|
Most people have fired
up a charcoal grill for a backyard party or cooked a summer
meal over hot coals. But two School of Social Work professors
conducting research in Haiti say that poverty in that country
makes cooking with charcoal a necessity that results in massive
deforestation.
“Every community in Haiti has a corner where people make
and sell charcoal,” said Larry Nackerud, a professor
in the School, who along with Ed Risler, recently returned
from their second research trip to Haiti. “Charcoal is
made from wood, and when you look around, it’s easy to
see where the wood comes from because ninety-eight percent
of Haiti has been deforested.”
Nackerud and Risler have researched poverty and welfare in
the United States and have published extensively on the effects
of poverty on the lives of individuals and their families.
In 2004, they were recipients of an IDEAS (International Development
Education Awards) grant awarded by the Office of the Vice President
for Public Service and Outreach at UGA to extend their poverty
research to Haiti.
“This experience is a natural extension for us as social
work practitioners trying to achieve a better understanding
of how help can be constructed for so many people living in
poverty as intense as it is in Haiti,” said Risler.
One outcome of their work in Haiti was consulting with a non-profit
on the best way to approach working with community farmers
on biomass conversion – which means using something other
than trees for fuel.
Risler and Nackerud also interviewed Haitians through an interpreter
to figure out the best way to adapt a hunger survey to meet
the nuances of life in Haiti. The survey results will be compared
with data collected from a similar study conducted in northeast
Georgia.
Haiti, which is about the size of the state of Maryland, has
a population of around 8 million. Eighty percent of Haitians
live in poverty and life expectancy inHaiti is about 53 years. “There
is a complex set of variables that influence poverty in Haiti,” said
Nackerud. “Our goal is to influence even one variable
and make a positive contribution.” |
Nackerud
and Risler have researched poverty and welfare in the United States
and have published extensively on the effects of poverty on the lives
of individuals and their families. In 2004, they were recipients
of an IDEAS (International Development Education Awards) grant awarded
by the Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach
at UGA to extend their poverty research to Haiti.
