Engineers Without Borders - University of Delaware

Some pix !

2012-01-27T05:52:00.007-05:00

Hi folks!

Here are a few pictures. Kim and Erica took tons more and will probably post some soon.
To the right: our ditch across the road for the new feed line, which now takes water pumped from the tanks to the right all the way up the hill to the ferro-cement reservoir. From the left: Taryn, Erica, Marcel (from the Hydrosanté NGO), Dr. Steve (in ditch), Felix (our plumbing expert), Julianne (kneeling), Anthony, Cyrille (our new "chauffeur"). The dirt under the road is really tough to dig because it's extremely packed. Marcel loosened it with a pick so the rest of us could shovel it out.

Here's a video (large file!) of our team members packing the soil back in the ditch as Cyrille and Felix continue to shovel. To the left you can see our new team members helping out. I am sure the woman approaching from the distance (carrying firewood on her head) was really wondering what was going on!

Here is the support base for the wet well, which will contain the pump. Pascale, the local mason, is going the blockwork.

Here's the rack being built for the solar panels, with the water tanks and wet well construction to the rear. EWB mechanical engineers: please inspect the rack elements carefully and determine the structural flaws in compression resistance for diagonal supports. We will go over this upcoming meetings!

A familiar site and experience for EWB veterans: repairs to the vehicle. This is welding work being done to the exhaust system. About an hour and a half of work for 13,000 CFA ($26). This was a lot cheaper than in the U.S.! The most expensive repair was two tire replacements (not new ones, but less used). I will not post a picture of the tread (or absence thereof) on the old ones.

And below is a site we visited in Bandjoun which needs water. The farmland is only usable for half of the year when there is enough rain. The chief of Bandjoun has asked for our help.

Finally, this if the Bandjoun Chefferie. With us is Mr. Mukam, the mayor of Bamendjou and a great help to us on our project.

I think other team members will get you some more pictures when they are settledd back in the U.S. Bye for now! And once again, thanks for ALL your support!

Dr. Steve

Preliminary 526 below

2012-01-26T11:46:00.002-05:00

We got it done, team is on the way home. Dr. Steve is staying in Paris for a week of R&R and left the other 5 team members at the Paris airport, confidently on their way to their departure gate to New York (or was it Djibouti?)
A lot of stories to tell! We will get them posted along with pictures...I promise w/in 24 hours!!!
Dr. Steve

2012-01-25T08:10:00.002-05:00

On Saturday Julianne fell ill and was out of commission up until today. Erica stayed with her the first day while the rest of us visited the King of Bandjoun upon the Mayor's invitation. His place was pretty impressive and we discussed the potential for a solar water pumping system that he may be able to implement for his area and some farms far out in the countryside. The trip there was basically a safari (without animals) and twas not for the weak of stomach. On the trip back we had a little car trouble and realized we lost the majority of our day but we rallied upon Dr. Steve's touching story of a book he once read and upon finding the legendary D'jino (a grapefruit like soda).

The next day we mounted the solar panels on the rack. The rack shifted upon settling in the concrete and our bolt holes no longer lined up. With a bit of retrofitting we were able to successfully mount each solar module and they looked beautiful in the end, shimmering in the late afternoon African sun. During some of the down time, Kim gave a group of children toy styrofoam airplanes and they absolutely loved them. We also got a chance to see Felix's famous plumbing skills.

Monday (Sal's Birthday!) we wired the control box for the solar array, installed the float switch and realized that all of our wiring connections going up to the reservoir were faulty =(. We redid half for the remainder of the day and had to push back our return to Yaunde for another day. Then (bum bum bummm) when we came back tomorrow we found that all but on of the remaining connections were good! Everything seemed to turn from there and started working. Mission Complete. It was such a joyous occasion that all the kids that amassed by our station tried to keep us from leaving by holding the doors to the car open.

We traveled back to Yaunde on Wednesday morning and are currently finishing up some last minute errands before out flight departs late tonight. Hopefully, some pictures will be posted in the meantime. Can't wait to be back in the good ol' USA!

Anthony

Your Cam-quiz!

2012-01-21T07:16:00.003-05:00

Hey folks, we are still here and doing well! There is still no internet except in Bafoussam, so we're limited in how often we post stuff.
We had a great meeting with the water committees, chiefs, and others yesterday. The Mayor gave a long talk about how the water committees have to step up to the maintenance and administration needs now that the system will be totally theirs. I gave a little speech too, and thanks to google translator, it was apparently comprehensible.
Below is a pic of all our stuff set out at the Mayor's house for inventory. Although I am in the picture, this is not meant to imply I did any of the inventory work. in fact, I was busy trying to get Verizon to get my phone working. They say I owe them $500 for data roaming although I paid them for a $79 huge data plan. Apparently Cameroon doesn't honor that plan. Big fight when I get back home!
We have installed the wet well and pump, repositioned three tanks, laid all the poly pipe and conduit (except a short section we just bought here in Bafoussam), and fixed the sediment-blocked system in Balatsit. Their cleanouts were built with the valves in the wrong places, so we're getting that fixed to avoid future clogging. The ditches are dug for almost all of the PVC line out to far Bakang II. We are on it!!

No more pictures right now, sorry. BUT here's the new issue of the sporadically released Cameroon EWB quiz!!! Answers might be at the bottom of the blog.

1. A machete can be used for:
a) digging a hole
b) opening a soda bottle
c) opening a package of crackers
d) fine surgical operations
e) all of the above except one

2. On market day in Ndang, you can find
a) manioc (dried or freshly dug)
b) machetes (must be sharpened before use)
c) used shoes
d) a cute piglet on a rope
e) a basket of Guinea pigs or peeping chicks
e) all of the above

3. A typical dinner for the EWB team includes
a) a green salad
b) choice of a hamburger or veggie burger
c) platter of burrito, enchilada, and taco with extra cheese
d) a warm brownie with Ben and Jerry’s on the side
e) a rotation of 3 items from 5 basic sources of carbohydrates

4. To greet someone, you can say
a) oh-leh-ah, but oht-soh-ka after noon
b) bonjour, but bonsoir after noon
c) salut!
d) Bonne Année (Happy New Year) during the month of January, and somewhat into February
e) any of the above, at least in Bamendjou

5. To join two pieces of pipe, you can use
a) compression fittings for poly-pipe
b) Teflon tape and a pipe wrench for galvanized pipe
c) solvent or threaded joints for PVC pipe
d) a machete
e) all of the above except one

6. What do you do when there’s no water in Bamendjou?
a) don’t shower
b) shower in the rain
c) stop producing any waste products
d) because “water is life,” you totally lose hope
e) you go out to the village and get water from the EWB wells

7. What can you be ticketed for while driving to Bamendjou?
a) no seat belt for the front passenger (Dr. Steve)
b) no county registration
c) failure to pass on a blind curve
d) sufficient volume in the vehicle to fit an additional person or plantain
e) nothing, if you have the special placard on your dash

8. Alarm clocks for the EWB team include
a) a “Kamikaze” bird attacking your window
b) strange noises from the Mayor’s peacock
c) Taryn sitting up, yelling “Where’s the water? There’s something on me!!!” then going back to sleep
d) our new driver (Cyrille) gunning the Land Cruiser engine to “warm it up”
e) all of the above on the same morning

9. Duct tape can be used in a Toyota Landcruiser for
a) repairing a flat tire (temporarily)
b) repairing a shock absorber (temporarily)
c) repairing a roof liner (temporarily)
d) providing Dr. Steve with a seat belt (temporarily)
e) all of the above, but these would be considered *permanent* repairs

10. The people of Bakang and Balatsit
a) have dug over 4 miles of pipe trenches by hand for the water system
b) have a lower rate of student absence where the new water system is in use
c) have anointed Dr. Steve as a “village notable”
d) have perfected the logistics of system maintenance for the long term
e) all of the above but one

Sorry, but there are often no answers to questions such as the above. Mainly the last answer is the correct one, but it depends on whether it was properly translated and many other factors.

Dr. Steve

EWB digs Cameroon (from Dr. Steve)

2012-01-17T05:58:00.006-05:00

We had some coordination problems on Day 1 in the field - Hydrosanté was our only help - so Julianne and Taryn did an incredible job of ditch digging. The chief of Bakang 2 is having a meeting today to get things going, so we will have the usual team of locals on hand starting this afternoon. I'm not sure we need them with the EWB pick & shovel prowess I witnessed today...and you should see Taryn with a machete!
Also ... I did a bit of digging too...but was simply outclassed.
Below is the tapstand at Balatsit. Lots of kids come down from the school for water during recess. The Water Committee took the handles off the valves and you get one from the lady at the little "store" across the road. That way, nobody abuses the system. Seems to work great, and there's plenty of water there!

2012-01-17T05:37:00.002-05:00

Hello All,

We are currently in Baffousam and left all of the men of Bakang and Balatsit do do the heavy lifting. Tommorow we are planning to start construction on the wet well and solar panels. The entire system should be completed by Sunday. (More pictures to come.)

So many people have donated their time and money to this project and we would like to thank everyone that has contributed in any way. We know that the people of the community appreciate the gift that EWB-UD has given them, but I would also like to thank the community for all the gifts they have given us. This has been a learning experience for all directly or indirectly involved and whether the EWB-UD plans to continue in Bamendjou or not, our time here has taught us lessons that we will never forget.

Taryn

Check out this chateau!

2012-01-16T15:46:00.001-05:00

We are SO busy and have had not internet, sporadic electricity, and even one evening with no water, but the team is UP. The system is dusty but working…Mr. Mukam sent us our favorite plumber, Felix, to help out and he found a blockage on the Balatsit side so that tapstand will be up and running tomorrow. We’re digging ditches, giving out pineapples, conferring with chiefs, and putting together solar panel rack with 8 inch extensions.

Check out this picture!!! I had to post this over my phone in spite of cruel and unusual phone charges. And stay tuned! We’ll post soon with more stuff!

Hi to our Guatemala team!

Dr. Steve

2012-01-13T15:41:00.002-05:00

Hey Everyone!

So after a few crazy days in Yaounde, we will be heading for Bamendjou in the morning! We had a tire blow out on a taxi the other day, but, Anthony managed to patch it up with some duct tape and we got back to the hotel from dinner safe and sound. The past two days we have been out in the city shopping for supplies. Even though we had some trouble converting units at one point, (this must be an effect of jet lag) we successfully found and bought all of our materials. Later, we went to go check on the solar panals to make sure we did not need to buy more wire to connect them, and got to hear this amazing church choir practice for an hour while we waited for someone to show up and unlock the door. Then we went to dinner with Olivia, and she took us to a place where we could get some authentic Cameroonian food. We had what was something like doughnuts, beans, and this milk porridge that were all really good. We can't wait to head to Bamendjou tomorrow so we can start the real work on the system. Hopefully we will be able to blog more while there!

