I suppose some of you readers are wondering what we are actually doing down here. Well, let me tell you! Our main goal for this three month stint is to build and test a biogas digester. Other objectives will be to do a needs assessment and plan next steps on how we can best use our skills on following trips to the area.
But first, let me tell you more about this super cool digester we will be building. It will provide a way for users dispose of their organic waste without polluting the surrounding area. When users put the waste into the digester, the food will decompose off gasing methane that can then be used for fuel for cooking, the remaining decomposed sluge is high in nutrients and can be used as fertilizer for farming crops or fish providing further food sources.
From there, we can set-up educational session so that community members in the area can see the benefits in action and will have the opportunity learn about how it works and the methods for maintaining the digester so that they too can build and operate one in their own home. The idea is that if locals learn about the process and make it their own the new system is more likely to be sustained than be a temporary fix.
Our first steps will be to create a small educational mock-up version. We plan to do this with a couple of water jugs, cardboard and aplastic bag. We will let it sit and decompose while we are on our 10 day trip on the medical boat, when we will reture, we can assess the success of the tiny system!
now, off to find an methane gas imperveous bag!
-Frances
Good luck! I hope you have a good trip on the medical boat and that the rain doesn't bog you down too much. How are mosquitos?
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