Environmental Education and Recycling in Haiti with Blada Desauguste
Blada Desauguste the founder of the non-profit Kay Blada Recycling program in Haiti discusses his solutions for the problem of plastic waste in his home country of Haiti and how this led to developing a community education program.
Links
Key Blada Recycling website (pronounced “Kai”)
Citadelle Laferriere discussed in the podcast as the eighth wonder of the world webpage at Visit Haiti
Transcript
Scott Lee 0:03
Greetings, friends and colleagues, welcome to the Thoughtful Teacher Podcast, a service of Oncourse Education Solutions. I am Scott Lee, I hope you are safe and well. Our guest for this episode is Johnson Blada Desauguste the founder of Kay Blada Recycling, it might seem unusual to have an episode focused on a recycling program operating in Haiti. But as you will hear, in addition to recycling, Kay Blada also has an educational and social justice mission. Its founder Blada grew up in Hinchi, Haiti, and after coming to the United States started this nonprofit to help provide jobs and solve the problem of high levels of plastic waste in Haiti. Blada and I will discuss how the recycling program focuses on educating students provides jobs and the surprising origins of the solid waste problem of his home country. But first, we will discuss some of the things that many non Haitians might not know about the country and history of Haiti. Welcome Blada to the Thoughtful Teacher Podcast, briefly tell us what does the Key and Key Blada stand for? And what does Kay Blada recycling do?
Blada Desauguste 1:27
Thank you so much for having me, I hope everyone listening will have a great time. Just like the heavy weight on my hair. So to answer your question, Key Blada Recycling is obviously a recycling initiative that I started in Haiti, in 2018. With the mission to clean up the streets of the country, we do that by empowering Haitian citizens in Haiti, to to take action against plastic waste in their communities in the word "Key" in Kay Blada Recycling means "house", when I was scratching my brain, to find to find a name in your name to take the initiative, the organization, it wasn't too hard to you know, eventually adopt the Key Blada the Key and it's a it's a common surface or suffix in Haitian businesses names. Key going to buy something key, Scott, like, but Scott's House, in our case, it was, we're going to sell something to Key Blada, instead of going to buy something within ourselves. And we're going to Key Blada, make money and make money work with with waste, trash, a way to social captivate attention. Hear the name you will pay attention to some somewhat familiarize key, Key Blada Recycling is doing the environmental protection in Haiti since December of 2015.
Scott Lee 3:18
We're gonna talk a little bit more about the recycling programs and education programs. And in just a little bit, most of our audience is American. And Americans in general only hear about Haiti, when something bad happens, you live in the US but are originally from Haiti. What are some things that you wish more Americans knew about your home country?
Blada Desauguste 3:44
Oh, great question. Great question. This question is, is a really good one, because, as you said, most of the times Americans hear about Haiti is when something bad happens saying, earthquake or some violence, all the above. And sometimes, both of those things happen all together at once, what I would like for people know about Haiti, or some of them already know it, but they don't. They don't let it soak in is the fact that Haiti is the first black independent republic in the world. I say in the world, somebody said to me once, or you got up better for the modern world. So find it the first black independent, we call the modern world because of Haiti. Most countries became independent, like, you know, abolish slavery, in fact, Haiti was part of those revolutionary times, as Haitians traveled around around the world to contribute in manpower to fight slavery. And they did so successfully. The second thing is, I think, to my my view is, since we Haitians, we are from many different parts of Africa, we hold this rich culture, you can see it or feel it and hear it in our music, and our food. Haiti, unfortunately, too many times get to be American people see us with that negative story. But we have lots of lots of lots of great things. We have one of the most recognized building in the world. I when I was in school, I was thought I was that that was the eight. I don't know what what was the what's the word in English,
Scott Lee 5:53
but eighth wonder of the world?
