Laying the Foundation

March 20, 2010

It was easy enough to decide where we plan to place the biogas digester, but it is a quite a different story making a solid foundation in the clay filled hill that we had selected. Brigitte and I decided to locate the biogas digester just outside the kitchen for easy access and use. The land surrounding the building slopes quickly downwards so the first order of business was to create a level and solid foundation for the 1130 gallon tank and all the degrading food that it will hold.

After debating a multitude of options for supporting the big lug, it was decided to dig a hole in the hill to level the ground, set the foundation in cement, and build a cylindrical wall to set the digester on top. Sounds basic enough, right? Well, let me tell you about the Amazonian soil: it is much less dirt and more like clay. Digging four feet into is trouble since it sticks to the shovel, so it is work to get it out of the soil and work to get it off the shovel...and don't get me started about the heat that we did all this digging in! Once that grueling work was done, we lay our sand to level the ground, drove some rebar into the ground to fortify the wall, set the first layer of bricks for the wall, and poured the cement for the floor. Foundation complete! Now let dry and onto building the wall!

Piping

March 13, 2010

Since the tank was made for storing potable water rather than for use as a biogas digester, the tank needed to be fit for its piping before it could even be taken outside to be set in place. The lid needed two holes drilled into it and the tank itself had two extra holes already in place that needed to be filled.

The two extra holes that needed filling proposed a bit of an initial problem since we had not anticipated pre manufactured holes in our tank. The problem was soon resolved with the rubber seals that came with the tank along with a few extra supplies we had on hand such as polymer glue and two-inch lids, we were able to devise a way to seal the holes.

The two holes in the lid are for the effluent for the decomposed material to come out. The first is a small hole for a one inch pipe to glide smoothly through without having discharge around the seal. This pipe will be releasing enriched liquid from the top of the tank to prevent it from getting too full. In order to make this happen, an ''L'' shaped pipe was constructed for the extra liquid at the top of the tank to flow through. Then a a hole was drilled in the lid and lined with natural rubber tubing and the long pipe was pushed through the hole. There was some guess work here to make the hole big enough for the pipe to slide freely, but not too big that the seal is no longer effective.

After doing this first hole, the second hole was a bit easier since we only had to get a two inch pipe to fit snugly with a rubber seal. The problem camewhen we went to attatch the valve that will release the decomposed food sludge. The ball valve we had purchased would not budge! So really, we now have a heavy pipe with a handle on it. We will need to go back to Iquitos to find a better valve.

Ode to Proyecto Amazonas

March 6th, 2010

Since the foundation of Future Scientist last year, Project Amazonas has been has been a helping hand and support every step of the way. From the early '90s and onward, this non-profit organization has been making a profound impact on many of the habitants in the Peru. They coordinate and run medical expeditions to rural communities, provide employment to locals, and give access to researchers. Future Scientist is now among the ranks or organizations and people it has helped, so we would like to take a moment to say thank you!

For our first project, when we installed solar panels and gave science based lessons at the orphanage, Project Amazonas provided the contacts to do this work. Now for this biogas digester project, this organization has provided us the means in which to do a wide range needs assessment of the area as well as a place to stay while doing our design work on the biogas digester. Thank you Project Amazonas!

Hopefully they will be able to make good use out of the digester we leave for them and perhaps Future Scientist can continue to work closely with them to continue to give back.

En la selva, en la noche

Four hours on the cheripita, a small uncovered metal boat, and one painful sunburn later, Frances and I were climbing the steep concrete block path up to Madre Selva, our home for the next two months. We drop our bags in the screened in enclosure we chose for sleeping, and make our way down to the kitchen to help unpack the food.

That done, we head back to begin the process of scattering our belongings.

Our sleeping house is basically a large screened in building with a bunch of wood frame beds lined up neatly inside. Frances chooses a bed on the far side of the room and I pick another one right next door. Mattress, sheets, pillows, a bug net for the bed, and it is starting to look pretty homey. Stretch sigh, and collapse.

A knock on the screen door followed by a soft "Hola?" interupts our lazing.

Frances and I bestir ourselves to find Julio, the caretaker of the research station, peering in from outside. We smile and invite him in and he looks at our set up and then at us. In a voice I can barely hear, he asks us if want something. A few stumbling exchanges later we find ourselves helping him set up a tent inside the building, into which we move our beds.

Now, this may seem a bit much, you know...a screened-in tent set up inside of a screened-in building. Well let me clear that up for you right now. IT IS NOT!


Night number one:

I lie on my back, prostrate in the heat. It is pitch black, like being in a cave, but despite this fact, my eyes are open and staring, roving aimlessly in the nothingness, as I try to track the various sounds. All around me, the nocturnal world is coming to life. Crickets are chirping, frogs are peeping, croaking and barking, and birds are hooting and trilling. This is not the cause of my roving eyeballs. Proximal noises, shuffling and scooting sounds coming from too close for comfort places.

And then... patter patter patter: the sound of fast moving feet. Above me...or below me? It sounds like it is on the surface of the tent. I bat at wall, making the whole tent sway and shudder. "What was that?" asks Frances, and a light comes on, blinding in the absolute darkness. I squint, listening still, "I thought I heard something on the side of the tent..." We both scoot forward on our bunks to tug at the zippered entrance, making sure it is closed all the way so that nothing can sneak in while we are asleep. A small measure of comfort in this strange environment. We lie back and eventually drift to sleep, the sounds of the jungle blending into the background.

Buenas noches en la selva.

The Hunt for Supplies

Frances and I sat down the other day and contemplated the feat of buying supplies. It went something like this:

Me: Frances, Necessitamos buy supplies!

Frances: Yo sais!

Me: Where should we go?

