The canal Elme and Mer des Enfant projects built by ODRINO and partners have provided key infrastructure now serving hundreds of families in the region. A short documentary film on these irrigation & food production projects provides a before and after overview of the two projects and how they transform a region for food production.

The intake structure for Canal Elme (shown below) provides controlled irrigation to the farms of 250 families with the potential to grow to 500. Due to downstream changes in the river from bridge construction, typical severe spring rainfall caused the river to overflow and destroy the gardens irrigated by canal Elme.

Historically, this ruined the crops of these families. So it isn’t enough to have just a canal. It needs to be part of a larger managed infrastructure. Built in 2010/11, the canal Elme intake structure was designed and built to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes. The result is an intake structure and gate that has stabilized the economic asset of the canal’s gardens and ensures food production for the families using it for decades to come.

Moustique River overflows it’s banks during Hurricane Irene

Canal gates are key to water management so that the river can be shared amongst the regions farmers as well as maximize food production. Gates need to last in the harsh and rough environment of Haiti. Working with the Belgian think tank PROTOS, ODRINO designed, developed and built a canal gate to withstand the environment and last for 50 or more years with minimal maintenance. The key features of the design are shown below and were implemented in the canal Elme gate.

The ODRINO-PROTOS canal gate

The Canal Mer des Enfants irrigation gate and diversion dam is another irrigation project along the Moustique river that irrigates 130 family gardens for food production. Lacking the funds for the stainless steel ODRINO-PROTOS gate, another less expensive gate was designed and built. Shown below with a representative from PROTOS, the Mere des Enfants gate uses a locally procured steel plate, acme threaded rod, welded acme threaded nuts and a locally built handle of steel rebar to provide a working gate.

Lower cost canal gate design under inspection by a PROTOS representative.