Introducing Our Advisory Board
At SOIL, we understand the power of teamwork and we are always seeking to collaborate with local and global experts that provide valuable input and strategic guidance for our organization and the service we provide.
In our 15 years of working in Haiti, we’ve made great progress in getting to where we are today, but none of that would be possible without the support of a critical network of people that have volunteered their time and knowledge in order to help guide our mission of providing equitable access to basic human rights.
In light of this collective ...
Farmers Driving Increase in Compost Sales in Cap-Haitien
SOIL’s compost team working at compost site
Over the past year, SOIL has produced 170 metric tons of our rich, organic compost at our waste treatment facility in Mouchinette, Haiti. Extensive research shows that not only does compost increase agricultural harvests, but compost application can also be instrumental in restoring ecosystems and mitigating against the impacts of climate change through increased soil water retention, restoration, and carbon sequestration. This means that with every sack of compost that SOIL sells, Haiti is becoming a little more resilient to ...
Brown is the Color of Rain: Guest Blog by Anthony Kilbride
EkoLakay client carrying waste containers through flood waters. Photo courtesy of Centre Impact
These are strange times if you’re a raindrop. Gone are the days when you could predict your falling, or your freezing, but also the hardness and hygiene of your landing. Around the world, raindrops are finding themselves land on harder and dirtier surfaces, as we urbanize and impermeabilize our landscape, but also neglect to invest in the environmental health systems which keep us, and our raindrops, clean and safe. All of us in this global village are reminded of this ...
Why Haitian History Matters
Black History Month is a time to celebrate black voices, experiences and cultures. We at SOIL, want to take this time to acknowledge Haiti’s significant place in black history - as a symbol of strength, resilience and hope, since 1804. From Toussaint Louverture and Catherine Flon, to Jean-Michel Basquiat and Edwidge Danticat, Haitians and Haitian-Americans alike have had a profound impact on world history.
In 1804, Haiti became a free nation, and the first black republic, after years of fighting against colonial oppression. Haiti’s independence served as a pivotal ...
How Ecological Sanitation Can Promote Food Security
SOIL team member planting with Konpós Lakay
Here at SOIL, we’re dedicated to basing our strategic objectives and design iterations on careful research and data. We’re also committed to sharing our lessons learned, and progress with the global ecological sanitation community. We’re pleased to share a recent publication in partnership with the University of California, the University of Hawaii, and the University of Vermont in the Frontiers Sustainable Food Systems Journal.
“Toward Zero Hunger Through Coupled Ecological Sanitation-Agriculture Systems” explores ...
Compostable Container Liners to Reduce High Container Costs
SOIL’s Research Team experimenting with compostable container liners
In October of last year, SOIL’s research team met up in Cap-Haitien to identify potential opportunities to improve the efficiency of our service in the coming year. One of the opportunities identified during the team session is exploring the potential for using compostable bags as a liner for the containers in our EkoLakay in-home toilets. The team is interested in testing the idea that the liners may reduce some of the stress the containers go through during the cleaning and disinfection process and ...
Sharing Our Story with Carel Pedre
Carel Pedre speaking with SOIL's Senior Manager, Romel Toussaint
In recent weeks, there has been a sudden flurry of interest in the value of human waste in the Haitian media, leading to increased attention, and sometimes head-scratching speculation, as to the ins and outs of SOIL’s work. SOIL was delighted at this new peak in interest and wanted to use this as an opportunity to answer some of the questions that were being asked with regard to SOIL’s work with waste - and exactly what we were doing with that waste! In order to share more of the real story about our ...
The Potential of Human Waste: SOIL Featured in Newswise
Compost team pictured with SOIL’s organic, agriculture-grade compost made from human waste.
Our world creates an enormous amount of waste, and that waste exists in many, many different forms. There’s food waste, liquid waste, hazardous waste, solid waste, and what we at SOIL care most about, human waste. A recent article published in Newswise, titled (Human) waste not, want not, highlights the topics discussed in a presentation by Rebecca Nelson, Cornell University, at the 2021 ASA, CSSA and SSSA Annual Meeting on a new vision for the reuse of human waste. Nelson, a ...
Digital Tools & Sanitation: SOIL Featured in GSMA
EkoLakay workers using digital tools for collection
SOIL is working hard to transform the global sanitation crisis, and we know that it is going to take innovative solutions to provide safe and dignified sanitation options to those that are without. Throughout the years we have been working in Haiti, SOIL has demonstrated the ability to innovate and refine our model to meet the needs of vulnerable communities, while facing political, social, and environmental instability. This year alone, we’ve piloted multiple improvements to operational efficiency to optimize our ...
SOIL Receives Stamp of Approval from Haitian Ministry of Environment
BNEE staff visiting Konpòs Lakay customer’s coffee plantation
When SOIL first started out building our composting waste treatment facility in the northern Haitian community of Mouchinette in 2012, the only thing on the property was a big mango tree. Since then, the SOIL team has completely transformed the site into a beautiful, efficient, and highly productive composting facility. Now, alongside that original welcoming mango tree, Mouchinette is a flurry of activity, with SOIL team members working hard to empty containers, turn and nurture the compost, and maintain ...
