2 Weeks is 2 Long

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been 2 weeks since my last blog. Just trying to remember everything is hard. So, hang on for a long one.

a reunion of Peace Corps Peru

I got back from vacation and went straight to a Regional Peace Corps meeting, complete with goat roast. Great to meet some of the other volunteers in my “East Side” of Panama. A special treat at the meeting was a wonderful visit from Marci from the PC Peru, who office showed up with her husband, on vacation in Panama !!

And Francisco, the APCD for Environment here in Panama, realized we met in Lima at the last ECPA conference. Small world.

Pualina's crafts

Some of the many crafts I see around the Kuna villages where I do Water & Sanitation work are quite remarkable. More brilliantly colored offerings in the craft department from my friend Pablo’s wife – Woven reed plates, masks, baskets, boats and some other colorful skirts. In September, I will catalog all with prices and take orders for my dear friends in the US. Her skirts are $12, plates are $10, masks are $25, boat is $30 and the big ornate basket is $40.

My community partner, Global Brigades, very kindly gifted each of my Water Committees (Ipeti and Pueblo Nuevo) with a new set of accounting ledgers and all the fixings.

Now it's my job to teach them basic accounting and help them set up the books. 
The idea is to set up 2 ledgers - one will be a General Acct book, with all tranactions entered as credit or debit, with resulting balance. The other will be a book with a page for each user, showing payments and balance owed. Also, we need a good system for collecting the monthly payments ($2/mo for each family) . And an enforcement mechanism (cutting off water supply). We plan to offer an option of work in lieu of payment. And will stop "water sharing" - where 1 family taps into their neighbors line.
Hopefully, this will give the Comite de Agua the funds and labor they need to keep their 8 km long water line in service. And add periodic maintenance and disinfection for better quality.

The cashew fruit - an odd one

A word about cashews. I have a cashew tree in the yard here at the Cottage. The fruit is likely the oddest looking nut there is. It hangs down from a seedless (and tasteless) fruit that looks like a small pear, when ripe, making the cashew nut/seed external to the fruit. This pod is detached from the fruit and an outer gum-filled covering is removed from the nut itself. With great difficulty, since the gum is really nasty, not water soluble - I had to use turpentine to remove it from my fingers. The sap from the cashew outer coverings was indeed toxic. It turned my skin brownish and then peeled like a chemical burn. I'm told my mistake was not letting the pod dry in the sun for a week. Impatient, I am. Then there is an inner peel, that only comes off when dried. Now, to roast the beasts....
So, next time you raise a handful of those delicious nuts to your mouth, please give a little Thanks for all the work that went into putting them there. And ENJOY !!

The municipal dump for Torti, Panama, is just at the side of the PanAmerican Hwy. Everything gets dumped here and the birds scavenge the organics. Every few days, piles are burned and then pushed into the ravine, which flows to the river. The folks down-stream don't have a chance. No recycling program at all. Sadly, I've been told that there is no interest in changing things, since the dump is WAY outside of town. Out of sight, out of mind. My only hope is to help create a market for the aluminum, steel and plastic, which can be sold in Panama City. But, getting it there is the trick, with so little private transportation.

Pablo, with his new forms = PERFECT !!

I mentioned my brilliant friend Pablo, the store-keeper in Ipeti. I had an idea last night to put gutters on the tin roofs of the Bano units to collect rain water. Pablo had the same idea last night !!
I did the calculation on how much rain water we might collect from the Banos roofs in Ipeti - an astonishing 59 liters (15 gallons) per day (avg). That's a lot of water from 2 small roof sections.
Roof area = 195” x 68” = 13,600 sq in
Rainfall/mo = 200mm = 7.9”
Rain volume = 107,440 cu in = 1760 liters/ mo or 58.6 liters / day
Dry season is about 20mm/mo = 5.9 liters/day (avg)

It is such a joy to work with people who really want to change things for the better in their community and are always thinking of ways to do that. 

Another surprise from Pablo:. When I pointed out that the round holes would not work with our nice blue plastic Bano seats, he created a custom form. I love this guy. Shown here with his forms and the resulting perfect "holes".

Gourd Tree

First mangoes of the season !! Actually from my neighbor's tree. But, tasted DEEE-licious. I want more. MORE !!. My addiction to mangoes is over-powering !!

The “gourd tree” is a fascinating and useful fruit tree around the Ipeti village. The hard shell can be crafted into bowls, plates, storage containers and even spoons and stir sticks. I’ve only seen this done with gourds that grow in vines on the ground in the past. Always something new to discover here.

These are the latrines that are being replaced by the new Eco-Banos units in Ipeti. Not bad, as latrines go. The fiberglass floor / seat is an excellent upgrade from the standard squatting hole, though the hole should have been expanded when the new seat was installed, so as not to catch poop around the edges. And a cover for the seat would have kept flies from having free access to poop and nearby food surfaces. And, yes, they smell just as bad as a porto-potty. Without the deodorant.

Short-haired selfie

A couple of “firsts” – my first haircut in Panama and my first “selfie”. I was told Charlie was the best of the 4 barbers in Torti. He was fast. I’ll give him that. And his shop is air-conditioned – another plus. But, before I could stop him, he had gone just about to the bone and I now sport the shortest hair I’ve ever had. The good news is that it will grow back. Hair and nails seem to grow extra fast when I’m in the Tropics. And the price was right – just $3.00. Should last until I’m back in the States.

One step closer and I'll eat YOU next

I suppose it was inevitable. It began with a couple of playful brother pups chasing chickens around the yard. And keeping the hens from laying eggs under my porch. Then it escalated into harmless “catch and release”. But today, the cute little puppies drew first blood and killed a young chicken. At first, they just dragged it around, like a limp prize. Eventually, their carnivorous instincts (or hunger) kicked in and they tore it apart and ate it. With great relish. In 30 minutes there was nothing left but feathers. So much for the “dogs will choke on chicken bones” theory.

parts for the air explulsion valve

One of my greatest pleasures in Peace Corps service is solving problems with just materials locally available. Both my villages have water lines that trap air at various high points in the water line, which can block the flow of water. The air needs to be released to get the water flowing. In the US, I could buy simple air release valves for about $3.50. But, I'm in rural Panama and need a solution that is sustainable. So, a trip to Torti netted materials for a $1.40 home-made valve. Best part is the connection solution to the water line - 3/4" hole with forced threading. I love my job !!

The Blue-rey Panama Tanager can HOVER !!

We have a new entry in the papaya eating contest for birds. One looks like a regular bluebird (light blue head and darker blue wings), but it can HOVER !!  More entries in the papaya eating saga: a couple of new hummers, a new larger grey bird with large beak that attacks the fruit from a branch above, butterfly and the chickens, who feast on the seeds that the fruit / juice eaters release to the ground. Close inspection also reveals a large assortment of insects who sip the sweet fruit’s nectar. I now feel a twinge of 
guilt eating my beautiful ripe papaya. But it’s only a small twinge and passes quickly.

While our attention sometimes gets focused on the big world or national picture, It is a joy to focus on the smaller world of a papaya tree. And see the tremendous activity and interactions that take place there. And smell the new papaya blossoms.