Project: Composting Latrine

This is it!

We are setting a deadline. I told my community members (those active in the current project) that the latrines must be finished by December.

The composting latrine project has been limping along for 7 months and before we lose all of our sand again or before I lose my mind, we will now focus on "goal-setting."

How close are we? Very close, so close that it is painful to see so much construction and yet no grand finale.

Here's a view of Latrine #1 - the first of the four:
It's true that Latrine #2 is waiting for penca for the walls (the family doesn't want to cut wood or the material before the right season), so in reality, both Latrine #1 and 2 have come a long way. But #3 and #4 need a lot of work. There is still mixing to do and pvc to connect for #3, but at least the stairs are already finished. I should include a photo of just how lovely they came together, an artistic mix of block and river rocks.

Latrine #4 has been a tragic epic poem. The original family was in and out of the community and rarely available to communicate. Eventually, the decision was made to seek out a new family with which to work. Denying a family a project is a delicate matter and after 2 more months, we smoothed out who will get the latrine. Currently we have moved all of the materials to the new site, now we are prepared to start construction and we still need to level out the ground where we will begin throwing the slab and blocking. We've got a lot to do!

To illustrate better, here's a view from Jess Mehl's project in the community north of me. Jess is in turquoise and I'm in kahki, we're working with 2 of my guys from Quebrada Mina.
This "pilot program" began with great enthusiasm and I think it can end that way. I'm still optimistic that things will go well once people see the construction-phase finished, only then we can begin the "interesting" part of this project: maintaining a composting latrine and seeing the product from "the box."

Update! Former Peace Corps Volunteer Jessica Mehl completed an in-depth study of the compost resulting from this style of latrine. Go here for the full report: Pathogen Destruction and Aerobic Decomposition in Composting Latrines: A Study from Rural Panama

September Success

Rice harvest in Quebrada Mina:
When I think of Miguel Mora, I think "aqueduct," but when his wife invited me to help with the rice harvest, I got a new view of the committee member.

The grandmother stayed behind, she was already busy "toasting" yesterday's rice and the younger children kept her company - I think the worker crews are also determined by how many tools there are. Harvesting rice is one of the few jobs that doesn't rely on a machete - we needed special "cutters." These are really just wooden dowels with a rubber band and a box-cutter blade, and they're perfectly designed for the work.

We hiked up into the campo to get to the field - halfway along the trail to get to the promising water tank area, ah-ha!

The rice was planted along the steep hillside that faced south, toward the Pacific coast, offering a lovely view as we began to work. Every few paces, I bumped into a stalk of corn, just about ready to be harvested as well. Higher upslope the corn crop was more densely planted, hmm... I think Miguel has been working with planting strategies.

We began the work fairly late, it was 10:00am when we took positions in the field. Even after helping Joselina and Ovidia, I still can't determine the work pattern. I've asked everybody, "should I work to the left, to the right, or straight uphill?" and the answer is always the same: "Wherever! Just collect what you see!" And then I try to respond with: "But aren't you continuing to the right, so I should continue up that way, you have a row and I have a row?"

These conversations always end with armwaving - waving "qualquier dirección." Okay, I'll just work where there's work to be done.

I decided to take what photos I could immediately, Miguel had already asked if I would "document" our work and I joked back that yes, I would collect evidence that the rice was harvested on this day.

So I've posted our cameos - the timing was well-chosen, just 2 hours after we began the work, the graying skies brought us a wall of rain.

I think at least a solid day (a dry day) would have been necessary to finish the work. But next to the budding corn at the top of the hill, blue-tinted rice was also in view and continuing over the shoulder of the "lomas" - Miguel's family has been busy this season!

Rice is hand-cut from the fields, grained, poured into a large cauldron "pila" and toasted, cooled, pounded in a large mortar with an oak (guacha pali) pestle, then sifted on a platter. Only after all of those steps do you get to boil water and cook up the "arroz nuevo" and I agree with my neighbors, it is so much tastier than the stuff sold in stores.

Is the concrete slab safe?
This was a question sticking in my mind after we poured the concrete. Now, after the seat was pulled from the mold and sealed to the floor, I feel better: I think we did a fine job.

This was also great timing. The church is planning a huge, fiesta-like event and will christen (so to speak) the new structure in a matter of weeks. The time is going fast and I expect the directive of the Adventist Church of Calabazal will attach planks and "penca" to finish the outhouse within the week.

