Almost.

Almost.

That word, or rather, it’s Kreyol equivalent, preske (press-keh), is being used quite a lot these days. The construction that the landlord is doing at our office is almost done. We’ve almost perfected the updated technical design for our cement toilets. We’re almost ready to order our new, more environmentally-friendly compost packaging with its improved informational label. It’s almost time to harvest our peanut experiment – an exciting one because peanuts are a major crop here, but a bit nerve-wracking, as there are biological reasons to suspect that compost might not have the huge impact that it has on other crops we’ve tested. We’ve almost succeeded in getting our new lab equipment out of customs, where it’s been stuck since the first week of July. The internet is almost working (there’s roughly an 80% chance this blog will have to be uploaded by someone in the US).

Gaspard fitting the platform and seat onto a new cement toilet model.

Almost, almost, almost.

It can be a bit maddening sometimes, especially for a Type A personality (ahem) who loves to see items crossed off SOIL’s grand to-do list. It’s also the reality of working for a small NGO that is trying to address three enormous problems in Haiti – lack of access to safe sanitation, environmental degradation, and an economy that desperately needs to create more jobs. In truth, all of us are impatient for success when we know that these are life and death issues affecting our families, friends, and neighbors. But we also know that durable, revolutionary solutions take time to build – particularly those being developed in challenging contexts (for example, an office drowning in mind-numbing buzzsaw noise from said construction). We’re thankful that you, our friends and supporters, are in this for the long haul as SOIL faces and overcomes all of these challenges.

So, my apologies if this seems like an anti-update. There will be all sorts of exciting news to share soon – I’m (almost) sure of it.