Biodigester Up and Running

The biodigester tube is fat with GAS !!

Eureka !! It works. Flame from the bio-gas

Gas storage bag inside the house is full, too

This week started off kinda slow – everyone in town seemed to be recovering from New Year’s celebrations. This provided a good opportunity to research some pending projects. I got some local quotes on chlorine injector pumps for the water committee (JASS) in La Quebrada and found some excellent alert horns for the tsunami warning system for the beach areas. These units are totally self-contained (solar powered) and can be activated via cell phone – perfect (albeit expensive) for this application. Also bought materials and parts for the bio-digester, did calculations on flow rate, volume, etc for the upcoming disinfection, cleaning and chlorination of a water system, wrote my questionnaire for the dreaded Community Diagnostic and worked with Will on drawings for my new Cocinas Construction Manual.

Also, a good time to enjoy “Mango Madness”. The price of local mangos has dropped noticeably recently. More and more vendors are plying the streets, hawking the delicious treats. “Dos kilos, tres soles” is the cry, which translates to about 25 cents (US) per pound. Needless to say, I’m eating a lot. I heard a rumor from another PCV that eating more than 4 a day (these are nice big fat ones, BTW) can cause some allergic reaction. I plan to fully test that theory, as I know of no fruit (except maybe a REALLY ripe peach) that is more delicious.

Wednesday, it was back to the beach bio-digester, was nicely filled and cooking up methane like crazy. Gas line was almost completed and the big gas storage bladder should be filling up soon. Tested some of the effluent, which was surprisingly non-odorous, but I’m guessing it still needs some “cooking” time. We also got the new “greenhouse” clear plastic cover installed (photos in FB Peru album), which will add heat and speed to the digestion process.

Questionnaire for my Community Diagnostic survey complete, I rode out on my new Trek Alpha (lovely, sturdy and light mountain bike provided by Peace Corps) to begin interviews in one of the San Luis “annexes” called Laura Caller. The ‘burb is named for a “crusading and tenacious labor lawyer”, who defended many of the Shining Path revolutionaries back in the 80’s. The area has its own water system, which is largely unmaintained and no sewer system. Most folks have flush toilets, which drain directly into the open irrigation canal that runs through town or just dump bed-pans into the ditch or other open area. There are even a couple of public toilets which are built directly over the canal. The canal is thankfully covered as it flows past San Luis, but then is open again as it flows merrily out to the Don Oscar beach area (where I work) and on into the ocean.

My first interview lasted over 2 hours. Lesson learned is NOT to interview folks who have nothing else to do and want to gripe about everything that the local government is doing (or not doing). She also wanted me to meet her single daughter and insisted that I stay for a little lunch. After that, my interview style got less cordial and more business-like.

One thing that came across clearly (besides the desire for a proper sewer) was the high incidence of diabetes, which is becoming an epidemic problem in Peru

(see: http://www.peruviantimes.com/05/poor-eating-habits-cost-peru-8-billion-per-year-official/14631/ ),

as it is in the US. One look in the average tienda (convenience store) will tell the story. While a certain amount of shelf space is given over to soap and staples, the vast majority of products are junk food and soda – LOTS of sodas. Most popular is the ubiquitous Inca Kola (product of Coca-Cola) in the ultra big gulp 3 litre bottle. Frito-Lay is well represented with all the usual US choices of puffed air/corn. The ones I enjoy from time to time are the camote (sweet potato) chips – colorful and delicious. The home-roasted peanuts that my “sweet little old lady” friend Cristina sells on the corner are also top-rated.

But, I digress. I visited to the local health clinic proved interesting. Of all the conditions treated there last year, “vaginal fluid discharge” topped the list – no wonder the Corps doctors advised against sex with locals. I’m a little curious why this is the top problem here. Second on the list is diarrhea (almost exclusively in 1-3 yr olds), followed by a host of other intestinal disorders, including giardia. After that, comes sexually transmitted disease (including HIV), tuberculosis and skin infections.

One of the biggest challenges that we face in Peru, is changing the mindset and attitude about the water-borne diseases. So many adults here feel that these diseases are “rights of passage” that everyone goes through as children, since the adults seem to develop resistance and are largely unaffected. The malnutrition and arrested development that the illnesses can cause are evident and preventable, but like littering (don’t even get me started on that one), are just considered normal.

So, this will be my routine for a while – 3 S’s (shit,shower,shave, stretch), have my egg (or avocado or cheese) sandwich and OJ, ride out to the ‘burbs and interview the good folks with my battery of questions. These will then be compiled, along with some other local information into a “Community Diagnostic”, which report is a requirement of my first 3 months of PC service. Quite frankly, I feel my time could be better spent pursuing the long list of potential projects already at hand. But, the Corps, like any good bureaucracy, has its rules, which must be followed. Not to mention the monthly reports and other nuisance paperwork.

Did I mention how much I like my new bike ?? I do. A LOT. It’s a Trek Alpha 3700 mountain bike – all aluminum frame. Slickest bicycle I’ve even ridden. Gear shifts are digital and smooth as silk. It’s also the only clean bike in this Land that Maintenance Forgot. Hopefully, the “good example” technique will result in at least a few other clean and lubricated bikes out there.

Strange customs: I had lunch at a new “menu” restaurant. It was great and I had a couple of 10 centimo coins (4 cents US), which aren’t good for much of anything, so I left them as a “tip”, which is rare here except in touristy places. I got about a block away and the nice lady came running up to me, out of breath, explaining how I had dropped 20 centimos on the table. It took an inordinate amount of convincing and complimenting to get her to keep them, which she eventually did, shaking her head in puzzlement. That’s a long way to go to return 8 cents. On the other hand, shop owners and taxi drivers think nothing of jacking the price to a Gringo and express no remorse when called out on it. Go Figger…..

Early this (Saturday) morning, I was off, aboard my trusty new bike to explore some of the outlying areas of San Luis, which are not generally accessible by combi route. First stop was San Pedro, a small village of about 10 to 15 families, depending on whose count you believe. They all get their water from a common well, which is pumped around to the shacks. Some of the “CARE” eco-banos that I hope to rehab are there. Sadly (or cleverly), they were all built next to an irrigation canal. Several have been converted from composting toilet to pour-flush toilet dumping straight into the canal. So much for that plan.

Next I rode up to the ancient ruins nearby. My route was lined with beautiful old eucalyptus and cedar trees. The Huaranga is in bloom and cast a sweet scent over the area. The ancients seemed to like the high ground, which is nice, unless you need to carry water up the hill all day. Some of the ruins are quite intact, with 5 ft high doorways leading into small chambers. The construction seems to be adobe. But this adobe must have been much higher quality than is used today and the blocks are enormous – I’m guessing 4x6x2 ft – no telling how much they weigh. Will return with camera soon.

I rode by the site of a corn-shucking machine and was struck by how truly amazing the US harvesting combines are. In one pass, they cut the stalk, remove the ears, remove the kernels from the ears and blow clean corn kernels into a waiting truck. Here, the stalks are cut by machete, then left to dry. Next group of workers comes in, pulls ears from the stalks and loads them into sacks. Another crew will come by later and load the stalks and hual them out to the dairies for cattle food. Sacks are loaded onto trucks and moved to drying areas, where the ears are shucked and left to dry, with an overnight “guard” watching over the harvest. Finally, a guy comes by with a machine that strips off the kernels and blows them into sacks, which then will go to a mill. Of course, the massive combines are too expensive and are designed for huge acreages, not the small, irregular sized fields around here. And labor is ridiculous cheap ( between $5 and $10 PER DAY).