INCREASED DRINKING WATER SUPPLY THROUGH IMPROVED CISTERN DESIGN IN RURAL HAITI

Barasa, Haiti is an extremely poor, isolated rural community located on a mountain. Cisterns in Barasa, Haiti are the preferred method to collect and store water for household use. Local masons build the cisterns which provides jobs for local people. The local construction may be funded through charitable organizations, such as the Haiti Connection of Charleston, Illinois. Stone and concrete aggregate found in Barasa are used for local cistern construction but are of calcite which weakens the mortar between limestone blocks. Some locally built cisterns crack and water escapes. While this is a problem over the entire developing world, cistern crack formation seems to occur often in Haiti. When cisterns crack, people no longer have easy year-round access to water. Development of simple and economical solutions to help prevent cistern cracking or repair cisterns so water is retained after cracking, would benefit many organizations, communities, and those who are water-poor in Haiti and other developing countries.

In order to be sustainable, methods chosen for constructing cisterns must be economically feasible for Haitians, be easy to apply by uneducated and untrained masons, use material readily available and economical in Haiti, be safe, and be culturally acceptable to Haitians. The solution to cracking cisterns in Haiti involves improvement of construction methods and materials used for cisterns in Haiti. It was determined in this project that addition of inexpensive dried fibers from sisal, a native plant in Haiti, increased compressive strength in concrete. Longer curing times under moist conditions also increased mortar strength in cisterns. These methods are both inexpensive, easy to use, and utilize readily available materials in Barasa, Haiti. The Eastern Illinois University students tested these methods for effectiveness and ease of application. The most promising methods will be communicated to Haitian masons via interaction with members of the Haiti Connection. If feasible, Haitian masons will field test the most promising methods in Barasa, Haiti. Sustainable new methods of cistern construction should increase the drinking water supply of rural Haiti, improving health and economic productivity of the residents.