And we all wanted to wish Taylor a Happy Birthday!

Erica

Arrival in Yaounde!

2012-01-12T13:03:00.002-05:00

After about two full days of travelling, we finally made it to Cameroon last night. We had a 6 hour layover in Paris, so we decided to take full advantage of that situation to explore the city a bit. After trying unsuccessfully to navigate the bus system out of the airport, we found a guy to drive us into the city-- right to the Eiffel Tower!! We then walked all the way to the Louve and then to Notre Dame. A full tour in just two hours! Then it was back to the airport and time to get on with the journey. We were able to meet with Mr. Moukam and Olivia today before going shopping for suppplies, so hopefully we will be able to track down the solar panels tomorrow. Wiring may prove to be a problem, but we haven't given up yet! Talk to you more later!

Julianne

We're home!

2011-06-13T22:14:00.001-04:00

Hey fans!
We're all back in the USA now. The trip to Yaoundé was without problems, likewise the flight to Zurich and then to Newark, NJ. We'll post some more pictures as soon as we get cleaned up!
Dr. Steve

Saturday

2011-06-11T14:09:00.006-04:00

Dear Diary,

These are the things I want to write that I would never post on our EWB blog. It would be terrible if this was mistakenly put there.

One thing I won’t put on our blog is how we fit the PVC pipe together when it won’t fit. This is actually something that the local plumbers do for us. Each section of PVC pipe had one enlarged end to give a sleeve fit to the next section, but sometimes the enlarged part is broken. Also, sometimes two PVC fittings don’t mate closely. In such cases, our EWB approach would have been to stop the show, make a one-day drive to Bafoussam for replacement parts, and recommence. However, the local approach is to build a small fire with some grass plus solvent glue, and use this to heat the problematic part until it can be stretched or otherwise reshaped. After witnessing this, we developed a detailed safety protocol requiring that the fire be built only within the excavated ditch and that no one breath from the smoke emanating from the fire. A picture is attached showing this careful process.

Another secret is that we get really filthy here. Climbing around in the dirt is sort of fun but I would never want the general public to know what we look like at the end of a workday. Parents would be truly shocked. Fortunately, the water is working at Mr. Mukam’s house, so at least we can shower off (unlike last trip!). But some dirt seems pretty permanent: please refer to the accompanying illustration of Julianne’s hands after her washing and use of a “Wet One.” She is apparently leaving her towel here when we leave.

The dirt also takes its toll on our clothes. This is such a problem that we actually need to buy new clothes while we’re here. We choose local fabric and patterns at the market, then take the material to be custom tailored by Elizabeth, a seamstress in town. We pay for these out of personal funds; my total cost for two shirts was 13,000 CFA ($28.50). Diary, I would not want this extravagance revealed to our public!

And then, there’s the local wine, made from raffia. I came upon Amy and Julianne after they had been offered this beverage by the locals in Bakang. They claim they didn’t know it was wine, and did not like the taste, but Amy said later that it was “not as bad as real wine.” They also claimed they had only had a sip. However, both of them had been working all day in the ditches so they may have been desperately thirsty. As faculty advisor, I made sure this information was not posted on our blog.

And here’s the biggest thing, Diary. We planned on a fairly limited implementation this trip, probably connecting one tap stand to a long ditch that we doubted would be finished by the time we would leave. Instead, there were ditches completely dug for the *entire* network when we arrived – going to the furthest points we had ever discussed. We did not have enough funding or pipe to complete the distribution lines in all these ditches, but yesterday we did put in over 2 km of pipeline, to connect a major portion of the system. Doing this required a major change to our workplan, because we had to do GPS measurements of the distances and elevations for the ditches where they had actually been placed, and run careful calculations to make sure the pipe will allow enough pressure at the farthest tapstands. It’s good that we included a larger 2” line on a main trunk line: this will prevent a lot of headloss problems (the 2" line is all installed, too). We did have to deny a tapstand near the house of the Water Committee president, and don’t feel bad about that – but a more distant site, 30 meters lower, is going to work using our original plan for 1” pipe, and supply even more households. We had to redo all of our water demand calculations to make sure this was reaslitic, too. More changes than I think our EWB advisory committee would have approved, but we needed to maintain the confidence and enthusiasm of the community.
In January I think we will complete everything we had ever imagined, and more. Even now, the reservoir is over half full, waiting to feed the new water taps after ditches and pipes fill two remaining gaps in the lines. People are already hiking in from the other sides of the valleys for water from our wells.

So this is not a secret. Indeed it feels miraculous. I just don’t know what we report to EWB when the villagers accelerated our project so far beyond what we had planned for this trip. We had the tools to accommodate everything, as you might expect of us. We will do it ALL on our next trip!

So now I’ll write something else for the actual blog. Bye for now!

Dr. Steve

Friday, June 10th

2011-06-10T08:05:00.002-04:00

So, lots of excitement! There hasn't been water in the reservoir since we've been here, but we looked in the tank yesterday and there was about 2 feet of water! Shannon and I completed the connections to the balaitsit tap stand, and fortunately there weren't any leaks. Amy and Julianne replaced the broken tapstand at Bakang I and finished the tap stand at Bakang II. Everyone began laying pipe as well. There was a 5 year old little girl carrying 6 meter sections of 2 inch PVC pipe down the hill to help us. We ran into a problem when some sections of pipe had cracked ends. Normally we would have had to stop working to get more parts at that point. Our plumber, Felix, sawed off the ends, light the pipe glue on fire, heated the pipe, and expanded it over another piece of pipe to make it fit. You can always count on unique problem solving in Cameroon.

Kim

Day 9

2011-06-08T12:33:00.003-04:00

Well, since last we wrote you all, we have gotten 3 more flat tires. See picture below.

I think that must be a record--getting 4 within a 24 hour span. So we took the mayor's other vehicle to the work site, but had to stop for gas on the way. And of course, the engine wouldn't even start when we tried to leave. After several more minutes of agonizing wait, a changed fuse under the hood and some more air in another (deflated, not flat) tire, we finally got to Bamendjou for the day. While Kim and I learned how to use PVC glue to fix a leaky elbow, Shannon and Amy installed a new float switch at the Balatsit pump. The working Balatsit tanks can be seen below with a happy community member getting water!

It's amazing how many new skills I seemed to have aquired in the span of a few short days--PVC connections, taping galvaized pipe, learning the names and uses of all the different fittings, understanding the solar panel error messages..the list goes on. It's all very exciting! Raul and Felix (the plumber) fixed some polypipe fittings at the top of the hill, and when we reconvened at Balatsit a tap stand base was constructed for most of the rest of the day. Amy and Dr. Steve needed some compression fittings up on the hill when they took a guy up to dig down the trench to the tap stand a bit more, so I "ran" those up. There were several girls up there, too, all of whom seemed fascinated by my long, straight hair and had fun braiding it for me. Stylish! We also compared arm muscles (and were mutually impressed) before they were hypnotized by Dr. Steve's computer. After that, we travelled down the hill again to Bakang 1 to check up on their float switch, fixed it, and bought some sugar cane. Now that is some weird stuff to try and eat. Tasty though. Tomorrow (Wednesday) we have lots to do if we want to be able to go to Market Day! More later, and see you in less than a week!

Julianne

Schieu beu tsoh (water is life, in Patois)

Hello again!

2011-06-06T09:37:00.006-04:00

Hey all trusty blog followers!

First, an apology for the lengthy blog. We’ve been out of touch so long and there is much to update on!

The gang, slightly delayed by an out of date sticker on Frank (the SUV) left for Bamendjou on Friday morning. After another delay en route involving an expired registration and the Cameroonian military we were on our way to one of my favorite stops – the pineapple stop! Breaking our January record of sixteen pineapples, we managed to fit seventeen pineapples in the back of Frank along with the luggage of six people plus a slightly squished Julianne. (17 pineapples cost Guy 4,000 CFA which is equivalent to about 9 USD – he’s a master bargainer) We successfully made it to Bamendjou around three pm and immediately got to work.

Julianne, Amy and Kim worked on surveying potential distribution line locations and Dr. Steve and I measured the already dug trenches with Marcel and Michel. Below you'll see a picture of Dr. Steve and Michel looking at the potential tap stand site for Bakang II.

We found that there was no water in Balatsit and consequently no water in the ferrocement tank at the school. This was disheartening. After I did a quick inspection of the control panel of the solar panels, the float switch was determined to be the problem. However, this will be replaced tomorrow (Monday) and we are working on providing the community with full instruction on how to assess and deal with these types of problems. After visiting the sites in Bakang I, Bakang II and Balatsit, we were surprised and impressed to find that the community members had dug nearly 6 kilometers of trenches for new distribution lines! Friday night, we worked on calculations based on measured slopes and distances of the distribution lines.

Saturday, we focused on visiting each site again and determining the maintenance work that needed to be done at each. Below you'll see a picture of a happy community member getting water at the Bakang I site.

We also went around and took elevation measurements of proposed tap stand sites. This was surprisingly frustrating. GPS’s are not as accurate as they should be! Luckily, we found that our two gps’s were mostly consistently inconsistent and we were still able to determine elevation differences. Saturday afternoon, we had a water committee meeting with members of the water committees from Balatsit and Bakang. We presented them with large photos of the team with the water committee from last trip which provided us with many smiles from the community. The kids from the community lined up to watch Dr. Steve speak. (Maybe if he speaks in French in his classes at UD his students will be just as engaged??)

Saturday night we worked on looking at elevation data to determine feasibility of the tap stands. Guy continued to impress me as he took apart a nonfunctioning $3 solar lawn lamp and was able to determine the source of the problem and how to fix it. In case you were wondering, the problem was one of the little thingies on the circuit board. This is why I am a mechanical engineer, not an electrical engineer.

Sunday, we again visited the sites to attempt to nail down tap stand sites. We are finding this difficult because of political issues within the community. There is much discussion of who should get the water first based on who dug the trenches and who paid the most to dig the trenches etc. We found ourselves invited to one of the chiefs complexes. There, we were brought drinks and introduced to the statue of the late chief which was artistic yet slightly creepy at the same time. There is a photo below of the current chief, Kim, me Dr. Steve and Michel with the chief statue!

At the end of the visit, which involved a lot of further discussion of tap stand locations, we were presented with a gift of two chickens! After spending about an hour car ride with the two chickens (inevitably dinner) as we collected water samples for water quality testing, I’m pretty sure I am going to become a vegetarian.

Today, we are in Bafoussam to collect the supplies we need to build the tap stands! Later, it is time to build tap stands. Frank has had yet another problem... Flat tire. However, this has been fixed by the wonderful Guy, and we should be on our way back soon.