Blada Desauguste 5:56
Exactly. And it was built in the specific location in a, that the until these days, everybody asked him, How did this engineer have this group of people get this project accomplished. So there's so many things I said our culture is, which is, as it's a mix of, of known native nations, that African, African people, slaves at the time kidnapped at the time, but they were occupying the territory. So we brought they brought what the had is his values to make Haiti what it is today, but unfortunately, only the violence or the natural disasters that got Haiti to make. The make the surface in the media is my wife, as an American fell in love with Haiti, it's many, many Americans, I know who fall in love with [Haiti]. People here only rely on the news to tell him what's going on. On the world,
Scott Lee 7:09
That really is too bad. I used to be a history teacher. And one of the favorite things that I used to one of the favorite people I used to teach about was Toussaint L'Ouverture. But this was really the first successful slave revolt, and it had a huge impact on US history, that most people most Americans don't know. I mean, following the independence of of Haiti, you know, that's why Napoleon was so happy to get rid of Louisiana and willing to make a deal was a direct result of the events that were happening in Haiti. And if that had not happened the history, the United States would be very different. So let's talk a little bit more about the recycling efforts that Kay Blada is involved in, and then also we'll want to talk about, specifically about an education initiative that you also have. But first off, let's talk about the recycling side. I know part of the problem involves having something to do with trash, particularly plastics, and the fact, the practice of burning that for fuel. Is that the reason why the focus is on recycling plastics in particular?
Blada Desauguste 8:36
That's part of the part of the reason but either because a few steps back to a little bit of history, to this day, Haiti, is known to be a an organic country, in augmenting natural country. Everything we used to eat we to grow it and cook. We were not we're not infrastructurally prepared to deal with package meals in when, after a while that that the country's economy started to to collapse the decision was that to open open the market for a foriegn groups to come in. When you want to speak about people in groups, you see, a great percentage of that is from foreign aid, humanitarian organizations who who I don't know, they wait, not far from the border. As soon as a little something happened. And I don't see a little because of lack of infrastructure. Right there as soon as something happened they flood our market with, with humanitarian support, which probably is well intentioned. And then that brings a lot of lot of trash. Since we used to eat everything we, since we did make or cook everything we eat we used to grow what we eat. And we didn't have a big trash problems because you know those organic stuff, and so when they open the market for foreign food so for for for for imported packaged the [importers] did not educate the population about how to manage the waste, I guess the government didn't you know, the implement good infrastructure to manage it, manage it themselves. And so, while packaged food never stopped coming in, so as packaged food it come in, in the local, local crops diminished, simply. So, the country is become a dump for countries like the US, Canada and
other industrial industrialized countries, like that. I mentioned, packaged food from humanitarian organizations, I mentioned a market that is open, wide open for people who are selling packaged foods to bring it in. Since yeah, we are in need of it. Because we grow less, apparently, the only way to get foods conserved is to package it with plastics. And there's one more thing that can stop a trash is something called food dumping. Dumping is one thing that I don't know the ins and outs of it, but I know the concept and it's a well known concept food dumping where you know, companies have expired food, they they sell it to the government at a cheap price. So just pretend that you want to give it to them you don't have a place to dump it here [in the US or or other countries], but it goes in for quote unquote, poor countries, like Haiti. And so there you go in all these trash is the pile after pile after pile in the region. So heavy lack of waste management system. So the wastes out there in the own way, find out how to get rid of it, the not getting rid of it is burning, burn plastic it doesn't go away just on a mass block. So I grew up in an Cap-Haitien and I remember when I was growing up, there was this to find opportunity my mother used to go to the countryside, she buy large, like huge quantity of produce, and come and sell on the sea. But even now