Video report on Haiti Riches,
Zili Dlo solar project
and the works of Ezili Dantò/HLLN
Ezili’s HLLN tells the non-colonial narrative on Haiti and promotes self-sufficiency not NGO dependency. Zili Dlo is an HLLN project for clean water, renewable power, cultural education and skills transfer for Haiti
HLLN’s Zili Dlo is a Haiti-led, Haiti-capacity building humanitarian program to make renewable energy and clean water/sanitation access a reality for the poorest and most marginalized rural and urban communities in Haiti through relevant high-tech skills transfer and indigenously relevant culturally grounding education.
This video was made from a collection of still photos of our works and shows our first four peasant rural mothers who will solar electrify two remote villages and run a mini power plant at a community energy center for their community.
Zili Dlo is life and health for Haiti. Zili Dlo cultural orientation, identifies Haiti riches, wonders and famous landmarks for our peasant solar mothers to be informed ambassadors of Haiti during their six-month (Sept 2012 to March 17, 2013) course in solar power at Barefoot College in Tilonia, India.
The video is interspersed with Haiti riches and treasure- a constant and often-repeated Ezili Dantò/HLLN theme to counter the exploitative colonial narrative on the “natural poverty” of Black Haiti.
In fact, the opposite is true. Haiti or Ayiti is, along with Cuba, the oldest (over 1 billion years old) landmass in the Americas. The land is rich with every conceivable wealth. Take, for one, Massif de La Hotte or Lake Azuéi as detailed in the video harboring fauna, flora and animal species in patterns not found anywhere else in the world. The biggest caves in the Caribbean, like the Grotte Marie-Jeanne at Port-A-Piment, are in Haiti. Haiti possesses the largest and richest heritage of cave art in the Caribbean, and probably the most important collection in the Americas. – (http://on.fb.me/16XBfb3)
Also strategically, the US denies Haiti mineral riches and vast oil reserves. But Haiti riches is, in fact, the economic reasons the US took down Haiti’s democratically elected government in 2004, installed the US occupation behind UN guns with the humanitarian invasion. For years it denied the over $20billion in Haiti gold until its mining companies had a puppet Haiti government to sign off on OPEN PIT mining in the time of UN-imported cholera. Haiti geologist say Haiti oil reserves is “an olympic pool to Venezuela’s glass of water.” The US is still strategically denying Haiti oil while carting it off, for almost ten years now, behind UN “peacekeeping” guns.
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Our Haiti model for real relief with human rights, healing, self- reliance and dignity
“Haiti is rich and you can see that by looking at the four beautiful women in our solar power project. Just a few months ago these women where traveling down their rural mountain villages on donkeys or a motorcycle taxi and some didn”t even have a birth certificate much less a passport to travel to India. Today, they’ve had a global experience. Met the former president of Chile (UN Women executive director, Michelle Bachelet), know how to fabricate, install, use and maintain solar panel equipments to light up their own villages. Know how to operate our Zili Dlo high tech Max-Pure 01 solar-powered water filtering unit and may confidently sit at any international interview to answer questions about the most famous Haiti landmarks, their village’s historical significance and say a bit about the cultural uniqueness of Haiti. Haiti’s population is made up of 70 to 80% farmers. These Zili Dlo women farmers/market women represent that majority.
Zili Dlo’s purpose is to help the majority population in Haiti, these semi-literate and literate rural women are given the tools and skills to improve their villages, personal lives and make a better future for their children. This is relief for Haiti. It’s not about paying salaries to foreigners, purchasing useless foreign products or the money laundering of the Paul Farmer NGO subsidiaries to the US/Euro governments that’s laughably called “aid to Haiti” and which collected $9 billion in earthquake relief supervised under the Obama administration by Bill and Hillary Clintons leaving little footprint or domestic development in Haiti. We Haitians are very proud to put this model for Haiti development out there as an example of the road to fundamental change. We set this forth in our 14 points for relief with dignity and human rights when the earthquake happened. But the powers who live off misery and poverty obviously have no interests in doing things differently.” — Ezili Dantò of HLLN, March 2013, in a Haiti radio interview about the return of the Zili Dlo merchant/farmer women who became solar technicians and are also trained in rainwater roof harvesting.
