Agroforestry tours at UCNH Haut Limbe

Criollo

In addition to the many species of birds found at and around Université Chrétienne du Nord d'Haïti (UCNH) in Haut Limbe (east of Limbe), visitors can learn about the agriculture in the area, including cacao - the source of chocolate, and bananas and plantains. There are many groves of each in the area, and the denser cacao groves host many species of birds, including: common yellowthroat, yellow-throated, black-throated blue, and Cape May warblers during the winter; broad-billed todys, Hispaniolan lizard-cuckoos and Antillean bullfinches, and the endangered plain pigeon. 


Chocolate is made from cacao seeds which are found in pods that grow directly on the trunks and branches of the cacao tree (a habit known as cauliflory which is common among tropical trees). All three varieties can be seen, even in the same grove. Criollo, supposed to make the best quality of chocolate, but susceptible to disease, is identified by reddish pods. Forastero, more productive but not as flavorful, is identified by longer grooved pods. The hybrid of these, Trinitario, combines these two qualities, and is identifies by its stouter warty pods.

You will also learn to identify the differences between plantain plants, which are starchy and boiled or fried, and the sweeter banana plants. Plantain leaves are a lighter green and have a pink edge, and the bunches are looser. They grow better in the sun. Banana leaves are slightly darker, have a thinner browner edge, and the bunches are tighter.

Contact me if you would like a tour to see birds, agriculture, or chocolate making. Please be considerate and ask your guide before taking photos of people.

Yellow-throated warbler

Trinitario the hybrid

Forestero

Banana

Plantain

Banana left, plantain right with pinker wider edging

Port au Prince Airport – Delta waiting area

Waiting upstairs for the Delta flight

The first weekend in March 2018 I flew back to the US on Delta. I arrived 3 hours before departure. When you go in the main door of the Port au Prince airport, go to the right to get to the Delta check-in. After the first stop to show passports and answer questions, continue to the computer kiosk. It was able to process all my info except my credit card for checked luggage, so I did that at the main counter where I dropped off my luggage. The attendant spoke excellent English. After that all airlines proceed to the main security line where you show your passport, go through security, then proceed to the customs booth to have your passport stamped. 

Then it is not clear where to go. I had always taken the escalator upstairs to the American Airlines waiting area. Turns out all other airline passengers wait on the ground floor in a jumble that is not delineated by airline. There is one restaurant and a junk food shop on that floor, but go upstairs and you’ll find a lot of gift shops and more food counters (same place as before the earthquake). All shops take US bills, and of course where I got my cheese sandwich for $4.50US they did not have change for a $5. And they didn’t have juice despite a sign on the counter that said grenadia and cherise juice for $5US.  The counter downstairs did have mango and tamarind juice.  These gift shops have typical Haitian art and crafts, but also maps, books, rum, and Haitian chocolate! So I bought some Askanya chocolate at the corner kiosk in the hallway (it's not marked, look for boxes that look like they have chocolate bars). The rapidou version is kind of gritty with an odd flavor, like rapidou!

After eating I went back downstairs, bought a tamarind juice, found the bathroom by the duty-free shop, found an empty seat, and about 10 minutes later an announcement said that the Delta flight needed to line up for security. This was about 1.5 hours before departure time. Only none in my group heard the initial English version which was muffled, we only heard the French version say Delta, and had to wait for the message to repeat a couple times to know what to do. So amongst the crowd of seated people we formed a line, showed someone at a booth our passports, then walked up a flight of stairs to wait in line again in a sunny hallway for a pat-down and luggage search. Then we boarded! American Airlines has a much calmer waiting area, juice and Rebo counters, and wifi. This other area gave you a last taste of navigating a foreign country.

An upstairs food counter.

The cheese sandwich was good!

The hallway with gift shops, and the yellow kiosk that had chocolate.

Gardens Part II - Irrigated

Saul the agriculture extension agent gave us a tour of his gardens. Huge beautiful fields of cabbages, with tomatoes and peppers along the edges. Even a small patch of rice. Banana trees and breadfruit trees. And a couple of huge trees that survived the deforestation. It was impressive.

Then we went to his garden that has irrigation canals. It was like a botanical garden. Different varieties of bananas. Coffee trees. Cocoa trees! - the orange things in the picture are the cocoa pods. I suggested that Saul open a restaurant overlooking the gardens, and give tours. It’d be a perfect place to relax and enjoy the beauty and food of Haiti.

This final photo shows corn being irrigated, right next to coconut tree. I don’t know if it is as productive as the same sized Kansas corn field, but they also aren’t trying to grow the corn just to feed cows like they do here in the US. That Saul can grow his own rice is a huge deal. The Haitian rice farmers are driven out of business by the importation of American rice (cheaper due to subsidies). Thus

people lose jobs and can’t feed themselves, and the money goes to the US.