïtienne pour la maîtrise des eaux et des sols (ASSODLO) (Haitian).
CARE (US),
the Comité Protos Haïti (Haitian),
le Groupe de recherche et d’échanges technologiques (GRET) (French),[10]
Helvetas(Swiss),
Inter Aide (French),
International Action (US),
Oxfam (UK and Canada),
the Pan American Development Foundation (linked to the Organisation of American States)
World Vision (US).

Sewing Party in New York

The people over at Oliver + S Pattern Company are hosting a sewing party for HOPE Art’s ongoing Haiti Dress Drive. If you live in the area, and would like to hang out with these amazing ladies, send them as RSVP and you can help them sew right in the Oliver + S design studio. They’ll be making dresses for young girls, and simple shorts for boys. All the fabric is being donated by Moda. Thanks so much to Liesl for putting this together, we at HOPE Art are eternally grateful for all your support.

Haiti Market Day Mural

This mural was created to celebrate the colorful work of Haitian artist Berny Mathias, and to continue to raise funds for HOPE Art’s work with Haitian children.

This fundraising mural contains 12-, 24- and 35-page versions (preview HERE) of Berny Mathias’ “Market Day” painting. Instructions and color guide are included. To purchase this fundraiser at the special price of $10, click the “Add to Cart” button to make your payment via Paypal. Download instructions will follow upon completion of payment. All proceeds from the sale of this mural will benefit Project HOPE Art.
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Ubuntu-Blox


Read about Ubunto-Blox, here

Haiti Communitere operates the Sustainability Resource Center in Port au Prince. Located walking distance from the international airport our center works as a hub for international groups to launch pilot projects, manage on the ground projects and network with other similarly focused in country groups. We pride ourselves in lowering overhead costs while redistributing revenue back to Haitian initiated projects.

Our Community Liaison works directly with community groups finding driven members of their community that just need that extra something to make their idea a reality. Working together is the only way we are able to assure our resource center and our community assistance programs address the actual needs and desires of beneficiaries. Haiti Communitere is a collective idea born from true grassroots disaster recovery experience.

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Following the 2004 tsunami, our core group was introduced to the world of disaster relief, through coordinated response to other disasters this group has transformed into a large network representing a diverse skillset. Throughout the internal discussions and planning, we have identified three interconnected yet separate components to disaster recovery; response, relief, and renewal. It is our vision to design a model that supports both internal and external empowerment by formulating program development around observed needs, instead of implementing pre-determined programs. Since the onset of the devastating January 12 Haitian earthquake, this vision has been adhered to and the Haiti Program has evolved to address the ever developing needs of this impoverished area.

Under the name GrassRoots United (no affiliation with GrassRoots International), initial relief planning began immediately and in less than two weeks after the quake, HC director Sam Bloch was on the ground assessing damage, setting up a base of operations, and connecting medical professionals with personal pilots to get resources to the areas most needed. As the base grew into a Resource Center, and the emergency period after the earthquake passed, the focus moved to programs such as orphanage support, medical supply redistribution, and community-based public health education.

These efforts brought the needed support to Haitian orphanages, clinics, and IDP camps still readjusting to post-earthquake life when they were slammed with the first outbreak of cholera in decades. HC represents the third component of our model; renewal. In a country that is home to over 10,000 local and international groups, the vision of HC is to focus on backend support through sustainability, connectivity, and resources.

About the Team: http://www.haiti.communitere.org/manifesto/core-team
Current Project: http://www.haiti.communitere.org/current-projects