In other news, following the trend from last trip… we have NO water. We thought this was strange because at night, the rain is so intense and noisy that it wakes most of us up. However, this morning we discovered that the problem is not because of a lack of water but from a broken filter in the complex that has shut off the water. We are hoping to find the parts and be able to fix it later today.

More later!
Shannon

2011-06-02T13:50:00.001-04:00

Hi All,
Just wanted to let everyone know that the team made it to Yaounde safely and that they made contact with us after they landed. It sounded like everything is going well so far. Hopefully the rest of the trip goes smooth and without too many obstacles. We will hear from them by phone again when they land in the U.S. Thanks for everyone's support!

-Mike Orella

Maison du Plombier

2011-06-02T07:12:00.003-04:00

Here's part of the crew waiting for things to happen in the plumbing store, "Maison du Plombier" (yes, that means "house of plums"). Raoul, Kim, Julianne, and Shannon are actually waiting for the rain to stop (Dr. Steve successfully fled to the car before the cloudburst).
Nicole, Giscard in the Maison du Plombier still remembers you. In fact, Shannon and I were negotiating on the long length of PVC pipe we'll need, and got him down to his "best price" of 500 CFA per meter, and he wouldn't budge after that. But then I asked for the "Nicole price!" He almost broke down, poor guy, then gave us another 10% off. This is going to be a $200 difference if we buy 2000 m of pipe, and we will probably buy more. So thanks for your reputation!
Dr. Steve

Adventures So Far!

2011-06-01T13:15:00.001-04:00

Hello! All is well here in Yaounde. We did some shopping today and plan on heading out to Bamendjou tomorrow! (For anyone who has ever shopped in Yaounde, you know that get it all done in one day is pretty awesome) So far we have had a couple adventures… The car ride from the airport to our hotel was pretty interesting with all sorts of stalling and car backfires. Not to mention there were 8 of us and 9 suitcases in one car. Frank (our car) got fixed up this morning though and is up and running. Also, Julianne got locked in a bathroom with no handle. She is out now. The weather is an awesome 85 degrees. Hope you all are enjoying your extreme heat warnings! My internet time is running out so that's all for now.

We'll blog again as soon as we find internet!

Amy

Hey, we're here!

2011-06-01T12:08:00.001-04:00

Just wanted to get the first blog in for the June 2011 trip! We are here and highly successful so far in negotiating travel, purchases, and financial exchanges....great lunch with Mr. Mukam, too!
More soon from other team members....
Dr. Steve

Travel Team Returns Home Safely!

2011-02-03T18:56:00.003-05:00

The travel team made it home safely Tuesday evening after a brief delay in Yaounde. They're taking a few days off before the semester starts.

This semester the Cameroon Design Team will be working on two projects: another lift station in June and distribution lines for January 2012.

Thanks for following the blog and we look forward to seeing you at our 5th Anniversary Benefit Dinner!

Back home

2011-02-02T13:28:00.002-05:00

Our team got back to PHL yesterday evening after the long trip to Yaoundé then Paris to home. We had a two hour wait on the tarmac before finally taking off from Yaoundé but everything else went smoothly, with all our bags appearing on the carousel in Philadelphia.
My first priority at home was a long warm shower, and I'll bet that was the same for everybody. We take this for granted here, but what a luxury it is!

I got an e-mail this next morning that the mayor's mother had just passed away. I had seen her as she lay in bed only days ago in Bamendjou.... she had thanked me repeatedly while holding my hand. She spoke very little French and I will never know if she was thanking me specifically for our EWB work, or for being there in general. I've forwarded the e-mail to our current and past Cameroon team members.

Hopefully we will get a few more pictures posted here "for the record" but in the mean time, everybody is back home, with lots of laundry to do!

Dr. Steve

Success!!

2011-01-31T10:38:00.004-05:00

We were planning on coming back to Yaoundé yesterday, however we ran into a few small issues with the system. It turns out that one of the pieces of pvc we installed had a crack in it and needed replacing. After a long day yesterday, we managed to fix the leaks and pump water all the way up to the ferrocement tank at the school! It was an exciting moment for all of us. We also had a sucessful water committee with the community of Balatsit during which they sang for us!

Today, after testing the system one last time this morning, we drove back to Yaoundé. Guy filled the car with pineapples once more, although this time he only bought ten. We finally got the chance to take real showers!! This was a very exciting moment for all of us after being without running water for most of the past week. Now we are awaiting dinner with Olivia and a late flight back to Paris tonight.

Thank you to everyone who commented and/or has been following the blog! We all love the support and look forward to reading what everyone has to say. The team has many more stories to share on our return. See you soon!

Shannon

Beast Mode

2011-01-31T10:20:00.008-05:00

Friday, January 28
The end stages of our work are at hand. The new tapstand at the Bakang crossroads is nearly complete; the adjacent wet well is in its foundation, piped from the tank. The pump is installed, as are the solar panels and rack. The excavation for our pipeline to the hilltop reservoir is going well but is a formidable task: each day the digging team starts early and works hard into the afternoon, yet it still seems that a lot remains. Two gaps in the long ditch have been across the dirt roads, because we don’t want to prevent the occasional moto or (rare) car or truck from passing. These sections also need to be dug a meter below the road surface to assure that any road work will not interfere with our lines, as happened with the previous road grading incident. So that’s one task for today, which will allow us to lay the polypipe and conduit lines from our junction box continuously up the hill. The first picture below shows the digging efforts up the hill.

We complete a lot of water testing from the household water filters, which were a major effort over previous trips. We visited six families using the filters and took samples of the water being filtered, plus two samples taken as water exited the filter. Turns out that the filters—even those that are not really operated to specification—do a reasonable job of purifying the water. There are two that have fecal coliform bacteria in the incoming water that is completely removed; the other filters are removing other types of bacteria that are in the water.
Our big morale problem is lack of water at the Mayor’s house. How ironic that we are bringing in containers of water from the well in Bakang so that we can shower at night. The situation has worsened as there has been no tap water at the house even late at night or first thing in the morning. We are looking forward to showering in Yaoundé so we are not too unseemly upon arrival in Philadelphia.

Friday night update:
Today was a big day in Bakang. We worked on finishing many small parts of the project and made our last trip to Bafoussam (hopefully), so things finally seem to be coming together. Wire and polypipe were dug under both roadways today, so almost all of the polypipe is connected, and the wire is all set out, and just needs to be connected. The wet well is all connected, unfortunately we already found a problematic connection but we think it is due to a lack of pvc glue rather than a problem with the fitting. Hopefully this will be an easy fix with more pvc glue. Early tomorrow morning we are testing the system. Hopefully we don’t find anymore leaky fittings and everything runs smoothly! The picture below shows Nicole and Shannon working on putting the pump into the wet well.
This picture shows Amy and Raoul working on the tanks at Bakang.

Digging the roadway was a really exciting part of the day. While the ditch was dug the road was impassable.. or so we would think. Instead of taking a huge ditch in a road as a sign that they should drive the other way around the community, the drivers of taxis and motos decided to drive over the ditch instead. The workers set down rocks for the taxis to drive over. Guy decided our SUV was too good for the rocks so we just drove over the ditch. Now we have a flat-ish tire. When we finished our work in the ditch and filled it back in with dirt everyone was pumped. There was a lot of cheering and celebrating.. one big step done!

This picture shows the solution to cars coming down the road - large rocks! This worked surprisingly well for the couple of cars that came through while the digging was going on.

This picture shows the completed excavation across the road along with the completed pipe installation!
Love,
The team.

Setbacks !

2011-01-30T19:29:00.000-05:00

Oops. 24 hr delay due to leaks, which are now fixed. After enough sunshine tomorrow to check the pump and pipes, we will leave for Yaounde. There we will get a hotel room and take turns showering and finally get on our flight. You should hear from us again on the blog, too!
Dr. Steve from the Bberry

Thanks for your patience !

2011-01-29T19:34:00.000-05:00

Hey folks! We have been very busy and expect to leave Bamendjou tomorrow after having completed *everything* (well, almost). We'll post a complete rendition of our exploits and accomplishments from Yaounde!
- From Dr.Steve's Blueberry (which has not been able to do this before). .

Making Strides

2011-01-24T11:00:00.008-05:00

So it turns out that all major and useful shops in Baffousam are closed on Saturdays. Remember this for future trips! We ended up getting a couple supplies (pvc, a few fittings, and some other odds and ends) from a second hand parts shop. At these kinds of shops everything is in piles and you have to sort through it all to find the pieces you want. We found most of what we wanted anyways so it worked out.

Yesterday (Sunday) morning we started to put together the racking system for the solar panels. We had to add another splice onto the longer legs to get them onto the plane, so we had a couple more holes to drill into the aluminum. The guys worked on drilling the holes for the splice and the solar panel connections while the girls worked on wiring the conduit. Some of the holes were a little too small so Dr. Steve was trying to make them a bit bigger by drilling a little on an angle. The drill bit bent and broke off! And that is why we are back in Baffousam for the day. No surprises, the girls fully succeeded in wiring the conduit. The picture below shows the drill bit in pieces!This picture shows Shannon and Amy rolling up some finished conduit.

The following picture shows Vince and Raoul working on drilling holes to mount the solar panels on the rack (prior to the drill bit shattering).
Sunday was also market day in Bamendjou! We went to the market to search for drill bits, fabric, baskets, and sugar cane. We left the market with a 50% success rate.

After the market we stopped by our construction site and marked out location of the wet well and control box so excavation could start bright and early this morning. Due to unforeseen circumstances (one of the tanks' supports being broken), we changed the location of the wet well to the left tank.

Then we headed to the chief's place for a water committee meeting. During the meeting we discussed all sorts of plans for this trip and future trips. The water committee seems to have been on their game lately. They elected new leaders, as is customary in Cameroon every 2 years. They gave us an overview of meetings for the past couple meetings, and their detailed budget plans for the upcoming year. We answered any questions and concerns they had about the system. Then we shared the memorandum of understanding with them and they liked the "official-ness" of the document. We took some sweet official agreement pictures of Dr. Steve and the chief of Bakang II. The first picture below shows the chief of Bakang II signing the memorandum of understanding and the second picture shows the whole team with the members of the water committee.

This morning, Nicole, Raoul and Amy worked on planning out the wet well and improved taps to the tanks in Bakang II. Shannon and Vince worked on figuring out the problems with the float switches in Bakang II and the reservoir. Dr. Steve dug a trench for the wire and pipe with the help of 21 hardworking volunteers from the community! It was fantastic to see such a great turnout. As of this afternoon, the beginnings of the wet well have been attached, the area for the foundation for the wet well and control box has been dug, the float switch in Bakang II was inspected and fixed, and the sand, gravel and cement have been delivered for foundation work tomorrow. Cement blocks will arrive tomorrow.