even my mom is saying, "Man, when I go to the countryside, I don't find anything to buy. Am I am I go and buy a few of cases of of soft drinks and going down and selling" you know. I mean, so that's how much local crops are deteriorating, but to come back to your questions, since I've done with the history part of it. Why? Because when I moved here in the US, I noticed how clean environment can be or how clean it is here compared to where I'm from. I noticed that right away. I knew also, I learned on the south part of the country about recycling was a big thing. And since I was living in Haiti, I didn't see how could that be possible. So I didn't pay much attention to that. It was a woman of Canadian woman that was particularly when she was very very struggling with it. I saw it I saw how it was when I moved here it is and let's see how the trucks are going around picking up trash is still in so so so beautiful. At the same time since I'm in the diaspora, I I get calls from people back home to ask for support. I need to find a way to create something that people down there can not only help the community their trash collection that they can make some money as well. And so I created Kay Blada I remember I also remember how even my family used to use plastic is cooking fuel not only plastic, but he used to use plastic pieces to start fire which we all know how toxic that is. Yeah, I mean I I make I make all this plan mostly in my head of course. I call the round
that the initiative. What compelling me was to to reduce waste in the streets, which ones when you drink, soft drink you drop the used bottle and it goes on the street and the streets bring it to the canals, which is the waterways, you know the sewage and sewage in the river in the river making its way to the ocean. That's the cycle of Haitian plastics in I wanted to know help now and reduce the ones on the on the streets. They were accessible for street collectors for plastic pickers, noticing that when they end up in the water canals, when they are rains, the plastics a lot the water flow of the water, the water, overfill the streets. And that's what floods. And it doesn't have to be a lot of rain need a little bit of rain, big floods, a little bit of rain because and that's not even in one part of the whole country. And so I wanted to help with that. And even the government when they, when they pile it up and pick it up, where they go with a boat next to the closest river dump it or they go to a open field to dump it. They cut the whole thing on fire you see like huge, huge clouds of smoke plastic smokes covering the whole neighborhood whole city as they burn this piles of trash. I got to a point I've been here for a year or two, I know how clean a place can be. And I went when I when I went back, I got a culture shock. Say what? it is so dirty. So dirty, you must see where I'm from and I couldn't take it anymore. And so the plastic burning the water says get clogged up and create massive floods, or any small little rain and the burning. Even the government is dumping trash next to the river. Okay, I gotta do something. And then that's when Kay Blada comes along and for six years now,
Scott Lee 17:21
You all have managed to pull tons and tons of plastic waste out of the system and actually get it recycled. So I know that has done a wonderful job to to help with that. And I know that this is kind of off the topic. But since you mentioned it, would it be better if humanitarian organizations did more work with helping farmers then, in Haiti?
Blada Desauguste 17:55
Yes. Yeah. I don't even have to explain. Yes. If you think about it, for a humanitarian organization, to go to a place like Haiti to offer one bite, and big plastic package is to me, and, and to most people I talk to, it's silly, because there's so much resource that goes into organizing, and, you know, shipping, and I don't know, collecting all this stuff
Scott Lee 18:28
going around just making the plastic packaging.
Blada Desauguste 18:31
Yeah, just making the packaging, like, once you just do it this way instead, because that's that's what would be, you know, sustainable and actual make a positive impact
Scott Lee 18:43
that's bigger than one podcast on how to solve that problem. But
Blada Desauguste 18:46
I'll tell you what, fortunately, many individuals are out there talking about about this issue. Humanitarian organizations, well intentioned, but I want to say well intentioned, but the their strategy on how to address humanitarian aid, you can do it like that forever, or you could be doing this. More impactful, more hit the nail on the head and hit the nail forever.
Scott Lee 19:15
So besides hiring people, to collect plastic and recycling waste, you also do a lot of work in schools. Tell us about what you're doing in schools and how that also helps empower people and teachers and students in Haiti.