Ezili Dantò with Haiti solar power mothers – Marie Andrea Saint Felix, Marie Ilma Meriste, Madeleine Saint Louis at Toussaint Louverture airport on Sept. 29, 2012 reading itinerary, giving final travel instruction to India to Haiti solar mothers traveling to attend 6-months course, sponsored by the Indian government (ITEC/SCAAP). Photo Credit: Dominique Esser, HLLN, September 29, 2012
Four Zili Dlo solar mothers (Marie Andrea Saint Felix, Marie Ilma Meriste, Madeleine Saint Louis and Magalie Luc) in traditional Haiti rad karabela dress at Toussaint Lourverture airport in Port au Prince Haiti flanked by Zili Dlo executives, Rea Dol and Ezili Dantò . Photo Credit: Dominique Esser, HLLN and professional photographer/
Zili Dlo Clean water and renewable energy for Haiti is authentic relief from Haiti suffering and containment in poverty with human rights, healing, self-reliance and dignity. These Zili Dlo solar mothers will earn income from the sums they receive from the community they service which sets a monthly contribution amount for their services to the village.
Toussaint Louverture Airport on September 29, 2012 escorting the first four Zili Dlo solar engineer team. Ti Paul, Mark Jacob, Ezili Dantò, Mme Rea Dol, co-executive director of Zili Dlo in Haiti
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The Journey Begins for four Haiti farmers/market women
Sept 2013
Zili Dlo: Dream of a lifetime for our four Haiti women entering immigration at Toussaint Louverture Airport, Port au Prince, September 29, 2012
Waiving goodbye and smiling are Haiti mothers: Magalie Luc (35 years old, 4 children), Madeleine Saint Louis (35yrs old – 6 children ) from Okadè (6th Section Aux Cadet) Laferriere, Petionville and Marie Ilma Meriste (44yrs old from- 4 children), Marie Andrea Saint Felix (48yrs old – 3 children) from Fon Batis (7th Section), Arcahaie.
These mothers are simple market women, merchants and peasant farmers, the backbone of Haiti’s informal economy and of Haiti. They are the community leaders in Haiti most in need of authentic help to raise up the living standards of their communities and provide a sustainable future for their children, families and Haiti as a whole.
Zili Dlo women arrive in India. Pictured here with Barefoot College founder, Bunker Roy, UN women executive director Michelle Bachelet and other poor farmers/peasant women from Central America, Haiti, Guatemala , El Salvador. Photo credits: Batas at picasa album source here. Michelle Bachelet was the President of Chile from March 11, 2006 to March 11, 2010. She was the first female president of Chile.
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The Return to Haiti, March, 2013
Our beautiful Zili Dlo solar mothers are back in Haiti ready to solar-electrify their remote rural villages!
Four Zili Dlo solar power mothers (Marie Ilma Meriste, Marie Andrea Saint Felix, Magalie Luc and Madeleine Saint Louis) return to Haiti March 17, 2013 after six months of Zili Dlo sponsored training in Tilonia India on how to fabricate, install, use and repair solar panels and solar lighting equipment.
Magalie Luc, Madeleine Saint Louis show off the equipments they will install on 100 houses in their villages. Thank you to the Indian government for all their help and for the ITEC/SCAAP program.
Zili Dlo Solar mothers being interviewed in Haiti at Nouvelliste upon their return to Haiti. Seated at teh Nouvelliste offices are: Marie Andrea Felix, Magalie Luc, Madeleine Saint Louis and Marie Ilma Meriste.
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HLLN’s Zili Dlo is renewable energy, SUSTAINABILITY, PUBLIC HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY, sanitary infrastructure, community development and transferring useful life skills that’s practical, relevant relief with human rights and dignity and that meets Haiti’s urgent needs for self-reliance.
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Oil in Haiti –Economic Reasons for the US occupation behind UN guns and why tiny Haiti has the fifth largest US embassy in the world. Oil in Haiti and Oil Refinery – an old notion for Fort Liberte as a transshipment terminal for US supertankers by Ezili Dantò
Ezili Dantò performs Red, Black & Moonlight: Memoir of a Poet – A Burnt Offering to the Ancestors
