Here I am

I have no excuse. Nothing. Not a ting. All it can be called in lazy, sloth, apathetic. And it is with this in mind that I come to you, over a month since my last post, humbly asking your apology. Actually, I don’t know why I haven’t written in so long. Perhaps it’s because my life here doesn’t feel as spectacular and noteworthy as it once did. Things that were considered events and postworthy 6 months ago, now are common and happenstance. My life here feels normal now, and natural. Something that is all fascinating, wonderful and a little terrifying at the same time. I’m not calling Nicaragua my home (my heart still belongs in the Land of the Lakes) and I’m not even saying it’s where I want to live. But at the very least I’m comfortable. In many ways I feel like I’ve taken Nicaragua’s form of the Borsalino Test, passed through the ring, and miraculously come through whole on the other side…more or less.

That’s not to say Nicaragua can’t make me do a double take every once in awhile, and I’m not talking about the women, although I think I may be developing whiplash por ellas. One recent example of how Nica keeps me shaking my head (as much in bemused amazement as anything) was our first heavy rain fall several weeks ago. Seth and Sarah had generously taken me out to dinner and a movie for my birthday and when we left the theatre to our surprise we found that it had been raining RAINING for over an hour. But hungry we were and decided to brave the Tropical Thunder® and cab it to a nearby restaurant. What we didn’t realize when we hopped in a cab was that the windshield wipers didn’t work, the drivers side windows didn’t roll up and the rear windshield was a taped plastic masterpiece. This would have made the trip interesting enough on it’s own, especially for poor Sara who had unwittingly hopped in on the drivers side, but to add to the adventure was the fact that the street our conductor chose to go down was literally a flowing river complete with whitwater and riptide….yes I know that real rivers don’t have riptides, but remember, this was a Street River. Did I mention that it was night. This little tidbit was probably what saved our lives as he was able to use the headlights of oncoming traffic to navigate. Pues, we survived, and even picked up a soaking wet Nicaraguan along the way. But still, got me shaking my head.

Our projects are going fairly well. Biogas digestores are proving to be very finicky creatures, considering how simple the design is. The main problem right now is sealing the plastic resevoirs that store the gas to the concrete shit tanks, as they´re so lovingly called. We’ve tried everything from bike innertubes to silicon sealant and there’s always a leak. But we’re saved, gracias a Dios I’ve been able to find a vendor of duct tape so all are problems are solved. I plan on going up Wednesday of this week to plug the leaks once and for all. Thankfully the people have had a lot of patience with us as we work out the kinks in our first biogas digestor projects and hopefully soon we can get them all up and running soon (right now 2 of the 5 are functioning).

The microhydro projects are also progressing nicely. El Roblar has contructed its damn and penstock and are working on the turbine house right now. La Laguna has also finished its damn and is awaiting the arrival of the penstock tube to continue construction. Also, the turbine manufacturer has finished completing the turbines and we´ll be able to go see them functioning when Jaime gets back from Peru. I’m a little disappointed though that I haven’t been as involved in the actual construction of the sites. Instead we hired a man with microhydro experience to supervise the construction of the damn, penstock, todo. But we all have our jobs and I’m happy with the work I’ve contributed to the project, in terms of planning and engineering/design. I’ve also learned an incredible amount regarding microhydro (which allows me to realize just how much I still need to learn). But being part of the turbine design and construction would have been nice. Oh well, next time. I´ve learned that you need to be very proactive in Nicaraguan culture. No one is going to come hand you opportunities. This is even more true here than in the US, where I feel I´ve been handed a lot (Midwest Resorts promotion, that Pollock scholarship, HONEYWELL ridiculousness, ect). Or maybe it´s that the really world is a little tougher than Collegeville.

Speaking of handing out opportunities, I am officially on the job search. I´m looking EVERYWHERE (except for certain places). If anyone sees job openings in the fields of renewable energy or oil production (joking) please forward them on. Thanks. And from here on out blog posts are regular dietary supplements. I promise. Maybe.

Sounds of Nicaragua

Successfully electrifying a coffee depulper at the house of Cruz, a community member in Malacatoya. This machine saves him hours of work during the coffee harvesting season. It uses renewable electricity produced by a microhydro system installed by Asofenix 2 years ago. There are currently 3 of them installed in Malacatoya with another 3-4 to be installed before next harvest.




The second attempt at our little wind guy. This one destroyed itself but the one we got now is still up and running!!! (for now). Hopefully this little guy will be able to produce (and stay whole).

End of March...but not the madness

hey, looky here team. Tree (3) posts in one month. That´s got to make up for the 6 week interlude before.....eh (that was for you Jake, you crazy Canadian). What to say, what not to say......let´s just get started and see what happens.

It´s been a pretty crazy month for Asofenix (I think that´ll be the introduction of every end of month post I write.....makes things easier, just cut and paste). We´ve been building wind turbines, destroying wind turbines (I completely blame the wind), installing water pipes, capacitAting, building biogas digestores...new design, really exciting, and welcoming two spring break groups. Oh and starting two microhydro projects.

For me I think this was one of my favorite months in Nicaragua. Each month I feel more integral and useful to Asofenix and this month I really felt like a lot of things wouldn´t have gotten done without me here (addicting by the way). Now I just have to get Jaime to believe that so he´ll start paying me and I can stay longer.....totally serious (sorry mom, sorry maggie).

I´ve already mentioned alot (a lot?) of the things we´ve done this month, from the microhydro to our new biogas design to the sonzapote so I guess I´ll skip the overview and go to a quick update. The dam, intake and settling chamber have been constructed in El Roblar and so now we need ot proceed with the installations of the penstock. Also, Gustavo and I are continually improving the electrical grid design, right now trying to find the best balance between cost and tension loss (voltage drop) in the system. It´s fun for me to have him around becuase he has a lot more electrical engineering knowledge than I do and I get to learn alot. La Laguna is set to start next week.

Sonzapote is still taking time. One of the community members left for Costa Rica suddenly to make some money so we were delt a setback but Jueves we´re going back up to bring the water taps and collect the money from the community.....fingers crossed.

The two spring break groups just left to return to the states. I honestly rather enjoyed the groups this time around. For me they seemed more focused and goal oriented, but I also think a main reason was that we were much more prepared. The last trip was very work intensive on our part, talking to families about food and meals, preparing projects but this time around alot of that ground work (i.e. infrastructure) had already been laid, making our jobs a LOT easier. We didn´t have to spend nearly as much time in the campo preparing things ourselves, but could trust the community with more responsibility (good for both us and them). I guess like almost everything it´s a process that needs to be followed and I´m happy it´s working. I also think a huge thing for me is to see that the other groups from before are still staying in contact with Asofenix and helping by raising money, buying supplies/tools, writing grants and developing projects, volunteering, ect. For me that continued interaction and involvment is what it takes to be successful in what we do and it shows me that these groups are more than just glorified vacations. Look at me, growing up all nice and mature!

I also think it helped that I could get away....segway into personal life....as in to my own house. While I´m not there enough to really have it feel like home (I still don´t have food in the fridge) I can´t tell you how nice it is to get away. My roomates are awesome as well and it´s nice to feel part of a community (you had it right along Padre....miss you man). To hang out, play soccer, go to concerts, talk, ect. Life here is a lot different than back home, but the fundamentals don´t really seem to change that much.

