6/15/08
Hello everyone,
Happy father's day to all dads granddads, and uncles (dad, granddad and pop-pop). I don't know if father's day is practiced here in cameroon. Also happy graduation to all who have recently graduates.
We returned from village late friday after a tiring but successful week in the village. We have finished most of the catchment, which is the majority of the project. We finished digging on monday and tuesday. Wed and thurs were used to prepare for the casting of concrete on friday. friday About 30 men showed up to pour 2 m^3 of concrete. First the foundation was poured then the walls. This dam is huge, it will not move.
the top ten list
1. yesterday the Eben's (our host parents) and us went to someone 40's wedding anniversary party or ruby jubilee. The event started with a three hour long church service starting at 11 am. After pictures were taken, we were forced to have a picture with the couple probably because we were honorary guests remember we are white. Then we went to the banquet hall, which i helped build last summer, to continue the celebration with 300 other people. Some people gave toast's, the couple cut cake, then after sitting forever we ate. Then we danced until about 7, everyone says i can dance like an africa, but i dont think so. The event was like a huge family reunion it was very fun to say the least.
2. Somehow the catchment came out very well. Initially the plumber who we hired wanted to control the whole process, But I basically prepared all the form work and tied all the rebar. You cant learn about building a dam in the jungle from schooling. it was quite a learning experience.
3. Staying a village i have strict sleeping schedule. I cant stay awake past 9. Probably because i am very tired from working all day and that we just finished the dinner. and having hardly any lights in the village doesn't help. Then i wake at 6 when the sun rises
4. Us students will having a party for the workers a monday to celebrate the good work a the catchment. We will be buying beer, palm wine, wine, grane nuts, and popcorn the party. We will also buy some petrol so we can run the generator to play music.
5. I have been catching some euro 2008 football (soccer) matches at local places. That is the sporting events i have seen.
6. I forgot my toothbrush in kumba last week, so i had to brush my teeth with my fingers and use marissa mouth wash to get somewhat clean teeth.
7. We met with a government official who is in the parliament. He wants to discuss about community development and wants the information that we have. While talking with him we agreed that the funding of the projects is the hardest part.
8. the goal count is tied now justin-2 mark-2
9. we have been given nicknames: marissa-best bo (best friend) justin- k man liz - k lady and myself - boss of bross
10. the best of all was carrying 50 pounds of sand to the catchment site on my head. Villagers, Justin and I carried the sand about one kilometer through the village and jungle. We had to avoid the pipeline trench while it was raining. this make the whole trail muddy. The trek was hard but was very rewarding. Justin and I carrying the sand motivated the village to take more sand and gravel to the site and showed that we were very serious about pouring the catchment in one day.
make sure to visit the blog barombiwaterproject.blogspot.com i think justin is updating it now
peace
mark
6/22/08
Hello everyone,
Wow we just completed another long exuasthing week in the village. here is what happened
Monday- AFter travleing ot the village after runnning errands to prep the week stay, Justin and I realized that we forgot the key school house. The school house, where we stay in the village, so contains are the tools and materials for the project. We waited a couple of hours for the key, but decided to go to the catchment to wreck some form work with no tools. We were also planing to cast the second portion of the catchment, the collection chamber that day. All we could do was small tasks, then the tools and work accelerated. First we formed and poured its foundation. then while we were 3/4 finished the walls of the chamber we had to send two workers to get another bag of concrete, by this time it was 5 oclock and already getting duck. We finally finished around 6. I still cant believe that we finished in one day and half the day we didn't have tools.
That we partied. The friday before the we told the water commitiee chairmen that we were planning a party for monday night to celebrate the completion of the catchment. During the day 6 crates of beers, two jugs of wine were carried by canoe for the event. We also bought petrol for the generator we could play some music. just about the whole village came, only the ones who worked on that monday and friday were supposed to come. We still had very nice time, we danced and discussed all night
Tuesday- was a rain day no work- sat around we drank the left over wine then in the after played football with justin liz and the villagers
wednesday ( i lose track of the date and time while stayin the village)- I took forms off the collection chamber, and cleaned all around the catchment area, also the inlet and outlet pipes we set in the catchment. While the plumber did his work i took a crew of the workers to finish the trench the was previously dug.
thursday- i helped the plumber fit the first iron pipes, then i concentrated on building the rest on the form work of the remaining strucutures, one for the collection chamber cover, one for the tap stands. that night we went to someone house to watch undercover brother, he was running his generated that night, so of course many people were there.
friday- today, I layout the pipeline trench, the trench is almost finished we are out of the bush and into the village now. I carried a pipe up to the pipeline and then took a plank to village. Then i continued to dig the trench, finished the tap stand form and walked home
as requested by liz and justin i will continue the top ten list:
1. I dont know if i like drinking palm wine in the middle of a hot work day, but some how i have given glasses of the white stuff or mebo each day when i am noticeably tired and sweaty.