Currently, Nicole, Shannon and Dr. Steve are stuck in Bafoussam due to a flat tire on the SUV. However, we have found all of the parts we came for and the tire should be fixed soon.

We have a lot of work to get done over the next week, but we had pineapples with dinner last night so we are still in good spirits.

Sincerely,
Love forever,

The Implementation Team

Beginning of Bamendjou

2011-01-22T11:07:00.002-05:00

We woke up early on the twentieth to meet Giscard, our friend from the Maison du Plombier, in hopes of finally getting the galvanized pipe we spent an extra day in Yaoundé waiting for. Much to our surprise (but not really) it was not ready at eight am… or nine am… or ten am. Then we found out that the SUV had broken down and was smoking. After forty five minutes and three different belt replacements, the faulty fan belts were replaced with new ones and we were ready to go. Below you'll see Guy and a guy from an auto repair shop working on the car. When we finally got the pipe, we found out that we’d have to take it to another place in order to get it threaded. We were annoyed but relieved we finally had the pipe.

However, when we got to the place where supposedly we could get the pipe threaded, we learned that the pipe was too big to get threaded at that location and it would cost at least 40,000 CFA (about $80) for the man with the machine to show up and an additional two hours. We decided to just get the pipe cut and leave because we were all very frustrated and many hours behind schedule.

The trip to Bamendjou is about four hours, hot, and very dusty. We had to stop and pay tolls three times along the way. Each time, the car was swarmed with people trying to peddle things like peanuts, bananas, and pineapples. At the last toll, we stopped. Guy got out and two minutes later our SUV was stuffed with about 16 pineapples. (We have not gone a day without eating pineapple. It’s delicious)

We arrived in Bamendjou around four pm on the 20th . We immediately met with Marcel, the head of Hydrosanté, to discuss our plans for this trip. After receiving encouraging reports about our project’s effect on the community’s health, we got dinner at the “Seven Eleven.” This was our first traditional Cameroonian meal. We all were a little delirious from the long day so we went to bed early.

The next day started out with a bang. After having breakfast, we went to inspect the water tanks in Bakang and Balatsit. When we got to Bakang I, we discovered that a man from Toumi was taking water without contributing the monthly fee that the rest of the local community contributes. He took about 500 liters in his truck,which is enough to provide 34 people with water for a day. After an intense argument with Marcel, Dr. Steve, and other concerned members of the community, they finally got him to pay a minimal fee and we went on to look at the Balatsit I and Bakang II sites. Below is a picture of all of us climbing the hill towards the school with all the school children watching us.

When we later got to Bakang II, we discovered the same man taking even more water. Again, heated arguments were exchanged. After this, we went to talk to the chief of Bakang. We were requested to attend the funeral of the chief’s mother on Saturday morning. After this sad news, we got some good news during our inspection of the slow sand filter at the chief’s compound. The water was crystal clear after being pulled from the local creek.

Below is a picture of Dr. Steve, Guy, the Chief of Bakang, Raoul and Vince with the fantastic water filter!

We continued our circuit around the community and checked out other water systems to get new ideas and look at how well our systems were doing. We ended up climbing an abandoned Scanwater tower which was built by the Scandinavians in 1987 and has been inactive for at least fifteen years. Most of the useful parts have been stolen. This was a system that was installed without community involvement and failed for that reason. Below is a picture of Dr. Steve, Vince, Shannon, Amy and Marcel on top of the Scanwater tower.

Next, we came back to discuss our construction plans and figure out how much material we needed to order from Jean Bernard. Amy worked on taking inventory of all the supplies we have left here from previous trips. Vince and Shannon worked on putting the racking system together until realizing that somehow our drill bits have gone missing. We’ll need to buy a 5/16” bit in Baffousam (quick quiz: what’s that in mm?).

Then for the real fun. Conduit! We spent the rest of the day attempting and failing at wiring conduit. Roll #1 was deceivingly easy. Roll #2 was rusted and broken before we even touched it. Roll #3 was a breeze because everyone helped to unroll the conduit and keep it free of kinks. This being said, we only finished two hundred meters (not yards, Dr. Steve) before dinner and before it got too dark to work. However, now we have a system and have high hopes for the rest of the conduit.

Cleaning up for dinner was difficult because we currently don’t have water. The area hasn’t had consistent SNEC (the national water system) water in two months. Thank goodness our system was still pumping enough to provide the community we’re working in with plenty of water. We also had part of our dinner by flashlight due to power outages that are frequent in this area.

Dinner was a great traditional meal. After dinner, dessert was even better. We decided to do an experiment with results following. We wanted to know what colors gobstoppers changed to. We were super scientific using flashlights to be sure of color changes and eating the gobstoppers at the same time. While experimenting, we found some faults with gobstoppers.

Results

Purple to Red

Green to Purple

Red to Orange

Yellow to Orange

Orange to Yellow

Fault #1- There is only one color change! The pictures on the box are misleading, along with what Willy Wonka has lead us to believe. There should be many color changes!

Fault #2- Red goes to orange and yellow goes to orange?!?! What happened to green! Since three of the four of us (excluding Vince) love green, we found this to be a major fault.

Fault #3- Vince’s fault. There is no blue. Vince loves blue. Problem.

Limitations and Future Direction – Do these color changes hold true for all boxes of gobstoppers? We don’t know! Limitation – we are in Cameroon and cannot get more boxes of gobstoppers.

So you can see we are in good spirits, even by flashlight and with scant showering opportunity. That’s all for now!

The Team

P.S. from Dr. Steve: I said that 100 meters is “about” the length of a football field!

Dr. Steve reporting

2011-01-19T15:53:00.006-05:00

We are still in Yaoundé but ready to leave tomorrow - assuming our materials arrive when promised. Considering all else so far, we are prepared for delays. This is the first time we've had duty problems on equipment brought into the country but now we know to bring receipts or letters proving donation and approximate value. Still, at least we have the solar panels we brought, and a lot less expensive than the ones we are buying here. I think we have even odds that the latter will even have arrived when we are leaving the country... but, with our backup plan we are still ok, and the late panels will be used during our trip in May.

Our team is working *really* well together and is very positive and knowledgeable. Above, you see Shannon, Amy, and Vince in the plumbing store, where the team spent hours making sure we got exactly what we need. Sorry for the picture quality - after taking this shot I was told that photography is prohibited there! So look very closely for the top secret goods and prices....

Also everyone is dealing well with the conditions here. We enjoy the western-style restaurants we can afford, and don't notice the squalid water in the drainage ditches. Traffic may be chaotic, but Guy gets us where we need to go (he is amazingly good at finding places in a country that has no street signs or city road maps - sorry, no gps road maps either). The air is hazy but will be better tomorrow, once we are on our way to more rural Bamendjou. I am really looking forward to seeing all our friends there!

G'night - getting up early to get our pipe tomorrow....

Des Chèvres (Goats!)

2011-01-19T09:01:00.005-05:00

Today was more relaxed. We needed to pick up the materials and send those along with our bags by bus to Bamendjou because our car is packed! Also, we figured out how to change the French keyboard to an English keyboard!!! We all were excited about this discovery because we were constantly writing "q" instead of "a" and searching for the "m" key.

Guy, our driver for this trip, Nicole and Amy went to SOCIMAC to pick up the materials we ordered yesterday. They had to pull off the road at one point to make room for a herd of goats! After this we made a point of looking for any and all goats. The materials along with our bags were then delivered to the bus station.

We had a delicious late breakfast at Hotel Mansel, our hotel from previous trips, after Guy, Nicole and Amy returned. It consisted of baguette, croissant and fantastic ananas! (pineapples) We had some trouble pouring the café au lait because of the high tech thermos it was served in. The breakfast ended with coffee, milk and bread crumbs everywhere.

After breakfast we took a long driving tour of Yaoundé in search of Solaire Afrique and finally found it after stopping at a police station and a hardware store. It was a little discouraging because we learned that the solar panels we ordered a while ago would not be available until the end of next week when we would be in Bamendjou (about four hours away). However, we thought ahead! We brought solar panels with us in anticipation of not receiving the panels ordered in country.

From there we returned to the city and went shopping for Cameroon jerseys! We were impressed because on the way over we saw many female police officers! Guy was a great guide and found us some great deals. We all got a lesson in bargaining on the way over and we got some jerseys at good prices.

Now we're waiting on galvanized pipe to be available later this afternoon and after we pick up that and a few more pipe fittings, we should be set to travel to Bamendjou early tomorrow. Tonight after a little more shopping, we're planning on going to Dolce Vita for dinner and an early bedtime hopefully to rest up for a long day of traveling tomorrow.

We're unsure if we'll have internet access so don't be alarmed if you don't hear from us for a while!

Bon après-midi!
Shannon and Vince

pumps, pipes, and pizza

2011-01-18T12:33:00.003-05:00

Day 2 in Yaoundé... always an adventure. We started off the morning trying to find a place to eat. That was one of the things we had taken for granted on previous trips... breakfast at the hotel. We found a MakDonalds, which was a cameroon version of the McDonalds in the states. The American music was in full force at 9am. After that, we did some things around the hotel...including journal writing, supply list reviewing, and me falling up the stairs. Amy already has a list on the clumsy things I do throughout the day. Maybe we will post that at the end of the trip for a good laugh. When we ventured out, we split up into two groups. group 1: dr steve and guy. going to airport to rescue the solar panels and pump. group 2: the students. going around the city to get supplies. Success! By 6pm we were on our way back to the hotel. Airport mishap resolved, most of the supplies purchased. Its a good thing too because we are sending the supplies and solar panels on a bus to Bamendjou tomorrow. The team, however, will be leaving on Thursday because there are a few loose ends that need to be tied. I am sure you will be reading all about that another day.

For tonight: its pizza night. Best pizza in Yaoundé shared with my homegirl, Olivia.

Nicole

First Day...

2011-01-17T18:02:00.002-05:00

So after a few roadblocks, such as two delayed flights, we have arrived in Yaoundé.

Disclaimer = my blog posts will be short because dealing with typing on a French keyboard has proved to be chalenging.

Today, upon arriving at the Philadelphia airport, we learned that nearly everything we had packed was overweight, oversize, or both. This led to some (mostly) organized unpacking, cutting, resizing and repacking. With the entire teams effort and a little schmoozing of the airline, we were able to get everything on board and to Cameroon.

The arrival in Cameroon also proved to hold some hassles. Currently all four solar panels and all other supplies we brought are sitting at the airport due to some discrepancies over customs policies.

