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When Heat Rhymes With Dryness

A Reflection from a Local Partner in Haiti

By Father Wilnes Tilus, Executive Director, DCCH

Lately, the entire world has been bearing the brunt of climate change. In some countries, the land is literally burning, destroying forests, homes, and public infrastructure. In others, it's volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, hurricanes, and even tsunamis. Faced with humanity's mismanagement of the land, nature is striking back.

Haiti is also bearing the brunt of it.

There was a time when we could easily distinguish the seasons in this country. It's true that we haven't always had the four calendar seasons. But we could clearly identify the rainy seasons and the dry seasons. Today, there's no predictability. Even the weather forecast is only approximate. The sector that suffers the most from these consequences is that of small farmers. At the slightest sign of rain, they sow their seeds. When fortunate, this period may offer the benefit of favorable weather. But these days, the rural areas are feeling the pinch.

So many fields of corn, beans and peanuts are turning into hay, a hay that sometimes cannot even be used to feed the animals, because the leaves are so young that the sun hasn't left much to graze on. For the livestock, too, it is a scene of desolation. Food is becoming increasingly scarce. The wells are drying up. The rare springs do the same. Water is becoming a scarce product for livestock as well as for humans. It is necessary to travel a longer distance than usual to find it. The few wells that are still in operation are subject to rationing. The water from the Avezac canal, which facilitated the irrigation of the land from Camp-Perrin plain to Laborde, is limited to only a few houses of Camp-Perrin.

Plantain garden of a farmer from Gouin under the shock of the sun.

The causes come from top to bottom.

The main cause of this situation lies with successive governments that have taken office without a genuine land-use plan. Each resident manages their property as they see fit. There is no concern regarding the specific use of any particular piece of land. Forest areas, farmland, land suitable for construction - it's all mixed together.

A second cause stems from the unregulated cutting of trees for charcoal or timber. This is one of the alternative sources of income for farmers left to fend for themselves.

Some households are already beginning to reduce the amount of food they put in the pot. They are forced to ration their meals to ensure they have enough for tomorrow. Famine may be knocking on their doors before long.

Wild sun-resistant grasses occupy rice-growing space.

At DCCH, the Water Supply Department is doing its best to expand water storage capacity. In addition to rehabilitating wells and spring catchments, large-capacity cisterns are built to collect rainwater. Starting from a partially concrete-covered hill, a catchment area channels rainwater into a large cistern that is proving its worth to residents of Tricon, a small village in the municipality of Les Cayes. Soon, a study will be conducted in the Péan hills, in the municipality of Torbeck, to assess the feasibility of a hillside reservoir in the area.

Impluvium in Tricon, commune of Les Cayes.

There will always be problems. But solutions also exist when men and women take on their responsibility as stewards of the environment, our common home, to borrow a theme so dear to Pope Francis.

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Collaborating on a Water Solution

Climate change is real. In Haiti, subsistence agriculture remains a primary livelihood in rural areas. Unpredictable cycles of drought and flooding quickly turn promising harvests into devastating loss.

When Quixote Center launched the socioeconomic recovery pilot project with DCCH in 2025, 100 participating farmers received seeds and livestock under favorable weather conditions.When Hurricane Melissa struck, torrential rains and powerful winds damaged crops and killed two goats in the community of Saint-Helene. Even well-designed agricultural projects can falter without a comprehensive approach to water management.

Well in Gouin with DCCH agronomists.

Dry river stream in Costa

The project's second year, which is reaching an additional 100 farming families, also began with steady rainfall.But when we visited the communities of Gouin, Costa, Tricon, and Archambeau in August, it had not rained in over four months.

Quixote Center is working closely with DCCH to develop solutions that can make these communities more resilient. With our support, DCCH is building large community cisterns for household and agricultural use, rehabilitating existing wells, and installing water pumps to irrigate fields. DCCH also plans to study the capacity of local aquifers to identify the most reliable and effective sources of water, and to design a systemic approach to water management to include land-use practices that retain moisture in the soil and drought resistant crops.

Quixote Center meets with project participants in Archambeau.

At the community level, the socioeconomic recovery project is already helping families cope with climate shocks. The Mutual Solidarity (MUSO) groups have enabled them to invest in small businesses, creating alternative sources of income when their fields could not produce. The project's seed and livestock distribution model, structured as loans that are redistributed within the community, is also strengthening social cohesion while building resilience.

With your generous support, Quixote Center will continue strengthening DCCH's capacity to work alongside farming communities and develop solutions that can withstand the increasingly unpredictable climate, while helping families build more secure and sustainable livelihoods for the future.

Community members at the water pump.

 

Meet Quixote Center's Fall 2026 Interns!

 

Viviana Cruz

Viviana is a recent graduate of Florida International University, where she studied Industrial/Organizational Psychology and Global Studies with a concentration in Anthropology. Her ethnographic research examines how institutional systems influence access, identity, and community experience, with particular interests in Mexican-American assimilation, water equity, and culturally responsive communication. These interests have shaped her goal of pursuing a career in human resources, where she hopes to apply a research-based understanding of people and institutions to organizational decision-making. At Quixote Center, she is excited to strengthen her advocacy and communications experience while contributing to work centered on equity and community self-determination.

Dylan Caraballo

Dylan is a rising Senior at Stockton University in New Jersey, where he is majoring in Political Science. He is deeply rooted in the areas of both advocacy and communications. At Stockton, he works at the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, supporting their efforts as a Student Program Assistant through event planning, administrative support, and community/civic engagement. He is also involved in various projects and extracurricular activities on campus and in the community, and is looking forward to graduating in Spring 2026. His experiences as the 2025-2026 New Jersey Circle K International District Governor have shaped his goals of being involved with advocacy in politics. He looks forward to advancing Quixote Center's mission with his previous experience and applied skills.

 

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