the construction economy in haiti, james murphy senior essay 2011

The Building Economy in Haiti Unraveling the web of roadblocks inhibiting a successful building economy in Haiti

James MurphySenior Essay in the HumanitiesYale UniversitySpring, 2011

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Professor Michelle Addington, for her guidance. Thank you to Professor Norma Thompson, Professor Maria Menocal and the rest of the Humanities Department for such an enriching major experience. Thank you to the Dania Foundation for giving me the opportunity to get involved in Haiti, for Father John for kick starting my interest in panels, and to my family for supporting me in this journey. Thank you to all the Haitian partners along the way, especially Baby, Jay, and the workers who worked by my side. Thank you to the Credit Development Institute. Thank you to Dave, and Jimmy who have provided valuable insights. Thank you Haiti for opening your borders to me. Most of all I would like to thank Yale University for providing me with this extraordinary education experience.

Table of Contents

Forward…………………………………………………. 1 Introduction…………………………………………… 3 History……………………………………………….…... 9 Politics…………………………………………………… 17 Economy………………………………………………... 27 Building…………………………………………………. 37 Conclusions and Going Forward……………… 53

James Murphy | The Building Economy in Haiti

1

Forward

My passion is building. I did not always know it, but looking back it seems

so obvious. At first, it was Legos, Kinex, and cardboard forts; in high school, tree

forts, pottery, and furniture; and at Yale, a new deck at the frat house, a grant to

replicate the Morse Lipstick sculpture in Swing Space, and a dock staining and

repair business.

When I went to Mexico City for Thanksgiving in 2009 I was introduced to

Alfonso Serrano, the CEO of Construyendo. Construyendo builds houses for the

poor in rural Mexico using volunteer labor. The reason they can build safely with

unskilled labor is their building method - a steel frame panel with foam that merely

requires assembly and an inch of mortar concrete applied to either side.

Construction is cheap, simple, fast, and strong. I was sold.

Throughout the year, I established a pretty good working knowledge of the

panel system, wrote a few papers on it, and was even working with a company as a


2

broker to sell the panels. That is, until they thought I asked too many questions and

dropped me. (I think they thought I was their competition).

When disaster struck Haiti, it seemed like the perfect place to implement

this building technology and a real opportunity for me to make a difference. I was

serendipitously connected with a family foundation (the Dania Foundation) that

was working on reconstruction in Haiti. They were working with the same panel

system I had become acquainted with and needed someone on the team who knew a

bit more about the panels.

One resume, two phone calls, and a week later I met the family in the airport

on our way to Haiti. What started as an earnest effort to implement a technology to

help rebuild a nation turned into so much more. What I have discovered from my

time in Haiti, and my research, is that helping Haiti to rebuild is so much more than

just building codes, materials, the economy, and the politics. It is all those and more.

It would be too simplistic to confine the issues to a few short sentences. Rather, it

requires a study of the full picture and an understanding of the linkages.

The following pages are my thesis on the building economy in Haiti. I have

included my personal story in italics in-between sections, and kept the research in

the body of the work. The pictures are mostly images that I, or my friends, took

while we were in Haiti. I hope the images help complement my message in a way

that helps you, the reader, connect. Working in Haiti is so much more than a

formula and checklist; it is about getting down there with the people and helping

them rebuild their lives, their families, their homes, and their futures.

Haiti is where I will work next year, doing exactly what I love; building. I

look forward to sharing my experiences and research with you, and building a

stronger Haiti.


3

Introduction

I would be dead

Mr. Mehu is the president of the APCH, an Association of Drivers in Haiti. On

January 12, 2010, he was installing a radio in a car when his world started shaking.

“I took 3 steps back to avoid the house and then I fell on my back,” at that

moment a masonry fence wall fell on him. “No one was able to help and I

looked in every direction and I looked at my hand and realized that my hand

was crushed and I made the effort to crawl on the floor, when I looked around

and found myself on the floor I could not understand what was going on...........

you know...... what I mean ... I am asking myself if what I see is reality....

Because right away I am not realizing what is happening; the whole country is

“broken” damaged, dust, and I can’t see anything, it is as if I am in a dream and

I could not believe it was reality.”

“I couldn’t find anyone to help me at the hospital. We drove around

downtown and we still couldn’t find help or a solution. While we were driving

around we found a child who was urinating blood so I told the driver to leave

Carlos Barria/Reuters via Corbis


4

me and take the child and try and find help for him because I only had a

broken wrist. He could come back for me afterwards…The whole day went by

and we couldn’t find help, we slept in the car because we had no more home

and the homes that were not destroyed everyone was afraid to go inside them.

So we pulled down the car seats and slept in the car so we could start our

search for help the next day.”

“When I finally made it back home I was already told that my house had

been destroyed, but I didn’t believe it. I thought that maybe it was only

leaning, but it was destroyed. Nothing could be saved except my passport, all

the other stuff got damaged even the fridge was totally flattened like a

pancake, destroyed. The house was a 2 story and everything was flattened… I

lived there for ten years, if I was at home, or in any part of the house, I would

be dead.”1

The Earthquake

It seems almost everyone in Haiti could share a very similar story. The 7.0

magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12 killed over 250,000 people, and

caused over 120 percent of the nation’s GDP worth of damage; by that standard, it

was the worst natural disaster a nation has ever faced in recorded history.2

No one was immune. “The poor construction practices were so pervasive

that they even crossed class boundaries — while the poorly-constructed slums

collapsed during the quake, so did Port-au-Prince’s luxury hotels and the UN’s

AP photo/United Nations


Inside Disaster


5

mission headquarters”3 Hundreds of thousands of homes, 60 percent of the

country’s hospitals, 80 percent of its schools, and all but one government building

were destroyed by the quake; even the presidential palace collapsed.

Buildings and the Humanities

It can be surprising how often we forget the connection between buildings

and the humanities. Buildings correlate to the state of a nation socially, politically,

economically, and more. For example, the Sistine Chapel provided the canvas for

Michelangelo, the Roman Senate gave the stage for Cicero, and the concert hall gives

a venue for Shakespeare and Beethoven performances. Building images

characterize currency, postcards, and logos for institutions. On Yale’s campus,

buildings determine the status of residential colleges or senior societies.

Buildings are an ubiquitous presence in society. At a basic level, they provide

us safety and comfort. Buildings also offer a space for thinkers, writers, painters,

and musicians alike. Look around us at Yale; these hallowed halls are exactly what

allow academic discourse. On another level, buildings reflect the personality of

society; take for example the flashy Las Vegas strip reflecting glitz and greed, the

gaudy towers of Dubai showcasing excessive wealth, or the lost empire of Rome

leaving us with remnants of a fallen empire. Architecture and design can be a

hallmark of status while structural integrity might highlight a nation’s prowess and

intelligence.

In the United States we take for granted the structural integrity of our

buildings. We hardly stop to wonder if the building we are about to enter is safe. It

Port au Prince- National Palace

Las Vegas- Bellagio


6

is so far removed from the cognizant brain to worry about a roof falling on your

head, to scrape the wall and wonder if the concrete was mixed properly for the brick

mortar, or to wonder if the builders had enough steel to put in the proper roof tie-

downs. We lean against the chalkboard fully expecting it to withstand our body

weight.

Imagine what life would be like if we did worry about the structural

integrity of our buildings. What if with each building we entered we had to suppress

a wave of fear as we fought flashbacks to a family member buried alive under the

roof of our previous home, like Mehu does? What if we knocked on the walls to see

if the cinder blocks were filled with concrete or if they merely had mortar on the

edges? What if during a storm we had to hold down the roof of WLH and continue

class in rotating shifts? What if our buildings were not safe? This is the reality in

Haiti.

The Research Question

This essay will focus on the current state of the building economy in Haiti.

Assessing the building economy requires a top-down approach. First, the historical

context which has informed the current state of affairs in politics and the economy;

second, the political sphere that shapes the law of the land; third, the national

economy. Each of these threads has multiple, intricate, implications on the building

economy and is not easily boiled down to a few distinct factors.