2. a shower never felt so nice after a long week a bucket shower.
3. the bucket shower on tuesday was the coldest shower i have ever had, it was a bucket of rain water. the water is noticeably colder when it rains, most of the time hot water was not needed but that day i needed it
4. i have another nickname now: marco
5. one day in the village, while listening the our hand held radio we( justin, julius the guy from kumba who with us, i) brought out in harmony to what was coming out of it Micheal Jackson's you are not alone. all the villagers like it and so did liz an karen, the girl from kumba.
6. Dad, your football boots (soccer shoes) are in ruins, the soles are 3/4 off on both of them, i tried to play with them one day but i could only move foward with out having soles borthering me, i should have played in shandles which would be normal here. they are getting repaired this weekend
7. in village, we hang with the area boys. These are boys in the village that are around our age. we play football with them, they are hardest workers, and they are always at our house. some of the nickname are, the game, gunshot, sexy, and "use your imagination".
8.the top of my head hurts, i carried wood planks fresh out of the tree on my head the past two days. I put roll of plantain stems on head as a pad, but my head still hurts. The top of my shoulders also hurts because that is where the pipes rest. It is hard to walk planks or pipes in the jungle while avoiding the trench. I always hit trees and get swiped by branches.
9. at night recently we have been playin check, a card game similar to uno. aces skip 7 draw two and jack are wild. one game we had ten people playing, we played until one player remained, its was the area boys versus the visitors (justin, liz, julius, karen, and i). justin and liz made to the finals but both lost to the area boys.
10.the project could not be moving any better, the whole village has been working hard the past three days. More pipeline has been dug in these days than all the day previous. almost half the iron pipes have been fitted in two days. the catchment in finished, tap stands are ready to be casted. the pipeline could be finished within two weeks. the second project could be replacing a bamboo bridge.
later,
mark
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Life in The Trenches
Digging the trench for the pipeline has proved to be a bit more tedious than planned on paper. Even after completing the topographic survey and staking out points that we thought would be ideal for the pipeline, this only provided a false sense of security in knowing where the actual pipeline would lie. When your construction site is in the middle of the jungle, you must adapt your mentality and application of skills to the environment. With one of the plumbers, and a gang of machetes, we began tracing the section of the galvanized pipeline that lies near the stream. The terrain is very rock and steep, so the pipeline will "sleep" on the hillside near the stream and will be supported by the earth as much as possible, and some concrete columns. Much of this clearing will occur when we lay the actual galvanized iron pipes, upon completion of the collection chamber next week.
Digging began and continued for over one week for the section of the pipe that will be PVC. This proved to be the tedious part of laying out the areas for digging.Most of the terrain under which the PVC pipes will lie is cocoa farms. There are two objectives I keep in mind when laying out the sections for digging: avoid as many trees as possible (cocoa equals cash) and keep sections as straight as possible to minimize unions and fittings. The trench is 60mm deep and 40mm wide. It is necessary to provide enough cover to protect the pipes, and also allow room for the technicians to enter the trench during installation of pipes. Community work, as it is called, is used to dig the trench. The first day some 20-30 people showed up and dug 6 meter sections. After that, the sections were reduced to 4 meter, as people were complaining the work was too difficult.
At this time, over 300 meters have been dug, and this happened in one weeks time. There are approximately 500 meters remaining, so I am very confident that within two weeks time, the trench will be complete.
The catchment was poured on Friday (more info to follow) and the collection chamber will be completed Monday or Tuesday. Once this is finished, we will begin to dice and lay the galvanized iron pipe. We will meet the trench when the galvanized iron pipes are finished and then follow them home to the village. We want to start the pipeline at the catchment so we can be testing for any problems as we lay the pipe.
Digging began and continued for over one week for the section of the pipe that will be PVC. This proved to be the tedious part of laying out the areas for digging.Most of the terrain under which the PVC pipes will lie is cocoa farms. There are two objectives I keep in mind when laying out the sections for digging: avoid as many trees as possible (cocoa equals cash) and keep sections as straight as possible to minimize unions and fittings. The trench is 60mm deep and 40mm wide. It is necessary to provide enough cover to protect the pipes, and also allow room for the technicians to enter the trench during installation of pipes. Community work, as it is called, is used to dig the trench. The first day some 20-30 people showed up and dug 6 meter sections. After that, the sections were reduced to 4 meter, as people were complaining the work was too difficult.
At this time, over 300 meters have been dug, and this happened in one weeks time. There are approximately 500 meters remaining, so I am very confident that within two weeks time, the trench will be complete.