Construction & Juntas

Construction is rampant!

1. Composting Latrine project is continuing (2 more to build)
2. A pit latrine suddenly appears

3. My house gets a make-over.

1. Last April my community received materials to begin construction of composting latrines at 4 different sites in town. The work has been continuing slowly ¨poco a poco,¨ so slowly that the weather has mocked our progress and decided to take away 2 meters of sand. So many rainstorms have been in and out of the community that a significant amount of sand has been reunited with the river.

This week we were lucky to have a few days of semi-sunshine and the road into town dried enough to allow a truck to drive in. Now we have our sand back and are ready to get going, again, with construction. This week is also important since an aspiring PCV will visit me and, guess what, that means said PCVT gets to learn some construction skills - haha!

2. This is a very good time for me to boast about my Community Counterpart. Román Chávez is a very active community member and has been watching step-by-step how Peace Corps Volunteer Beli Cudobu has been instigating projects. Well, maybe I can´t take so much credit, but he suddenly decided that the church had gone long enough without latrine services that, de repente, a pit appeared plus materials to cover it as a bone fide servicio.

He planned the ¨juntas,¨ got the donations, helped dig the pit, and said to me: hey volunteer, want to help build a latrine?

So I joined in, gave a little advice about rebar (hopefully not misplaced) and cement mixing, and helped build the slab for the church´s pit latrine. There was quite a bit of stress when we realized there suddenly wasn´t enough sand or rock to continue - who´s counting shovel-fuls of material?! and almost had to leave the slab like this until more material arrived:

What an engineering snafu:

Would there have been any hope of using this slab if this had sat for a week, waiting for more mix for the gaps?

I don´t know the answer, but I guess I made enough crinkled-nose expressions at the junta because suddenly sand appeared over the hillside and we were in business again. Okay, maybe I shouldn´t take much credit here either: there was a guy helping us that knew the school had excess materials and ample to share with the church, so...

...

so I should plan my retirement, these people don´t need a PCV to get them to act!

As for the plan for the plancha, the slab was also a bit kapakahi. For anyone interested, this is how the sketch-plan looks:

We had a significant donation of rebar for the project but unfortunately, the pit was dug so wide that most of the bars couldn´t cross the gap, for this reason, we decided to criss- cross and use a ton of wire to connect this web together.

So there it is! The slab was poured and we all celebrated with a mass of photo-ops:

3. My house has been drying up and getting bug-eaten ever since it was built (last December), so my neighbor, the super-human Román, organized a junta for bringing in new penca and bijau (sp?) leaves. Reconstruction began with the shower stall.

Apparently it was clear that the PCV is quite taller than anyone else in the area, so the shower should be adjusted to size - almost out of reach of the neighbors.

After this work, more reinforcements arrived plus materials. Roughly 8 women appeared dragging fresh penca. Each person found a space in the patio and began working on a stack of these palm fronds.

The fronds need to be separated into left and right-hand sides, this allows the builders to alternate the layers in a way that forms overlapping drapes. This kind of work is old hat for these ladies and they were zooming along so fast that I had a hard time focusing the camera. The penca they use comes from palms that grow all over the countryside. The majority of Ngäbe people in the Comarca live in houses of this material and so it is unsurprising that every year the competition for penca grows more fierce. These women had to walk roughly a mile away on muddy foot trails to find these fronds. Suddenly I was glad that I donated such a large quantity of red beans to the junta meal, they needed the energy!

Once the penca was ready, we were just about listo to start on my roof when, de repente hay lluvia: rain began to fall. It only lasted a few minutes but it was enough to cause Román some worry, so we adjusted the work plan. Today we will only fix the roof´s peak, the other gaps in the roof will need more time and more bijau (sp?) leaves.

Then suddenly Francisco was climbing up the pole ladder to begin mending the roof. The rain had stopped and Sixto had just arrived with a new bunch of leaves, so ya, the work restarted.

We decided to be a bit more modern with my roof and placed black trash bags down beneath the bijau (sp?) leaves. After a line of leaves was in place, Román began to hand up the split penca so it could anchor the round leaves while they dry in place. I later learned that the palms didn´t necessarily need to be split to work well but ya sirve.

