Biodigester # 2 = Gassing Up

Biodigester # 2 is finished !!

Gas storage bag with over-pressure valve

Digester tube filling with GAS

Home-made auxiliary storage bag

We kicked butt at the Farm (again). Finished both the digester and Cocina #1 and 1/2 of Cocina #2 (industrial model). I really enjoy working with the family - all enthusiastic and interested in everything. After, we had a marvelous meal at a table for 18 - roasted camote (sweet potato) especially fine. Reminded me of my family meals of my youth - there were 9, plus always some extra friends/family. Constant cross chatter. Pleased that I can chat so easily in Espanol. My head used to hurt when I talked/listened for more than a few minutes. I love working like I'm 30, but know I'll be paying in the AM. Also noted that the bike ride to/from “work” seems to pass faster every trip. In fact, a shower and nap seem quite in order.

I had one of those “coincidental” moments on the way out. I’d picked up 10M of clear plastic for the digester cover and the flimsy plastic bag broke about half way out. Just as I was calculating how to transport this awkward bicycle load, along came my buddy Jhony in his moto-taxi, picked me up and delivered same to Santa Barbara. This sort of thing seems to happen with increasing frequency. I’m grateful that the Universe always seems to know exactly when I need a little assist and instantly delivers. Or maybe it’s just coincidence.

I love it that I see the same ladies in shopping at the tienda every morning, when I go in to get my pancitas for breakfast and salad fixin’s. Daily marketing is the norm here. Most folks don’t have refrigeration (nor does the market), so that daily trip becomes a social event where news and gossip – mostly gossip, is shared. It takes the sting out of waiting my turn.

Peruvian gals are mostly chubby, or as we used to call it “pleasantly plump. Why they choose to wear skin tight jeans, which merely displace the chubbiness still eludes me. But, I should also note a distinct lack of obesity, as well.

 Yet another patron saint is being celebrated and I got invited to a "party". Well, really just a bunch of guys sitting in a circle, passing a glass and beer bottles around. I've gotten pretty good at the "quick wipe" of the glass and the "short pour" of beer. Made my exit after buying a round. No one objects if you leave right after buying. They boys get pretty obnoxious as they get drunk - which is, of course, the goal every time. Alcohol is just not my drug of choice. PC encourages us to "never say no" to invites so we'll be better "integrated" into the community, but I'm pretty integrated out of this practice. Fernando always promises it will be muy divertido. He always lies.

We had two days of “rain” this week. Well, not really rain – “condensate of marine layer” – kind of a light drizzle. Not a fun bike ride to/from the JASS mtg in the drizzle (and home in the dark, carrying a flashlight in one hand. And no real decisions made. Peruvians like to talk A LOT. It sounds like a huge family quarrel, but there's not usually much emotion behind it. Shrieking is just their way. It was hard to adjust to that. One group wants to have the chlorination - they think it's modern and civilized. The other group says the water come from a pure well (true) and the chlorine is not natural and is bad for you (also kinda true). And they don't want to pay the extra $$. My proposal / compromise was to do system cleanings every six months and chlorinate the water once a week. It's not "by the book" but it's what seemed popular. And probably just fine IMO. One lady said that I only proposed using chlorine because I was going to profit from it. WOW - My buddies in the JASS jumped all over her, shouting in her face that I was here as a Volunteer to help and not getting anything out of it, plus some other nasty stuff. I felt well protected. 

I had some papas rellenas for dinner from a place down the street - potato stuffed with a filling of mixed vegetable and meat (usually heart or liver - two Peruvian favorites) and an anticucho - kabob of heart meat. We generally think of "meat" as muscle only, but these folks eat the whole animal. The only part I really can't handle is tripe - intestine. They say it's good when fried, but they generally put it in soups, where the texture is.....ahhh. Well it's just nasty. That's all.

Three days were spent accumulating the materials for the security cover for the Vista Alegre spring house. In the US, with access to a vehicle, this would have been a half day slam dunk.

August is shaping up to be a busy month. I’ll be a bicycle workshop to the incoming group of PCVs, hosting my friend Brian from Amazonas when he visits to learn about Cocinas. I’ll also be travelling back up north to Trujillo area to work with the Princeton Engineers Without Borders building a new water system. The big Black Music and Dance Fest will be in San Vicente and San Luis will host its own cajon workshop.