However, despite these setbacks, the team enjoyed a nice late dinner with Olivia Mukam and we are ready to make things happen tomorrow! That being said, it is well past bedtime after being awake for many many hours. More updates soon!

Shannon

The Blue Hen has landed!

2011-01-17T15:11:00.002-05:00

The January 2011 EWB-UD team has landed in Cameroon for yet another expedition to Bamendjou!

For the next two weeks EWB-UD will be working in partnership with the community of Bamendjou to continue to develop their water distribution system. Plans include the construction of a wet well, force main, and solar array. This off-grid system will be used to pump well water up a ridge to the reservoir that was constructed last June.

Keep your eyes peeled for more reports!

Well Deserved Photo

2010-07-14T20:39:00.005-04:00

Fearsome blog followers!!

The completed reservoir!!!!!

In the foreground is the community's beautiful ferrocement reservoir. In the background to the left is the control box where all of the influent and effluent pipes will be connected to the tank.

Thank you everyone who contributed to the success of the project, not just this phase but from the beginning. Also, a special thank you to Caesar Rodney Rotary Club and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources for helping us construct a smaller prototype on campus to ensure the success of our project in Bamendjou. Again, without the great support group that EWB-UD has, none of this would be possible.

2010-06-27T05:47:00.002-04:00

We are safely back in the US. The flight arrived at JFK yesterday around 5 pm, and luckily our luggage made it back with us! Here is the translated version of the Water Committee speech...

Bakang
6/23/2010

Committee for the Management of Potable Water of Bakang
tel: 97023526

Mr. Professor, dear brother engineers without borders from the USA, in the name of the committee of the Bakang community, I thank you in advance for all that you have done for us. Our collaboration, our determination and our eagerness to work together, hand in hand, dates back to this time in 2007. The potable water tank, which for us was an unrealistic dream, has become a reality today. Our satisfaction being complete, we say thank you once again and ask you not to abandon us because we have gotten a taste for what you can do, and like the common African proverb says:

"Appetite comes from eating."

Dear brother engineers, with your technical training and advice, your presence will always be indispensable around us. We promise you that we will make good use of the wells and tank that you have installed, and assure you of their proper maintenance.

We wish you a good trip and return to America, and your return here to Bakang is eagerly awaited for the continuation of this precious project.

Mr. Professor, dear brother engineers without borders from the USA, I thank you.

The president of the management of potable water of Bakang.
tel: 95023526

-Chev

On our way home (24 hours late!!)

2010-06-25T18:35:00.003-04:00

We left our many friends in Bakang, Balatsit, and Bamendjou today. Taylor is staying until early Monday to wrap up some plumbing details, so there were four UD'ers and Guy in a taxi then an intercity bus, then car, getting to the airport. We also stopped at Mayor Mukam's house in Yaoundé to finish up some logistical details.

The Yaoundé airport isn't usually an ordeal like this, but the scheduled 5 am departure (so start check in at 2 am), then a 3-hour flight delay, meant an all-nighter there. The delay meant we missed our connection to New York, so we are laid over in Casablanca for 24 hours.
Casablanca is basically a big city. They put us in a with good accommodations but there's not much too do but wait. I can't post any pictures for you, our beloved fans, because the camera connection stuff is in my suitcase someplace at the airport. We will get more up soon!

The tank is a real milestone. But I will not write what the Water Committee stated in more moving terms. We'll post their good-bye speech as soon as we get it translated.

Dr. Steve

Just us (without Dan)

2010-06-23T09:42:00.008-04:00

Sorry, Dan! Here we are, without you, being very happy after seeing the final stages of tank construction. As Amy & Amy described, there's still more to do. But we are so popular here that there are apparently going to be kids named Amy, Taylor, and Steve in the foreseeable future (Taryn is called Amy, too). Those are not really very French or Cameroonian names and will surely be curiosities caused by an EWB project.

2010-06-23T09:42:00.005-04:00

The first layer of mortar is on the roof of the tank! The second layer is going on as we speak. The team is leaving for Yaoundé tomorrow morning after a meeting with the water committees. Still to do, finish the control box, set up the tap stand and smooth out the roof. We have a good team working on it, and we should be done for tomorrow. The weather has been giving us some late starts, but the masons are making up for lost time. We finally found all of the fittings in Bafoussam!!! Heading back now to Bamendjou to help finish up. This will probably be the last post before we get back. See you all in the states!!

Amy and Amy

Even more pix (Dr. Steve)

2010-06-20T08:06:00.007-04:00

Below is our 20,000 L tank!! It still needs some more layers of mortar on the inside and outside, then the top (you can see there's still re-bar, wire mesh, and chicken wire up there) - and the exterior piping - but it's been a lot of work to the point and we are all very proud of our accomplishment. Mayor Mukam came up and looked at it and was also very impressed.

Above (sorry, the system here won't let me move pix) is Amy B. showing signs of exhaustion. piling dirt on her pants leg. I should be careful posting embarassing pictures, though: the team has dozens of pictures of their faculty advisor sleeping in various times and locations.

Work goes on!! Stay tuned!

2010-06-20T08:02:00.004-04:00

We have made a lot of progresss on the tank since Wednesday. The first coat of mortar is on and most of the piping is installed. We have had great support from community members and the tank is moving along at a good pace. Except for a few fittings we were unable to locate in Bafussam, there have been no major bumps in the road. Time has gone by so fast since we have been here, it is sad that there is only a short time left here. However I now know more than ever that the time and effort that everyone here in Cameroon and back home puts into this project is well worth the rewards. In other news, sadly Cameroon lost it's second match of the world cup to Denmark.

-Taryn

2010-06-16T13:13:00.001-04:00

Today rain
Tomorrow tank roof and plaster preparations, sadly Dan also goes home because he has a job.
Friday we plaster the tank (if all goes well)

sorry for the short post but things are going quickly!!!!

-the team

Some more pix ...

2010-06-16T07:58:00.010-04:00

We were invited to witness graduation ceremonies at the school. This means the school is empty, but there will always be a few hanging out wherever we work!

Here, the concrete for the floor is being brought in by "Indian file" - the Cameroonian term for a bucket brigade - which is seen coming from the right with full buckets and empty ones going back. A bunch of masons are pouring and smoothing the concrete.

Here's the entire team (except me). Note all the buckets!

In all my trips, this has been the most awesome as far as everybody pitching in. The Indian file was trilingual and our spirits were very high, even though Cameroon lost an important World Cup soccer match the previous evening. We're doing great!
Dr. Steve

2010-06-14T13:25:00.004-04:00

Our extremely symmetrical tank :)

2010-06-14T13:25:00.002-04:00

Our guys held their own in fooseball!

The Amy Blog

2010-06-14T12:54:00.002-04:00

To answer Taylor's initial questions....

1. How to find galvanized pipe-We searched every store in Bafoussam, and we spotted it behind one of the stores.

2. How to put a 6 m (20 ft) pipe on the top of your car-Tie it to the rack of the car very carefully and enlist the help of the pipe cutters. This method works quite well even when the car gets stuck in a ditch during a rain storm for 2 hours. The bumpy Cameroonian roads were much worse during the storm, the frame of the car was lying on the ground, and one window was equipped with a disposable poncho. After a lot of shoveling, bouncing the car, burning rubber and hard work by Guy (our chauffeur extraordinare), Taylor (our fearless leader), Martine (our wonderful chef) and local children (who also made sure that other vehicles didn't hit us) the car was free. We decided to take an alternate route back, and the pipes arrived safely.

3. How to get the proper pipe lengths and thread everything--We walked down the street to the plumber who cut each pipe with a hand saw, while their stand kept falling over and used one of our great translators (Amy Chev) and Guy to get some complicated points across. When it started to rain we all moved into a stairwell, and the other plumber stopped watching the soccer game, which they can't get enough of, and helped us out as well. It took a long time, but now we know why those plumbers are so strong!

4. Saying enough is enough and coming back tomorrow-How about saying enough isn't enough and coming back that night with our headlamps. Well....we disturbed the locals, who are not used to people being up at night, so we need to work on this one some more.

In response to the World Cup questions, we gave the option of working during the Cameroon game or going back the next day, and received a unanimous come back the next day. Cameroon had a bit of a disappointing loss today, but we hope they come back in the next game.

The tank is coming along great! The masons who are helping us out with construction have good suggestions and methods, and have created a much more symmetrical tank than the prototype. It is awesome how easy it is to communicate ideas, how quick they pick up on the different techniques and how motivated they are to build not only a tank but a nearly perfect one.

We've been pretty lucky with the weather so far, and hopefully it holds out for tomorrow when we're pouring the foundation!

We've been working from sun-up to past sun-down (which is earlier here), but we'll try to post another blog soon.

--Amy Bucha and Amy Chev

2010-06-10T12:26:00.002-04:00

After three days of traveling we are finally here!!!

We spent the morning meeting with people and organizing the delivery of materials while we waited for the car to be fixed to make sure materials were ready for the start of construction on Monday. We managed to squeeze in a couple games of fooseball as the car was finished. Dan and Dr. Steve scored from defense. I did too... but it was on myself...

Its my fourth time here, and I have to say, it never gets old. There are always new challenges, like:
1) where do you buy glavanized pipe?
2) how do you get a 6 meter (almost 20ft) section of pipe on the roof of your car?
3) how do you tell the plumber you need multiple sections of various sizes cut and threaded?
4) being okay with saying enough is enough and come back tomorrow.

I`m stuggling the most with number 4 right now, but we`ll get through.

Hopefully we will have a few of the new members post something soon! Au revoir!!

We're here!!

2010-06-09T03:30:00.005-04:00

No snafu's - all luggage here, leaving for Bamenjou on the bus later today, stay tuned!
Dr. Steve

6/8/2010 Travel Update

2010-06-08T09:21:00.003-04:00

Hi everyone, the I-team landed in Casablanca at about 4AM EST and will depart for Cameroon at about 2 PM EST. They hope to get into Cameroon by about 8-ish.

I will call I-team emergency contacts when the team calls to confirm their arrival.

-Edwin, In country contact.

Leaks - and victory

2010-01-30T13:31:00.008-05:00

Here's what was the bane of our existence! We worked around the problem of leaky joints eventually, and you can see the result: water filling the tank up at the school. Victory!

Off to the airport! Will update again, because we have many wonderful pictures of people and experiences - so stay tuned.

Dr. Steve

More pix!

2010-01-29T20:02:00.013-05:00

Here Linda, Nicole, Janvier, and Dan work on wet well assembly. We changed the design quite a bit during installation.

Below: a water committee meeting in Balatsit. They sang us a rousing welcome song when we arrived!

Here's the tank on the top of the hill. With good sunlight, it takes about one hour to fill.

