17160: JHUDICOURT:Re: 17156: NIcole: Re: 17148: Visit to Haiti

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JHUDICOURTB@aol.com

"Unfortunately this is not the typical Haitian. let us not forget the
majority
live in grass or mud/ stone huts, many with grass roofs."

----------------

Not true any more.  Most Haitians live in Kay Tl (tin roof) not Kay Pay
(straw
roof).  Even when the straw makes more sense because it is better at
keeping a
home cool or warm depending on the weather of the area you live in, it is
a
very important status symbol to obtain a tin roof. Straw roofs are also
believed to bring more insects into the house and require more maintenance
to
keep the rain out.  You know we Haitians are not so good at maintenance so
we
prefer tin as a once and for all roofing solution.  You may be mislead by
a tent, which Haitian farmers build during times of intense labor when
their
field is far from their home.  They stay in the Kounouk because they have
to
work early in the morning and do not want to have to take long walks
before and
after a day of hard physical work to clear the land before planting.  I
have
also seen Kounouks on islands off the coast of Haiti where fisherman
sometimes
settle temporarily, fish, salt the fish for later consumption, then go
back to
their real home.  I went to the Iles a Vache resort of Port Morgan last
summer
and rented the services of 2 young man with a sail boat.  They took us to
the
smaller island of Pierre Lenantais aka Pynant.  The island was covered
with
straw houses.  There were mostly women and children around.  One man had a
freshly painted boat and was rowing near by.  I was surprised to see that
many
of the girls had gold earrings although they were only wearing panties.  I
asked them where their school was.  They said that their real home was on
the
mainland, and their school was on the mainland.  They had come to the
island to
be with their father for the harvest.  It is clear that straw houses do
not
usually survive the hurricane season and the rainy season, and since we
Haitians are are a smart people, we don't want to be rebuilding every
year.
Many poor Haitians try very hard to provide a tin roof for their family.
They
may buy one sheet a year and save them until they can cover the whole
house.
I don't know if anyone has statistics but I am pretty sure that tin roofs
are
now the norm and cement roof are for more comfortable folks.