The Sheltering Pine Institute
Dear Friend:
The January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti, causing the deaths of 230,000 and leaving 1.4 million
homeless, was an enormous tragedy for the people of Haiti. But it also has yielded a unique opportunity for Haiti to
rebuild, restore, and revitalize itself in ways not possible before. In the building planning, there is the opportunity,
and truly the necessity, to rebuild in ways that are appropriate and sustainable culturally, economically and
environmentally.
Measuring the amount of work needed to be done to rebuild Haiti amounts to numbers that are simply staggering.
Such an all encompassing devastation puts all past reconstruction efforts on a completely different scale. Even the
Red Cross has estimated that efforts to rebuild Haiti will take somewhere between 10 to 15 years.
Although the prospect of rebuilding from rubble is so daunting, within this tragedy, comes a hopeful response from
individual Haitian citizens themselves. It is a call for community-led, sustainable, earthquake-safe homes; built by
Haitians, for Haitians from their own resources. In response to this call, Builders Without Borders and Grassroots
United in collaboration with the Sheltering Pine Institute have designed a simple, locally sustainable building
solution for Haiti using straw bale construction techniques.
The proposed initiative has just entered its first phase, with a demonstration project in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on land
provided by Grassroots United. In subsequent phases, we envision the project growing as Haitians learn the
techniques of straw bale construction, new talents that will sustain further local building endeavors.
The first phase of the project is estimated to cost $30,571. With the pledge of $10,000 in funding from Builders
Without Borders, we are now seeking additional donations to complete the project’s initial funding needs. We
welcome individual, corporate and foundation donations, which may be made payable to The Sheltering Pine
Institute, a registered 501 © 3 not-for-profit institution. Such donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
We look forward to hearing from you to discuss funding possibilities at greater length and to answer questions
about the project. Please also visit our website www.shelteringpineinstitute.org to see more detailed project
descriptions as well as other current projects and a link to a Haiti project blog under the “In the News” section.
Sincerely,
Katherine S. Nickel
President & Exec. Director
Knickel@shelterinepineinstitute.org
860-930-5354
Andy Mueller
Treasurer
The Sheltering Pine Institute is a not-for-profit registered as a 501 © 3 with the Federal Government and the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Address: PO Box 144, Williamsburg, MA 01096 www.shelteringpineinstitute.org