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AIDG takes first steps to establishing new incubated business in Cap Haitien, the second largest city in Haiti

Weston, MA – When Peter Haas and Catherine Lainé of AIDG visited Cap Haitien last August, they saw a lot of potential business opportunities in Haiti’s second largest city.

“There were many basic services that the population needs, which they just are not getting access to,” says Haas, AIDG’s Executive Director. “A properly placed business could do much to address some of these issues and make a decent profit at the same time”.

Over 60% of Cap-Haitien’s inhabitants do not have adequate sanitation in their homes. The public latrines that do exist are rarely maintained because of a lack of funds. With no other options, many residents resort to defecating in the open, often in nearby bodies of water, or in plastic bags. Feces in plastic bags has earned the facetious name of “flying toilets”, as they are often hurled onto solid waste piles or roofs.

AIDG’s aim is to create a small business that will alleviate part of this problem by maintaining the public latrines. Typically, latrines in Cap-Haitien are emptied by hand with shovels. It is slow, unpleasant, and dangerous work; the danger comes from the absence of suitable protective clothing or equipment. When finished, the waste is not properly disposed of and is usually dumped in local mangrove swamps, increasing the contamination of local water sources.

The development of a low-cost pumping solution would increase the speed and safety of latrine cleaning. Adaptation of AIDG’s biodigester technology could also allow for the safe processing of human waste to kill harmful pathogens.

“The plan is to create an economically and ecologically sustainable operation that will not only significantly improve sanitation but will also provide biogas as a clean cookfuel to many neighborhoods in Cap Haitien,” Haas explains.

To get started in this effort, AIDG will be bringing Sarah Brownell on board in August. Ms. Brownell is an ecological sanitation expert with significant experience in Haiti and strong relations with the local city government.

Just as with AIDG’s first incubated business, XelaTeco, the new business in Haiti will receive training, help with business planning, equipment/material procurement as well as financial, technical and logistical support.

The cost of AIDG’s expansion into Haiti, including business incubation expenses, is estimated between $90,000 and $100,000.

More about Sarah Brownell

Sarah Brownell received her Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology, and her Master’s in environmental engineering from the University of California at Berkeley. Since 1998, she has been working on water treatment, solar power, and ecological sanitation projects with the organization Haiti Outreach Pwoje Espwa in Borgne, Haiti. She helped found the Sant Teknoloji Brase Lide Brainstorming Technology Center in Borgne in 2003. She has also been an active member of the Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) and co-founder of SOIL, an NGO dedicated to ecological sanitation in Haiti.

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