Day ??: Pouring the Concrete Base

I have lost track of what number day it is for the construction, and since there is no fixed schedule I think I am going to stop trying to record the day. Today a big group of us poured the concrete base. I had swore to myself that we weren't going to do this Mexican style, meaning that we weren't going to use a wheel barrow as a way of measuring things. We weren't going to make three different types of concrete because we weren't simply going to throw and mix everything together until it was wet enough. However I did not have the energy of the supreme confidence go against the norm and add some science and mathematical reasoning to this process. I figured that since we had a guy with masonry experience, and it wasn't like we were building the foundation of a house, I should just be thankful that we had 10 people out there working, and that in about 4 hours we had a finished concrete base.



The work today followed the completion of the roof the day before as well as me laying some concrete bricks to facilitate the pouring of the concrete slab today. All in all it was a good couple of days. In about 5 days, after the base has had some time to cure, I am going to start building the actual lavaderos.
Oh, I am a bit excited and nervous as I will head to ECOSUR tomorrow to pick up the lab results for the water samples I took to them on Monday

The Kids of 5 de Marzo

Day 7: Today Was a Slow Day

Today I didn't get much done. A group of students studying social work from a university in Tuxla Gutierrez showed up to do a survey of 5 de Marzo (the colonia). They decided to meet and use the EcoLavadero site as their meeting place forcing me to work around them initially. Also the people from SYJAC, who were shoeing the group around, didn't have their copy of the big map of the community, so I road back to my Hostel to get my map. On the trip my bike had some minor mechanical issues that added an extra 20 mins to the trip (Incidentally, the driver and pedestrians are so bad I think there is 25% chance that I will have an accident before I leave).

Once I got back to 5 de Marzo, and got back to work, a young girl, whose mother was with the student group asked if she could help me. Her help consisted primarily of asking me about what I was doing, what music I liked, when I was leaving etc. Turns out I spent almost as much time answering everybodys' questions as I did working. I wish people would realize that one can't do the work I am doing and explain about the types of food and climate that exist in California. I did mange to get the concrete base forms ready to support the metal reinforcing mesh. I also used my sieve to get two buckets full of sand which I will use to lay some concrete bricks tomorrow. Hopefully after my soccer game with the guys from the hardware store I will be able to work in peace.

Cheers all, I hope you had good thanksgivings

Day 6: more site work

Today not a whole lot was done construction wise, as I had to take care of some material logistics at a few ferreterias (hardware stores). However, in the morning a number of ladies who have been working regularly continued to fill in dirt around the EcoLavadero.

Also the area for the biological filtration canal has neamm cleared and leveled.

Today I had planned on doing a little bit of brick laying, but when I examined the our sand supply up close I noticed that it had a lot of rocks in it. So, I decided to make a sieve (110x72 cm) in order to separate out the rocks from the sand. This will improve the quality of the mortar I will use to lay the bricks.

Day 5: Concrete forms laid out

Yesterday I finished constructing both my concrete gauge boxes, and the wooden forms for the concrete base. Since I am no Mason i built the gauge boxes to ensure that I get the right ratio mix between cement, sand, and stone for the concrete. The forms will support the poured concrete wash station base as it cures.

I Have Been Floored

I was felling a bit down in San Cristobal, and had developed a cold and sore throat, so I figured a change of scenery would do me some good. On Monday night I decided to go to Puerto Escondido and spend a few days in the sun and surf with this German girl I had met the previous week at the hostel in San Cristobal. She was actually born in Tajikistan to ethnic German Russians, and then imigrated with her family to Germany when she was 11. She speaks four languages fluently (Russian, German, Spanish and almost English). She is 5'10", gorgeous, and for some odd reason likes me. We spent two days at the beach and then two days in Oaxaca. Now I am pretty hard to impress, but this girl absolutely floored me. She is one of a kind.

Day 3: Roof Goes On

Today we attached the corrugated and galvanized steel sheets to the roof rafters. The roof is almost done, but we still need to attach part of the other side. In the next couple of days I am going to pour the concrete base for the actual wash stations.

Day 2: Roof Supports

Today the roof beams were put up. We had about 6 people working on the site, so we got pretty far considering we had to figure out exactly how we wanted to attach the roof rafters to the concrete support posts. By the end of the day we had almost the entire roof skeleton finished

Day 1: Leveling

Today I restarted the construction of the EcoLavadero (Ecological Clothes Washing Station). The first step was to level the ground that was going to support the actual concrete wash staions

Life is Tough in this Town

Life is tough in Mexico and especially here in San Cristóbal, not just for people but as the picture above shows, the animals also. It is a daily sight to see a dead dog lying on the side of the road. Usually these dogs, or cats, or even horses have been hit by cars. With no efficient means of disposing of then they can remain o the side of the road for quite a while. I have often thought what effect this has on young kids constantly seeing dead things lying around. These dead animals are just part of these people normal lives. I wonder if after a short while they are desensitized to it and are no longer effected by it. I know it creeps me out and makes me feel ill when I see it, and i don't consider myself a weak stomached individual. So these people must become desensitized to it, like I think I would if I was constantly exposed to it. I respect the Mexican people for a number of reasons, but one definitely is their ability to be kind, generous, and friendly in the face of such harshness.

