One last. One final last.
Well, it turns out I didn't do a very good job of updating this site over the course of the summer. I'm not really sure why I thought an internet blog would be a good way to document my experiences in underdeveloped Uganda...
But, we had a great time, met a lot of new people, learned a little bit about ourselves and each other, and even applied some engineering knowledge along the way. Hard work was done when it had to be and when there were lulls in the projects, there were highs in recreation. The trip to Murchison Falls was probably the highlight of everyone's summer recreational experiences, or at least tied the experience of rafting down the Nile River. For me, nothing will ever beat the thrill of going down that raging river with people we'd known only two weeks, and a few we'd known only two hours.
We worked on three main projects over the course of the summer: Biogas, Solar Disinfection, and Rainwater Harvesting. The biogas project started out hot and heavy with a lot of major construction, keeping most of us busy for the first two weeks. After that, two volunteers were assigned to take the project to completion using the remaining eight weeks of the summer to do so. A brick and mortar digester was constructed (1m dia and 1.5m deep), with a pvc pipe network running to the mud stove that was constructed in the house. Using a mixture of cow manure and water, anaerobic digestion takes place in the digester (of all places) and creates methane gas that can be burned as a cooking fuel. The project site was also the home of a farming family that could not have been kinder or more helpful throughout the process. They truly made working there an enjoyable experience.
The solar disinfection (SODIS) project started as an exercise in engineering design and ended as an educational outreach program. We took the technology of using UV disinfection via solar exposure to disinfect water to local schools and taught children ages 12-16 about the technology. The major advantage of SODIS is that it eliminates the need for boiling water in many cases. Of course if the source water is too contaminated, SODIS is ineffective, but we taught the children to only use clear water increasing their chances of a high enough removal efficiency. The kids really enjoyed the experimentation that we did with them, as we used a thermometer to measure the temperature changes in the water after an hour in the sun.
Finally, the rainwater harvesting project posed the most challenges, and this is the area that I was to focus on for the summer. Originally the plan was to collect water for irrigation, however the family was uninterested in financially assisting with any project that did not provide them with clean drinking water. This miscommunication took quite a long time to mitigate as language barriers and changes in translators often confused one or both of the parties involved (myself and the family). A detention basin was constructed where the fill removed from the hole was graded out away from the hole in order to convey water into the basin. The plastic-lined basin was surrounded by gravel-lined ditches that moved water to the two silt basins before the water could flow into the basin. A cover was also constructed to help prevent evaporation and act as a safety mechanism to prevent children from entering the basin. Treatment of the water is currently underway by a SEED volunteer remaining at the site.
A friend of mine told me before I went to Uganda,"If you even get one of those three projects done before you leave, I'd call the summer a succes." Well, what do you call it when you go 3 for 3?
posted by mapman @ 10:21 AM
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