Photo Gallery of Cerro de Oro burial grounds

Some photos from a 1000 year old Wari burial site, horribly disturbed by grave robbers.
This needs to stop !!

Skull City

Destruction by grave robbers

An ancient Wari pouch

An embroidered strap for carrying water jugs

Piece of a very LARGE pot

beautiful bowl

loincloth with pattern and COLOR

intricate cloth pattern - the Wari were master weavers

Colorful ceramic pattern

Precious figurine - worn as a pendant

These airplants provide beauty to the Cerro

Mummified foot - Wari were smal people

A mummy hand

Cerro de Oro - Google maps image - you can see the outlines of buildings, roads , etc - burial area is low center

1000 yr old slingshot

Ancient thread on spindle

Ingrid found this perfect spindle for spinning thread

Perfectly preserved corn from 1000 years - found in a ceramic jar

Some of the cloth is so fine, you can see through it

This head was the mouth of a bottle

Ceramic spike used to plant seeds

Biodigester # 2 Finds a Home

The Duenas brothers dug the ditch in one day

The whole family helps inflate the biodigester

The inflated bag goes in the ditch

A visit to the Goat Research Center in Santa Barbara brought a good result. The facility is also home to the local yogurt and cheese (feta) production. I’ve been buying their superb yogurt for some time now.

The place is extremely well run – clean and organized – built on the site of an old school, so a good teaching and demonstration site. The Duenas brothers, Gaston & Avelino & Godo are bright and innovative. Their goat milking stand is a fine example of creativity. The raised platform makes milking far more ergonomic and sanitary. I’m planning to build biodigester #2 there and may also do a Cocina and solar pumping demonstration there. Goat poop will require some extra soaking, but two large porkers can provide a good manure base.

And build a biodigester we did !!  In one week, we got the trench dug, ends built, tube inflated, in the trench and is filling with goat and pig poop soup as I write this. Certainly the fastest digester construction on record. I cannot express my total admiration, respect and gratitude to the Duenas brothers. They are the smartest, hardest-working, most innovative Peruvian family I’ve ever met. They’ve taught me tons about adobe construction, goat breeding and local history. The conversation ranges all over the map. While discussing DC vs AC power, I mentioned Thomas Edison – “Thomas ALVA Edison” interjected Godo. And to top it off, one of the farm workers is named Goyo !! First Gregorio I’ve met in Peru. There is a special bond here between “tocayos” and ours is no exception.

Oh, and while we were finishing the biodigester, we built an improved cookstove. The construction was hindered a bit by a frisky little pup named Odie and supervised by the adorable 2 yr-old Tonio.

This is my ninth Cocina and I’ve never had so much fun or felt so much joy from my co-workers. Running two crews took me back to my contractor days. Also pleased that this is the third Cocina built without Peace Corps funds and materials. This is the kind of sustainability that we all strive for.

Arriving home, I was pondering what to eat for dinner when a lady from down the street miraculously appeared at the door with a huge plate of smoked chicken, sweet corn and camote (yam). I fixed her door latch a couple of weeks ago. When I took the plate back, I was forced to consume some rare “tres leches” cake. This stuff literally melts in your mouth. I love being a part of a community that does for each other.

Revisited the Vista Alegre spring box to take measurements. On the way home, I passed several asparagus fields. I always think of my Gampa Bacon when I do. He had a beautiful patch in his big garden. For many years he sold it for extra income. I learned a lot from that wonderful and wise man, about gardening, concrete and life from him. We ate asper-grass every day at his house during the season. I still love it. The local fields have all gone to seed and are ready to cut the ferns and let the edible sprouts emerge. I found a few rogue shoots and had them in lunch salad.

Coming home from Canete, I sat next to some energetic high school lads. We chatted for a bit before they asked the inevitable question of where I was from. They all guessed Venezuela, which either means that Venezuelans speak really bad Spanish or mine is getting good. But interesting that my accent sounds non-American. Once I fessed up to Estados Unidos origin, the questions got non-stop. I’m always amazed at how much other people know about the US and how very curious they are about all things EEUU.

I was witness to the biggest funeral thus far in San Luis. Musta been 400 people. The procession went on FOREVER and blocked traffic in all directions. Two bands, both were predictably bad. Good news was that all the flower ladies sold out completely. Though I still wish folks would buy flowers for the living, who would surely appreciate them more.