So now what, well as hard as it is to beleive I think april will be just as busy as March. I have to go finish the biogas digestors started by the Northwestern group last week as well as reinstall my little wind turbine and record some data before this conference at the end of May (during which I have to give an 1 hour presentation in spanish to a group of university students and professors regarding our wind turbine.....gulp). I´ve actually been giving quite a few presentaciones en spanish lately, I find them less nerve racking that english ones to be completely honest....weird I know. Finally Tom´s coming in the 14th. It´ll be good to see family (and get a chance to get away).

Well, Jaime just showed up so I guess I should get back to work.

Take care, talk soon.

Dave

Hello there, I don't exactly know what to put in this update but I think it's time to update so here we go. I guess first I'll start with a quick update on all the projects:

Sonzapote: This project is yet to be completed, which kind of confuses me because I don't quite know why. The solar array, pump, tanks and major tubing were all installed months ago. All that remains now is the installation of the 1/2" tube from the main lines to each house (probably the cheapest and easiest part of the project). Officially we're waiting on the community to raise their portion of the funds but I've gotten to the point where I don't know if I buy it. I'd say about 90% of the families have paid their 300 Cordobas ($15) and deserve to have water but don't. I can't quite see how we are holding up water to 9 for the sake of 1. I also don't see it as an Asofenix problem of overlooking the community because Jaime is in contact with the water committee there several times a week. It appears as though it might be local leadership as we've had problems with community organization in the past. The problem is that the committee members are elected by the community and so, while we can personally support good candidates, we can choose who we want on the committee. The same thing happened in Bramadero 2 years ago and it took the community almost until now to elect good leaders, not just popular ones, but in the end they did and now have a very good leadership core. I guess that's the reason we stay in communities for 5 or more years, because real development just needs times.

In other news. Seith and Sara (along with local agriculture, health experts) successfully completed a week long session of capacitations, or workshops, focusing on agriculture, health, deforestation, etc. In the words of one community member, the sessions were "Beautiful."

El Corozo: Oh do I miss Corozo. Wonderful people, amazing and active leaders, enthusiastic community, and amazing views (not to mention fresh oranges as far as you can see). We finished in Corozo installing the 30 solar panels via a micro-credit program about 3 weeks ago and I haven't been back to my dismay. Not that they need me. The trained technicians were more than capable of installing their own systems by the end. If only they were all this easy.

El Roblar/La Laguna: A story of contrasts with these two micro-hydro installations. In El Roblar we've progressed nicely. We've measured the head and flow, planned out the tube, calculated the losses, designed the electrical grid, bought the turbine and generator, met with community members, legalized ownership of the project/lands and started the construction of the dam. In La laguna we walked ot the dam site once to look at it. This is the difference between an active and excited community and one that shows little interest. It's a good wake up call to our limitations in development work....we can't really do ANYTHING without the support of the community. As it turns out we're currently revising our proposal to move the Laguna installation to another community.

Sonzapote Wind: Don't ask.

Biogas Digestors: As this is a new field for Asofenix we're currently working out kinks and trying different designs. But I'm currently really pleased with our progress and think we'll nail down a good design shortly. Thanks a lot to the group from Northwestern coming down this weekend. It's there funds and support that have really allowed us to take off with our biogas digestor plans.

Well, that wasn't as quick as I thought it would be but a summary it was. As for me. Things are going really well. We've slowed down to a much more reasonable pace for the moment, thanks to some capable additions and contractors we've hired to help with the projects in Gustavo and Vilches. I no longer have to work 7 days a week to stay on top of things which is nice.

I've used my free time wisely I should say. Finally getting back in touch with some friends in Managua. There's a really great international community (and Nicaraguans) here working for other NGO's or with programs like UNICEF. I find that I seem to have a lot in common with and really enjoy spending time with people who choose to work in developing worlds....go figure (I also think the climate just really mellows people out...I have to admit that I didn't miss winter all that much). In fact today I'm planning on moving my things from the office to the house of my friends Charles (French) and Jussi (Finnish). That's right I'm moving out. The office was OK but a year of living in a concrete square room with nothing but bunkbeds and plastic chairs was too much for me. Plus it will be nice to have roomates again. As it is I will probably spend about half my nights here in the office and the other half at the house.

I'm still thinking about getting a motorcycle too, but probably won't happen :(

Well I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying spring. Here it's just getting hotter and hotter and hotter and dryer.

Cuidense mucho,

David

Almost 6 months it’s been since I left my comfortable Midwestern home for a year long internship/volunteer placement in Nicaragua. And as I sit here in the nearly roadless, lightless heart of Boaco, without electricity, running water (much less hot) or many of the comforts I did, and most likely will again in the future, take for granted I can’t help but reflect on my time here and the experiences I’ve had. I arrived as a very excited and, for the most part, clueless gringo from the US, who had dreams and fantasies about the grandeur and importance and rewards of volunteer work. Time has stoked those dreams with the stark need I’ve seen, shaped them with a education only achievable by experience and tempered them with a cold dose of patience and reality, of what can be accomplished, what doesn’t work and what just needs time. In the end a more resourceful person writes this blog. A person more prepared for the ambiguity and difficulty of work in the developing world. A difficulty that stems from general inaccessibility of resources, illiteracy of communities and, at times, indifference of leaders. Yet also I’m more prepared for the difficulties because I know, I’ve seen first hand, that communities do come together, the uneducated can and want to learn, and when, not if, this happens great things are accomplished.

Like a solar water pumping system in a community called Sonzapote. A community of over 300 people where the women and girls of over half the families had to carry water from the public well up a 60 meter (200 ft) “hill” in 5 gallon buckets 5 or more times a day. I saw the leaders of this community, men from fiercely rival political parties, Feliciano a Sandinista and Juan Pablo a Liberale, work together at a time when the country is cursed by broken elections, an untrusted government and very uncertain political future. But instead of letting this environment break them apart they came together, for their family, for their community and for their friendship. They came together to organize their community to take ownership of their project by digging the ditches, carrying the 100 bags of cement up the “hill,” building their water tank and installing their solar panels . They continue to show ownership by offering community technicians who want to be trained in how to maintenance and care for their systems. And finally we know they will always have ownership because, with the help of Asofenix, they have formed a committee to oversee the operation of the system, collect monthly fees for future maintenance needs that are sure to come and address community conflicts or problems as they arise.


Other great things are happening too. Like the development of Asofenix’s own biodigestor projects. These projects, of which two are now installed and operating, capture animal waste (cow, pig, human, goat, etc) and through an anerobic process can produce enough cooking gas to completely offset the cooking traditionally done by using firewood harvested from already deforested areas. This saves hundreds of trees a year as well as the lungs of the women cooking the meals. In addition the waste product happens to be enriched organic fertilizer. All this for an average cost of $300. Many times the problem is getting families to believe it’s possible. For example, talking with La Chica in Bramadero after the installation of her system:

“They all though I was crazy for doing it. ‘You can’t cook with shit’ they told me. But I didn’t listen. I believed Jaime.”
Luckily for her neighbors they’ll have a chance to change their minds, as a group of engineers from Northwestern College’s branch of “Engineers for a Sustainable World,” led by Green Empowerment will be coming down in March to help install 10 more systems.