Haiti is shaped by its violent and storied history. The political climate

remains volatile and under-serving of the people. As a result, the economy has

suffered greatly. The educated and well-off citizens flee the country in what is

known as “brain drain,” and the cycle continues. Inside Disaster


7

With over three quarters of the country below the poverty line most

Haitians hardly have enough money to get by, let alone enough money to construct

safe buildings. Haiti is almost completely unregulated, especially in the building

industry. The little resources that the government has are typically spent on law

enforcement and public safety.

Land rights are unenforced or non-existent and the infrastructure of the city

makes transport a nightmare. Day to day operation, transportation, and unexpected

delays raise costs and margins considerably. For most, financial loans are nearly

impossible to get and reputable construction companies are few and far between.

There is little government enforcement of contracts and building codes, not to

mention the lack of educated workers with the proper experience to make building

assessments in the first place.

This combination of low purchasing power, volatile politics and

enforcement, and poor infrastructure make for a less than ideal building scenario.

The devastation from the earthquake of January 12, 2010 exposed the flaws of the

building economy to the world. Strengthening Haiti’s building economy does not

have a simple answer, and will require improvements across multiple sectors from

politics to the economy. Things need to change in Haiti, for the sake of its citizens

and for the sake of the nations prosperity, and the building economy plays a key

role. I hope to be able to highlight many of the issues and start to unravel what is a

web of roadblocks inhibiting a successful building economy.



8


9

History

Land “Gifts”

Baby and JP made a right off Delmar 65 down an unnamed road. The turn had

been indicated to them by a red shack and garbage pile about 200 feet before the turn.

Navigating the road is a bit like trying to guide a marble through a wooden maze

avoiding the holes. There are no lanes or rules; people drive on the right side of the

road, unless, of course, they decide to drive on the left. The speed limit is usually

determined by how much discomfort the passengers can endure.

Another twenty minutes down the road and they stopped. Nous y voilà! Baby,

the driver says. “We are here.” The reason for this journey goes back a few weeks to

February 28th, 2010 when Peter Bak, the Chairman and founder of the Dania

Foundation, met with Interior Minister, Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé. JP, as he is

affectionately known, had explained his low-income mortgage housing idea and the

minister was sold. Bein-Aimé and JP agreed that they should work together to build a

housing community with over 6,000 homes consisting of 3 villages on land near Lake

Azuil and the border to the Dominican Republic. JP and the minister agreed that JP


10

should first build one house, for approval by the minister, before operating on a bigger

scale. The minister said that if JP could find the financing for the first 200 homes, the

Haitian government would finance the following 5,800 homes. They land shook hands,

and took a picture to commemorate the event.

Stepping out of the car spirits were high. JP was about to look out on land that

might start the future of housing in Haiti.

History Introduction

In order to understand the current political and economic conditions in Haiti

it is essential to first understand the nation’s history. The French colonists once

referred to Haiti as the “Pearl of the Antilles” because it was the most lucrative

territory in West Indies. Today, Haiti it is the poorest nation in the Western

Hemisphere.4 Haiti thrived on agriculture and export commodities that are still

valuable today such as coffee, sugar, and cocoa. Haiti’s location and climate has not

changed in the last 200 years yet the economy has completely polarized. We must

turn to history for a fuller understanding of Haiti’s decline.

History, Colonization-2011

Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Hispaniola in 1492.

Hispaniola (La Isla Española) is the island that both Haiti and The Dominican

Republic share. In 1697 Spain ceded the western third of Spain’s Hispaniola to the

French, which they called Saint-Domingue (today known as Haiti). For the next 140

years the French ran one of the most lucrative and particularly cruel slave


11

plantations in the world. The French had thousands of plantations: 800 sugar, 3,000

coffee, 800 cotton, and 3,000 indigo.5 Saint-Domingue’s (Haiti’s) exports accounted

for 30 percent of France’s GDP annually. 6 Adam Smith, in The Wealth of Nations,

asserted Saint-Domingue as "the most important of the sugar colonies of the West

Indies."7 By the 1780s, nearly 40 percent of all the sugar imported by Britain and

France and 60 percent of the world’s coffee came from the small colony. For a brief

time, Saint-Domingue produced more exportable wealth annually than all of

continental North America. 8

Slave trade was essential to driving cash crop production. Under

particularly harsh conditions the French imported up to 50,000 African slaves

annually in order to keep up with the death toll and growth of the economy. In

1789, slaves outnumbered free people 4 to 1 with about 500,000 slaves occupying

Saint-Domingue.9

There was a strict hierarchical class structure in place in Saint-Domingue’s

society based on skin color, class, and wealth. At the bottom were the African slaves

and slightly above them were the Creole slaves, who were born on the island and

spoke French-Creole. The next rung was comprised of the mixed-race mulatto

slaves. Above them the mulatto free people. At the very top were the whites, with a

clear distinction between the shopkeepers and smallholder class (petit blancs) and

the high-class plantation owners; wealthy merchants and high officials (grands

blancs). 10


12

At the end of the 18th century the class structure began to unravel: slaves ran

away and formed militant groups, mulattoes vied for citizenship including the right

to own slaves, and the French Revolution was heating up back in France. In 1791,

Toussaint Lourverture emerged as the leader of Haiti’s revolution and in 1804 Haiti

claimed the title of the first free black republic.

The revolution devastated agriculture output. The profit driving returns

that slavery drove were gone. While the nation was now egalitarian, the

hierarchical system still remained with deep wealth disparities between the freed

blacks and mulattoes.

Haiti struggled to regain prosperity in its infancy. The nation was burdened

with a heavy trade embargo from France as well as bitter inner political struggles

that led to territorial partition. In 1825, Haitian President Jean-Pierre Boyer and

France negotiated the recognition of The Republic of Haiti as a free nation and the

removal of burdening trade blockage in exchange for a debt of 150 million Francs.11

To put the debt into perspective, France had sold the Louisiana Territory in 1803

(an area 74 times the size of Haiti) to the U.S. for 60 million Francs. 150 million

Francs accounted for over 5 times the annual export revenue of Haiti. 12 French

warships with 150 cannons backed up the debt. While this move helped Haiti

secure its political independence, it burdened growth and prosperity for over 100

years.

France later reduced the debt to 60 million Francs,12 however, Haiti was a

nation born bankrupt. In 1900, some 80 percent of the national budget was put


13

towards debt repayments.13 Money that could have been spent on infrastructure,

education, and Haiti’s future, was siphoned to foreign nations.

At first, Haiti had a thriving economy under heavy investment from the

French. After the revolution, and about 20 years of internal conflict, investment

capital was dried up. Haiti was mainly run by the mulatto elites, who were

generally former slaves with little education and political experience. The lack of

capital from France, as well as an uneducated post-slavery workforce, led to the

economic downturn of the “Pearl of the Antilles.”

The 19th century was rife with political instability. Coups and assassinations

of political leaders were commonplace and the Haitian constitution was abolished

and redrafted at will by each successor. The economy remained stagnant as

governments repeatedly subdivided land and continued to be burdened by the debt

to France.

In the early 20th century, economic and political instability left Haiti open to

European encroachment, so the United States deployed U.S. marines to the island in

order to protect its interests. The U.S. expanded occupation to the whole island of

Hispaniola and disbanded the military. During the two-decade occupation the

United States stabilized the economy, added roads, installed automatic telephones,

built bridges, erected schools, dredged harbors, constructed clinics, and improved

other public works.14 The troops left in 1934 but economic advisors remained until

1941 to manage the national treasury. By 1947, the debt to France was paid off and

the Haitian economy enjoyed economic growth through the 40’s and 50’s mainly

due to infrastructure and improved prices on exports.15


14

Francois Duvalier took power in 1957 under suspicious conditions.16

Duvalier, or “Papa Doc,” as he was known, ran on a platform of pro-black

nationalism, strong military support, and state acceptance of voodoo. Nationalist

policies were enacted that outlawed non-Haitians from owning land and obtaining

dual citizenship. Ever since then, in order to become a citizen of any other country,

Haitians must revoke their Haitian citizenship. Duvalier removed the bicameral

legislature to replace it with a unicameral one and appointed himself president for

life. He created strong military groups for purposes of averting coups and used

blackmail and terror to control the citizens.17 Duvalier heavily taxed the citizens to

fuel his military and family’s expenses. The government was wrought with

corruption following Duvalier’s example; the most notorious of which was the

administration’s taxation agency, Régie du Tobac, which had no accounting records.

