Bassin Bleu Project On Hold: Progress Interrupted, Commitment Endures

Since 2016, the Dyaspora Coordinating Committee (DCC) has proudly partnered with the Organisation pour le Développement de Bassin Bleu, Jacmel (ODBJ), to support a long-term vision of infrastructure, agriculture, and dignity for the mountaintop community of Bassin Bleu, Haiti. Over the years, thanks to your support and the tireless efforts of ODBJ and our engineering partners, we have celebrated important milestones: the development of a sustainable irrigation plan, a successful grant award, and the greenlighting of a revised rehabilitation plan for the Koton branch of the community’s existing irrigation canal.

With community stakeholders engaged and groundwork laid, on May 22, 2023, after years of planning and perseverance, ground officially broke on the rehabilitation of the Koton branch of the community’s existing concrete irrigation canal. The project was set to provide more reliable access to water for farmers in the region to have more productive and lucrative harvests.

However, just five weeks later, on June 27, work came to a sudden halt due to a cease and desist order issued by local authorities. While the reasons behind the order remain complex and unresolved, one thing quickly became clear: ODBJ, our steadfast local partner, would need more direct and immediate on-the-ground support from DCC to move forward.

Unfortunately, by the time this need was fully recognized, the broader context in Haiti had further deteriorated. The intensification of gang violence and deepening political instability have made travel to the region and, therefore, any in-person intervention by DCC impossible. As a result, the Bassin Bleu irrigation project is now frozen indefinitely.

Though this news is difficult to share, we remain deeply committed to this work and to the community of Bassin Bleu. The funds for this project remain intact and earmarked. We are hopeful and will be prepared for the moment when it will once again be safe to re-engage this important work on the ground.

This is not the end of the story—it is a pause. And we are holding steady in that pause with hope, patience, and unwavering belief in the people of Bassin Bleu.