And there’s also solar irrigation projects, like the one in the house of Jose Felix, which allows farmers to grow crops in the hot, dry summers when the land rarely sees rain. Jose was born in Boaco, a poor agricultural department of Nicaragua. He never went to school, being that there were only 3 in the entire department. Instead he started working at the age of 12, leaving for a textile job in Managua. His hard work allowed him to buy his first “manzana” of land (100 ft x 100 ft) at the age of 14. It wasn’t to last though as the war forced him to flee back to his home, hiding from Sandinistas and Somozas both. After the war he settled down on his land and began his life as a farmer. But still he made time for his education, teaching himself how to read through adult literacy classes located over an hour from his community and the help of an US volunteer. Now his son is the local elementary teacher and attending classes at the university. Jose never asked for help from Asofenix but saw a solar irrigation project as a great opportunity, to make money yes, but also as an opportunity to bring his family together. Now many of his children depart during the summer to cut coffee in Costa Rica. This could change if they had their own crops to harvest.

These are just a few examples of the work being done and the progress I’ve seen. There’s many others that Asofenix is currently working on, including small wind energy, improved efficiency cooking stoves and 2 micro-hydro projects which will provide over 75 kW of renewable electricity to the communities of La Laguna and El Roblar. These projects are to start in Feburary and I hope to provide ongoing coverage as the work progresses and the results become clear. Work that is usually challenging, but results that are always inspiring.

Sounds of Nicaragua

Since blogger seems to be more inclined today to allow me to post videos I thought I'd aprovechar the moment and try posting some Sounds of Nicaragua.




Christmas festival. A man letting anything go during his performance at the month long christmas party held in La Plaza Del Revolución. Pretty hilarious but at the same time you have to respect someone out there obviously doing what they love, damn what anyone thinks.



La Griteria. Literally "The Screaming." A festival where people build small shrines to the virgen mary and then proceed to scream at her at the top of their lungs how thankful they are for her son. Although at this party in front of the old cathedral their was more waiting in line for the free government gift packages than there was actually screaming.

Windy Wonder - ASOFENIX DC-119

A quick note to totally redeem myself. After totally humiliating myself a few weeks ago, scaring a bunch of campesinos half to death and causing undue pain and suffering to some innocent, non-assuming PVC blades I have in fact installed achieved victory.....for now.

Last week saw the successful test run of, what Jaime has officially christened "DC-119," Asofenix's first wind turbine model (The "D" is for Dave, the "C" for Calvin (the principle designers and fabricators), the first "1" for being the first wind turbine, the second "1" for being made in January and the "9" for the year.....it's also ingenious because it also produces DC power....get it....DC-119). The turbine produces between 0 and 100 watts depending, of course, on the wind. Hopefully it won't be zero too much. The voltages hover between 15-28 volts with amps between 1.5 - 3.5. So now the next step is to finish the installation next week by building a battery charging station and installing the controller, battery and a few lights.

I'm going to try to publish a video I took of the turbine working but since blogger hasn't allowed me to upload a video in the last 5 months I'm not holding out much hope.

Saludos from Nicaragua....Dave

It doesn't all go right

As the title goes, we don't always get things right.  Be it failing to recognize bad leadership in a community, installing faulty and broken equipment, or incorrectly sizing a solar installation, sometimes we just make mistakes.  This is especially true in the developing world where we often lack the resources, time and, most importantly in my case, expertise to get it right....right away.  But in the end it's ok, as always and everywhere we learn from our mistakes and hopefully share a laugh or two as well (so long as they aren't TOO serious).  And also, here the people's patience is infinite, being they have a lot of time and not a lot of people offering to help.  So in the end everything seems to work out, the water arrives, the lights turn on, the stoves work and most importantly, the smiles appear.

I bring up the topic of mistakes because I recently made my first notable mistake to date, and while being "explosive," nobody got hurt and we all got a little chuckle.  My mistake involves a wind turbine that I've been working on for Asofenix.  The design is based on simplicity and cost.  Using a $35 generator, a 6 meter tower and PVC blades we hoped to provide enough power to charge 1 or 2 batteries in a reasonable amount of time (1 day).  

The problem started with a lack of resources, in this case that we didn't have the money to do a wind study on the site we selected, instead we just climbed the hill and said "yup, there's wind."  Well there was DEFINITELY wind.  The problem actually started with the worries about the structural rigidity of the PVC blades and whether they would bend or not in the strong wind gusts, thus potentially striking the tower.  For this reason we moved the tower farther away from the hub and spinning blades of the generator.  We did this by adding weight (a big rock actually) to the back of the horizontal square metal tube resting on top of the tower upon which the generator was mounted.  The weight in the back shifted the center of mass of the system backwards, allowing us to move the tower back as well, far away from the blades.  What I didn't consider, because I never saw this failure mechanism, is that moving the tower back along the square tubing, away from the generator, increased the bending moment due to the weight of the generator AND the force of the wind on the blades.  

Remember how earlier I stated that there DEFINITELY was wind

?  Well there was a lot more than I had expected, and when we raised the tower the blades were spinning much fasting that I had expected, increasing drastically the force on the horizontal tube.  To make a long story short the metal tube actually bent in the force ofthe wind until the blades made contact with the tower, shattering into thousand of PVC shards.  The lesson learned....use a stronger tube, smaller blades and less space between the tower and generator.  We'll be applying these lessons this weekend in the second attempt to install our first wind turbine......wish us luck :)

In other news, I recently gave my first presentation / workshop in spanish to a group of campesinos, about the basics of electricity and how to install a home solar panel system.  About halfway through the 30 minute talk I forgot how to conjugate verbs, but I think they understood because 2 days later we supervised as they successfully installed their first system, saving themselves hundreds in hiring professional installers.  Now we feel confident in allowing them to install the rest of the 20 houses left in the community with panels bought through a grant given to Asofenix.

Finally, we're leaving in 3 hours or so to finish the installation of the water pumping system in Sonzapote, finally connecting each house up to the 5000 gallon tank which will gravity feed water throughout the community.

Now We Can Breathe

Dicember has been a busy month and for that I haven't been able to write very often (or at least haven't felt like making the time).  Now, while sitting in the airport with nothing to do I finally feel posessed to scribble a little.  Unfortunately, thinking back on all that we've done I'm becoming a bit overwhelmed as too how to go about it.  I guess I'll just start where I left off last time and see how far I get.

Hmmm....where did I leave off last time.  If I remember correctly we were getting ready for the arrival of Michel, GreenEmpowerment's solar engineer, and the quickly approaching installation of the Sonzapote solar water pumping project.  Overall the project was a great success and an AWSOME learning opportunity for me.  There's a huge difference between planning/designing and actually installing and the hands on experience was invaluable.  I'm now really anticipating Asofenix's next solar water project now that I have this one under my belt.

The work really started 3 days before heading to Sonzapote, when Michel arrived in Managua.  I had been communicating with Michel pretty regularly regarding the project details but it turns out that we were missing a truckload of supplies, ranging from high pressure PVC tubes to valves and elbows to safety rope and even nuts and bolts.  A look at the picture below shows the notes Michel and I worked off of as we looked for parts.  We managed to get everything prepared and ready, even with the horrible supply chain issues that are always present in Nicaragua, however Michel brought up a good point in that it seems to him that everytime he comes down to help with an installation Jaime relies on him more and more to plan and purchase last minute things.  This seems troubling as a major goal of Green Empowerment is to make the NGO's we work with, such as Asofenix, just as sustainable and self-sufficient as the projects they install.  We talked a lot about why this is backslide is occuring but no solid conclusions were reached.  One hope is that the presence of long term Asofenix volunteers (i.e. myself, seth and sarah) might help by supplying a consistent presence and experience base for future projects.  Who know if we're right, I hope so but only time will tell.

