Here is the second update about my recent trip to Haiti: One of my desires is to bring trainers into communities to teach valuable development lessons in areas outside of my field, such as animal health and agriculture. I brought Helene (my sister) to see if it was possible to start a pilot training program … More Open wide little piggy!
Language Blunder #954: “Fruits de mar” has nothing at all to do with fruit in Haiti- it means seafood. Helene and I almost ordered some sort of mango seafood dish thinking it was just a mango fruit cup. Oops! We returned home just after midnight from a successful and exhausting trip into the mountains of … More Fruits de mar
Helene and I are en route to Haiti (layover in FL right now) and will not be able to communicate until we return next week. I was certainly spoiled in Panama because the Wood’s house was solar powered and I was able to communicate easily with you all back home. It won’t be like that … More Remote. Really Really Remote.
We are home from Panama! Pictured above are Eric, Pat, Me, Brittany & Jessica after we landed in Newark (Jimmie & Don landed in different airports) The project was challenging, but we learned a lot and I really enjoyed working with the students. I plan to share more photos soon, but I am leaving for … More T-Minus 30 Hours
We are rushing out, but here is a quick pic of the finished well & pump!
We got 1 point for breaking into a great source of water a couple days ago, but we couldn’t hold the lead long and Panama tied us by pouring rain last night/drizzle all day today that altered how we develop the well. Around 6pm, Panama took the lead with another point by releasing swarming termites … More Panama: 2; Water Team: 1
We spent the entire day trying to resolve our filter pack (the material that goes between the borehole wall and the PVC casing) dilemma. We spent the first half of the day breaking large rocks into pea-size rocks. Hours of hammering rocks resulted in only half a gallon of pea-size gravel. We wanted 10 gallons, … More Rocks vs Shells
Every time we cover up our boreholes for the night, we repeat to the locals (especially kids) “no poo poo, no pee pee” which seems to be universal even though the Ngobe people speak a dialect very different from Spanish (and English!). The people always giggle about it, but it is a very reasonable request … More No poo poo. No pee pee.
We anticipated reaching water by (at most) 15′ based on existing information, but this is the driest this region has been (at least during the two years that our hosts have lived here) so we keep digging dry shale from the ground. We left the borehole at a depth of 31′ when we broke for … More 31′ and counting…
I slacked a bit when I first got home from Costa Rica so I didn’t actually finished my laundry from that trip until yesterday – just in time to pack for Panama! I am heading to Isla Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro (see the red pinned location on the map above) to scout, test and drill … More Off to Panama!
How Many Cows 