As a result, many Haitians fled the country in a movement that has come to

be known as “brain drain.” During that time, both the rich and poor, and educated

and non-educated, left for places like the United States and Canada. “In 1969, for

example, some observers believed that there were more Haitian health

professionals in Montreal than in all of Haiti.”18 Tourism at the time was nearly non-

existent.

Overall, Duvalier’s policies had extremely detrimental effects on Haiti. The

United Nations reports that Haiti was the only country with no real economic

growth during the 1950’s and 1960’s while the rest of the world was experiencing

its most rapid expansion in history.19


15

“Papa Doc” died in 1971 and his 19-year-old son Jean-Claude Duvalier

(“Baby Doc”) took over the country. “Baby Doc” continued many of his father’s

practices and saw his nation decline even further. Unemployment was above 30

percent and corruption grew incredibly worse. Drug trade, illegal resale of

subsidized oil, rigged lotteries, export of cadavers and blood plasma, skimming of

the budget, and much more plagued the nation. As the corruption was uncovered, it

was reported that at least 36 percent of government funds were embezzled. Haiti

was deemed the most mismanaged country in the region. In 1982, a report was

released by Canada categorizing “Baby Doc’s” Haiti as a “kleptocracy.”20 In 1986,

Haitian citizens revolted and, along with pressure from the United States, “Baby

Doc” fled to France in exile.

Post “Baby Doc” Haiti was political chaos. Various military groups were

formed and multiple violent political takeovers included assassinations and

violence. Under such conditions, thousands of Haitians tried to flee. The U.S. Coast

Guard picked up over 40,000 Haitians in 1991 and 1992 and thousands more likely

perished at sea.21 “In the summer of 2000, in response to credible evidence of

government corruption, election fraud, and widespread human rights violations,

Haiti’s foreign donors suspended all development assistance…. So low was

confidence in Haiti’s government that only 5 to 15 percent of the electorate is

believed to have voted.”22 Violence was rampant and the gross domestic product

(GDP) growth turned negative. Riots and rebellions ruled the streets, including

those from the police and armed forces. “Responding to an emerging humanitarian

crisis, a United States-led Multilateral Interim Force made up of troops from the


16

United States, Canada, France, and Chile, was dispatched to secure Haiti’s ports and

restore the flow of food and medical supplies into the country.”23 In April 2004, the

UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1542, creating the UN Stability Mission in

Haiti (MINUSTAH). The Stability Mission was authorized with 6,700 troops and

1,622 civilian police. Over the next few years MINUSTAH struggled to restore law

and order as well as lay the foundation for another election. In 2006, René Préval

won a controversial reelection and was in power until the official results announced

Michel Martelly’s victory on April 18, 2011.

Under Préval’s rule, security remained fragile but improved. Efforts to

advance public administration and economic management were gaining traction

and the economy was starting to see growth again after many years of decline.24 On

January 12, 2010, at 4:53 pm, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake devastated Haiti.25

History Conclusion

Haiti’s tumultuous political history has been detrimental to the nation’s

development. Poor leadership and circumstances have lead to unproductive

policies that have driven away investors as well as some of Haiti’s most qualified

citizens. The political climate remains volatile and gets overhauled with each new

political regime. The nation was born bankrupt and has suffered from corrupt

financial leadership. A lack of economic strength has crippled the nation. Often,

poor and destitute citizens resort to violence and crime. The lack of taxable revenue

diminishes the government’s ability to keep the peace, enforce laws, and improve

infrastructure and education. Education has been a consistent issue of funding and


17

institutional capacity. Currently less than 20 percent of children attend secondary

school26 and the nation’s literacy is 53 percent.27 The lack of education limits the

number of qualified officials and voters and diminishes the number of skilled

workers.


18


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Politics

Political “Gifts” Uncovered

JP built the first house after the earthquake in the Concern camp of Tabarre28,

and the Minister came out to approve it. In a disappointing realization, this would not

be the future of housing in Haiti, just not yet at least. Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé

informed JP that their arrangement was not going to work out. On March 31st, 2010

an international donors conference was held in New York City29 and a committee was

formed to allocate the 5.3 billion of aid money in Haiti. The committee was called the

Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC)30 and was co-chaired by Bill Clinton and

Haitian Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive.31

Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé told JP that he tried his best, but that jurisdiction over

the available financing had been removed from his office with the creation of the new


20

IHRC commission. The approved house JP built, and the arrangement JP and the

Minister had worked out, were no longer valid.

The flights to Haiti, 24-hour armed protection, a private driver, imported

bottled water and meals, days of extreme heat and traveling with no air-conditioning,

risking both health and safety, all to figure out that the political landscape had

changed and made all the previous efforts obsolete. JP was frustrated and It was time

to work directly with the hard working Haitians who needed houses rather than

waiting on the “big funds,” to come in.

Politics Introduction

Haiti’s tumultuous political history, wrought with corruption, debt, and poor

leadership, has led the nation to become the poorest country in the Western

Hemisphere today. The political climate shapes the laws and practices for all the

land. Laws and political practices surrounding the building economy in Haiti make

it difficult for prosperity and investment.

Land Rights

Official land rights are mostly non-existent; squatters’ rights are the law of

the land. Before the earthquake, merely 5 percent of Haiti’s land was properly titled


21

and accounted for in public records.32 Even when deeds are produced, and

endorsed by the government no less, there is no guarantee of ownership. "It's very

hard to tell who started cheating first," says President Rene Preval. "If you put one

after another, all of the titles in Haiti, you will find Haiti is bigger than the United

States."33 To make matters worse, thousands of land titles were destroyed in the

earthquake, along with the lives of a quarter of the government employees that

oversaw the land bureaucracy. Establishing a clear system of land ownership

remains a huge challenge for Haiti.

Raw from historical mistreatment, land rights policies are focused on

preserving Haitian ownership and preventing non-Haitians from exploiting Haitians.

However, this poses a serious issue with the Haitian Diaspora by hindering

successful Haitians from returning to their homeland to invest. Nationalist political

policies prevent dual citizenship. Therefore, Haitians wanting to obtain citizenship

in any other country, such as the United States or Canada, must first revoke their

Haitian citizenship. “If the new President (Michel Martelly) allows me to get dual

citizenship, I will be able to return home and open up a car shop,” says Michel, a

family man running a car service in Connecticut, USA. “I hope to be able to take my

family back to Haiti.”34

"The disaster has exacerbated land tenure claims and we will see many

more. With around 250,000 people dead, inheritance and sale of land after the

earthquake raises all sorts of questions: is the property owner dead? are there

children entitled to land?"35 How Haiti deals with the issue of land rights will play a


22

big part in the rebuilding process because property and building investment relies

heavily on clear and enforced land rights.

Enforcement

Consistent and fair enforcement and in Haiti is hard to find. Walking with

the biggest stick is often better than a signature on paper. Enforcement is more

about who you know than what you have done.36

Haiti has one enforcement body, the Haitian National Police (Police

Nationale d’Haïti PNH). The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti

(MINUSTAH) helps in providing peacekeeping activities, but not in contractual and

policy enforcement.37 Like the nation itself, Haiti’s police force (PNH) has suffered

from mismanagement, corruption, and lack of funding.

Due to the earthquake, about 80 percent of the justice sector was destroyed

in Port au Prince. The damaged ranged from the city’s police officers and courts, to

prisons and paperwork. After the earthquake, most of the policing and enforcement

has been focused on basics and essentials: “establishing and maintaining the rule of

law, restoring violence prevention services, protecting vulnerable groups,

enhancing democratic processes, and strengthening administrative, government

and public services.”38

Landowners in Haiti do not enjoy land tenure security. Insecurity stems

from confusing land laws and weak institutions of enforcement. Most land holdings

are not covered by updated titles because of the high transaction costs.