The actual instalation in Sonzapote went suprisingly well.  in two and a half days we were able to construct the solar array, controller, pump, tanks and piping.  All that is left now is to bring the piping to people's homes and connect the meters.  It was a great experience being able to work hand in hand with the communities.  Nicaraguans aren't always the most gracious people (you rarely hear a "gracias" while working in the campo) but nonetheless it was clear to see the excitement and appreciation in their smiles when the first buckets of water started to come out of the the well.  A special thank you to Michel from Green Empowerment who was vital to our efforts as well as a patient and knowledgable teacher.  Who knows, maybe some day soon his wish will come true and he won't be needed down here anymore....although that doesn't sound like good long term employement planning to me.

After the Sonzapote installation we dove straight into a month of week or 10 day long volunteer trips hosted by Green Empowerment and Asofenix, in which student groups from various universities arrived for planned excursions and projects (biodigestor, improved cookstove, wind turbine, irrigation, etc...) in the communities where Asofenix is involved (bramadero, el corozo, malacatoya, etc...).  I will admit that I'm not the biggest fan of these groups as I see them as a bit of distraction, not as much for Asofenix as for myself, as well as very intensive in terms of the amount of energy and planning needed, distracting me from the many other things which I want to focus my attention (biodigestor plans, micro hydro development, etc).  This is only my personal opinion and is very different from the Asofenix's stance.  Jaime really enjoys the groups and sees them as a great resource for us now and in the futre.  They definitely are a source of money for Asofenix and a really effective way to raise awareness and partnerships back in the US.  We already have several volunteers who want to stay in touch and help out from home....to these special people, we are currently looking for old, used laptops to install in communities that we have recently provided with electricity.  If you have one that you don't know what to do with just let me know.  

I think the problem for me is that I'm not a natural organizer and at times I felt as though I had a million things coming at me at once and all the while I had in the back of my mind whether people were enjoying themselves.  The bottom line is that it wasn't what I envisioned myself doing for a month of my time here and while it's something that in the big picture helps everybody in different ways (Green Empowerment, Asofenix and the groups), it wasn't something that I personally took to very well.

Getting that off my chest I can admit that there were some parts that I liked.  The people were overall very nice and well intentioned, and again it is a win win win situation when you look at the BIG BIG picture (unfortunately I'm only a small part of that).  

So now that the last members of the groups are finally trickling out of the office we have a little time to breath and reorganize ourselves.  The rest of the month includes finishing the small wind turbine installation in Sonzapote, diagnosing the Protreritos water pumping failure, finish installing the burner and pressure release mechanism in the Bramadero biodigestor, finishing the irrigation system in Bramadero and training the 6 community technicians who will complete the installation of the remaining 21 solar panels for El Corozo.  I also think we have to do some more planning on the microhydro but that's only in the back of my head right now.

I think that pretty much got us up to speed.   Sorry it took so long to get this out and I'll try to be more regular with my upcoming posts.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!

Check out my pictures at www.greengringo.shutterfly.com for photos of the Sonzapote installation and more.

Oh Dicember

Ok ok ok ok ok .... I'm back.

It seems as though a long time has passed since I last addressed my faithful (hi mom, I know you're the last one left but I'm glad someone still reads this).  And in truth, while the hours have not been so many the events have been numerous and long.  I've always thought measuring time in hours is kind of missing the point anyway.  So I officially apologize for not having written in 342 geagrinons (where a geagrinon is a unit of time measuring 10 events).

So what have been these events?  Well first and foremost I have proud to anounce that I have located a Nicaragua thrift store, allowing me to purchase used clothes now both at home and abroad.  Besides that we at Asofenix have been extraordinarily busy these last few weeks with the start of major projects, preparation for volunteer groups and planning/design of upcoming projects.  The Son Zapote solar water pumping project has finally broken ground with the constructing of the two water tanks.  The start was delayed several days because the road is so bad that large trucks cannot pass (there's a bridge that I'm sure is going to collapse every time we go over it).  Instead we've had to transfer the cement and sand and iron to small "camionetas" to be transfered on the 2 hour drive to Son Zonapote from the nearest city.  

We also have a new arrival in Michel from Green Empowerment, who just arrived arrived yesterday to help with the installation of the pump and panels.  Michel is an engineer who has a great depth and breadth of experience in solar pumping systems and he's been an absolute nightmare since he arrived, making us buy things like cables and junction boxes and fittings.  No matter what he says I still think we could have gotten it all done with Elmer's glue and shoe laces.  In fact he has been real great, but since he arrived we've been running all over the city looking for parts we're still missing.  Shopping in Nicaragua is an experience that I find very difficult to tolerate, being so spoiled by Home Depot and the other great hardware store we have.  Instead, here we spend hours driving around to corner shops and scraps yards looking for material that could all be collected in one trip to Menards.  I've found that there is a very different cultural perspective in regards to time in Nicaragua, which is that they simply don't value it AT ALL.  I of course understand the root causes of this difference, namely little money and even less to do (i.e. no job) but it is still absolutely infuriating at times for a gringo like me used to our industrialized life, where "time is money."  This is especially the case when what we don't have is time and what we do have is money.  However, Jaime, being a true Nicaragua, will rather spend 5 hours searching for a part that costs 0.0005% of the project budget rather than go to a hardware store and pay $3 more.  Poco por poco though we're getting there.

Still, everyone at Asofenix is definitely feeling the crunch, due to the fact that December 14 brings the arrival of 15 voluntists (a genetic mix between volunteer and tourist), to join the AF ranks for 2 weeks for cultural immersion and project construction (biodigestors, improved efficiency stoves, solar panels for electrification, etc...).  We are still missing many pieces needed to be ready for this group (such as beds) and the delay of Son Zapote has pushed back our window of time between the end of this project and when they arrive to somewhere around 2 days.   2 days in with which to gather all the materials we need, such as plastic, concrete, wire and batteries.  This doesn't seem to daunting until you reread my last paragraph and realize that shopping here is equivalents to bashing your head against a concrete wall until you start to drool and can't remember your name.  One way or another we'll get what we need to get done.  Hopefully the communities hold up their end of the bargains as they are responsible for having usable latrines as well as preparing their homes/yards for the installation of the projects.

Through all of this our saving grace has actually been that government delayed our 2 microhydro projects until January.  Apparently they are approving, partial, funding for 6 systems, of which we get 2, but some of the other organizations submitted less than honest budgets and so the whole deal is being delayed to give time to let them get their acts together.  I think if we had had to start these projects now we would have gone insane.

What else is new?  The streets are relatively calm since the few weeks immediately after the elections.  The losing party pretty much realized that, even if fraud was committed, the only way they were going to change the results was with force, and thankfully (at least for now) no one was willing to go that far.  It was still an interesting case study though and has left me both disappointed and impressed at various times.  One shining star however was the nacional police force, which is greatly understaffed and funded yet, in my mind, showed remarkable effectiveness and restraint in controlling the protests/riots.

Other than that I miss christmas music.