Blada Desauguste 19:35
When Kay Blada first started, I used to take every almost every other month, trips to Haiti is the concept. The recycling concept is a very new step and still struggling to I don't say trillions that people said but especially with the adults, isn't that difficult to point it to them and to make it make sense to them? To the brain concept when we first started was very difficult for the adults to understand that it's, it's not good to burn the trash, its better to collect it then recycle it, you don't need to throw it away anymore because Key Blada is will come and pick it up at your house. But for them the, for the adults, they thought that was kind of like an insult for them. We think we are asking them to collect trash for money? But what's wrong with "you come from that, for bringing us this silly idea, we're not gonna do that". They didn't embrace it well. I noticed how difficult it was to educate the adults. And then the rest of the people were on board, we decided that we gonna to let them know the adults, but we're going to focus on the kids, as the kids could ensure the long term durability of the initiative. And the kids could eventually become the adults and help faciltiate, the infrastructure that we're trying to put in place. It's gonna cost more, yes. Bigger, bigger team to be able to run a education, formal education program, nothing more material, more knowledge, more is more that. But it's it's more secure approach. And that's when we started reaching out to local school teachers, not the schools yet, but the school teachers, that school teachers could help us reach the schools that are as if we influence one teacher, and that teacher will go to her school and talk to the rest of the school or the principal or. And so I I had had a teacher that I was I was friends with and she loved the idea. And she said, let me take this on, and I will take care of the rest. And so she did. She designed curriculum. That's that's environmental based learning and recycling, at the core of it to the months to come. After I reached out to her in she came up with a team of 25 teachers from seven schools in the area. And then from there, the education program was adopted in the community. Now, it's a community of over 500 schools. So seven school is nothing compared to what we have to work with. But it's a place to start the education program. We provide the teachers with education, environmental based education material to implement in their teaching our curriculums and the only curriculum that they're using. It's only a part of the book that we've given this material to, like kind of fit it into what they're doing. We provide the material, and then we invite the kids one class at a time to come visit the recycling center so they can see with their own eyes, how the recycling is done. And then as the what the politicians would call trickle eff- trickle effect, they go home and talk to their parents about it. So far being very effective because some of the parents come visit us saying visit the recycling center, of course, saying my kid came home with this thing about recycling. And she told us where he was going to come visit for ourselves. And it's it's really it's really slowly happening but surely happening with seven schools and 25 teachers, we are hoping to double that in no time as we get sponsorships and relations and stuff. We are a nonprofit organization. So
Scott Lee 24:05
right and so donations to Kay Blada help expand programs like that in schools in Haiti.
Blada Desauguste 24:15
Our education program in seven schools, it we're counting about 2000 Kids and the program.
Scott Lee 24:25
Before we got started, [we were] talking about project based learning and place based education as one of the things that I'm often encouraging teachers to work on more. And this is a great example of how to do that and how that helps empower teachers and students to take action within their communities. There's always something there. There's always issues anywhere that youth can do to help make the world a better place. So that's great to hear. How you all do that and In the homegrown curriculum,
Blada Desauguste 25:02
it's right. It's great the way we approached it. We have the teachers in Haiti, who know the education system already, their effort, their work, their approach on what works, and what will not work.
Scott Lee 25:18
Want to thank you today for joining us, Blada.
Blada Desauguste 25:21
Thank you, thank you so much for for for having me on this podcast. It's an honor to be speaking on on a what matters, and I appreciate your work, Scott, the great work that should continue on even even after we are not on this little rock home anymore. Because this work, you know, giving people a platform to talk about what they do, and how others who've been thinking about all we've been thinking about the same things, how they can get involved, and, you know, kind of inspiring people. This this, this platform is a great place to do that and I appreciate that both teachers for podcasts for anyone.
Scott Lee 26:14
Thank you very much. The honor has been ours as well. And we appreciate the work that you're doing. And definitely on our website, we will have some links on how you can support the work of Kay Blada recycling. The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast is brought to you as a service of Oncourse Education Solutions. If you would like to learn more about how we help schools and youth organizations, embed social emotional learning within their cultures, and implement high quality, holistic interventions, please visit our website www dot oncoursesolutions dotnet. This has been episode six of the fall 2021 season. This episode concludes the 2021 season, but we will be back in February 2022 with Larry Brendtro as our guest in the first episode. If you have enjoyed this podcast, please tell your friends and colleagues about it either in person or using social media. We also greatly appreciate positive reviews on the podcast app you use. The Thoughtful Teacher Podcast is hosted and produced by R. Scott Lee who retains copyright. We encourage diverse opinions. However, opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of producer, partners, or underwriters. Guests are never compensated for appearance, nor do guests pay to appear. Transcripts are available following the podcast publication on our website, thoughtfulteacherpodcast.com. Sponsorship opportunities or other enquiries may be made on the "Contact Us" page at our website thoughtfulteacherpodcast.com. Please follow the Thoughtful Teacher Podcast on Twitter @drrscottlee