Dr. Steve and the chief of Bakang II look over a list of sand filter requests. We are subsidizing the cost of filters for families, at $10 apiece. See our web site under "contributions".

Dan has a lot of chigger bites. Do deal with a challenge from Nicole as to how many there were, Dan penned a number to each one. Guess how many!!??

It's now 2:30 so I better go to bed!

Dr. Steve

Some pix to confirm our existence

2010-01-28T06:35:00.008-05:00

Battery's dying...but here are 2 pictures!

All I could do for now. Next time I'll bring a fully charged laptop to the Piarist mission which has the only internet closer than Bafoussam - and that hasn't had a working line either.
In any case, you can see that we're immersed in dirt, pipes, wires, and so forth. Edwin thankfully gave you an update after we communicated by phone with him. We'll let you know asap about our pipe connection problems and hopefully the solution. The new pump is installed in the ¨wet well¨ - the white pipe shown in the pictures - and gets fed from the water tanks shown to the right of Nicole and Linda in the top picture. We had a lot of help digging and plumbing from the local folks.
We had two water committee meetings yesterday including (in Latsit) a greeting in song by the women in the chefferie meeting room, (at both) translations back and forth from English, French, and patois, and (in Nkang) a round of beverages including a gift of a bottle of French whiskey for me which shall remain unopened for some time.
This should be our last day in Bamendjou if all goes well. If we still have plumbing problems, our backup plan (we always try to have one) is to stay tomorrow and leave Saturday for Yaounde since our flight is not until 11:30 pm. Taking another bus since the only car we could use this trip is Mr. Mukam's based here at his place. But we'll have a lot less to carry out than we brought in.
Regardless - stay tuned for more pix since I now know how to compress them on my laptop to upload them in a reasonable amount of time.

Dr. Steve

P.S. No joy in Cameroon this week. Their national soccer team lost to Egypt in the Africa Cup quarter finals. But people still watch the rebroadcasts...

[UPDATE (from Ramsey)]: I've talked to Dr. Steve. The team thinks they have solved the leaky compression fittings issue. They will be bringing back some sample fittings and pipe so we can figure out what the problem was exactly. They ran out of time before the sun went down on Thursday to see if the water would make it to the top of the hill. This will be tested Friday morning.

Also, everyone seems to be in relatively good health, with the exception of some limited stomach issues, and a lot of insect bites (probably chiggers).

Yes, we're here in Cameroon !

2010-01-28T06:24:00.001-05:00

Hi fans -
We really apologize for the gap in posts. Internet has been pretty limited here and even now my battery situation is a bit limiting, so we'll get some stuff up that may end precipitously...

Below is Steve M.'s entry we tried to get up a few days ago!
Dr. Steve
------------------------
Who is the most popular man in Cameroon?

A) Samuel Eto’o
B) Barack Obama
C) Paul Biya
D) Taylor King
E) All of the above

The correct answer is E, all of the above. Allow me to explain…

Soccer is huge in Cameroon. We have had the good fortune of traveling to Cameroon during the Cup of African Nations, which is essentially the African version of the World Cup. Cameroon is currently in the quarterfinal round, and following the games, from a party at Olivia’s home in Yaoundé, to (interrupted) satellite coverage in Bamendjou. It has been very exciting following this team in a country full of fans with a lot of national pride, and this country is prouder of no man than their star, Eto’o. He is plastered on billboards across Cameroon advertising for many corporations. On the field, the attention on the game revolves around Eto’o’s every move.

Cameroonians are keenly aware of international current events. Thousands of miles away from Washington, it is evident that Barack Obama’s approval rating is quite high here in Cameroon. “Obama” branded clothing, watches, bumper stickers (even Mayor Mukam has an Obama air freshener hanging in his SUV) are available in any Cameroonian market. It is not clear exactly where this excitement comes from. Be it continental pride that a half African man could become the president of the United States, or a strong belief that a stark change was necessary in American politics, one thing is for sure; Barack Obama is highly regarded in Cameroon.

Paul Biya has been the president of Cameroon for over 20 years. In presidential elections he runs virtually unopposed, consistently winning in landslide victories. While Cameroon is not a nation without flaws, political unrest is much less common than most nations, and Cameroonians seem to have a positive view on where their nation is heading. Paul Biya’s Portrait can be found in many homes, stores, restaurants and hotels, a testament to this nations respect for their long time leader.

Since landing in Yaounde, the question I have been asked most frequently is “Where is Taylor King?” (other popular questions include “where is Alyssa?… Sarah?… Sam?…Andrew?….” It is truly remarkable how much of an impact previous EWB trips have had on the community of Bamendjou. EWB UD’s last trip to Cameroon ended over six months ago, yet the people of this community remember travel team members vividly, and excitedly expect their eventual returns. Although each trip brings a different group (sorry, no Taylor this time), each team continues to strengthen the bond between a group of students from Newark, Delaware to a group of villages in Bamendjou, Cameroon. Yesterday, the Mayor proposed a strong desire to join Newark and Bamendjou as “Sister Cities”. In my opinion, it is clear that they already are.

Interim Proxy-Post

2010-01-28T00:26:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, the internet is currently down in the I-team's area, so I'll update you on their progress. First of all, they did get the toolbag, albeit quite late. Secondly, the panels and the pump for the lift station have been installed and they are in the process of testing the whole system. While the panels and the pumping apparatus seem to be working just fine, it turns out the compression fittings for the piping is leaking, so the team is currently trying to retrofit all of the fittings.

The team is currently on track with their schedule (minus the leaking fittings setback) and hopefully they will have internet soon so that they can update themselves.

- Edwin (in-country contact)

PS - I apologize to those who have called me at my cell phone for status updates; I have a rebellious cell phone problem.

We're rollin' now

2010-01-21T10:21:00.013-05:00

Hey, readers! Here are some pix to show you our stuff !

Here's our bus in front of the hardware store loading up 350 meters of polyethylene pipe and a bunch of other stuff (try getting Greyhound to do that for you - there are some interesting qualities to this place!). This was BEFORE going to the bus depot and filling up with all the other people and putting their stuff on the roof, which took another three hours (the bus only leaves when it's full).

Picture by Dr. Steve.

We had the back two seats and were not as crowded as the folks in the front. Up on the right the guy was trying to sell us candy - we got a detailed explanation of various bonbons. Fortunately he got off at an early stop.

Heads of Nicole and Guy are visible.

Picture by Linda

Here are three of us in the back seat (two with licorice sticks). The very scholarly Dr. Steve is reqding a book (Fellowship of the Ring, actually). Not shown, Steve M. was to the right. Actually there should be five people in each row, but we had an empty place because Olivia couldn't come with us.

Picture by Linda (she takes thousands!!)

Here's the hand of a woman filling her water jug from the newest tank, in Latsit, finished by Sarah on the last day of the June project. Those familiar with these "citernes" will note that the outer spigot has been broken or removed. This is a real problem with these things. All three were like this, and both on the other new site.

Pic by Linda

Dan, Sean, Steve in front of the Latsit tanks (fence built by the local folks since our last trip).

Today we assembled the rack mount here for the solar panels, met a bunch of kids, had the pump and access pit dug, ordered blocks to be made, and aranged for sand, gravel, and cement to be trucked out to our site.

Forget the photo credits...unless otherwise noted, photo by Linda!

Here Nicole discusses valve options for the citerne with the hardware folks. You can only see Dr. Steve's hat to the left but he was trying to translate while this was going on.

We bought this tank and it's already back in Bamendjou for installation up at the school. Today we had the foundation area dug up where it will be. We've also walked over and eceided on the route for the pipeline connecting the tank to its pump down at the bottom of the hill. Digging on this starts tomorrow!

Here's Linda showing her strength after we bought a section of pvc pipe. I told them she was carrying it out of the storage yard partly as a joke, but then they swept all the dust off of it for her, so we followed through (she got quite dusty anyway).
This pipe will be used in short vertical sections where we have lectrical junctions, for surface access.
Obviously Linda didn't also take the picture, but Dr. Steve used her camera.

Finally, Monday was Market Day. Here's a view. We had too much to do to spend much time shopping - we'll do some souvenir shopping when we get our project done.

But we did need some towels, and there was a big selection. I even found two that match!

That's it for now. We're going to catch up to our schedule tomorrow after luggage delays and a lot of re-engineering of various details of this stuff (for example, the at-home design team members are thinking HEY - why only one storage tank???). It's different some times once you're on site.

And to keep up the suspense ---- no news yet on our tool bag. But we did realize we have tons of useful stuff stashed here from the last trip. We're pretty good to go. Wish we could find the electric drill, though.

Water is life!

Dr. Steve

Dr. Steve gets inspired as we hit the road

2010-01-18T20:33:00.002-05:00

This is Dr. Steve. Sorry we've not yet uploaded many pictures. Ironically, everybody wants photos at the highest possible resolution, but then it's hard to upload them with our slow connection. We'll see what we can do.

First an update on the toolbag crisis: we are told it should arrive in Yaoundé Thursday evening. This is rather critical. We would be able to replace lost tools, but there was specialized glue and tape in the bag that we use to isolate the pump’s underwater wiring from the water. We can’t get it here. So hopefully the stuff will arrive… … we will have left, so Olivia’s friend Johannes (whom some our previous team members will remember) has been authorized to pick it up. He’ll send it to Bafoussam and we can drive there and pick it up.

Sean mentioned our dinner at Olivia’s house (her mother’s actually) and the people we met. As each individual arrived, Olivia introduced him or her with a description of how she knew them and what they had been doing. I had a chance to talk to many of them during the evening. Olivia has a group of amazing friends (see picture!).

These are some of Cameroon’s new generation. They are well educated at some of the finest universities of Europe and the United States. They have graduate degrees in business, law, international relations, and other leadership fields. And yes, they seem very ambitious . . . but they are ambitious for their society, and they have stayed in Cameroon to make a difference. Johannes, for example, is an intern who intends to practice as a doctor in the public sector here, not nearly as well paid as in a private clinic but helping the people who need it. Nfinyo’s education is as a jurist, but he’s working on public works projects that will improve the quality of life in Cameroon. And Olivia herself is working diligently on ways to assist local start-ups based on community skills. They’re simply inspirational, and they confirm my feeling that Cameroon is a great place for EWB to be helping out.

And then I thought about the other people who were are the party: the UD students, who are also being educated at a fine university, and in a leadership field (think of UD’s President Pat Harker). Our EWB students want to make a difference, even if it means choosing a more demanding path. So I was thinking that they’re an impressive group too.

So I left the party very upbeat (and it helped that Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions won against Zambia!). Early tomorrow we load our pump, solar panels, piping, cables, and other gear on the roof of a bus and pack in with the other folks for a our ride to Bamendjou. I’m looking forward to the local food and friends there, and hard work as we bring clean water to people who need it. You’ll hear from us when we next have internet – please be patient!