Dave

Los Elecciones

Election season has arrived to Nicaragua.  And, while certainly not as paradigm shifting and barrier shattering as those in the United States (personally I'm still heartbroken Nader didn't pull it off this time), Nicaragua at least had it's fair share of intrigue.

First a little background, as well as I can determine from talking to co-workers and friends and a little reading (I had to find a good Reagan quote),  Nicaraguan polictics, similar to the US, currently hover between two main political ideologies.  However, whereas we hover between liberal and conservative, they hover between socialist and liberal.  2006, I think, saw the resurgence of Daniel Ortega and the socialist Sandinista Liberation Front (FSLN).  You may remember Ortega and the Sandinistas from the 80's when the US organized and armed a contra movement to remove them from what was then a non-elected Ortega dictatorship (they have just previously overthrown a US supported Somozo dictatorship).  You might remember this little shindig...they call it the Iran-Contra-Affair.  If you don't it pretty much went like this:  CIA sells illegal weapons to Iran, Iran gives US money, US uses money to illegally finance, organize and train contra rebels, Reagan claims to his death that the US support of the "democratic resistance" was justified.  Anyways, in 1984, after defeating the contras, Ortega called for elections (which were and have been monitored ever since by international organizations such as the Carter Center) and ever since Nicaragua has seen a rather stable and fair democracy.

So where was I...oh yeah, 2006, Ortega wins a rather stunning presidencial election with 37% of the vote.  Pretty much the 3 liberal parties split the rest of the votes among themselves allowing him to win in one of those "what just happened" moments.  Still it is deemed a fair election and even President Bush called to congratulate him.  Is Ortega winning a bad thing?  Who knows.  Ortega has definitely moderated his views since the 80's but then again held a meeting with Ahmadenijad two weeks after being elected and has tied himself very closely to Chavez in Venezuela...nonetheless this is still seen as a legitimate democracy.  Two years later we arrive at the November 2008 Municipal elections (mayors, governors, etc), the Sandinistas have been in power for 2 years and there is a general fear that they may like it a little more than the democracy they ushered in over 20 years ago.  This fear is agitated when the Supreme Electoral Council refuses entry, for the first time in Nicaraguan history, to international election monitoring organizations and restricts the movement and activities of NGO's already operating in the country.

The results, the Sandinistas win 94 of the 146 municipal elections, including the coveted Managuan Alcalde.  The results are broadly viewed as fraud by the opposition parties and questioned internationally for several reasons: 1- Marked ballots indicating support for opposition parties are found in dumps near Leon, 2 - Election results show very questionable figures, including some municipalities giving 100% support to Sandinistas or others showing Sandinistas with a slim majority while the remaining parties have perfectly divided the remaining percentage of votes amongst themselves, 3- Supposedly original carbon copies of the Managuan results show the liberal opposition party (PLC) with over 60% of the vote, 4- Prior to the elections the Sandinistas and Ortega had a 26% approval rating.

As you can imagine, a young democracy and it constituents have not handled this ambiguity well.  Below you will find a video of riots in the streets following the elections.  For 3 days immediately after the elections it was not safe to travel widely in Nicaragua or Managua, especially near the principal rotundas.  Sadly there have been a few deaths reported, including the shooting of an 8 year old girl.  While Managua has calmed itself a little, after the Supreme Electoral Council agreed to review the election results here, there is still a lot of turmoil in other parts of the country, mainly Leon, where the Supreme Electoral Council has decided not to review the results.

Whatever you feel about the results or our own election, take the time to say thanks and acknowledge the fact that we are blessed (I'm referring to fellow Amercans...sorry if anyone else is reading this) to have a fair and mature system of democracy where your vote is always counted (Electoral College aside).

Bluefields / blueEnergy

HI ALL!!

I know that I've been a little out of touch the past few weeks, and that's because I've been spending the past 2 weeks on the beautiful carribean coast.  No, I wasn't on vacation (although it felt like it at times) but instead Jamie and I attended a conference sponsored by blueEnergy, a Bluefields based NGO focusing on bring renewable and clean energy to isolated communities on the eastern coast of Nicaragua.    The conference was very impressive and educational.  BlueEnergy was able to bring Hugh Piggot, a smallwind guru (one of those those people who are worshipped by the hip/in the know culture).  Hugh actually designed the turbine that blueEnergy uses and came to help them fix some bugs and perfect their design.  In addition Hugh put on a wind turbine conference in which he gave presentations on design issues and then we spent the week actually building a wind turbine from the bolts up.......f#@* me it actually worked!!!!

The conference was absolutely awesome.  The mornings were spent in discussions and presentations among the 6 Nicaraguan renewable energy NGO's, universities, micro credit businesses present.  They were Asofenix, blueEnergy, ATDER-BL, Suni Solar, UNI and Inotec.  Topics for the discussion ranged from renewable energy resources in Nicaragua to community organizing to technical training programs.  I was generally impressed with the ideas, thoughtful consideration and obvious passion that the participants of the conference showed.  I learned quite a bit about the situation of renewable energy development in Nicaragua as well as the future ideas and direction of the movement.  Third world development is a confusing and confounding labrynth in which you can easily lose your way.  It's not simply about providing the resources a community needs, it is also necessary to provide a foundation a community to utilize and effectively safeguard their new resources.  When you consider the isolation and generally low level of literacy, much less education, that exists in these communities simply creating a committee and training a technician to operate the system becomes a daunting task.  But a lot of people are thinking very seriously about solutions to these issues and I felt lucky to be present to listen and share a little.

BlueEnergy itself is also a very very impressive NGO.  Founded 4 or 5 years ago by two brothers and their friend they have their executive headquarters in San Francisco as well as an office in Paris, France.  Their development work is all based in Bluefields where they have over 10 volunteers and 7 Nicaraguan shop persons.  BlueEnergy has spent the past year consolidating it's resources and developing it's infrastructure.  the effort has paid off as they now have an extensive staff, office and resources and the ability to fabricate all of their equipment internally, allowing them to save huge sums of money as well as fabricate their machines much quicker and fix any problems that come up.  The result is that by 2015 they plan to have installed nearly 130 wind turbines.  I think if they show the resourcefulness and resolve they've had over the past few years they now have the ability to do it.  Their long term foresight has paid off.  French volunteers are now my favorite by the way.

As for Bluefields itself, I'm in love.  The caribbean culture is such a unique and fascinated microcosm.  It's amazing how in a 7 hour bus ride, followed by a 2 hour panga (boat) ride (bluefields has no road access) how much a culture can change.  You go from a rather hierarchical and in many ways archaic social structure (I'm trying to say machismo and rigid I think) to this very tranquilo and laid back creoul / caribbean culture.  Reggae and Socca playing in the streets, "Yeah man" being hollered out windows and a general flow to the pace of life....takin it easy man.  The night club was something else as well.  For those of you with a brave heart and who don't blush easily I would highly recommend stopping by 4 Brothers if you're ever in the area.

We also got the chance to visit on of the communities that blueEnergy works with, Monkey Point.  If Bluefields sounds isolated you should see Monkey Point.  it's an amazing place, a 4 hour panga ride from Bluefields and one of the most beautiful and unspoiled areas I've ever seen.....unfortunately that often translates to very poor.

All in all it was a great experience and I feel myself lucky to have been invited.  I made many friends and I hope to make it back sometime very soon.