Oh, and by the way this dog was still by the side of the road more than two days after (it may well still be there)

Meetings, kids, and Herbs

Monday was a full day. In all I had 5 meetings and rode my bicycle all around the city. This was nice as it gave me a chance to see how things have changed and reconnect with the city. In the morning I met with Sabas and gave him his copy of our report. I then met with Gabino to go over the process for family selection for the rainwater harvesting systems. I was with Sabas again to go see a wealthier rural community that is having problems with their septic tank systems and well water. I then went to ECOSUR to meet with Jesus and give him their Copy of the report. With some aide of our design they were able to get partial funding for the rainwater harvesting and water filtration system they want to use on their campus. Jesus says construction is likely to begin in spring of next year. The final meeting of day took place at the House of Mario Sintas something, in the Colonia of 5 de Marzo. This was by far the longest meeting and the most difficult.

I arrived at the meeting at 6;00 with Gabino. The first thing I noticed is that there on the table near the middle of the room was covered with what looked like dry herbs. Turns out this is the cancer medication for Mario's wife. Nows it is bad enough to have cancer but to have cancer and then to have dried herbs as the medication is just cruel in the day and age. Over the next 10 minutes people kept coming in and Since Sabas (the head of the NGO I am working with) said he was going to be late, the meeting begin with about 16 members of the community trying to explain the situation of the clothes washing station to a guy who hadn't been in San Cristóbal for 10 months, speaks only marginal Spanish, is trying to understand people who have thick accents due to their various indigenous Mayan dialects, and doesn't want to say anything that might contradict Sabas as he and I don't see eye to eye on many things. Needless to say I was a bit nervous.

I handled myself well and when Sabas arrived he took over I mostly just nodded in agreement. After many thanks and and letting everyone say there peace the consensus was that the Ecolavadero project would continue. About 16 people agreed to come by the job site, each for a couple of hours a week. I think we will be able to finish this project in a few weeks.

Oh, by the way the three kids above are the children of woman who is using herbs to treat her cancer. Adrian, on left, just loved my I-pod and my backpack. Daniel (in the middle) and I have developed a cool type of handshake. Sylvia has become by banana sharing buddy, and keeps asking for my cell number. If she wasn't like 9 or 10 years old I would think she had a crush on me something.

cheers all

The Rainwater Harvesting System Works!!!!!

The rain water harvesting system at built in the Colonia of 5 de Marzo seems to be a success. I went by the colina yesterday and talked to Gabino (the man whose house the system is attached) . He has made some improvements to the design and I think what he has done is easy to replicate and doesn't add much to the cost. When he opened the inside of the tank there was quite a bit of sediment on the bottom, but it appeared to only be sand and fine dirt. Gabino told me that he and his family uses the water from the tank for washing clothes, bathing and even DRINKING. He says it is much better quality than the water than get from the community spigots. I asked if anyone has gotten sick from drinking it and he adamantly said that no one has gotten sick. I drank a couple of glasses; the water tasted fine and was crystal clear. I don't want to jump to any conclusions until I am able to test a sample in the ECOSUR lab. He and I are meeting again Friday or Saturday to discuss our plan for the 5-8 other systems I am going to build at other houses in 5 de Marzo

The Ecolavadero is much further along than I thought. I don't think it should be a problem finishing it, even if I have to do most of the remaining work myself. The cistern is basically complete with the roof, access hatch, and ladder installed. The support pedestal for the HDPE tank is nearly complete. The roof support poles are also in place made of concrete. The whole structure looks very solid. The only hard part will be installing the galvanized metal roof. I am going to go to SYJAC tomorrow and try to talk with Sabas or either of the two new guys working with the project.

So I had some trouble crossing the border on my motorcycle. I actually couldn't do it. Due to and old un-canceled vehicle (motorcycle) permit I could not get a new permit for my motorcycle. I even got all of the documents together proving my old BMW R75 had left Mexico and been destroyed in the Utah salt flats. However when I returned to the border from Tucson the customs officials wouldn't even look at my documents saying that the only possible way to get the old permit canceled would be to mail my documents to Mexico city, a process that would take more than 6 months. To Mexico's credit and unfortunately for me, there is no longer anybody to bribe at the border, and the system is completely computerized. However with all of Mexico's progress, there still is a readily apparent lack of communication between bodies. The man in front of me in line at the BanJercito, also had an old uncanceled vehicle permit, and like like me no longer had the vehicle to bring to the border as he hold sold it. The next five minutes was spent with him asking the permit lady what else he could do, who he could call and talk to, what other process was there. Her only response was that he had to bring the vehicle to the border. Later when we were both outside I explained to him that there was a way of mailing in information or documents to Mexico city and get the permit canceled that way. I actually gave him an extra information sheet that the other customs deportment had given me. I found it real funny that I was explaining to a Mexican how to cancel a permit for his country, right in front of the customs office. It reminded of the time I led a couple of lost guys from Tijuana out of the Baja desert. Mexico is an interesting place!!!