Furthermore, those with updated titles cannot adequately defend their rights in a


23

court of law due to political instability.39 "The lack of governance makes the

enforcement of land rights very difficult, and legal protection is close to zero…Haiti's

clogged law courts take on average five years to resolve a case.”40 “Recent research

on land conflicts adjudicated by the courts has concluded that the courts are often

unable to arrive at a definitive judgment, and that the judicial apparatus is generally

unable to enforce its judgments.” 41 “What emerges from field studies is a

generalized distrust of the law, and primary reliance on social relations and

customary arrangements to ensure access to land.”42

Building Regulations

Very few regulatory bodies exist in Haiti, and those that do are underfunded

and corrupt. Haiti has building codes, adopted from France and Canada, which are

not catered to Haiti’s specific location and materials43. Even though codes exist on

paper, it is up to the contractor to follow them. There is no regulatory body that

properly oversees construction methods. These issues are present throughout the

industry, and not just in the poorest sectors.


24

"So now we need to work with the Haitian authorities to develop a building

code that is suited to Haiti and its peculiar conditions."44 “Earthquakes don’t kill

people, bad buildings kill them,”45 and Haiti had some of the worst buildings in

world. “There are building codes, but in a country that has been ranked as the 10th

most corrupt in the world, enforcement is lax at best.”46 Building codes are perhaps

not what they should be, but even worse is that the government does not have the

institutional capacity or resources to enforce proper codes.47

The World Bank reports that the cost of dealing with construction permits in

Haiti is 525 percent of income per capita.48 When building in such a low margin,

low-income area, it is very difficult to afford the regulatory practices necessary for

proper construction, much less the cost of following those rules.

An easy comparison comes from Chile. Chile was hit with an earthquake 500

times stronger than Haiti’s less than two months after Haiti, on February 27, 2010.

However, the death toll was less than 1 percent of Haiti’s.

What was the difference? There were variations in population density as

well as closeness of epicenter, but the key was the enforced building regulations.

Chile was hit with a massive 9.5 earthquake in 1960, the strongest ever recorded,

and has since developed some of the strongest and best enforced seismic codes in


25

the world.49 In particular a method called, “strong columns weak beams” system,

designed to keep buildings upright even under high stress scenarios.50 Implemented

technology and engineering such as this is what made all the difference when the

ground started shaking.51

Infrastructure

The infrastructure and operational cost of doing business in Haiti is

unpredictable and relatively high. Corruption leads to a game of bribes. Poor

streets, ports, and institutional capacity of the country make transactions

unpredictable and costly. Basic amenities are hard to come by or very expensive to

use.

Haiti is about the size of the state of Maryland. To drive from one end to the

other in Maryland takes about 4 hours. In Haiti, it takes two days to travel this same

distance. Roughly 100 miles, the drive from the capital to Gonaives takes six to nine

hours depending on traffic and road conditions.52 Simple trips of a few miles can

turn into hour-long excursions as construction efforts or gatherings of people spill

into the streets. There are no enforced traffic laws, signs, or lights. One-way streets

quickly become two-way as drivers change direction on a whim. “It is best to allow


26

for at least a few hours leeway for tardiness when scheduling a meeting.”53 The

streets alone make business take much longer.54

Most of the country is without sanitation, running water, or electricity.

Some of the more affluent areas are able to provide these services, but the lack of a

centralized system greatly increases costs. In the nicest areas of Haiti, waste

removal is done with septic or holding tanks, water is brought in with trucks, and

generators power electricity. At one of the most reputable beach hotels in Haiti,

Club Indigo, the trash is thrown into the ocean overnight during high tide in hopes

that low tide will sweep it out to sea. During high tide the cleanup crews are busy

collecting and re-depositing the trash out further in the ocean.55

“Haiti's infrastructure was among the world's worst even in the best of

times,” Raymond Joseph, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, said.56

Port capacity is back to normal and even functioning better than before the

earthquake thank to relief efforts57 but navigating customs remains difficult due to

corruption and other inefficiencies of the agency.58


27

Haiti is ranked 162 out of 183 nations worldwide on an “ease of doing

business in” scale for 2011 and is ranked last in the Caribbean.59 “A high ranking

(low number) on the ease of doing business index means the regulatory

environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.”60 The

index is based on a number of factors from construction permits, to protecting

investors, enforcing contracts, getting credit etc.

Education

Haiti’s 1987 Constitution, which is still in effect today, guarantees free

education for all citizens. However this is only a reality on paper. “Although public

education is free, the cost is still quite high for Haitian families who must pay for

uniforms, textbooks, supplies, and other inputs.”61 Due to a lack of funding from the

government, private and parochial institutions make up 90 percent of the primary

schools. Both public and private institutions are not well attended with only 65

percent of Haitians attending primary school and a dismal 20 percent moving on to

secondary.62 “Few can afford to send their children to secondary school and


28

primary school enrollment is dropping due to economic factors.”636465 The literacy

rate is 53 percent66 for the nation, and only 1.8 percent of the population ever

attends a university.67

Political Conclusion

Haiti has many opportunities and areas for improvement. It is the hope with

the newly elected government, official as of April 18th 2011, things will take a turn

for the better. New legislature should be passed that is more effective in promoting

Haitian prosperity. “Improving legislature will be essential for the stimulation of the

economy by private investors…Some local low level politicians cannot even write

their own name.”68 Infrastructure needs improvement, as well as the institutional

capacity of the country. Nationalistic legislature and the volatile political climate

has pushed away and discouraged investment. Moving forward, maintaining

security and safe environments for businesses will be essential. There is strong

agricultural and manufacturing potential with Haiti’s wealth of resources and close

proximity to the United States and other wealthy countries.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9zQcCJFre4


29

While many things look good on paper, such as Haiti’s education policy or

borrowed building codes, the government desperately needs more taxable revenue

and resources to be able to implement policies. Until the wheels of the economy

pick up, not much can be done to expand government programs.

Haiti’s ambassador to the United States agrees the nation needs to: change

laws to allow business investment to flow in, welcome back Haitian natives living

elsewhere in the world, and encourage tourism. The chance to reinvent a country

that had become the poorest in the Western Hemisphere also represents a chance to

flush out crime and corruption, he said. "Sorry for those people who think they're

going to be able to do things in Haiti the way they did before…The earthquake has

shaken up everything and everybody."69


30


31

Economy

Settling In

The Dania Foundation’s mission is to empower hard working Haitians and

help them rebuild their homes. The idea is not to perpetuate a welfare state, but

rather to kick-start a sustainable building enterprise; one that could be mimicked all

over the country. Local labor is used whenever possible and the homes are sold at

market value in order to keep the private building enterprise in Haiti alive. All profits

in the Foundation are returned back to the people through the program. (Although

actual profits are yet to be realized).

Instead of going through the government, JP turned to his driver, Baby, who

works for Mehu. Baby mentioned that he and many of his co-workers were in need of

housing and had the income to afford it, so long as they could get financing. Since

mortgage financing was still in the works, JP started ahead on building Mehu’s house

because Mehu had the financial capacity to purchase the house upon completion.

I was fortunate enough to join this team in the middle of the summer when the

Dania Foundation was about to start work on the house for Mehu. I met JP, and his


32

children, Eva (26) and Christian (24) for the first time in the Miami airport on the way

to Haiti. Eva and Christian were both Phd. candidates at Cambridge University in

England, and the CEO and COO (respectively) of the Foundation. I was told I would

oversee construction, as “chief technical advisor,” a title I thought was worth more in

words than in practice. Until I got there. I was indeed overseeing the construction for

the foundation, and along with the help of my father’s construction company on speed

dial, I was ready to take on the challenge.

Economics Introduction

Haiti has been blessed with an incredible agriculture climate; it is ideal for

goods such as sugar, cocoa, mangoes and coffee. At one point Haiti accounted for 30

percent of France’s GDP under harsh slave-plantation farming. For a brief time the

production in Haiti even surpassed that of the United States. Unfortunately, Haiti

has also been plagued with detrimental financial leadership, both foreign and

domestically. France imposed a massive debt and trade embargo in the nation’s

infancy that Haiti could not shake for 140 years. The tumultuous political climate

has driven away foreign investors and tourism. The hierarchical structure has seen

the elites thrive on the oppression of the poor. Political leaders have stolen and

squandered billions from the people with little regard for domestic improvements.


