Past responses /
Haiti
GER³ supported communities through debris clearance, home recovery, livelihoods and the reuse of disaster-damaged materials.
Local workers turn hurricane-felled trees into usable timber through GER³’s sustainable tree recovery program in Haiti. Photo: GER³
Overview
GER³ began working in Haiti in 2017 following Hurricane Matthew, which caused widespread destruction across the country’s southwest. In Grand’Anse, the team developed a sustainable tree recovery program that cleared fallen trees from agricultural land and transformed usable timber into materials for rebuilding homes, furniture, boats and community facilities. The program was reinitiated in 2018 to continue supporting communities around Dame Marie.
GER³ returned to southwestern Haiti following the magnitude 7.2 earthquake of August 2021. After conducting rapid assessments, the team launched a community-led recovery project in Maniche and Les Cayes focused on debris clearance and essential home repairs, working with more than 20 local team members to help vulnerable families and communities begin rebuilding.
General focus areas
Debris clearance and safer recovery
Clearing damaged land, homes and community spaces was a critical first step in both of GER³’s Haiti responses.
Following the 2021 earthquake, GER³ worked with local teams in Maniche and Les Cayes to remove debris from community areas and the homes of vulnerable residents. The work helped make damaged spaces safer and created the conditions for repairs and longer-term recovery to begin.
After Hurricane Matthew, GER³ also helped clear large numbers of fallen trees that were preventing farmers from returning to their land.
Homes and rebuilding
GER³ supported families whose homes had been damaged by disaster and who faced significant barriers to recovery.
Following the earthquake, the team carried out critical repairs to several vulnerable households alongside its wider debris clearance program. By combining clearance and repair work, GER³ helped families move more quickly from immediate recovery toward making their homes safe and usable again.
Turning damaged materials into resources
Hurricane Matthew left hundreds of thousands of trees uprooted across Haiti, creating both a major obstacle to recovery and a potential source of building material.
GER³ worked with communities to harvest fallen trees before the timber deteriorated, processing the wood into planks that could be reused for homes, furniture, boats and other locally needed items. During the initial program, more than 3,000 square meters of land were cleared and over 2,000 people directly benefited from the work.
When the program restarted in 2018, GER³ cleared a further 450 square meters of fallen trees and produced 300 wooden planks in less than two months. Most of the recovered timber was returned to landowners for rebuilding and livelihoods, while the remainder supported community uses including schools and health facilities.
Livelihoods and local skills
GER³ designed its Haiti programs so that recovery work also created opportunities for affected communities.
Local residents received training, safety equipment and tools to safely remove fallen trees and process timber into usable building materials. Clearing agricultural land also allowed farmers to begin returning to their fields, while the recovered wood supported local craftspeople and small businesses.
Following the earthquake, GER³ again used a community-led approach, employing more than 20 local team members in debris clearance and recovery activities in Maniche and Les Cayes.
