A new Water Committee, A Trip to City and Better Banos

Sometimes, the smallest things pay off big. After two very poorly attended meetings to get the Water Committee of Ipeti re-started. I decided to print up 80 notices and have them delivered to each house in the village. I also donated my PC issue Super-Whistle (a security item) to the cause. Between the hand-delivered invites and a kid roaming up and down the main street blowing Holy Hell on the whistle, the turnout was astounding. Over 85 people came in a town of about 300 adults.

There was much speech making and discussion. In the end, leaders came forward , the community came together and we now have a newly elected, complete Water Committee !! To say I’m happy would be understatement.

I also discovered a fully functioning solar power system in the WC office. Even better, they have an electrolysis device for making chlorine out of salt (sodium chloride). So, it will be cheap and easy to make all the chlorine we need for disinfection and daily drip. What a day.

Monday, I rolled into the Emerald City for a meeting. The much dreaded 4 hour bus ride was not all that bad. I got to see the sights, as we stopped about every 10 minutes to pick up or drop off a passenger. In between stops, the driver went well over 70 mph, as the PanAm Hwy is in great shape into the city. They call these drivers “Diablos Rojos” – The Red Devils , for a reason. Also, it was nicely air conditioned, with comfy seats. And it only took about 3 hours until we came to a Metro subway stop. From there, I zoomed into the station near my hotel. Total cost was $8.50 for the journey, including the tasty cup of watermelon bits I got at one stop.

I did some shopping for cottage upgrades and grocery unavailable in Torti – peanut butter, hard cheese and sweet pickle relish. Plus got some shoes for $8.00 and some good AA batteries – they only sell crap in Torti.

The meeting with Global Brigades was good. They have been wanting someone technically experienced, so I’m able to contribute a lot of information and experience from Peru. In particular, I found many problems with their Bano design and made suggestions to fix each. They were accepted without objection.

The ride home was even better. The bus leaves the main terminal and doesn’t stop at all until well outside of the City. So, it was only about 3 hours total, right to my street.

Next day I went to Pueblo Nuevo, my #2 site. Getting there is a bit of a chore. I go out to the PanAm and wait for a bus to Darien, which took about a half hour. Many stops. At the border to Darien province , there is a Military check point. All passengers are questioned and bags inspected, due to the activity of Columbian FARC and drug traffic in Darien. It took over 2 hours door to door.

I inspected the PN water tank, after a nice walk through the community plantain plantation and a bit of jungle, and was surprised to find 2 large , commercial sand filters – out of service. When the rains come, their source gets some dirt from the canyon walls and the water gets murky. The sand filters would clear up the water, except they haven’t worked for 2 years. The automatic backwash valves do not automatically work, but can be replaced with manual valves, I hope. We shall see.

Also visited the elementary school. Same deal as Ipeti – no place for the kids to wash hands. A new sink, some re-routed plumbing, soap dispensers and they should be good to go.

The week closed with a long work day, putting into place all the Bano fixes I proposed. We put in bottle bulbs to give light in the shower, which was totally dark when the door was shut. Added a urinal, so guys (and boys) can pee standing up, some PVC towel/clothes holders, made a plastic liner for the poop hole, added a step, so kids can get up on the seat and did the plumbing for the whole deal. Between the work and the 3 km walk in and out of the village, I was soaking wet, but feeling fine.

Also visited the more orthodox Kuna village down river. They were launching their “long boats” for the rainy season, since it is not navigable in the dry. The women also wear a particular skirt – black with a single color pattern, usually green. They wear beaded bracelets form ankle to knee and colorful scarves.