University of Miami Winter Intersession in Haiti

University of Miami Winter Intersession in Haiti

Challenges in Sustainable Development in Haiti: from Theory to Practice
Professor: Sasha Kramer

The intersession course Sustainable Development Challenges in Haiti allows students to move from theory to practice through a combination of readings, lectures, meetings, and direct participation in the construction of an ecological sanitation system with the organization SOIL. Discussions will take an interdisciplinary look at the connections between poverty, public health and the environment in Haiti . Students will be encouraged to look holistically at environmental and public health problems from a human rights perspective, examining the role that inequality has played in creating and maintaining health and environmental crises in Haiti.
Each January students will spend 9 days in northern Haiti participating in the following activities:

Visits to several of SOIL's ecological sanitation sites throughout northern Haiti
Visit the historic monuments of the Palace of San Souci and the Citadel.
Visit to the Village of Labadi where SOIL has constructed 4 large public ecological toilets. Labadi is also the site where Royal Caribbean cruiselines has a private beach, the largest site for tourist activity in the country. This visit will allow students to evaluate the effects of tourism from both environmental and social perspectives.
A visit to Shada (an overcrowded urban slum in Cap Haitien ) with discussion of the special challenges of urban development. We will meet with several local grassroots NGO's to get a better sense of community identified priorities.
Interactions with local government officials, including meetings with the mayors of Milot, Borgne and Cap Haitien. We will discuss both the positive and negative roles that international organizations have played with regards to local governments.
Construction of a community ecological sanitation system. Students will have a chance to help with both project implementation and community outreach.
Daily group meetings, to discuss the previous days work and to reflect on ways to enhance the sustainability of the project, with special attention given to project maintenance.

At the conclusion of the course, students are required to write a research or development proposal which gives equal weight to academic rigor and community relevance. They will be asked to search online for various grant-making organizations and research institutions and their proposals will be submitted at the completion of the class. After having a chance to visit numerous projects and meet with various individuals and groups in Haiti , students should have acquired a good sense of community needs and they will be asked to develop a proposal that addresses a specific need. Students who submit exemplary proposals, and are interested in pursuing the project, will have the opportunity to return to Haiti to complete their proposed project during a summer internship. SOIL will also provide logistical and advisory support for graduate students interested in developing research in Haiti .

The class is designed for undergraduates and graduates from any discipline interested in bringing their academic training to bear on issues of human suffering and environmental destruction. The goal of the class is to recruit a broad range of students to bring a variety of disciplinary perspectives to the table.

To read about student's experiences see the following blogs:

Ashley Dahlberg, University of California Santa Cruz
Andrew Carroll, Stanford University
Patricia Leiver, University of Miami
Rachel Koscianski, University of Miami
Woody Talley, University of Miami
Greg Sweinton, University of Miami
Emanna Louis, University of Miami
Brian Averill, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee >