The Blog

A new phase of our project aiming at promoting the caves of Haiti will be launched in 2012. Called "Research and promotion of the cultural underground heritage of the Nippes department" this project has just received the support of the Foundation of France via FIL Culture Haiti's call for projects. It will be undertaken conjointly by Carole Devillers and Olivier Testa with the Foundation Françoise Canez Auguste as the supporting structure.

The objective is to study the cultural heritage (pre-Columbian, historical, contemporary) present in the caves of the Nippes department touched by the earthquake - an heritage of great interest, yet little-known – and to heighten the local artists awareness of their region's artistic roots, mainly Taino art. We will explore, photograph and study the caves as well as organize a photo exhibit at the Parc historique de la Canne à Sucre in Port-au-Prince.se

Read next: Promotion of the cultural underground heritage in the caves of the Nippes, Haiti

Three descriptive billboards have been installed at the entrance of Bellony cave, Marie-Jeane cave and Kounoubwa cave.

These billboards give visitors basic information on the respective cave with images and text in four languages (Creole, French, English and Spanish). They also remind them of the safety instructions.

Read next: Installation of descriptive billboards

The highlight of our discoveries: the Bellony Cave (or Cave of The Three Chimneys). Haiti, in all respects, is like a rough diamond that needs to be chiseled to reveal its beauty. It’s not your typical tourist destination, and therein lies its uniqueness.

Similarly in our caving explorations, as we crawl our way in, rub our butts on slippery ground, and walk precariously on unstable rocks, cautiously descending into the bowels of the earth, I feel like chiselers at work, discarding the rough parts while hanging on to the hope of a fantastic discovery. When our torches illuminate in all their virginal glory the spectacular formations and draperies of the cave, we know we have reached the core of a magnificent diamond.

Read more: A Rough Diamond

Haiti has been hit with a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions. The human casualties and suffering are beyond what has ever been recorded in the history of natural disasters. Imagine Washington DC destroyed, the White House destroyed, the National Cathedral destroyed - well this is what Haitians are confronted to with the destruction of their capital Port-au-Prince, their National Palace, their Cathedral and all the rest. It will take years to rebuild and the trauma will remain in people’s hearts and minds.
Besides the human tragedy, I’m also thinking about Haiti’s natural wonders, such as the cave of the Three Chimneys. We had noticed many broken formations on the ground, evidence of previous earthquakes that occured centuries ago. I wonder what we will find when we return there. I hope the beautiful draperies, stalactites and stalagmites we found will have resisted the tremors of this earthquake just as they resisted those of former quakes. Otherwise Haiti will have lost not only historical monuments, but also some magnificent underground treasures. We’ll keep you posted.

Ever since my return from the expedition - and during the expedition - my nights have been filled with dreams of caves and caving. This was my first caving expedition. And just as Olivier, my nephew, was taken, as a five-year old boy, with my tales of exploration among the Wayana Indians in the Amazonian forest, I’ve now been bitten by the caving bug that got him long ago.
I can’t stop reading about it, looking at photos of caves around the world and thinking about our next expedition in Haiti.
As a photographer I’m discovering a totally new world and as an explorer, it’s tops.

Read more: Caving, a new passion

Cave photography is very particular and a slow process. It’s not a solo affair, it’s team work. Lighting is essential as caves are pitch black and the correct placement of several flashes requires to be at least two, and many tries. Focusing in the darkness, lit only with the helmets headlights, is difficult, and so is pitching a tripod on scabrous, rocky and irregular ground. I often found myself in a precarious position and needing four hands.
One has to be armed with lots of patience as a single photo can take an hour of preparation. Quite boring for those waiting... and waiting, at the cave entrance.
Luckily for us, this is the digital age and we got instantaneous results which allowed us to make proper adjustments on the spot. I can’t imagine doing cave photography with a film camera and my hat goes to those photographers who do.
In view of the above, all our underground photographs are copyrighted Carole Devillers/Olivier Testa.

The first cave we explore is near Saut d’Eau (Centre Department), an area which has been dear to me since the mid 80’s and where I feel at home with the local people (the community and I built a primary school for the children of Haut Saut d’Eau twenty years ago - see PATCH Center of Hope school). Saut d’Eau is also the site of an annual vodou purification pilgrimage I covered for National Geographic (see NGS Mar 85).
However well I know Saut d’Eau, I had never visited the cave of Doco and so we start our expedition with this first cave. We get our guides (two brothers who happen to have been among the first students in our school in 1989), and the local houngan (vodou priest) joins us - the Doco cave being a “mystic cave”, it is used for vodou ceremonies and therefore we need the houngan’s introduction. “- A bottle of rum and a whale” : this is what we are asked to bring to be in favor with Mèt Doko, the spirit residing in the cave.
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From speaking with locals, it seems each cave is inhabited by a “diab”, creole for spirit (not to be confused with devil) and everyone makes sure we’re aware of the danger. An older peasant refused to accompany us to a particular cave because, he said, the spirit of the cave would eat him. He specified it would not eat Olivier, but it would eat the guide.

Nevertheless, curiosity got the better of him and he followed our party to see what would happen.