33

Haiti has potential for prosperity, but

without jobs to keep the wheels of industry

churning, the country cannot move forward. In a

place such as Haiti, where the most of the

economy relies on foreign imports, the low PPP

(purchasing power parity)70 of the nation really

makes it hard to afford goods. After the

earthquake the compassion of the world brought

billions of dollars in aid money to Haiti. But that

is not what will lift Haiti into the future. The aid

money is a good spark to get things rolling, but an

increase in employment and industry is what will

ultimately put Haiti back on its feet.

National Level Industry

Haiti is not only the poorest country in the

Western Hemisphere, but also the most unequal.

It has a Gini Index of 59.2.71 The Gini Index is a

standardized measure of income disparity of a

nation’s population. A higher number means a greater income gap. Haiti’s income

disparity is the seventh highest in the world. The wealthiest 10 percent of the

population holds 47 percent of the nation’s wealth while the poorest 10 percent,


34

less than 1 percent72. A mere 5 percent of the nation’s population owns 75 percent

of the arable land.73 More than three quarters of the nation lives below the poverty

line, with over half the nation in abject poverty.74. Haiti’s Prime Minister said that if

his people were living in poverty it would be a gift; Haiti first needs to get people out

of misery before they reach poverty.

Haiti exports 500 million dollars (US$) worth of goods, and imports over 2

billion dollars worth, annually. Haiti imports almost everything from food and

clothing, to oil and cement. Before the earthquake government expenditures were

over a billion dollars annually, with revenue of only 900 million.75 As a result, Haiti

has had to borrow money from various nations and banks. As of July 2010 the G7

nations (the seven most developed nations) and the World Bank76 have agreed to

cancel the debt Haiti owes.77 85 percent of Haiti’s tax revenue came from the

decimated Port au Prince area and the area has been slow to recover.78

` “According to Yale University, Haiti ranks 155th out of 163 countries when it

comes to general environmental degradation, while the bordering country, the

Dominican Republic ranks 36th.”79 Less than 3 percent of Haiti is covered by forest,

as compared to over 60 percent less than a century ago. As one crosses the border

Haiti on the left | Dominican Republic on the right


35

into the Dominican Republic the “moonscape” that is Haiti disappears into lush

forests.80

Individual level

On an individual level, most Haitians have very little

formal education. Less than 20 percent finish secondary

school and only 1.8 percent of Haitians have graduated from a

University.81 80 percent (the highest percentage in the world)

of the nation’s educated workforce now lives abroad. 8283

About 50 percent of the economic revenue is driven by

the service industry, another 30 percent in agriculture, and

about 20 percent in manufacturing.84 Agriculture employs

over two thirds of the work force, mostly on small-scale

subsistence farming. However, approximately three quarters

of Haitian citizens rent or live on land they do not own; as the

wealthy top 5 percent owns most the arable land.85 The

service industry employs merely 10 percent of the working

population but takes the largest share of the economy mainly

due to relatively wealthy foreign visitors and the high cost of

fuel. Most of Haiti’s exports come from the apparel sector,

which accounts for one-tenth of the nations GDP.


36

Remittances (regular monetary transfers

from family or friends abroad) make up 30 percent of

an average household’s income.86 Remittances equal

nearly 20 percent of GDP (more than twice the

earnings from exports) and account for half of the

nation’s tax revenue.

Accurate data on employment is hard to find.

For example, the CIA world factbook uses the phrase,

“widespread unemployment and underemployment”87

in place of a statistic. Formal employment accounts for

a mere 5 percent of the workforce.88 Unemployment is

estimated to be around 30 percent with an additional

30 percent categorized as underemployed.8990 Most of

the economy functions in an informal, unregulated,

marketplace.


37

Finance

The real spark that every successful economy has is

financing; the ability to borrow money now, in order to

generate more in the future. Every successful nation has

mortgage and lending systems. It is crucial to homes and

businesses alike. Without an economy and jobs, a financial

system cannot succeed.

As the United States has seen recently with the

housing crisis, mortgages and credit extensions are essential

to a vibrant building economy. Amid political uncertainty

and such economic stagnation as found in Haiti, it is very

difficult for banks to extend credit. “Banks in Haiti simply

lack the tools to analyze risk. They offer credit only to fail-

proof enterprises, which are few and far between – or worse,

to friends and family. They neglect the difficult credit

segments if only to avoid the arduous work of analyzing

risk... The credit system remains largely underdeveloped

with credit available to only but a few privileged individuals

and corporations.”91 Less than 1 percent of the loans made

to households are done through banks.92

There does not seem to be much movement against


38

this trend. In fact, banks have reduced their housing loan portfolios by 9 percent

since the earthquake.93 Banks are highly liquid, but function more as piggy banks

with little incentive to lend. “Even the leading lender for housing (SOGEBEL)

probably grants less than 100 mortgage loans per year. Because banks fear risks in

housing lending, terms and conditions are stiff and transaction costs high… Whether

they wish to or not, households have been forced to adopt the traditional approach

and make housing acquisition a very long-term, phased, and self-financed

process.”94

Whether it is an issue of poor client base, or the banks lacking the tools to

properly asses the credit risk, or both,95 there do not seem to be any incentives for

banks to change their lending practices without significant changes in political

stability, growth in the economy, or subsidized lending programs.

Economic Conclusion

Haiti has very low employment, production, and education numbers. These

numbers have a very tangible effect on the building economy. Haiti imports nearly

everything for their buildings (oil for energy, cement for concrete, steel for rebar,

screws and nails, heavy machinery, etc.). With such a low purchasing power relative

to the world, Haiti has to pay relatively high prices for goods,96and these high prices


39

suck up the already depleted resources. The United States has a PPP per capita of

$47,000, the Dominican Republic $8,600 and China $7,400; Haiti’s PPP per capita is

a mere $1,200.97 This means that on average the citizens of the Dominican republic

(the nation on the same island) have the resources to purchase over 7 times the

amount of goods, on an international level, than Haiti can. The purchasing power of

most of Haiti’s citizens lies below the poverty line, making it is hard enough for them

to feed their family, much less afford the imported goods for a house.98

As it stands today, the local agriculture economy is shattered having had to

compete with foreign subsided rice and other products.99 With large unemployment

and underemployment numbers, Haiti has an overwhelming excess of labor.

However, high infrastructure costs make it difficult for Haiti to compete with places

such as China and Mexico in manufacturing and agriculture exports.100 There is a

large market for Haitians to compete domestically, and internationally, in the

manufacturing and agriculture industries, but the investment capital is generally not

available.101

http://www.cdihaiti.com/operating-model/


40

The forests have been devastated with little naturally occurring resources

left. Even though Haiti’s climate remains ripe for agriculture, and the population

ready to work, the investment capital is reluctant to invest in such a politically

volatile, and unpredictable, economy. The financial credit sector offers very few

options to the masses and remains a small player in the economy.

High remittances are an indicator of the strength of Haiti’s large Diaspora

community in Canada and the United States. This is a community that could provide

much of the needed expertise and human capital should the political and economic

conditions make it attractive for return. However, as Jimmy Toussaint notes, “if

Haiti made it attractive for the Diaspora’s return, all the political and economic

leaders would be out of a job… because the there would then be smarter and

wealthier candidates.”102


41

Building

He sold us; we were in and ready to go

In an informal economy, it seems recommendations are crucial. The Dania

Foundation took the recommendation of our good friend and bodyguard, Jay, when

looking for a builder to partner with. Jay introduced us to Phillip. Phillip had been

educated in the United States and had worked construction for ten years before

returning to Haiti to continue his career. He spoke great English, Creole, and French.

During Phillip’s interview we explained that the mission was to empower hard

working Haitians to get into homes. We were trying to implement efficient, low-

income housing, coupled with a new mortgage system. In order to do this, we needed a

partner, of sorts, that knew the local building economy and that could open his books

to us in order to create the best pricing program for the Haitian people.

Phillip was totally on-board. The next day he took Christian and me on a tour

of his operations. We saw his head office and talked to the two administrators in

charge. This is where he processed the orders and hired employees. He had housing

plans and employment paperwork as well as a construction company certification,


42

albeit two years outdated. When Phillip stepped out of the office I asked the men who

worked in the office full-time who the boss was; the “big” boss. They both assured me

that Phillip was in charge of everything.