CRISIS IN CAMEROON

2010-01-18T16:43:00.003-05:00

well, today started off on the wrong foot... i woke up when Dan and Sean were going down to breakfast (instead of being ready to go to breakfast with them). After the morning rush, some delicious croissants and lemon tea, we started our work day by going through the entire system and figuring out the parts that we needed to buy in Yaounde. This took a little longer than anticipated, but at approximately 12:30 pm, the four of us headed out (Dr. Steve, Dan, Linda, and me) while Sean and Steve (JR) stayed at the hotel. They were waiting to go to the airport to hopefully pick up the missing tool bag... As for the other 4 of us, we headed to Maison du Plombiers, where we got our valves, reducers, and some compression fittings! We then headed to a new store where we got a LOT (350 m) of poly pipe, wire and a protective case for the wiring. As of right now, we have all of the materials we need for Yaounde (which is a good thing, since we're heading out tomorrow morning). Some technical difficulties arose when the driver drove off a curb and his car stalled in the middle of the road... perpendicular to the traffic. Dr. Steve and Dan had to get out and push the car until it was 'safely' on the side of the road, and our driver had to get gas... he ran out. We returned back to the hotel at around 6 pm to find that the case of the missing tool bag was still unsolved. This poses quite a problem since we're leaving for Bamendjou at 8 am in the morning :( I think everything will work out ok though, because we've made alternate arrangements to get the bag into the village. (It should be arriving on Thursday) Besides this minor (major) crisis, I've been having a blast and can't tell you how handy it was that I took a picture of all of the parts that we needed from the store. We were able to get almost all of them without having to speak any French... that's all for now.

I'm off to bed so I can wake up on time tomorrow!
Nicole

What a Day!

2010-01-18T04:01:00.002-05:00

As everyone knows, we arrived in Cameroon on Saturday night and received a warm welcome at the airport. Although our tool kit was left in Paris, all of the solar panels, aluminum, and pump made it safely. When we first got to our hotel, we all saw the amazing views from our rooms. The Cameroon soccer team stadium is right outside our window!

On Sunday, we planned to take it easy as it was resting day but it ended up being an awesome day. We started the day with fresh pineapple and croissants for breakfast and then went to the Hilton Hotel to exchange our money. We did not think we were getting the best exchange rate so we went to an internet cafe to check exchange rates, post blogs, check emails, etc. We found that the exchange rate we were getting was fine and returned to the Hilton to exchange our money. After this, we ate lunch at Vita Dolce, which was very good and had great cheeseburgers.

After resting in the hotel for awhile, we went to Olivia's house for dinner. There were many people there and all were extremely nice and very intelligent. I even met a Boston Celtics fan who stays up till 4 am to watch the games because of the time difference. Dinner was excellent as we had potatoes, plantains, spicy beef, fish, rice, and koko. Dinnertime ended up being at the same time as the big Cameroon soccer match versus Zambia in the African Cup of Nations tournament. Rather than eat at the set table, we all gathered around the tv and ate while watching the game, which I enjoyed because I love soccer. The game was very exciting and everyone was into the game and reacted to every play like it was life or death. The game ended well as Cameroon won a close back-and-forth game 3-2 with a late goal. When Cameroon scored the winning goal with 5 minutes remaining, everyone went crazy. It was an amazing sight.

We returned to our hotel and discussed our plans for the next day. Today, we are going to try to find the polypipe we need and a way to ship it to Bamendjou. Then, we will hopefully get our tool kit back at the airport. So far, everything is great and we will be leaving for Bamendjou on Tuesday morning.

- Sean

q=a

2010-01-17T07:50:00.003-05:00

Hello all. Dan here. First off, Cameroon keyboards are different so for time sake q=a from here on out.

We qrrived in Cqmeroon qfter a long flight from Philly to Paris and then to Yaounde, Cqmzeroon. We got off on the right foot with our engineering right away in the philly qirport when we hqd to repqckqge solqr pqnels to different specificqtions thqn we were originqlly told. We pqcked extrq duct tape and cqrdboqrd and with a full crowd of fans (bystanders in the line we caused while checking our rather unique luggage) we successfully wrapped up a solar panel and were off.

I made sure to buy several of my favorite Dr. Peppers in the Airport past the security screening as a speciql treqt in county. After a long flight, losing my beloved Dr peppers at a French checkpoint, and another long flight we had arrived and packed up our stuff(short a tool bag thqt didnt make it) on a truck to head to a hotel for the night.

The roads in Cameroon seem to have absolutely no rules or regulations (maybe air france took all of the allowable regulations for one country and applied them to baggage regulations). The best way I can describe it is as a crowded game of bumper cars where each car seems to hqve about a 2 inch force feild so thqt cqrs just barely miss. Most of the taxis seem to disprove my theory though because of the dents and dings all over.

In short, we are here, we love it here and are excited to travel to the Bakang to start our work and continue our journey.

First Day in Cameroon (except the tools...)

2010-01-17T07:43:00.004-05:00

Hello friends! !

We got here just fine but had to repackage our solar panels at the airport (2+1 instead of 3 in one pack); of course we had the cardboard and duct tape standing by for this eventuality! See figure 1!

We have to stay an extra day in Yaoundé to (hopefully) get our toolbag which missed our connection. But that's ok since our first day here is a Sunday and we can't get much done.

We were met by Olivia Mukam (Mayor Mukam's daughter) at the airport, along with Guy and other folks to help with tranporting us and all the gear. Olivia is fantastic and it's great to see her again. She will be helping us figure out how to get to Bamendjou since our previous SUV is apparently kaput. So the usual problem solving.... Dr. Steve tries to not get stressed!!!!! We also need abut a half mile of poly pipe somehow trucked to Bakang - sure, we can do all that stuff! Can do!

Running out of internet time - costs &1.50 an hour - you guys should appreciate your rapid connections on campus!

All the best -

Dr. Steve

2010-01-14T22:04:00.001-05:00

Hey Everyone!

The Cameroon Implementation team takes off out of Philly tomorrow at 6:30pm!!

Thank you to everyone who has helped us get this far, from the College of Engineering to our private donors to all our design team members. This project would not be possible without you. We really appreciate everything you do to help us help our friends in Bamendjou.

The goals of this January's trip include:

installing a pilot lift station to pump water from a well that was drilled in June of 2009 (on our last trip) to a school located at the top of a nearby hill. This is the planned location for the reservoir that will serve the community in the future.
assessing the performance of the previously installed water filters
working with the Water Committee to develop population density maps to aid in the design of the distribution system

So thanks again everyone who has contributed to the project. Be on the lookout for posts about the team's progress!

And don't forget that EWB-UD has a team in Guatemala right now!! Check out their blog at

guatemala-ewb-udel.blogspot.com/

Water for Bakang and Balatsit - update

2009-09-30T14:08:00.009-04:00

Here are some pictures of the new wells, taken recently by Nura. The top picture is the second Bakang well after a bit of cleaning up by the community folks. Pix 2 and 3 show the storage tanks near the new well at the crossroads in Balatsit. They've installed a fence around the tanks and they also dug in some steps (more than visible here) to make it easier to get up and down the slope. There's also a fence around the well itself (not shown here).

You can see we've got some happy people there! Our next trip is planned for January, to start connecting everything with a storage system at the top of the school hill. Stay tuned!

Dr. Steve

Read Sarah's posts below!!

Well 2 drilled! Engineers with TWO WELLS!

2009-07-08T21:45:00.007-04:00

How long does it take to drill a well?

About 5 days, without any major problems. Well 2 in Balatsit is now complete to 51 meters, cleaned and a little late.

How long does it take to install a pump and piping, and wire a solar controller?

Approximately 4.5 hours. FORAX finished cleaning the well the day I had to leave village, in fact the day of my flight out of Cameroon. I arrived at the second site at 6:30am. My flight wasn’t until 10:50pm. It started to rain. Well drilling belongs in the category of ‘Dirty Jobs’ for a reason, but I think it’s even messier in Africa because of the clay. The drilling had already saturated the land around the well. For spatial reasons, we had located the tanks and panels uphill from the well. Not only were we stepping through shoe deep mud around the well to lower the pump, but also climbing up and down this small, wet mound to get to the tanks and panels. So in order to get down this mound to get one of the million tools partially sheltered from the rain in one of the boutiques, I would plant my feet and slide down, snowboard-style...except not that graceful. To get up it, I had to have someone pull me with a length of PVC. It was mildly hilarious.

Rain. rain. rain on my parade.

We finished everything but wiring the float switch and covering the trenches by 11am, at which point I had to leave to catch a five-hour bus to Younde. Janvier will finish the wiring and cover the trenches and Nura will report on how the system is operating.

Two moto rides, one five-hour bus ride, three taxis and two planes later, I arrived at home. The last question on the airport custom’s form asks if you are bringing soil into the country. I lied. I had changed my clothes before boarding, but there was nothing I could do about my shoes. My shoes are caked in mud and when I arrived in Newark International Airport, I think it was fairly evident from my appearance that I installed a pump in Africa this morning in the rain, in spite of my efforts to clean the mud off my arms and legs with wet wipes.

It didn’t occur to me that the next time I had internet access to post this news would be after I had hugged my family, ate a cheeseburger and took a hot shower. My skin no longer has a red-orange tint, but I feel like maybe I lost something more than just the clay engrained in my skin. I already miss Bamendjou.

...Sarah

1 well drillled!!!!!! woooo finally Engineers WITH a WELL

2009-07-02T17:54:00.001-04:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Here is a summary, in order of increasing importance:

I ate cookies for breakfast this morning because the donut (aka benyay ...sp?) place across the street was closed.

The other day, I used a machete for the first time. I cut all of the tall grasses in Nura's garden to clear the way for new plants, while alternatively cursing and talking to them. Yes, the weeds are anglophone, and yes I am going crazy. The grass grew back before we had the chance to fully pull it up and plant.

I ate meat for the first time in two weeks the other day. We killed a chicken in the yard. And by we, I mean that I took no part in it whatsoever, but I did eat it. Rather guiltily. I hope I'm not becoming a vegetarian (sorry Dr. Steve).

On Sunday, the technician from Baffoussam gave his final word that the drill rig had been fixed and left. On Monday, FORAX finished drilling at the first site. They had hit water at 28 meters, drilled to 51 meters, and cased or screen down to 46 meters. On Tuesday, they finished developing the well with the air lift compressor. After 14 days and probably about 6 broken parts, they finished the work they had promised us in the beginning would only take 3 days.