As for now we have a HUGE amount of work to do with Asofenix.  We had an 8 hour meeting today with community committees and with Asofenix staff where we were able to hammer out the details of the next few months and it is very daunting.  4 major projects, an amazing amount of community organizing, several small projects and repairs and the preparation for two 2 week tourist groups (15 people each) which arrive the 14th of December.  The good news is I feel renergized about the work we're doing and excited that projects are finally coming to fruition....I just wish it was a little spaced out.

I'm going to try to get a post in before the elections here on Sunday, summarizing the political process and the parties involved.  First though I need to learn about it myself so we'll see.  Note that these are not presidential elections but kind of similar to the mid-term elections in the US.

See my new Bluefields/Monkey Point pictures to be posted tomorrow afternoon at:

www.greengringo.shutterly.com

Sounds of Nicaragua

Hi again, I've recorded some interesting, funny, amazing videos of Nicaragua and every once in awhile I'm going to post one or two on my blog.  An ongoing novela of sorts.  Enjoy.

Walking to El Roblar:

Rain on a tin roof:

What we're doing

Hi again,  sorry it has taken me so long to update my blog.  I guess we've been kind of busy, a lot of traveling to different communities to get the foundations laid out for the upcoming projects.  Overall things are going well, both with work and socially.  I've met some nice people down here to hang out with and I don't quite feel as isolated anymore.  I am though considering buying a motorcycle to get around a little easier, the bus system, while adequate, can be quite agonizing at times.  Also, I figure if I can survive the streets of Managua on a motorcycle I can survive just about anything.

Some people have asked for some more information on the specific projects that I'll be working on over the next few months so I thought I'd take this opportunity to spread a little more light on what we're doing.

Project #1: Solar Water Pump in Sonzapote

Sonzapote is a community of around 350 people.  They are located in a somewhat remote and isolated area of Boaco and currently have to access to running water 

or electricity.  They're sources of water currently include two public wells and a some privately owned wells as well.  Much of the community is located in a part known as "Arriba" and they have to carry their water almost half a mile up a 300 ft climb (when I climbed this myself, with no load to carry I was sweating and out of breath).

So Asofenix has committed to installing a solar water pumping system comprised of 2 tanks that will deliver water to all 70+ houses.  The system will operate by locating a the largest tank above the community and then gravity feeding the water to the community.

So far the well has been dug and the pump/tubes/solar panels/etc have been purchased and site designed.  We are currently waiting for the end of the raining season (end of October) to begin construction on the site.

As with all of our projects the maintainence and repair of the system will be done by the community using a fund that they will create by paying each month a small amount from each family into a general fund that is regulated by the community and saved for a later day.

Project #2:  Microhydro Electric System in El Roblar

I had the pleasure of journeying to El Roblar this week past and in my opinion it is one of the most isolated communities I have ever visited.  Once we had driven as far as we could getting there consisted of walking 2 hours through mud filled "roads" (no car can go up them) and jungle winding paths.  However, once there it is a breathtakingly beautiful area complete

with two waterfalls, perfect for microhydro.  Last week I measured the flow rate of this river and on Wednesday will be returning to measure the head, or total change in elevation, so as to get a measurement on the potencial energy available in the river.  We are currently estimating 10-13 Kw of energy for this site although there are some worries as to the accuracy of this info.

In addition to measuring the potencial energy of the system I am also trying to design (with the help of a generous electrical engineer) a electronic load control system to maintain a constant and full load on the generator by distributing the excess electricity to secondary loads (basically making sure the generator is fully loaded to that there's no fluctuations in voltage or frequency).  The last microhydro system Asofenix completed did not have this sort of control and there have been problems with the distribution grid.

 We plan on starting construction of this project in the beginning of November.  At least with constructing the machine house and the power lines.

Project 3:  La Laguna MicroHydro

I'm not too involved with this project but is going to be going on during the same time as the El Roblar project.  It is a larger system that will be designed for 25 Kw of energy, with the river having a capacity for much more if needed.  If I can successfully design the control system mentioned before it will probably be implemented here as well.

Project #4:  El Curoso Solar Electric Project

Simple but effective project.  A micro loan/finance project in which solar panels are sold to each house in the community and they are then allowed to pay back the principle over the next few years depending on their financial situation.

Jaime talking with a community leader in El Curoso

Who we are

There's something very soothing about rain falling on a tin roof.  The dull roar becomes a tranquilizer, numbing all your others worries until a trance like stupor is reached, complete with the drool and buddhist-like humming.  It rains a lot here during the rainy season, which I love.  Every time it feels like the city is being washed clean and layers of dirt and stress get purged from my body.

Thank you to all the people who have sent me emails in the past few days.  It's been great to hear from all of you and it sounds like you all are doing well, which I truly hope is the case.  Several people have asked some specific questions about the people, work, ect and so I thought I'd address them in this blog.  Please continue to send any questions you have along...they often give me food for thought.

First, people wanted a little more background on my coworkers and fellow volunteers.  Asofenix is in itself a very small organization, the key to it's success is the strong partnerships it has been able to develop with;  international organizations such as Green Empowerment and Hivos (Dutch program I think), the Nicaraguan government, both locally and within the Department of Energy, and finally with the local communities that need the help but don't know where to go.  All three relationships are vital as without the international aid the money would not exist, without the government the access would not exist and without the communities, well, nothing would get done...or stay done for that matter.  In many ways Asofenix serves as the bridge connecting the resources to the communities, both monetary as well as labor and skill-ish (as in my case).

Right now we are a group of 6.  Jaime, our director is the man.  Period.  Nothing would get done without him.  He taught in rural schools for many years before leaving to study renewable energy systems some 15 years ago and create Asofenix

about 7 years ago.  His time spent teaching in the rural areas allowed him to be able to develop trust with the original communities we worked with.  Trust that has now spread as the success and benefits that the communities experience following Jaime's plan are observed by their neighbors.  His hard work and ability to accomplish goals have also gained the trust of his international partners, with both Hivos and GE signing on to 10 year partnerships.  As for the government, well when constituents are happy so are they.

Seth and Sarah are married volunteers from the Mennonite Central Committee on loan to Jaime for 3 years.  Seth has a masters degree in tropical farming techniques/fauna/I don't really know, but he knows alot about the local agriculture, what they're doing wrong and how to improve their practices.  Sarah is a registered nurse and so she focuses a lot on the health problems, mainly through developing workshops for the communities on proper health techniques and trying to teach them why they get sick.  Seth and Sarah have a house in Bramadero, one of our communities, and thus have had the opportunity to spend considerable amounts of time living and working with them.  As I said before, their knowledge about everything from bus schedules, to do's and don'ts of rural living have been great.  They are both also planning the schedule for the service learning trips that Asofenix sponsors over christmas break, these trips are a good source of income as well as helping the communities and spreading awareness.

Last but not least is Fanny.  Fanny is a Nicaraguan working (not volunteering) for Asofenix.  She has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and worked for two years somewhere else (not very thorough is it).  She makes a lot of our technical presentations and gets a lot of stuff done that it would take a non-spanish speaking gringo like myself months to accomplish.

So we're the core.  There's usually a revolving door of volunteers who are here for 3 months or so working on small projects or lending a hand, but for the most part we're it.

