IJDS, Sivadye (Cyvadier)

An organisation called IJDS which is training a generation on environmental preservation by being a demonstration ground for a new type of charcoal made out of coconut husks and cow manure, tree nurseries, compost toilets, youth football leagues, and eco-tourism

Cyvadier is a community in the commune of Jacmel to the east of the city.  

IJDS (Union of the Youth for the Development of Sivadye) is a dynamic organisation founded by Joe Duplan in 2006. It has a strong environmental mission, with a flourishing tree nursery, a compost toilet, and a small eco-tourist area for visitors that supports IJDS's initiatives. IJDS also supports a local youth soccer team called JahJah Lions. However, IJDS's most serious undertaking is in its battle for reforestation: Joe and his colleagues have been developing a charcoal out of coconut husks and cow manure, with a special energy-efficient stove. Communities around IJDS have already started adapting the eco-friendly cooking method, and one has even worked with Joe to receive its own press and start making its own briquettes.  IJDS is a part of a network of environmentally-minded community organisations across the country called KANA (National Haitian Coalition for the Environment).

Other communities could learn a great deal from IJDS's innovative environmental and social activities, and could easily adapt the press and charcoal-replacement system to their own communities (many organic materials can be used to replace trees in the making of charcoal).