Frances: No sais! But we need to get them! Nooow!

Me: Yo sais!

Iquitos is a small city, but it seems vast and without limit when you need to find something specific. Hardware stores can be found on nearly every corner, but that doesn´t mean they have what you want. For instance, they might have a machete and some handy tools, and then some buttons and stickers, or candy. So, you could potentially walk to 10 different stores and still not find everything that you need. Which basically leaves you wandering around like an idiot. Now, imagine this added to the fact that Frances and I have the vocabulary of a toddler. Interesting.

Yesterday, we had a stroke of good fortune, or

maybe we sought it out and in turn were taken pity on....

It came in the shape of this fellow.

Caesar Peña.

Or, as we secretly refer to him when he is doing something valorous: our night in shining armor, who´s help has been absolutely indespensible to our project. KUDOS CAESAR!

He has worked wtih Project Amazonas as a translator for about 10 years, and we got to know him durng the medical boat trip. He speaks English and a few other languages to boot.

Caesar´s office is across the street from our hotel (how convienent), and knowing this, Frances and I ambled over, doing our best at nonchalant.

¨Hola Ceasar, que pasa?¨¨we say. A raised eyebrow and a frown, ¨Nada, commo estas?¨

We are fine (imagine us rocking onto our heels and twiddling our thumbs)! Smiles all around and nodding. Then, to keep from bursting, we spill our predicament. Caesar, nodds in all the right places as we tell of our woes and shakes his head at us. Whilst chuckling he flags down a motocarro.

Despite the confusion between pvc pipe for wires and pvc pipe for AGUA, finding the correct sizes, and locating gasket material, etc, we managed to find everything in two hours! MUY BUENO!

Frances rode with the rotoplast tank all the way back to the hotel. YEEE HAWW!

When we arrived at the entrance,

we thought...wait a second...(hands on side of face, OH MY!) this is NOT going to

fit in our room (note: I say this for effect, really we knew it going in to the situation).

Frances and I share a glance, a

glance that says PLEASE LET THE HOTEL TAKE PITY ON OUR SITUATION! It is a good

tactic. We ask, their eyes buldge, we look downcast, and they heave some signs. Crazy gringas! Some awkward fumbles and stumbles

later, and the large black tank is nestled conspicuously amongst the shrubberies in the courtyard.

GRACIAS A LA PASCANA and Caesar, we couldn´t have done it with out you!

Tomorrow, LA SELVA!

Dear readers, please stay tuned as we are headed out to the jungle and will not be able to

update the blog for a good period of time. BUT NEVER FEAR, there will be more to come at some point. Don´t fall off the edge of your seat! Until, I am Brigitte Cronier, and this is WIIILD Peru!

Madre Selve : Mother Jungle

During the medical boat excursion, we got to check out Madre Selva, the place we will call home for the next month and a half. This field station is owned by Project Amazonas and is located 90 river miles east of Iquitos on the south bank of the Rio Orosa. It neighbors Yagua Indian community of Comandancia which is approximately 20 minute boat ride away. This village has our only access to the outside world: a satellite phone that was recently installed by the government. We will also be trading with these locals for their delicious crop of corn, yuca, and camu-camu (a new favorite fruit of mine!)

There are places to hang hammocks and also beds to sleep in. I imagine I will hang my hammock for chilling in the middle of the day, but retreat to a screened bedroom in the evening. We will have a large kitchen to ourselves which will be great to cook in! Brigitte and I will quickly become fast friends with Julio, the grounds keeper, since he's got all the know-how of the area that he can impart upon us.

We also got to check out the scene where we are going to install the digester. There is plenty of space around the kitchen to put a large tank which is good and there is already a fish pond established that can immediately benefit from the by products of the digester. One problem that we will need to figure out is that the land around the kitchen becomes flooded during the rainy season so we will need to make sure the system can tolerate these conditions.

We leave on Thursday, tomorrow will be tying up the loose ends before the next leg of our adventure!

Assessment of Need

While the doctors were attending to their patients, Brigitte and I worked on compiling information for a needs assessment for the area. How are these people living now? What do they eat? Where do they poo? What do they want to see change in their current lifestyle and has any outside help been beneficial to them before?

On average we visited two villages a day which is quite significant since there is sometimes a two hour ride between communities and it is seriously too hot to work in the middle of the day. We visited 14 different villages spending time learning about their daily life, agriculture, health issues, income sources, education, town layout, hierarchy, etc. We talked to many people and played with children.

Coordinates were taken at the significant landmarks of the village. Each had a very similar set up and layout with all the houses lined along the water for close water source, a school and generator house(for the larger villages) established by the Peruvian government and sometimes there was a secondary school. Many of our hand drawn maps looked very similar.

We found that some of their main crop is yuca, bananas, papaya, and sugar cane. To earn money for the family, men leave the home to work in lumber yards which is a two day boat ride away from the village. This is also frequently how disease is berought back to the villages. Women stay home to care for the children and tend of the house. All villages had a primary school but many of the small ones did not have secondary schools. As a resuly, many people do not matriculate past the 6th grade because students need to be sponsored to live in the larger villages to continue studies.

We quickly learned where their bathrooms were when one of the medics asked for el baño and a child directed him behind the school and said, "Anywhere behind there is fine." I belive the doctor held it for several hours before we got back to the boat. We were all relieved to relieve ourselves!

The aid that has been provided by their government has been limited in its utility. For example, the Peruvian government installed toilets in many of these villages and now most of them are now used as flower pots, chicken coops, or just left to decay. I asked on child what one of these 'contraptions' was and she had no idea...she just shrugged and giggled.

So now that we have a better idea of the people, communities, and lifestyles, we can focus our design so that we can get people interested!