As for how we're viewed in the communities, we're generally very welcomed.  I absolutely love spending time with my family in Candelaria.  They're very open and welcoming, as is the whole community.  We often get what we call the "gringo stare" as we come into a community for the first time but it only lasts for a day or so and usually by the time I leave I'm usually being asked to go help them work in the fields or go visit accompany someone to a friends house in the next village (which I found out was an hour walk...45 minutes after we left).  The only problem I can really complain about is that they feed us too much, and I still don't feel comfortable throwing food away (although I've become adept at feeding it to the dogs when no one is looking).  I think Jaime's presence and connection with the people really helps.  It's nice that we're not a huge organization that just throws money and strangers at a problem.  Instead we live with them and work with them, not for them, making sure they have input in the project and it's done the way they like.  Today for example we had a meeting in Managua of about 20 community leaders to discuss the different systems, what has worked and what hasn't, and to let them share ideas with eachother.  It's their village and their project, we recognize that and I think they in turn respect us more for it.

That's all for now.  Cheers.

Dave

PS - pictures of people to follow.  I have to get to the airport sometime this week though first.

Where am I?

Back by popular request, here's another installment of Dave's World 2008.  I was getting grief from some people about not updating this enough.  I'm flattered, really am, that some people actually care, but just a heads up that this is probably going to be a two to three week between update blog.  Why?  Well, first I won't go so far as to think it's interesting enough to warrant more and then there's always the motivation.  Not that I don't enjoy sharing my experiences with you all but as I like to disagree with all Country Music anyways I'll go ahead and dispute Mr. Atkin's assertion that there's no such thing as too much fun.

So where am I?  I'm in my bed actually, enjoying our freshly minted, hot off the press wireless internet.  I know of certain friends (minus the s) who happen to be in volunteering in India right enjoying, what sounds like, luxury living and Bollywood entertainment (in all seriousness John is doing some awesome work with some very needy kids in India.  Keep it up buddy, you're an inspiration as always).  That's definitely not the case here.  I'm still getting used to shaving with cold water (since hot water heaters don't exist down here), sleeping on plywood, and, well, the novelty of washing my closes by hand was removed much quicker than the dirt...or smell.  Needless to say I'll take my wireless.  In all seriousness though it has taken a little getting used too.  The standard of living down here, even in Managua, is, I don't know, different.  It's not appalling, saddening or deplorable.  I'm just as healthy and happy as ever, as are most of the people I meet.  It's just a different, cheaper way to live.  Also, the quickest way to assimilate myself was to go to the campo (countryside).  One week there and the return to Managua really felt like luxury.  I'm serious, I now feel lucky to have a fan.

I've also been pretty busy with Asofenix, as well as a short excursion to the beautiful Isla De Ometepe (have I mentioned that in a previous post...I'm already losing control of this thing).  We've had several meetings amongst ourselves and with community leaders, some of which were actually fruitful.  I've discovered patience is a wonderful virtue in Nicaragua as guys who ride horses as there only mode of transportation and have no electricity aren't the type to show up on time.  The Son Zapote water pump has been put on hold for at least a week because they're too busy with the harvest.  It appears as though the project will still start sometime in October.  It will be nice to see a completed project and the before and after effects it has on the community.

We also visited San Jose de los Remates, the area where we'll be installing a ridiculous amount of stuff, including at least two micro-hydro systems (22kw and 11kw), some solar electric systems for residences, and it appears a hospital, and most likely a wind turbine project partnered with Blue Energy, another organization that specializes in wind and is based in Blue Fields, Nicaragua.  The civil works for these projects are scheduled to begin early next year which means I'll be busy the next few month evaluating the water resources and energy, sizing the system and helping design/plan out the logistics of the actual construction (Intake system, penstock, power house and electric grid).  It's all relatively new to my fresh out of school brain but thankfully they have people with a lot of experiencing willing to help out.

Finally, I'm also starting to feel a little more at home in Managua.  It still is a little tough to get around (I can't believe no one has EVER made a map of the city bus system).  I still find myself taking 1 hour walks at times because I either a: have no idea where I am or b:  have no idea where that bus goes.  But the more I do figure out the system I'm realizing that the city is much more accessible than I had originally thought. The problem now is actually finding the places I'm looking for once I get there.  Twice now I've arrived in the "area" of where I want to be but because of the lack of any street signs and also addresses, I can't find the restaurant/bar/theater I want to check out even though I'm probably only a block or two away.  Let's just say it's going to be a work in progress.  One of my failed attempts did end up with me eating breakfast at Freddy's house.  I couldn't quite figure out if he actually runs a restaurant or if I was just eating in his living room.  The food was good though, and I got to meet his family which was nice.  Best of all he told which buses to take to get home.

Well so long everyone, until you read again.  Oh, that reminds me.  I know I have a distinct lack of pictures on this blog.  The problem here is that our internet connection is too slow and almost every attempt I have at uploading pictures takes about 4 hours and ends up with a"failure" message.  I've heard the solution to this is to go to the nearby airport and use their free high-speed access.  I will try to do this in the next couple of days and retroactively apply pictures to all my posts.

Saludos,

Dave

Managua

I'm beginning to settle into my life in Managua and at intervals I'm finding it both exciting and interesting or extraordinarily frustrating.  My initial thoughts and insights on Managua (if you remember my first post) were about as far off as I could have been.  Yes, the city is extremely poor and life can be very hard for many people.  But I now no longer feel the sense of urgency or frantic commotion I thought existed in, what I now realize, were my exhausted first hours here.  Instead, the city seems to go about its business with a refreshing efficiency of people determined to work and flourish in whatever little nook they've decided to live.  There definitely isn't the luxury and excess that I've become accustomed to back home but isn't really so bad, and the more I get comfortable here the more I realize it isn't necessary.  In someways not having it is a blessing in disguise.  The simple fact is, and I know it's horrible cliche, but simple can often be better.  

The people here are a case in point.  They don't have the luxuries we enjoy and most work harder than any of us can imagine, but nonetheless are very sincere and happy.  They don't share our wealth but also don't share our stupid stresses and worries.  Think about it this way, you wouldn't really give a shit when you got cutoff in traffic if you're just thankful to actually have car.  And saving for retirement worries?  Don't make enough to save and life's a breeze.  Too simple I know, and I also know that the people here have a lot to worry about, but the fact is they worry about what matters.  Who really cares if their plates match their bowls?  The result is a very friendly and open culture.  I get the gringo stare alot but it's not hostile, mainly curious, and I've found a simple hello is often returned with surprising gusto.

The country seems to be doing a lot of improving as well.  This is not an endorsement of any political party, I'll save a discussion of that for later, but roads are being paved, schools built and grids extended all over the country, especially in areas outside of Managua.  Tourism is also starting to increase, as I noticed when I visited the Isla de Ometepe (now in the running as one of the natural wonders of the world).

At the same time this place can be really frusterating.  The lack of organized industry, city planning or even addresses has made it just about impossible for a stranger in the city to get anything done.  What I could have accomplished in a day back home has taken us several weeks and counting.  Take the wind turbine project Calvin and I are working on.  This project consists of simply PVC piping, a saw blade, some screws, scrap metal and a generator, all of which could have been acquired in a day at home for less that $100.  But here the process involves going from one town market or street side shop to the next, digging through old junk, pointlessly trying to explain the difference between DC and AC and often banging our heads against the wall.  The only way we can actually get things accomplished is when Jaime, our Nicaraguan director, personally guides us through the 2 foot wide corridors in the maze of Mercado Oriental, the largest indoor market in central america.  Or when he randomly pulls over on the side of the road to have what turns out to be a makeshift auto mechanic weld our hub and cut us a tower base.  It's frustrating and debilitating to feel completely helpless and a little worthless.  I know this will pass as I become accustomed to the city and more comfortable with the language but for now it's rather irritating.

