Eco-Friendly Travel - Sustainable Expeditions - Haiti

Minimum Contribution: $1,650

2012 Expedition Dates:

March 3 – 11
June 9 – 17
November 3 – 11

Project Partners:
Tree of Life Foundation
Jeeps for Haiti

Gateway City: Miami

Trip Highlights:

• Roundtrip Air Miami/Port au Prince/Miami

• Roundtrip Airport Transfers

• Accommodations in Les Ceyes and Port au Prince

• Continental breakfast included each morning

Optional add-ons:

Adventure tours are available. These include:

• SCUBA Diving

• Beaches & Swimming

• Trail Hiking

• Ocean Kayaking

• Deep Sea Fishing

And so much more. Contact us for details.

Please note:

• Add-on flights from any departure city available at an additional charge.

• Airfare portion of package not guaranteed until ticketed.

• No changes to the trip as shown and no refunds will be granted for unused services.
  

The Project:

The Indian Valley Travel team will work alongside the villagers of southern Haiti in the construction and renovations of the Orphanage and Medical Clinic in the seaside village of Les Ceyes. Our group will work alongside organizers of the Tree of Life Foundation who have been bringing groups of volunteers to Haiti for over 10 years to work on numerous community projects near the Southern coast of Haiti.

Background:

The island of Hispaniola, of which Haiti occupies the western third, is one of many Caribbean islands inhabited at the time of European arrival by the Taíno Indians, speakers of an Arawakan language. Haiti is on the western part of Hispaniola, the second largest island in the Greater Antilles. Haiti's terrain consists mainly of rugged mountains interspersed with small coastal plains and river valleys. In 1925, Haiti was lush, with 60% of its original forest covering the lands and mountainous regions. Since then, the population has cut down an estimated 98% of its original forest cover for use as fuel for cookstoves, and in the process has destroyed fertile farmland soils, contributing to desertification. In addition to soil erosion, deforestation has caused periodic flooding, as seen in September 2004. Earlier that year in May, floods had killed over 3,000 people on Haiti's southern border with the Dominican Republic.

Our groups will travel to the southern region of the island for one-week periods throughout the year to help improve the quality of life for the inhabitants of the colonial village of Les Ceyes. Our current projects include renovations to the local orphanage, and assisting the staff in the medical clinic, as well as participating in renovations to the clinic itself. Future projects currently in development include re-forestation of barren areas.

The expedition starts on Saturday in the gateway airport of Miami, Florida and includes round trip air flights to Port au Prince, Haiti. A short transfer brings us to our overnight accommodations on the coast of the capital city. Sunday morning will be our scenic motorcoach transfer to the< southern coast of Haiti to Les Ceyes. After our volunteer work and time working on the orphanage and assisting at the medical clinic in Les Ceyes, we have two open days planned for excursions and individual activities. Finally, our team will transfer back to Port au Prince on Saturday, touring sugar plants and local villages along the way. We overnight again in Port au Prince on Saturday night and fly back to Miami on Sunday morning. Lodging will be a combination of guest houses and hotels depending on availability.

Our assigned project duties on-site are completed on Wednesday afternoon which leaves Thursday and Friday at the leisure of trip participants for optional adventure activities. Activities around< coastal city of Les Ceyes include enjoying the beautiful beaches, SCUBA diving, horseback riding, fishing, ocean kayaking, trail hiking and swimming.