Over a period of six months, Haiti Takes Root – Ayiti Vèt Coalition conducted a Green Certification and participatory Environmental Impact Assessment program to help strengthen the capacity of 13 Haitian cultural organizations to produce sustainable events
Through this process, Haiti Takes Root created and piloted a comprehensive and participatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) tool. The team developed and delivered a training seminar on green certification resulting in the certification of a dozen cultural organizations that were grantees in the Programme d’Action pour le Renforcement des Organisations Culturelles Haïtiennes (AROCH), a program that originates from a partnership between the European Union in Haiti, the Haiti Jazz Foundation, and the Caracoli Association to strengthen the capacity of cultural organizations.
HTR carried out a series of activities tailored to achieve the overarching objective of strengthening Haitian cultural organizations in their capacities to produce sustainable cultural events in Haiti. First, HTR acquired the ISO International Standard 20121 ISO which is a set of guidelines and best practices to help better manage events while controlling their social, economic and environmental impact. The team was able to adapt this guide with the Haitian reality to design training sessions on green certification in order to equip them with tools and strategies that can help them become greener.
In addition, HTR conducted one-on-one informational interviews with many of the AROCH grantees to assess their organization’s current environmental footprint and their existing event or activity plans. Based on this conversation, HTR provided recommendations and guidance for integrating and promoting sustainability as part of their events and/or activities.
Moreover, HTR created a customized Green Certification training workshop for AROCH grantees to equip them with the tools and strategies they need to be leaders in environmental sustainability. This included advice on measures to implement in the office setting, during events and travel, and even at home. Upon completion of the training, participants received a Certification of Participation in Green Certification Training as well as a kit of materials including a Guide to Green Events, a declaration to sign to express their commitment to sustainability principles, reusable fabric bags with the AROCH project logos, reusable insulated water bottles to encourage them not to use single-use plastics materials and seedlings to launch their own green spaces with fruit trees.
In the future, HTR will engage the sixty Ayiti Vèt Coalition members as well as broader stakeholders in its network to assist participants in meeting specific sustainability goals and recommendations from the EIA process. This may look like additional training, ecologically sustainable service provision for events, or complementary environmental actions that take place in parallel to cultural events.
Are you ready to take the next step to make your organization, workplace and activities Certified Green? Contact us at coalition@haititakesroot.org for more information!