My Summer in Nicaragua with EOS: July 2 to July 6

I apologize for not updating my blog very often. I am thinking that biweekly updates may be the way to go, but I think it will depend on the activities. I really should have updated this before now because I have done a lot this week, but I have been on the go and haven’t had much time. Please excuse the lengthiness of this post.

Monday

Today we had a pretty long planning meeting in order to prepare for the arrival of EOS co-director Greg McGrath, who will be in Nicaragua basically for the next six months. Coming with him, was a member of the board of directors, Chris Deal and his wife Tracey. The meeting was trying to fill their week with technology installs and activities to keep them busy.

After the meeting, I wrote two proposals for a new project that I would be starting. One was in English and one was in Spanish. I also went to Sebaco with Brittany because I needed balloons for my new project and I also needed to go to the bank. She had to buy some new stuff for her new house. I returned to my host family’s home after that.

Tuesday

I got up and completed a wood stove water boiling test even though I was sick with a bad cold. The stove seemed to produce more smoke than fire and only made me feel worse. I ended up burning myself too. I do not envy the women here who have to use those stoves on a daily basis. Then, for the rest of the day, I revised my new project proposals and cleaned a little bit as the three new guests would be arriving. I ended up having to leave to go home before they got to the office though.

Wednesday

I helped to milk cows at 4am with the rest of the family. I was incredibly difficult, and I was unable to get the hang of it. I am glad I have the experience now because it is very different than in the US. The cows they use are also not for milk. It is a breed known as a Brahman. They are good for beef and can be used for milk because their milk production does not decrease with intense heat. They produce, at most, 1.5 liters of milk and are only milked once per day. That is quite low compared to a Holstein in the US that can produce up to 30 liters a day. However, if left to nature, they would only be producing 3-4 liters per day.

After milking, I laid down for a while because I was still feeling sick and had not slept well due to my cold. Then, I got ready and went to the office for a little bit to meet everyone and join in the next planning meeting about the rest of the week. After the meeting, I then met with Salvador and Alvaro about my new project and it was agreed that I would start Thursday.

Since the group would be going to my host family’s house to look at the biodigester and improved oven in the afternoon, I decided to go home around noon. I was still not feeling well, so I laid in the hammock until they arrived. We looked at the farm, the biodigester, the old and new baking oven they have, and talked quite a bit with my host mom. She was very willing to explain everything and give her thoughts on the technologies and impacts. It was a really great visit.

Since it was the 4^th of July, the people at the office had something planned for a celebration, so I decided to stay in the office for the night. I am glad I did. There was great food and the mariachi band even came. The mayor and vice mayor from La Trinidad also came to have some drinks and to enjoy the celebration. We did not get to bed until incredibly late. It was well after 1 by the time everyone left and everyone was going to sleep.

Thursday

Even though we all went to bed really late, everyone still had to be up before 6. I went back to my host family’s house to do a biodigester test and everyone else was going to do an oven install. I started the test, but it didn’t end up being successful because it was too windy. Therefore, I still have two tests left: one for each type of stove.

I then went back to the office once again to start my new project. The manure was “delivered”, but due to a breakdown in communication, I was short on a couple of materials. Instead, I organized everything I was going to need for the test and discussed some more things with Alvaro.

At 4, the people remaining in the office left for La Trinidad. We had been invited to dinner by the Mayor and Vice Mayor. It was a really cute bar/restaurant that was out in the country, and it had really great food. We were there for quite a while. After we ate, the lack of sleep really hit me. We ended up getting back around 11, and I went to bed at 12:30.

Friday

I feel bad for Chris, Tracey, and Greg who after getting back so late had to be up at 3:30 to do another technology install. I slept in until around 7:30 and then got up to get my project together. There are two main goals of my project. They are to see what materials, if any, have the potential to increase gas production in a biodigester. The other goal is make sure that these materials will break down in a biodigester.

I do not want to hurt someone’s biodigester, so I am using 5 gallon buckets to simulate a biodigester. Inside the bucket there is a mixture of half cow manure and half water, just like there would be in a current biodigester. However, in 5 of the 6 buckets, there is also another material. In one there is cheese whey. In another grass and weeds, and there is also coffee, rice, and beans. Every bucket is mixed well and a tight fitting lid is put on them. A tube is then put into the top of the lid. This is where any gas will escape. At the other end of the tube is a balloon, so gas production can be visualized and eventually measured. After 3 weeks, the buckets will be opened and the buckets will be strained to see what materials have not decomposed.