The catchment was poured on Friday (more info to follow) and the collection chamber will be completed Monday or Tuesday. Once this is finished, we will begin to dice and lay the galvanized iron pipe. We will meet the trench when the galvanized iron pipes are finished and then follow them home to the village. We want to start the pipeline at the catchment so we can be testing for any problems as we lay the pipe.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Catchment
Last Saturday when the group went the village to prepare for this week we had a plumber and carpenter come with us. They would be giving estimates for work they were to do. The carpenter asks for 600,000 cfa about 1500 usd. Given the cost for his work we decided to do the work ourself and that I would be in charge of the catchment. The catchment is the structure that will recieve the water for the system from the stream.
After the monday's arrival and cermonies, construction started on tuesday. Work begun on the catchment and pipeline that day. Justin led work on the pipeline and I led for the catchment. Tuesday some villagers and I diverted the stream and created a dam about the half the width of stream. Next we started digging for the catchment foundation. Digging is very had in the stream because there are some many rocks. The stream in also lined with sand, worms, crabs, and other things. We have dug about 50 cm deep for the foudation. Between tues and thurs we completed all the digging the half of the catchment and all of the collection chamber. Friday we started working on the form work. The village agreed to supply all the lumber for project, so tuesday one villager went to their local lumber store, the jungle. He cut down a huge tree and made 20 1x12's with his chainsaw. Friday villagers also cut down small trees that would be used for post, columns, and steaks for the catchment's form. Village cut the 1x12's to length with their machetes because the hand saw we bought from kumba is crap. I put together some of the form work to be used next week.
Next week, we will begin digging for the other half of the catchment. We will have to dam the whole stream and insert some pipes into the dam to pass the water. After the digging is complete we can start to cast the catchment. First we will pour a mud mat to protect against settlement into the soft soil. Then pour the foundation walls. In total about 2m^3 of concrete will be poured.
Overall work has been going great, everyone is working together well. Hopefully we can have water in some pipes by the end of next week.
All of us will be back in the village tomorrow and most will stay unitl friday.
talk to you soon,
mark
After the monday's arrival and cermonies, construction started on tuesday. Work begun on the catchment and pipeline that day. Justin led work on the pipeline and I led for the catchment. Tuesday some villagers and I diverted the stream and created a dam about the half the width of stream. Next we started digging for the catchment foundation. Digging is very had in the stream because there are some many rocks. The stream in also lined with sand, worms, crabs, and other things. We have dug about 50 cm deep for the foudation. Between tues and thurs we completed all the digging the half of the catchment and all of the collection chamber. Friday we started working on the form work. The village agreed to supply all the lumber for project, so tuesday one villager went to their local lumber store, the jungle. He cut down a huge tree and made 20 1x12's with his chainsaw. Friday villagers also cut down small trees that would be used for post, columns, and steaks for the catchment's form. Village cut the 1x12's to length with their machetes because the hand saw we bought from kumba is crap. I put together some of the form work to be used next week.
Next week, we will begin digging for the other half of the catchment. We will have to dam the whole stream and insert some pipes into the dam to pass the water. After the digging is complete we can start to cast the catchment. First we will pour a mud mat to protect against settlement into the soft soil. Then pour the foundation walls. In total about 2m^3 of concrete will be poured.
Overall work has been going great, everyone is working together well. Hopefully we can have water in some pipes by the end of next week.
All of us will be back in the village tomorrow and most will stay unitl friday.
talk to you soon,
mark
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Project Reception
Hey Everyone!
On Monday the group hiked out to Barombi village for the project's reception. The village was extremely welcoming by sharing their traditional dances and a meal with us. The chief of the village prepared a speech, which was read by a member of the Water Committee, which is posted below. After the closing of the reception I returned to Kumba Town for the week to work with Katie on the bio-sand filters while Marissa, Liz, Justin and Mark stayed in the village to start constructing the system.
It is our pleasure to welcome you and thank you for honoring our invitation in reception of our guests from
Today is a turning point in the history of Barombi Mbo as the day water came to our village. Water is life as the saying goes. This is a gift we least expected, not even to think that students from a far away country could bring us this gift right to our door steps. We thank you vehemently and the professors of
Barombi Mbo is a minute village out of thirteen villages in the Barombi clan. The clan is small but straddles two Divisions, Meme and Ndian, and four Sub-Divisions which are Kumba, Mbonge, Ekondo Titi, and Bamusu Sub-Division. It is a link in a chain without which the chain is in complete. Our village is in Kumba sub-division, but consideration has hardly been given us in terms of pipe burn water though the source that generates it to Kumba and its environs comes from us. Our joy is that God Almighty has heard our prayers and our dream to have water has come to be true.
This is also so because, our two governments enjoy good relationship. Barombi people love peace and are friendly. Your stay with us from now henceforth will be enjoyable. Our profound gratitude goes to the
Honorable Guests, Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you all for the patience you have exercised to the end of this ceremony. May Gods traveling mercies take you safely back to your destinations.