What work remains? Tons! I´ll report on the status of my roof within the next 3 weeks; there should be great improvements (meaning less water falling on me) by then and also I should have news about the renewed construction of the compost latrines - news and photos.

Stay tuned!

Do you think it will work? - It'll take a miracle.

The real work has begun:

Now that the Latrine Committee has organized the families and how to divide up materials, we are constructing 4 composting latrines in my community.

The rock, sand, concrete, rebar, forms, etc has already arrived from the donor agency, ANAM: Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente

My counterpart and I have almost finished the first latrine - hooray!

The controversial idea of this latrine style does not worry me. Will this project prove sustainable? I think it will, we'll see of course, but the conditions/sentiment in this community seem right.

The 4 sites are all located on the lowlands of the Río Santa Lucia, an area that had seen heavy flooding several decades ago. The water table is at a permanent high and easily discovered after a few shovel-fuls of earth. Where the ground isn't boggy, it's rocky and difficult to dig. Pit latrines in this area are not successful - this fact compounded recently when the 4 latrines of the school overflowed during a heavy rainstorm.

The interest in free fertilizer is also strong. The majority of the people maintain small gardens (or clusters of banana) or larger crops higher in the campo on rented land.

It only remains for me to train a few more people how to block and work concrete and this project will carry itself to victory!

Exciting, eh?

Solution: Travel

February 25-March 8:

"Sometimes it's a little better to travel than to arrive."*

It seems that I don´t have as much to report as I expected. The weeks following my advisor´s visit were filled with non-volcanological activities, but this is not to say that simply nothing has happened since.

  Summary: In-Service Training, 2 water committee meetings, 2 botched aqueduct-type visits, and a day helping my neighboring PCV throw a plancha for the final composting latrine in her community.
 
In-Service Training took up roughly 4 days: 4 days of charlas, presentations, extra Spanish lessons, regret for not taking extra Ngäbere lessons, planning a visit with a springbox technician, quick visit to the beach, and general regrouping with the Group 60 crew. The trip out to IST was fairly long but still, since Swear In, I´ve made several long bus trips back and forth across Panama and I´m not yet feeling the strain.

It´s no secret that I love to travel, but only recently I´m understanding why (even during the most stressful and maddening journeys) I get a deep satisfaction out of the process of travel. It is easy to say that I enjoy seeing new places and it´s fun to see so much terrain slip by without lifting a foot to walk across it. But when I´m traveling more economically (por ejemplo, por pie), it also won´t seem surprising or novel to admit that I prefer walking out my front door and across a hillside instead of staying rooted at home. But I only just realized that another aspect of travel has missed assessment: What responsibilities do you have as a traveler? Is there any other weighty obligation more important than completing the journey while executing the journey? No, my answer is no. So I am concluding that few endeavors offer such satisfying, single-minded, laziness: Traveling is wonderful!

While I haven´t crossed the equator, haven´t been to Africa, only got within 2,000 miles of Asia, lack experience in grizzly bear country, remain tantalized by the terraced islands within the Indian Ocean, have no concept of Down-Under, and desire first-hand knowledge of how east is East, luck has been with me to allow significant travels. So I've had some time to mull over why it is that I am compelled to not only relocate myself but also shell out the considerable funds (often rearranging plans to accommodate lofty travel goals).

Authors of all genres have many things to say about the virtues of travel: the romance, the mind-broadening process, as well as the uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous possibilities. I recently read an opinion of Sherlock Holmes: he referred to travel as a waste of energy that muddles the mind [my paraphrasing]. But a comment that fits my sentiment comes from Paul Theroux. He begins the Great Railway Bazaar with an odd explanation. There are some people who view the act of travel as a kind of solution. More than: "go take a hike" or "you need to get out more," travel can be therapeutic. Need some changes in life? Need a new perspective? Need to grow? Feel a cold coming on? Travel. Well, that was how Theroux presented the argument: I feel a stuffiness in my nose and there´s a rattle in my throat; I´d better book a train to cross Europe. [again, my paraphrasing - I don´t have his book handy]

Have I had a bothersome cold that needed several flight tickets to clear up? Well, yes, but a cold less like a sniffle and more like an infirmity of perspective. Enough sharp minds and well-learned writers have explained this particular theme: gaining worldliness.

So I´ll throw in my lot with Theroux but also suggest that a guilt-free sensation of irresponsibility can come from travel.

