There is no moment of delight in any journey like the beginning of it

Hello to everyone,

Thank you for visiting my blog.  I'm very excited about upcoming year of work and perhaps you are as well.  I thought I'd start with a little background about who I am, who I'm working for and what I'm doing.  I'll try to keep it short and give you resources if you're really interested in more information.

As almost all of you know my name is David Hauth.  I recently graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Aerospace Engineering.  I had always known that I wanted to spend time after graduation traveling and using my education to help those who didn't have the resources, education and opportunity afforded me.  The past year or so I have also become very interested in renewable energy the the opportunity it affords us as a society and myself as an engineer.  I'm excited to have the opportunity to do something I find interesting and worthwhile, which is a needed and necessary part of our future.

With these goals in mind I stumbled across Green Empowerment, a Portland based organization that partners with local NGO's in operating throughout central america and the Phillipines.  Green Empowerment's model is based on helping developing poor rural areas in both environmentally and economically ways.  Environmentally, in that they work to develop sustainable and renewable sources of energy for poor rural areas of the world that have little, or no, access to electricity or potable water.  Economically in that they insure these comminuties have the ability and desire to maintain and care for these systems with community based funding and planning.

One of Green Empowerment's closest partner NGO's is Asofenix.  Asofenix is a Nicaraguan based NGO run by it's director Jaime Muñoz, who has over ten years of experience in the renewable and social development field.  Operating primarily in the state of Boaco, Asofenix has a proven record and extensive experience primarily in solar water pumps and other solar installations.  They have also moved into new work with the recent development and installation of biogas digestors for use in cooking and fertilizer.  Asofenix also has developed close relationships with other NGO's in Nicaragua, such and Blue Energy, and is using those to transition into both micro-hydro and small scale wind systems.

The main projects that I will be working on with Asofenix involve a regional development plan for the San Jose de los Remates municipality in Boaco.  The plan calls for two micro-hydro plans as well as several solar installations and possibly a small scall wind.  This development is not scheduled to start until December of this year and until then I will be primarily working on a solar water pump installation in the town of Son Zapote.

If you care to know more information about either Green Empowerment or Asofenix you can browse GE's website at www.greenempowerment.org.  Asofenix does not currently have a website but it currently being worked on.

(Warning to all readers.  This section of the post was in part written at 5am in a sleep deprived state of delirium and hallucination....unless the young woman across from me really does have green and pink hair.  Then it's just delirium.  Also, it's a little sentimental for you teary eyed folk.)

As I sit in the airport watching tropical storm Fay make its way towards Miami (where I happen to have a layover) while I wait for my flight a lot of different thoughts are circling my head.  Mainly I'm realizing that in my 2 hours of sleep induced stupor this morning I forgot to eat breakfast.  I'm hungry.

In between my intermittent hunger pains I keep reflecting, of course (this wouldn't be a good first blog if I didn't), on the family and friends who have gathered these last few day to wish me well and show me off.   My reflection led me to realize that yup, I'm pretty lucky.  It's almost stupid how lucky I have been in my economics, health and loving family.  I'm pretty much blessed across the board and for some reason the other shoe has never dropped.....did you hear that Hurricane Fay.....it has never dropped.

In all seriousness I can't begin to explain how grateful I am to my home, and by "home " I of course mean my family and my friends.  The words of love, support and encouragment I have received have been everything I needed and more to help keep me committed to this year and my experience in Nicaragau.  I remember an NPR episode of Prairie Home Companion in which Mr. Keillor wisely observed that it is often our family and the metaphorical "foundation" they represent that allows us to build our lives and explore the world.  It is the knowledge that no matter how turbulent, adventurous or ambiguous our lives become we can always, and I mean always, go home.  Home is constant and continuous.  Home, and everything it represents, has always been there, is there, and will always be there.  Paradoxical as it may sound, it seems as though it is through the planting of our roots that we are able to grow wings.

Thank you.  They say home is where the heart is and I want you all to know that my heart is and always will be with you.

I think I will leave it at that this morning (mom you can take this opportunity to grab a kleenex).  I'll finish this post later, hopefully from the comfort of my new Nicaraguan residence.

>>>>>>>

So I made it safe and sound to Managua (that other shoe never dropped).  Sarah and Seth Hayes and Calven Helfestien who is a volunteer through Engineers for a Sustainable World, met me at the airport.  Us four gringos then took a quick tour of the city before going to dinner.  I have been many places and to many cities in my life but nothing can quite compare to what I have seen so far.  The difference is not that it is chaotic, many metropolises are chaotic.  I think the difference was that the chaos of other Latin American or European towns has always felt like a very cultural disorder, almost cultivated and prized by the people who live there.  Here it seems a much more basic and an unavoidable reality of existence.  Why, I don't know.  Maybe just because there is more trash in the street, a lot more run down buildings still being used for business and shelter.  Maybe it's because the horse and buggy that just went by my window is already a normal and noncommittal occurrence.  Maybe because we drove for 30 minutes in one direction and the bedlam never ended.  This is definitely the poorest city I have every visited and it feels as though the people recognize and are willing to do whatever it takes to survive.  I must qualify my observation by stating this was just the impression I got from one night of driving around and I am no anthropologist.  But the poverty is in your face and unabating.