Long live Barombi Mbo,
Long Live Dayton Univeristy USA
Long Live the Republic of Cameroon!
-Hrh Ndokpe Joseph Sangwa, Chief of Barombi Village
Stay tuned for more to come,
Hayley
Work has started
Hello everyone,
I'm happy to report that work is underway. On Saturday, we trekked to the lake (despite the rain) where the pipes had been delivered. The villagers were already there loading the pipes into the canoes. All of the pipes made it across the lake except for one canoe of PVC pipe. They plan to send divers to look for them. The group trekked to the lake while the villagers worked on transporting the pipes. They were very welcoming and it is obvious they are anxious to get this project going. There is a sense of urgency to complete the pipeline before the rain gets any worse. We only stayed in the village for the day before trekking back. We talked to the chief for a little bit, who had very kind words to say. It is difficult for me to even describe what it was like in the village yet. All I can say is that the people are very grateful for this "gift from God."
The others returned to the village on Monday for their reception. Unfortunately, I fell ill on Sunday and was unable to attend. Hayley will speak more of the reception in her post. They will be staying in the village all week and work started Tuesday morning at 6:30am.
Hayley returned to Kumba on Monday night to stay with me and work on the filters while the others stayed in Barombi. Mr. Benjamin has put us in contact with a great welder who we have been working with. He is traveling to Douala today to get all of the materials we need for the concrete mold. We are scheduled to begin fabrication work with him on Friday.
Hayley and I have been really happy with the interest people have shown in the Biosand filter. Nobody here is familiar with this technology but they are so eager to learn. Mr. Benjamin has already told us that he is going to teach other villages around here about these filters, because even people that do have piped water don't have clean water. That has been very exciting because, after all, our ultimate goal is to teach so that this biosand filter can be spread to all villages. We have left alot of literature with Mr. Benjamin and he has been reading up on the technology. Even the welder is taking a great interest in this project. He said he has never done anything like this but is so excited to be trained so that in the future he can make more molds.
Once we have the concrete mold fabricated, everything else should be much easier. All other materials are here in Kumba. The two major challenges the project is facing right now is 1. all of the rain (nobody wants to bring materials to the lake) and 2. the horrible exchange rate we are getting from the bank. But all in all things are going well.
Today I am feeling better than I have. It has been very very hard adjusting to this environment. Being ill hasn't helped either (thank goodness we are living with a doctor). The more we work on these filters the better I feel. I am content when we are making progress with these filters because I truly believe in this technology. I really think this can make a difference. We have such a wonderful opportunity to do something very special here.
Thanks for reading!
Katie
I'm happy to report that work is underway. On Saturday, we trekked to the lake (despite the rain) where the pipes had been delivered. The villagers were already there loading the pipes into the canoes. All of the pipes made it across the lake except for one canoe of PVC pipe. They plan to send divers to look for them. The group trekked to the lake while the villagers worked on transporting the pipes. They were very welcoming and it is obvious they are anxious to get this project going. There is a sense of urgency to complete the pipeline before the rain gets any worse. We only stayed in the village for the day before trekking back. We talked to the chief for a little bit, who had very kind words to say. It is difficult for me to even describe what it was like in the village yet. All I can say is that the people are very grateful for this "gift from God."
The others returned to the village on Monday for their reception. Unfortunately, I fell ill on Sunday and was unable to attend. Hayley will speak more of the reception in her post. They will be staying in the village all week and work started Tuesday morning at 6:30am.
Hayley returned to Kumba on Monday night to stay with me and work on the filters while the others stayed in Barombi. Mr. Benjamin has put us in contact with a great welder who we have been working with. He is traveling to Douala today to get all of the materials we need for the concrete mold. We are scheduled to begin fabrication work with him on Friday.
Hayley and I have been really happy with the interest people have shown in the Biosand filter. Nobody here is familiar with this technology but they are so eager to learn. Mr. Benjamin has already told us that he is going to teach other villages around here about these filters, because even people that do have piped water don't have clean water. That has been very exciting because, after all, our ultimate goal is to teach so that this biosand filter can be spread to all villages. We have left alot of literature with Mr. Benjamin and he has been reading up on the technology. Even the welder is taking a great interest in this project. He said he has never done anything like this but is so excited to be trained so that in the future he can make more molds.
Once we have the concrete mold fabricated, everything else should be much easier. All other materials are here in Kumba. The two major challenges the project is facing right now is 1. all of the rain (nobody wants to bring materials to the lake) and 2. the horrible exchange rate we are getting from the bank. But all in all things are going well.
Today I am feeling better than I have. It has been very very hard adjusting to this environment. Being ill hasn't helped either (thank goodness we are living with a doctor). The more we work on these filters the better I feel. I am content when we are making progress with these filters because I truly believe in this technology. I really think this can make a difference. We have such a wonderful opportunity to do something very special here.
Thanks for reading!
Katie
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