Sorry, I´m on the bus, I´ll get back to you in 6 hours.

*Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Robert M. Pirsig

First 3 Months

Stay in site! Trying very hard to do so...
Nov. 2007 - Jan. 2008

A time marked by paseando, house construction, adjusting to "stardom," learning the Spangäbe, appreciating yucca with rice and Ramen Noodle, cleaning mildew off leather, loving texting other volunteers, listening to Día de Bandera drum practice, visits to San Felix to check email and charge the cell phone, perfecting bucket baths, buscar leña, write letters home, organize water committee meetings, create community maps.
Also had a chance to work with PCMI Jessica and Adam uphill from me. Their composting latrine project is a large-scale event! So 2 days were spent mixing, blocking, and constructing the bases of latrines. Several of my community members wanted to join me and help out with the work (a great chance to share the ideas about this project, too!). So Miguel, Moises, Milton, and Roman have just gained some construction experience. Hope we can help again Jess! 3 more latrines to go, right?

At this point, it´s hard for me to say if my community will want their own compost latrine project. Many people are telling me they need/want latrines since few exist but this particular style of servicio might not be the most comfortable idea for the people. It would be a big change for someone to accept a fancy-looking latrine into their lifestyle after a lifetime of doing without even a pit latrine. My plan is to approach this matter slowly and get a better idea of what kind of sanitation solution is more sustainable. Stay tuned!

November Festivities:
My small town had been practicing for weeks and weeks; every day around noon we could all hear the drums start up. The school had been preparing to debut their drum corps and flag bearers and was ready to present their dedicated crew to the town during El Día de Indepedencia de Colombia, el 3 de noviembre. This was an important day! Not only did I wear my nagua dress, but the director of the school and every teacher was at the celebration.

First the drummers lead the circuit around the ball field, then the parade worked its way into the commons of the schoolyard. The Panamanian flag was then presented and raised as the entire community held their hands over their hearts (strangely, some hands were positioned over the heart, yes, but as if ready to throw a karate-chop). The formalities were very reminiscent of a Veteran’s Day Parade, but what followed was intriguing. Once the flag was high above us, the teachers invoked a series of presentations. One by one (I believe it was class by class), children stepped out of their tightly formed lines and recited speeches – with gusto! Children exclaimed: I am Panamanian! and reached out their hands to encompass the sky, the campo, the village, the families, the ducking child standing by that just missed the swinging arm... Not only were there well-memorized speeches, 2 students also sang original canciones. Our town has some very talented musicians!

November is a very busy time for honoring la vida de Panama. The Independence Day (from Colombia) is really just the start of festivities. Two more official holidays draw la gente together: El Día de Bandera and later in the month, Independence from Spain. Our students had been practicing for a series of marches, in fact, the following day the whole crew was going to a neighboring town to march down the main street of Quebrada Guabo. Roughly 17 different schools would gather there, march, and face judges to determine which school displayed the best organization, musical skill, choreography, costumes, etc.

Did my community win? No, not this time: but last year they had secured a runner’s up status and took home a prize. Well, there’s always next year and based on how much the community at large loved the drumming (little kids still sing: boom-boom-boombity-boo), I think they can produce a sharp performance.

Do I live in a rainforest? No, you’ll have to go to the Bocas side (Caribbean coast) of the Comarca to encounter rainforest, but in general it is an endangered environment in Panama. My community is tucked into the rugged foothills on the southern slope of the western highlands and very few hints remain of the oldgrowth: there has been so much farming in this region that it’s difficult to imagine the days when the dark interior loomed too dangerously for even the bravest hunters. How long ago did the mountains evolve into the tamed farmlands of corn and fincas of coffee? I haven’t been able to learn that from my neighbor yet, but he can explain how giants from the high mountains used to challenge the people to duels and swiftly disappear to high aeries.

My neighbor Roman is a wonderful story-teller. I’ve learned about the drunken frog that became lost in the stars, the witch of the cocoa tree, and a giant that loved stealing people lunches. Could I retell these stories for you? I wish I could, but these particular favorites were shared with me during my earliest days in site, my limited Spanish filtered only the most general ideas of these stories. But one day (maybe in a few months…) I’ll ask Roman: Hey, I’d like to hear that story again about giant and the heroes. Once I get a better handle on the details, I’ll be ready to share more. Stay tuned!