Levo begins Haiti Recovery Effort by training new team members

The new team members working on the pipes that are used in Levo’s Babylon system.

This week, Levo’s Program Manager Gil Augustin and his team are building the first of five Babylon systems that will be delivered to homes in Pignon, Haiti this week on the campus of Many Hands for Haiti. Gil, who leads the coordination of Levo’s operations in Haiti, has been working with Levo’s team in the U.S. and Levo’s partner the EDEM Foundation to plan Levo’s recovery effort in the southern peninsula of Haiti which was struck by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in August which devastated the city of Les Cayes and the surrounding region. 

Program Manager Gil Augustin with Levo’s Head Agronomist Dunerose Bienamie

Levo has worked mainly in the Central Plateau, working to develop Levo’s simplified and distributed approach to hydroponic farming in the region since 2016. After the most recent earthquake, Levo was determined to launch a recovery effort and had the technology to execute after five years of research and development. Levo’s U.S. team began fundraising and gathering materials that needed to be shipped into the country, while the EDEM Foundation team and Levo’s team in Haiti began to gather materials and start the training of the EDEM leadership. 

Team learning how to use the “jig” for drilling pvc

Levo’s Babylon Program expansion was stalled due to COVID-19, though the team continued to operate the systems in the communities in the Central Plateau, and launched a distribution of Levo’s “Bokit” systems, which were simple, 5 gallon systems that were distributed to hundreds of families in the Central Plateau during the pandemic. The Bokits and the Babylon systems have achieved a success rate of over 90% since 2018 in Haiti, and as of this week, every single program participant has requested additional Bokit systems. 

Levo’s recovery effort, which Gil is spearheading in Haiti, will begin in November when the sailboat that Levo’s U.S. operations will be loading up with week in Essex, CT makes landfall on the island of Ile a Vache. Gil, the operations team, and Dunerose Bienamie, Levo’s lead agronomist will travel down to Ile a Vache to oversee the construction of 50 Babylon systems and several hundred Bokits, which will be distributed in Ile a Vache and Les Cayes, two of the earthquake affected regions.

Levo’s Babylon Systems in Haiti

Levo in partnership with EDEM is planning to provide 25,000 people in Haiti with permanent food security over the next 18 months. Levo’s Babylon systems cost less than $500 to build and distribute, and can grow several hundred pounds of produce in one growing season, while only using a few gallons of water a day. Combine this with Levo’s Bokit systems, which can be distributed for less than $10 per unit, and you have a method of farming that can be scaled effectively and have a permanent impact due to the longevity of the hydroponic systems which do not require quality soil to operate. 

The Babylon systems going into communities this week are a practice run for Ile a Vache and Les Cayes, and Gil and his team will take their knowledge of the systems to train the EDEM team. Dunerose, a highly experienced hydroponic grower and trainer, will provide the technical know-how. The entire operation will be executed without any U.S. personnel being in-country, a testament to Levo’s dedication to local-led development.