All in all though things are going well and I'm really starting to enjoy myself.  Our projects are making ssllllooooowwwwww but still steady progress and hopefully will come to fruition.

To the Hills!

Hi everyone.  You're still here huh?  I must admit that I don't have this blog thing down yet and I think this is kind of a bad rambling mess...but hopefully it will get better in time.

Well alot has happened in the last week but I'm probably not going to talk about it all because I'm lazy.  Maybe tomorrow I'll finish the story.  For now I think I'll just focus on my recent trip to Candelaria.

Our trip started out pretty interesting to say the least.  We were orignally supposed to take a bus from Managua to Teustepe, the capital of the municipality in which Candelaria is located.  From there we planned on switch buses to get to Candelaria.  Due to some logistical errors however, mainly me not knowing what was going on and Calvin not paying attention because he was trying to get my bouncy ball out of the drainage ditch without contracting some deadlly disease, we missed out bus to Teustepe.  We later caught another bus but by the time we got to Teustepe the only bus to Candelaria had already departed.  Fully prepared for a 4-5 hour hike we instead were lucky enough to stumble across a Lechera (milk man) who was driving past Candelaria.  For 50 cents each we hopped in the back with 4 other Nicas (plus one picked up along the way) and proceeded on an hour and a half ride on one of the worst roads I've every experiened (this was two weeks after the government did MAJOR work to fix it up).  Needless to say it was fun.

As for Candelaria itself, I don't think any amount of words or pictures can adequately describe the life these people live.    It is simply something that you have to experience. I'm not an accomplished traveler by any means but I have visited over 10 countries in Europe and several Latin American one's at that.  All I can say is that in all my life this is the only time I have every experienced culture shock in any form.  It is a way of living I couldn't have prepared myself for.  Image turning the clock back a couple hundred years (minus a few modern gadgets like radios and semi-normal clothes

).   The houses are all made of mud/adobe/rock and usually consist of a 15x15 living room and 5x10 kitchen and a 10x10 bedroom for the entire family.  Among the residents of the house are any chickens, pigs, dogs, etc which feel the urge to walk in.  Laundry is done daily on a rock located somewhere in the yard and a shower consisted of going around to the side of the house and pouring a bucket of water on your head.

It's a hard life, there's no denying that.  The family gets up before dawn and the men head to the fields while the women begin there daily chores of cooking, cleaning, laundry and watching the kids.  Cooking is done on an indoor wood stove which means the women must breath in most of the smoke produced by the fire.  The men are  usually gone until nearly dusk working in their fields of corn and beans, often for over 10 hours.  Candelaria is one of the first towns in the city to get electricity which means they can afford to have 1-2 flourescent bulbs to light their home.  Refrigeration or any other more power consuming process is out of the question.  By 8 or 9 pm we were getting ready for bed so we could be up by 4.  Their lives are definately still controlled by the movement of the sun.

Nonetheless, the people are very happy and welcoming.  The simplicity of their lives relieves them of the stresses so often associated with our "progress."  So long as there is enough food and they are healthy, they really are content with their situation.  In fact everyone I talked too would not change their place in life in order to move to a large and "dangerous" city.  They welcome the advantages of technology so long as it does not fundamentally change the lives they lead or the safety and security they feel in their community.  While I believe they appreciate the work we do I no longer in any way feel that I am saving anyone.  Instead it is a simple exchange of services.  In return for pumps and electricity they will bestow upon me a model of simplicity and connection to the earth and to eachother.  A perspective when I feel that life is too busy, too hard or too stressful.

My family for my stay was a riot.  The father Apolonio, and his wife La María, are very patient, welcoming and fun people.  Which is good because they have to handle 5 little ones ranging from 3 to 15 years old.  At this point I must thank Calvin for retrieving my bouncy ball.  That and family pictures were all that got me through the first night when my spanish was literally non existent and I was in complete shock of the world I had entered.  By the end of my 4 days though I felt like I had 5 little brothers and sisters and I can't wait to see them again.  Thankfully though I will be moving into a new house, with my own sleeping space, as their living room wasn't the most convenient place for any of us.

Finally, we did manage to get some work done, believe it or not, as we finished Asofénix's first every biogas digestor, capable (we hope) or producing enough methane gas for cooking through the digestion of cow mierda.  Afterwhich the mierda is steralized and can be used to fertilize fields or gardens.  We also conducted a survey in the nearby town of Sonzapote of 50 houses on their use of water and general health, this will allow us to determine the impact of the solar water pump we will be installing in the village this fall.

Wow.  That's a lot of words.  And I really feel like I left a lot out.  Hopefully it's not too boring and I'll post pictures tomorrow to spice it up.

Saludos,

Dave

Bienvenidos a Nicaragua

One day under my belt and it has been pretty quiet, albeit interesting.  Darling, our roomate/unofficial cook made a delicious breakfast of rice, beans and bananas.  A tasty lunch of rice, beans and some sort of meat.  And finally a delicious dinner of rice, the same meat, and cabbage.  I think I'm going to have a pretty steady diet.  She's a great cook though and puts up great with my horrible gringo spanglish.

My home away from home is very much what I expected.....:).  The entire structure is made out of cement and cinder block.  There is no hot water (thank God...who would need it down here) and our stove is a propane two burner camp stove.  We do have a very nice patio and even two working computers.  I share a rather large room and bathroom with Calvin and I really think I can get used to the two inches of foam padding laid over plywood planks which serve as my bed.  All in all I find it pretty cosy and think I'll grow into it.  The pink walls throughout most of the building can only help...right?

I managed to get out into the city a little bit and even went on a quick bus trip.  I really like the bus system here.  It's composed of brightly painted school busses driving down the street with men standing in the door screaming at you to see if you want a ride while the bus driving honks at almost everyone he passes to get their attention.  It works though.  Although the only system we have right now for getting around is to know the general direction you want to go and find a bus going that way.  There are numbers and supposedly they mean something so I'll need to spend a day getting lost so I can figure it out.  You can't really complain when a fare costs the equivalent of 10 cents.

I also met Jaime, the director of Asofenix (who is also very tolerant of spanglish).  He seems like a very nice guy and from what everyone has said is very fun to be around but is also very busy.  Hopefully my spanish comes along quickly so I can communicate more effectively with him.  It was decided after some communication and hand gestures that my trip to the embassy and initiation to the city could be postponed as Calvin is going to Canceleria tomorrow to finish installing a biodigestor and it would be a great opportunity to go with him and meet the people in the village. So no rest for the weary, I'm on my way out tomorrow morning for 3-4 days of ditch digging and village living.  I'm very excited but also very nervous as I feel that all lifelines and support systems will be taken away from me as I leave Managua.  No internet or phone, no looking up words I don't know.  It feels like the deep end but I guess I have to learn how to swim sometime.

Cheers for now.  I'll be back on Monday to hopefully have something more interesting to report.

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.