Flying into Haiti on a first
visit our aircraft passes over a small bay surrounded by
mountainous hills which plunge directly into the dark blue waters
of the deep sea. The airborne observer jubilantly proclaims 'this
is the place'. Quite independently authorities of the Haitian
government will identify this Baie de St-Marc as a promising
location for a deep ocean water marine development center.
Fisherman from the North shore and the Northern coast of the Golfe de la Gonave will pass close aboard the headland of this bay on their way to Port au Prince. There are no cooling facilities on board these ships and 35% of the catch will spoil along the way. A chill house on the point cooled with deep ocean water will allow storage and preservation of the catch until it can be transferred to motorized lighters for transport to the city. The fisherman's catch can be supplemented by salmon, lobster and flounder which are produced by aquaculture in ponds whose pure water, nutrients, and temperature controls are provided by this self same oceanic resource. A flat plateau on the water's edge suggests the possibility of cold water agriculture. Except for the immediate production of electrical energy the site seems ideal for the self sufficiency system described as the model for environmentally sustainable development.
A detailed
inspection of the site must now be made. The trip from Port au
Prince to St Mark's must be made in a four wheel drive, eight speed
shift Isuzu van. No other vehicle can negotiate the ruts and roads
and pot holes that constitute the land logistical system of Haiti.
The entry into the valley of the bay is particularly hazardous and
concern arises for the costs of entry roads and facilities which
might be located there. Suddenly the path is straight and the road
is solid. It is the bed of a long abandoned railroad which
circumnavigates the bay and enters the small town of St Marc. Near
the end of this road is the shell of an old
railroad station. This will make an excellent shell for the
cooling facility. Parallel to the road bed is a flat plain, but
will it be adequate for cold water agriculture. Strangely there are
patterns of lines that suggest that this land has been recently
tilled. Cactus plants and barren ground suggest otherwise 
. But there are people with hoes and mattocks and the ground is rich
with limestone and the remnants of previously living organic
matter. Inquiry reveals that there is a short rainy season and one
sparse crop of melons is produced in September and October of each
year. The observer is ecstatic. The ground is already prepared for
the black irrigation pipes of cold water agriculture. In his
imagination he can see the land burgeoning
with strawberry plants just as he had seen the miracle on the
coastal desert of Hawaii a short two
years ago.
Thus the pilot project has designed itself by the natural energy of nature, its trade winds (Northeasterlies), its easterlies and for a short period westerlies.