Afterwards, we made our way to Phillip’s block making factory where he

churned out hundreds of cinder blocks a day. Making materials in house would be key

for assuring our supply chains and the best prices possible. I stepped into the office

while no one was looking and asked the large man at the desk with sunglasses who the

boss was, and he replied it was Phillip. The man gave me his card and we shook hands.

After the block factory Christian and I saw Phillip’s iron welding shop where

they produced doors and windows. Around the back was his fine woodworking shop

where he made cabinets and furniture. Phillip gathered together about 30 men and

Christian explained the mission of the Dania Foundation, in French, and how we hoped

to work with the men. The men were anywhere from 15- 60 years old and all eager to

work with us. They asked when we would start and how much we would pay. Neither

of those questions had immediate answers, but we told them we would try to get things

going as soon as we could.

Next we took a quick peek into his showroom of custom metal sculptures and

carvings. Here he would do plaster and crown molding interior and exterior work:

mirrors, doors, windows etc.

The final stop was Phillip’s house. He showed us an amazing three-story house

with custom woodwork and architecture details beyond much of what I had seen in

Haiti so far. There were flat screen TV’s and music blasting. We met his brothers and

kids who also stayed with him. Phillip told us he built the house in a few months

because he had his crew working day and night.

He sold us; we were in and ready to go.


43

Introduction

Haiti’s political and economic history has paved the

path to the current state of Haiti’s building economy. In the

next section I will attempt to highlight day-to-day situation in

the building economy.

Household Industry Makeup

The Building sector remains largely informal and

basic; rarely are the bare essentials met for most families. To

give an idea of the amenities makeup of households: 31.4

percent of all Haitian households have access to some form of

intermittent electricity, 11.8 percent have water at home (by

home or courtyard tap), 7.6 have individual bathing facilities,

21.5 percent have a WC or residents-only latrine, and 18.7

percent have some form of fan for cooling.103

There is a set terminology to define kinds of houses

found in Haiti. These include very basic structures such as kay

atè, which resemble tents with the roof and walls combined,

made with straw, thatch, or palm leaves. Taudis are more

typical rural slum housing, made of waste and recycled

materials with earthen floors and a mixture of sheet metal,

block, wood, clay, sticks, twine, and fabric. Ajoupas are rural

huts similar to, but more rudimentary than, Taudis. These first


44

three are for the poor and extremely poor. The

more advanced construction methods include:

maison basse, a single story house usually made

with block masonry, multistory masonry (maison

à étage), apartment housing, and colonial and

villa style masonry. As detailed in the chart, the

vast majority of dwellings (80 percent) are made

with masonry and 72.5 percent are single-story.

The Majority of houses in Haiti have two

rooms and at least four occupants. The average

persons-per-house is 4.7, compared to the United

States’ average of 2.6.104 It is considered

“crowded” by U.S. standards if the number of

persons in residence exceeds the number of

total rooms, and “over-crowded” if the number

of persons in residence is 1.5 times the number

of rooms. The average persons per room in

Haiti is 2.2, more than twice the standard

“crowded” limit.

Destruction of the Earthquake

About 105,000 homes were totally

destroyed, and more than 208,000 damaged, by


45

the earthquake. 1.3 million Haitians have had to move into temporary shelters.

Housing suffered the most damage of any sector from the earthquake.105 Tent cities

now fill every public space in Port au Prince, from the parks to the street medians.

Rubble fills the streets and lots where houses used to stand. It is common to see

tents erected on top of, or in the rubble of, what used to be a house. The earthquake

destroyed some 30,000 commercial buildings and 180 government buildings.106

“This has hindered the operations of an already ineffective state; surviving ministers

and civil servants have been forced to work from makeshift premises, sometimes

outdoors.”107

Down to Business

I was in charge of overseeing much of the construction process, and I

sat down to have a meeting with Phillip to go over his itemized bid. In the first

meeting I had with Phillip he threw a round number at the problem. I had sent

him away asking him to return with an itemized bid for the foundation and

home.

In this meeting he presented me with a cost and labor breakdown of

$3,000 for the foundation and another $9,500108 for the house. During our

conversation I asked where he factored in overhead and the depreciation of his

capital expenses, such as shovels, mixers, trucks, and buckets. The concept

seemed foreign to him, but after I explained it he agreed it would be good to

factor those in.


46

Phillip also met with JP to discuss long term plans for the future of

Haiti’s building economy. During this meeting Phillip talked to JP about his

own financial situation and mentioned that he needed an advance of $1,000 to

cover some personal expenses. It was agreed that the $1,000 would be given as

an advance payment, and would come out of the $3,000 that was owed for the

foundation work.

Construction Labor Force

In an economy with excess labor, there are many people vying for jobs as

well as many construction “companies”109 willing to take on the task of construction.

Builders are consistently undercutting each other’s bids in order to secure jobs since

some work is better than no work. Often the margins are so tight that profits are

not realized, especially with the, “costs of housing construction steadily rising for all

types of housing.”110

As the economic studies show, most clients do not have much excess capital,

if enough at all, to dedicate to building. “Financial resources of consuming

households were very tight, and savings minimal.”111 Therefore, price becomes the

main consideration when reviewing bids. Constraints on resources make cost-

cutting a priority. “This pushes house construction into the informal sector with

modest (if any) inputs from architects and engineers, cheap and variable


47

construction materials, and work entrusted to building foremen with

on-the-job experience rather than to fully qualified technicians and

professionals.”112

Commercial housing and construction capacity was limited

before the earthquake. About 400 construction companies were

registered with 75 percent of those companies containing less than 5

employees or less. Unregistered and informal teams provided most

of the construction.113

“The people tend to do whatever they want to do. If I want to

build my house, I can just go and do it,”114

Onsite

The first day Phillip showed up with his crew to lay the foundation was

the first day Phillip had ever been to the site. Traditionally, a construction

company visits the site to survey the topography and other variables long

before they give a bid. That would have proved helpful in this case.

First there were squatters, who Phillip had to pay to vacate the land,

and next a 2-foot deep layer of trash. Much to chagrin of the crew, the back

part of the land had been used as the community toilet for the last few months.

The first week of construction was spent vacating the area of squatters, and

http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/engineers-urge-overhaul-haitis-archaic-anarchic-building-practices?page=0,1



48

digging through the trash in order to get to soil that was suitable to lay a

foundation.

The construction site was not what I was used to from working on sites

back in the States. The men took the public transportation to the site, known

as “tap-taps” and arrival varied from 7-9am based on a number of factors.

Many of the employees were hired off the street from the local neighborhoods.

The materials for the foundation were strewn about, and a neighbor was paid

to keep watch overnight and prevent theft. Rebar would sit out and had

started to rust, and the aggregate was dumped onto the dirt road and left

uncovered until needed. Since the labor was employed from the local

neighborhood, turnover was happening each hour as workers left or were

fired. Phillip and his other foreman drank Prestige, a Haitian beer, while they

worked.

My first thought was to reshape how the operation was run.

Construction conduct was inefficient and careless. The people digging the

trenches for the footer were putting the excess dirt onto a pile next to the hole

they were digging. Dirt would slide back into the trench as it was dug. That

pile was then shoveled into a wheelbarrow and dumped at the front of the

property. Soon the front of the property had a mound of dirt and trash 4 feet

high that everyone had to climb over every time they moved anything in and

out of the site. There were 30 guys running around getting in each others way,

stepping on and packing down earth that needed to be moved again, and

shoveling the same dirt 4 or 5 times. I did not want to say anything for fear of

disrupting another culture’s way of constructing, and being sees as intrusive.

After all, I figured, we were under contract and it did not matter how they

accomplished the job, so long as it was done.


49

Rebar cages were placed into the trenches and sub-footers were

poured. It was a constant battle between the laborers who were hand-mixing

and myself about the consistency of the concrete. Those who were mixing were

calling for more water to make the concrete easier to work; I was calling for

less water to maintain the strength of the concrete. It would happen the way I

wanted it when I was looking and the way they wanted it when I walked

elsewhere. Phillip had no authority over what the mixture was.

