I believe that bamboo, primarily for the sustainable building market both locally and for export, could be farmed and processed effectively in Haiti. I would like to propose the project to a Haitian coffee plantation which I know to establish an initial Bamboo forest and processing plant. This would enable a number of secondary benefits, including:

1) reforestation: Bamboo grows quickly enough to reforest the country and preserve topsoil
2) food: young bamboo shoots are a healthy food source
3) jobs: a processing center would be able to pay landowners and harvesters for raw bamboo, creating an immediate market, and the amazing properties of the material would also be a boon to local craftspeople
4) housing: Bamboo has a higher tensile strength than steel, and plywood made from woven bamboo can be made inexpensively in order to help rebuild the countries infrastructure. such a material would also potentially provide greater protection from future weather dangers.