Mission Work in Haiti: Aquaculture Project

A guest column by: Chris J. Klasing
Clemson Engineers for Developing Communities (CEDC) is a program at Clemson University that collaborates with EDUSC on mission work, especially in Haiti. CEDC, which is a credit course at Clemson, uses project teams of students to address various problems in the developing world.
A current CEDC project in Haiti is the Aquaculture project. This project was created to combat malnutrition in Haiti by addressing underproduction in tilapia farms in the Central Plateau. The project started after the creation of tilapia ponds following the successful renovation of the water system in Cange. This water system is the only chlorinated municipal water system in the country, and it was made possible by a partnership between EDUSC and CEDC.

Aquaculture Team
Tilapia farms suffer underproduction due to the high cost of feed, over 55% of which is attributed to shipping from the U.S. The aquaculture projectâs mission is to implement the production of a locally-sourced and sustainable tilapia feed in the Central Plateau of Haiti, in order to combat malnutrition by making nutritious food more accessible, and also to bolster the economy by creating jobs. The Clemson team has developed and analyzed a recipe for feed that provides sufficient nutrition for the fish and can be made locally. Current efforts are to establish manufacturing in Haiti on a pilot scale, in partnership with EDUSC.

The diocese has established a fund to support this work. Contributions should be sent to:
Ms. Chanda Kelly, CFO
EDUSC
1115 Marion Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Checks should be made out to EDUSC and âHaiti Aquaculture Fundâ should appear in the memo line.