Construction Methods

“Budget savings may have been achieved in construction prior to 12 January,

but too often by shortchanging quality and safety, with disastrous consequences.”115

Demand for housing remains high, and supply low. This might then seem

like a promising market opportunity, and it is. However many of those on the

demand side do not have the resources to afford the price the supply side offers. In

order to bridge this gap, construction companies cut costs as often as they can.

Contractors cut costs in hiring less skilled labor as well as using substandard or

inadequate amounts of materials. In this section I hope to highlight some of the

methods and practices of cost cutting.

A recent OAS116 report detailed an array of flaws in Haiti’s method of

construction: weak or missing reinforcement, structures on steep slopes with


50

unstable foundations, inadequate or nonexistent inspections, poor designs,

materials, and techniques.117

The lack of regulatory bodies within the construction sector allowed the

unsafe, cost cutting, methods to pervade the industry.118

To cut costs many companies resort to practices such as straightening used

rebar, using less rebar,119 putting sand in the cement bags,120 using homemade

blocks,121 adding more water to the concrete, using un-washed aggregate, using

beach sand with high salt content or even dirt and dust in as aggregate in the



http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/world/americas/14construction.html



51

concrete.122 Buildings are built without engineering advice or specific plans, as all of

that takes time and money.123 Often homes are built on steep slopes (because the

land is cheaper) without proper foundation work.124 Local, unskilled workers are

used to cut down on transportation costs and foreman presence is sporadic in order

to reduce oversight costs and to fit more projects in the schedule.125 Further,

workers themselves are generally trying to build their own houses and skim

materials off shipments for private use.126 These destructive methods have become

such a part of industry norms that even some of the educated architects are

proponents.127

Cameron Sinclair, executive director of Architecture for Humanity, said that

design and construction were far worse in Haiti than in other developing countries

http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/

http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2010/RAND_MG1039.pdf-




52

he had visited. “In Haiti, most if not all of the buildings have major engineering

flaws,”128

“It is mind-boggling,” says Farzad Naeim,129 “All the attention to earthquakes

right now, in six months, is going to dim. I am practicing now in a field where the

cure is known. It is not rocket science, but people go back to building the buildings

that killed people.”130

"They are setting themselves up for the next devastating disaster,"131 and

that disaster could be right around the corner, with annual hurricanes and Haiti’s

location on the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault. A fault that did not fully give way

in the January 12 earthquake, scientists say. The strain still remaining in the fault is

sufficient "to be released as a large, damaging earthquake during the lifetime of

structures built during the reconstruction effort,"132

A Family Would Build their life on the Concrete I Just Poured

Construction was incredibly slow. In the United States, a foundation of

this size would be poured in one or two days, however we were two weeks in

and still yet to pour the slab. As things progressed Phillip started showing up

less and less, and would blow off meetings with us at night to go over expenses.

Materials were running low and Phillip needed to order more rebar, concrete,





53

and aggregate. Phillip mentioned he needed more money than the initial

down payment because his finances were tight. JP took out the remaining

$2,000 and sent it with our driver out to the site. The money was to be handed

to me so that I could pay the suppliers and workers in person in order to keep

things moving.

Our driver, Baby, had become very close with us over the last few

months and was a trustworthy carrier. The traffic was bad that day and Baby

was late for his son’s parent-teacher conference at school. When baby got to

site, Phillip was out front and convinced Baby that he would bring me the cash.

In a hurry, Baby handed it over and took off. Phillip also took off.

The next day we called Phillip from the site in the morning and he said

he was ten minutes away, but never showed up.

We were on a schedule, and once the footers were poured and the

forms put up we were ready to pour the slab and we decided to move on

without Phillip. This is where we really started to uncover what had been

going on. When Christian and I went to the local hardware store to buy

concrete and rebar, the shop owner said we owed him money. Of course we

had never even met this guy before so we thought it preposterous.

Sure enough, all week Phillip had been charging the materials to “le

blancs,” the whites. We were the only people building anything in the area,

and certainly the only white people. As we soon found out, we, “the whites”

had charges all over the neighborhood that we were unaware of. The cement

guy to the left, the rebar guy to the right, the aggregate supplier from Port au

Prince, and all of the workers needed to be paid. Phillip had given them some

money; it seems he gave them just enough to make each believe they would see

full payment later.


54

It is still unclear exactly what happened with all the money. In review

of his receipts, it seems he was on the hook for more materials than were at the

site. It was also discovered that materials were disappearing over night.

Along with that, an 18” footer turned into a 36” footer because of the nature of

shovel digging. The 4”-6” thick slab ranged from 4”-10” thick because of the

nature of grade spread by hand. Phillip had completely under bid the project.

He was in over his head to begin with. It turns out Phillip was in fact primarily

a political candidate, and the construction company Phillip told us he owned?

That was not really his at all.

Phillip tried many methods to get himself out of the mess, one of which

involved trying to turn the workers against Christian, Tristan and I. One

afternoon, Phillip told the workers that we had the money to pay them for the

last two weeks worth of work, and then hurried off and left. The end of the day

was a bit tense when thirty Haitians gathered around, expecting payment for

two weeks worth of work. They needed to feed themselves and their families,

they were upset, and rightly so. For a while it was a bit unclear how things

would turn out. The crowd gathered around us with heated voices as

Christian, the only one of us who spoke French, vehemently explained that we

did not have their money and that Phillip had been given over $4,000 to pay

them. After a time, the workers understood; one man was crying because he

would have to go back to his family empty handed yet again that night.

Given all of this, we pushed through. Through negotiations, long hot

and sweaty days, and sheer perseverance, the foundation was finally poured!

It took over six weeks from when I first arrived in Haiti to get everything

together and finally pour a foundation.


55

On the two-hour car ride home, I shed a few tears thinking about the

family that would live on the concrete I had poured. Someone would build a

life, a family, on the work I had just completed. It was all worth it, I can tell

you that.

Building Conclusion

"Maybe your child marries and they need a place to be for them and their

husband. You can build just a room on the roof of your house and put a tin roof on

it… Then when you have more money you can add more rooms or finish the entire

floor and create a new roof for the building. That is what we did at my house. We

added some rooms and a new roof to our house."133

The result of these construction mentalities and methods leads to a

structure built with no adherence to code, little oversight, and reduced quality and

quantity of materials. “The poverty in Haiti lends itself to people building where

they want, how they can”134

The situation was brought to the forefront after the January 12, 2010

devastated the region. The earthquake was bad in its magnitude, but devastating in

its affects because of poor construction. "You could tell very easily that these

buildings were not going to survive even a [magnitude] 2 earthquake."135

As Haiti rebuilds, most are reconstructing using former building tactics; the

same methods that caused the catastrophe. In a turbulent world, with a new

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=1d772de3ec2f398d651ea3633d8fe7fe,

http://haitirewired.wired.com/profiles/blogs/can-haitian-homes-be-built-for

http://insidedisaster.com/haiti/the-quake/why-was-the-destruction-so-severe

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-13/world/haiti.construction_1_building-code-haiti-earthquake?_s=PM:WORLD

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-01-13/world/haiti.construction_1_building-code-haiti-earthquake?_s=PM:WORLD


56

earthquake, tsunami, or hurricane popping up every few months, Haiti must reform

its building practices to ensure safety.

With construction costs now rising as much as 25 percent136 and the

economy devastated, the need for cost-effective, and sound construction

technologies is more apparent than ever.


57

Conclusions and Going Forward

The contract was never honored

Negotiations ensued with Phillip about how to cover the costs of the

construction. All parties involved were brought it, including Jay, our bodyguard and

local police chief. Phillips’s new position was that I had made changes to the plans

that cost thousands of extra dollars. Since Phillip made his position clear that was his

issue, I spent three hours covering the entire process with him. I took responsibility for

changes I made, and he took responsibility for his. At the end of the discussion he

agreed to, and signed a contract, that held him responsible for all the costs of

construction (on the order of $2,000). The contract was notarized by his own lead

foreman. For my part, I agreed to take on the added expense of a few extra rebar I

requested for additional wall tie downs, on the order of twenty dollars.

The contract was never honored. Phillip never paid his suppliers or workers.

JP decided that the last thing the foundation wanted to do was put out the very people

we were trying to serve, and paid in full all our workers and suppliers.


