Lastic Canyon Project
Hope for Haiti assessed Good News with the completion of the Lastic Irrigation project.
The project was started by the Japanese with put in 5.5 miles of 15inch PVC pipe which could move water down the mountain with an elevation drop of 2600 feet.
There is 575 acres to be irrigated which would provide a living for 1400 families. There was a problem with collection of water at the head of the pipe. It was clogged with silt whenever the collection basin flooded.
Raymond Withers went to China to learn how to divert silt from the water by making the water flow around a bend and let 1/3 of the water return to the water channel. The project Raymond studied has worked well for 1800 years. A plan was installed to mimic the Chinese plan and it is working well.
There were 60 feet of overburden that needed to be moved with some hard rock, which a blasting crew volunteered their time to come and blasted the rock. They requested a rock drill which was bought in from the USA and shipped to Haiti. Ammonia nitrate was shipped in to blast with. The crew had just arrived and the shipment of ammonia nitrate offloaded when the earthquake hit Haiti. It looked like the shipment would be held in the port for an extended time. They had a group of men in Haiti already so time was of the essence. Raymond went to his friend, the senator who arranged to make a speedy release so the project could begin.
The project has had a few hiccups but by and large, the project is working well and now more families have a secure food source.