58

Conclusion

Haiti’s history has been violent, volatile, and impoverished. This has

certainly led a variety of political and economic issues: the political sphere lacks

stability and the resources to enforce its laws, leaders have been self-serving, and

the nation’s lack of education has reduced the quality of candidates and electorate,

the economy of the country has been burdened by debt and natural disasters, lack of

investment capital, and lack of skilled labor. The building economy is heavily

informed by the surrounding political and economic circumstances. However it

would be too simplistic to confine explanations of Haiti’s building economy to these

factors. Social and political problems exasperate the poor economic performance.

As does the poor economic performance deteriorate the political and social climate.

Poverty is the root cause of political, and economic underdevelopment, and

increases the volatility of politics, and weakens the Haitian state. This economic

weakness contributes to corruption, gang violence, and drug trade. The political

weakness allows such activities to flourish and the state to further deteriorate. To

make matters worse, most of those that get educated and become successful leave

the country.

To put it simply, there are no straightforward causes or easy answers to the

issues surrounding the building economy in Haiti. I hope I have been able to shed

some light on the complexity of the issues and the web of roadblocks inhibiting a

successful building economy.


59

Going Forward

In proposing things for the future of Haiti, I see two ways of thinking about

solutions: from the top down and from the bottom up.

The top down approach requires an assessment of the most pressing macro

issues, and attempting find solutions. For example a priority list might include;

policy reform to ease the cost of doing business, eradication of corruption,

infrastructure improvement, and cost effective building code oversight. To

prioritize and propose specific solutions goes beyond the scope of this essay, but I

hope that by shedding light on the issues, one might be able to consider what might

be done.

The bottom up approach would address the issues with buildings by

attempting to provide a building solution, technology, or method that would work

within the current political and economic state of Haiti. For example: pre-fabricated

houses with structural engineering “built in” to the design or the distribution of a

simple manual with safe building techniques that the common man could

understand.

I think ultimately the best solution will come from both ends. Political and

economic changes will not happen overnight, but the immediate need for housing

should be addressed. We need to try to provide safe, affordable, housing options

and methods that work within the current system, while at the same time working

towards the system’s improvement.

Haiti has so much potential, and I see a bright future ahead.


60

Finishing the Job

A Dominican Republic construction company handled the assembly of the

house. The company, M2, came recommended by an American contractor by the name

of Richard. A foreign company was required because the construction method was a

very specific paneling procedure, which required specific training. The idea was to

bring in the Dominican Republic Company to teach and train local construction

companies how to work with an alternate material so they too could use it in the

future.

The process was again, painfully slow. Workers sometimes did more harm

than good; all it took was one guy to use the counter as a cutting board for the tiles to

break and have to redo it all. Shipments of materials arrived late, incorrect, or not at

all. In the end perseverance won out.

In October 2010, a full four months after breaking ground, the keys to an 860

sq foot house were handed over to Mehu. The design started on my pad of yellow lined

paper, and now stands as a home for a family. I would feel safe standing under that

roof through an earthquake or hurricane, and it is my sincerest hope that Mehu’s

family feels the same way. Although I certainly cannot take credit for overseeing the

full completion of the house, (indeed it was completed while I was at school) this is my

proudest accomplishment to date. I thank you for reading and letting me share this

experience with you.


61


1

Works Cited Books and Articles Associated Press , Haiti's ambassador to U.S. says earthquake gave country much needed attention, April 07, 2010, http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/haitis_ambassador_to_us_says_e.html Keith Crane, James Dobbins, Laurel e. Miller, Charles P. Ries, Christopher s. Chivvis, Marla C. Haims, Marco Overhaus, heather Lee Schwartz, Elizabeth Wilke, Building A More resilient Haitian State (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Cooperation) 2010 CIA, The World Factbook, Haiti, April 6, 2011 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-‐world-‐factbook/geos/ha.html Bob Corbett, Education and Adult Literacy, Issue Papers, 7 February 2003, http://www.hartford-‐hwp.com/archives/43a/514.html Environmental Performance Index, country scores, 2010, http://epi.yale.edu/Countries Henry Fountain, Flawed Building Likely a Big Element, January 13, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/world/americas/14construction.html Homeland Security Newswire, Engineers urge overhaul of Haiti's archaic, anarchic building practices, 26 January 2010, http://homelandsecuritynewswire.com/engineers-‐urge-‐overhaul-‐haitis-‐archaic-‐anarchic-‐building-‐practices?page=0,1 International Finance Corporation and the World Bank, Ease of Doing Business in Haiti, Doing Business, 2011 http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/haiti#dealing-‐with-‐licenses


2

Paul Farmer, The Uses of Haiti (Monroe, Maine: Common Courage Press 2005) Pascal Fletcher, Haiti port capacity boosted, repairs advancing, February 24, 2010 http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Haiti+port+capacity+boosted+repairs+advancing/2608592/story.html Philippe Girard, Haiti, The tumultuous History- from Pearl of the Caribbean to Broken Nation (United States: PALGRAVE MACMILLIAN 2010). Melissa Lafsky, The Power of Building Codes: Chile Death Toll Less Than 1% That of Haiti, 2010 The Infrastructurist http://www.infrastructurist.com/2010/03/01/the-‐power-‐of-‐building-‐codes-‐chile-‐death-‐toll-‐less-‐than-‐1-‐that-‐of-‐haiti/ Melissa Lafsky, Earthquakes Don’t Kill People…Bad Buildings Do’: More on Haiti’s Building Codes, January 20, 2010 , http://www.infrastructurist.com/2010/01/20/earthquakes-‐dont-‐kill-‐peoplebad-‐buildings-‐do-‐more-‐on-‐haitis-‐building-‐codes/ Library of Congress , Federal Research Division Country Profile: Haiti, May 2006 Alexis Madrigal, Can Haitian Homes Be Built for Resilience and Hackability? January 25, 2010, http://haitirewired.wired.com/profiles/blogs/can-‐haitian-‐homes-‐be-‐built-‐for Katie McKenna, Haiti’s History, 2011 http://insidedisaster.com/haiti/the-‐quake/haitis-‐history Katie McKenna, Transformations, Inside Disaster, 2011 http://insidedisaster.com/haiti/recovery/transformations News Wires, G7 nations vow to cancel Haiti debt, 07/02/2010, http://www.france24.com/en/20100206-‐g7-‐nations-‐vow-‐cancel-‐haiti-‐debt


3

Okey Oneyegbule, Operating Model, Credit Development Institute, 2010 http://www.cdihaiti.com/operating-‐model/ Organization of American States, 2011, http://www.oas.org/en/about/what_we_do.asp G. Smucker, , T. Anderson White, and Michael Bannister (2000). Land Tenure and the Adoption of Agricultural Technology in Haiti, International Food Policy Research Institute. U.S. Census Bureau, State and County Quick Facts, 04-‐Nov-‐2010, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, December 7, 2010 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1982.htm U.S. Geology State, Magnitude 7.0 - Haiti Region, Page Last Modified: February 22, 2011http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010rja6.php USAID, Housing for Haiti’s Middle Class, Post-Earthquake Diagnosis and Strategy, (Nathan Associates) Final Report, 29 September 2010 Tom Watkins, Problems with Haiti building standards outlined, CNN World, January 13, 2010, http://articles.cnn.com/2010-‐01-‐13/world/haiti.construction_1_building-‐code-‐haiti-‐earthquake?_s=PM:WORLD World Focus, Haiti’s Poor Infrastructure accelerates heavy death toll, 2010, http://worldfocus.org/blog/2010/01/14/haiti’s-‐poor-‐infrastructure-‐accelerates-‐heavy-‐death-‐toll/9256/ World Food Program, President Bill Clinton On School Meals, Apr 14, 2011, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9zQcCJFre4


4

Primary Sources Michel Adolphe, in person interview by author in CT, USA, March 2011. Jay, in person interview in Haiti, July 2010 Jimmy Toussaint, in person interview by the author, March 2011. JP Bak, in person and phone interviews by author, summer 2010. Mr. Mehu, in person interview by Jamil in Haiti, October 2010. Full transcript can be found at www.DaniaFoundation.org