And so, yesterday they went to move the rig to the second drill site and (I would say this should have been fairly predictable by now) it wouldn't start. It was a problem completely unrelated to the air hammer pump fiasco - the truck battery had died. I'm generally not a superstitious person, but at this point, I was wondering if perhaps we were drilling on sacred land, maybe I had done something in a past life, used up all my good luck on other ewb trips. I took out my frustration by trying to dig the trenches to lay the piping with a pick ax. Its a lot harder than it looks, and Janvier decided I was doing it wrong anyway and took over. The mason came and laid the concrete foundation around the well to set the pump base, all the while the drill group was waiting for yet another technician to fix their truck.

Well, I like technicians. The drill rig is now set up at the second site, ready to drill this well is 3 days, as I am assured by the still-optimistic drilling team...barring any technical problems, of course. In the highly unlikely scenario that they finish drilling by Friday (oh my gosh, that's tomorrow!), I will owe Guy a drink...but I have a feeling I am going to win this bet.

With all the piping and foundations laid, and trenches dug at the first site, today we lowered the pump and finished wiring. The sun was shining and for the first time in 2 weeks, something went absolutely and perfectly right...the pump turned on powered by the solar panels and filled the tank. I love solar power. I understand that problems are inevitable, and learning from them is invaluable. Such is engineering, such is life. But it is wonderful when something just works and you don't have to fight for it.

I am still looking forward to tomorrow, but not because I'll be one day closer to leaving.

much love,
Sarah

Public Enemy Number 1: The hill

2009-06-26T04:14:00.002-04:00

I ran to Bakang yesterday. That's right, in case you missed the verb in that sentence, I ran. Ok, so I almost died, but it was the hill that almost killed me. The Bakang hill, me and the mile elevation do not get along at all. I swear, by the end of my stay here, I will be able to run up the Bakang hill. I might need a little more than 10 days though. Being here without a car has deepened my respect for the people from Bakang and Balatsit. They climb this hill when they want something from town, usually with 30 lbs of stuff on their head, and I have difficulty walking up it, carrying just myself. Who needs an institution like the gym when it takes so much energy just to survive?

While the drillers are still (STILL) searching for the right part in Baffoussam, I went with Nura to Baham to meet with her students about their service projects. We took a moto taxi there, which is by far my favorite mode of transportation here. I love most modes of transportation that involve the wind in face, but there is nothing like a moto ride through Cameroon. Except perhaps if I was driving it. But for all of its lax or non-existent road rules, I don't think Cameroon is ready for that...so do not worry. However, this moto ride, I was wondering what would happen if my left flip flop got caught in the drive chain but I couldn't move my leg because the moto driver was half sitting on my lap. After the meeting, we walked to the next town, two hours away, to get a moto back. I got some donuts for the road, which are fried dough balls sprinkled with sugar, much like American donuts except better since they don't have additives or preservatives. Donuts and motos. It was a good day.

Today I'm going to camp out at the drill site in Bakang and supervise the repair of the drill rig. I will update you all on the status soon!

Sarah

Ashia for well drilling and the very rainy season

2009-06-23T10:00:00.002-04:00

The well drillers brought yet another piece from Douala to fix the rig. It didn't to work and they are sending someone back to Douala to find a new piece, but the earliest they will be able to begin again is Wednesday, which is code for Thursday. We are still at meter 35. So you have another blog devoid of engineering fun as there has been none, but believe me, I am just as disappointed as you. I learned a new word that sums up our entire Cameroonian well drilling experience and that is "Ashia." Nura says that, loosely translated, this word means "I'm sorry that your life sucks" or "I feel your pain." It can be said in conjunction with a number of things such as "ashia for stomach" if you hear someone has a stomach ache. So, "ashia for well drilling."

Nura returned and brought her wealth of knowledge of french and cooking foods that aren't rice. Did you know that you can make cheese cake without cheese? We made cheese cake the other night (and by we, I mean Nura...I'm pretty sure all I did was watch the small miracle) from a recipe found in the PVC survival cookbook "Chop Fayner" (pigeon for "Good Eating"). It was good eating. Amazing, actually.

We went to market in Baffoussam so that I could buy warm clothes. Riding four wide in the back of a bush taxi is less fun than it looks, but I am happily much warmer now and hopefully, a little less smelly. I learned that you can do pretty much all your food shopping by sitting outside at a restaurant and calling to the street vendors who walk past carrying their wares. Lemons, limes, carrots, onions all walked by and joined their place in Nura's shopping bag for dinner later.

I was caught in a downpour yesterday in Bakang with Nura and another visiting Peace Corps Volunteer. It occurs to me now that EWB has never been to Cameroon during the actual rainy season. For those of you who have been to Bakang, you know that there are two very steep slopes on the way to village. You know that they are roads simply because they lack vegetation, but their general incline, and rocky/rutted nature resists even a four-wheel drive vehicle's attempts to climb them. You know that once the rain starts the clay turns slick as ice and nearly as deadly. Well, now imagine these two slopes in a downpour, when they turn into venerable waterfalls. Imagine walking up and down them in flipflops. I can tell you, it just might be possible to get hypothermia in Cameroon.

The rain knocked down the power line to Nura's house. Perhaps it is less of a powerline and more of an extension cord running through the garden and propped up on a stick, out of the reach of the massive brussel sprout plants that are taking over. When this happens, of course you would ask your neighbor, Bernard the Metallurgist to fix it, because, as a welder, surely he would also know how to fix powerlines. Of course, he did. But as he twisted the connections together, sparks flying everywhere, and wrapped it with my spare roll of electrical tape (which apparently I carry everywhere for emergencies such as these), it struck me as perhaps not the best thing to do in the rain. Bernard is a hero.

The sun is out so I'm going to work in the garden, while avoiding the the powerline and the lurking brussel sprout plants which might eat me.

courage,

Sarah

J'aime les arachides

2009-06-21T07:36:00.003-04:00

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!! It is father's day, right? I thought perhaps I missed it back in January when my sister Katie told me it was Father's Day and I believed her.

This is Sarah here. Alas, all the ewb kids have left for the States but me. And my team, of course, which consists of Nura the Peace Corps Volunteer and Guy, although neither of them are around at the moment. I stayed behind to oversee the well drilling here, and install the pumps in the off-chance that FORAX finishes drilling in the next two weeks. As I have surprisingly little to do and no anlgophones to bother, I suspect there will be many blog posts from me in Bamendjou. I am staying at Nura's house which has running water, electricity most of the time, and internet when I can figure out how to get it to work (apparently Africa is too techy for me).

For subsaharan Africa, it is surprisingly cold and rainy. Since we are still at an impasse with well drilling, the first thing on my agenda is to buy warm clothes. That is, once I can figure how to say "where can I find a winter parka?" in French. No one left me with a French-English dictionary, and after many failed conversations in which I may have convinced the people of Bamendjou that I am the village idiot, I have developed a prodigious phobia of Francophones. At any rate, I haven't made any progress on developing the community relationship. Hopefully, Nura will come back soon and explain to Bamendjou that I'm not stupid or mute and that if I look lost, one should just give me peanuts and try not to say anything to me involving any French verbs or nouns. Apparently, the only words I know, which incidentally are "peanuts" (les arachides) and "well" (forage), will not get me terribly far in life, especially when all I want is long pants, a winter coat and maybe some gloves. Although a cheeseburger might be nice too.

Once the rain stops, I am going to walk to the Bakang drill site to see if driller's have fixed the rig and I will let you know if they have (the status, as of my walk yesterday, was unchanged). In the meantime, I am going to make some instant coffee, watch the rain and try not to hold my breath.

much love from the 'roon,

Sarah

A few pix . . .

2009-06-19T04:51:00.004-04:00

Just a few pictures as we pack up from our hotel in Yaoundé....

This is in Balatsit. We're putting together the rack for solar panels. You can see our water tanks in the background, and the local folks mixing concrete for the tanks' support base. In the way background is the road co,ing down the hill fro, the Bakang school, where the big storage tank is to be. Kids are coming down because school just let out - it was the last say so they all had their report cars ("bulletins") saying if they passed!

Here's the rack with panels on! This was a hot day with only an occasional breeze.

And here is the well drilling operation, progressing very slowly, on the other side of the hill in Bakang. When they finally finish this, they'll drill near the setup shown in the above pictures in Balatsit.

The uploading is pretty slow, so this is all for now. I'm sure Sarah will be blogging while she waits for the well drilling to get done. Don't worry, she has a great support team with her. But I told people that she is the "Directrice!"

-Dr. Steve, Yaoundé June 16th

2009-06-18T08:01:00.000-04:00

Wanted: two borehole wells !

I know we’ve been derelict on posting stuff for all you folks. Things get awful busy here, and we’ve had more problems with stomach upsets and other illnesses than on any previous trip. But nonetheless we’ve succeeded in installing two complete solar panel arrays and 6,000 liters of storage tanks. We’ve also had meetings and discussions with lots of people about possible future projects as the current work is getting a lot of attention.

Our current project will get water into portions of the neighboring chiefdom of Balatsit, which is very comparable to Bakang in many respects: very high plateau with many households having no potable water. Yesterday we were shown a spring (see above) that runs year round from a cleft high on the hillside between Balatsit and Bakang. This would be a nice source of water into a distribution system if adequately protected. We took a sample and we’re running a fecal coliform analysis to see if there’s bacterial contamination, which is quite probable with the presence surroundings. Someday maybe we can put in a protected storage facility, and perhaps a solar-powered pump to feed this general area with potable water.

We’ve also worked with the local chiefs and water committees to plan out the water distribution system and tapstands. We’ll work with them next trip to get everything installed. The water storage tank needs to be planned out in more detail, and we went over some plans that the Mayor had for a different site to see the general layout that they’re used to.

ok, so you’re wondering about the WELLS that we have been waiting on. That’s our current bottleneck and there’s no good news. The company hasn’t even finished the first of the two wells – now due to a mechanical breakdown – so they’re two weeks late. Our flight leaves tomorrow, so we cannot stay to connect everything. We’ve asked for some cost reductions in view of this, and we are paying for Sarah’s flight to be rescheduled to stay an extra 10 days. She’ll work with Nura, Guy, and the local folks as our “skeleton team” to get both systems up and working before she comes back on the 30th. This is not the best situation, but it does insure that we don’t leave an unfinished project behind us. It occurs to me that it also shows what local support we’ve built up around this effort over that past years.

We'll post again from Yaounde. Gotta go.
Dr. Steve

Belated Update

2009-06-13T11:22:00.007-04:00

Hello friends and family! Life here in Bamenjou and Bakang has been remarkably busy, but exciting, these past couple weeks. Since arriving here from Yaounde we've faced some challenges, but nonetheless spirits are high and we've managed to accomplish a lot of our planned tasks ahead of schedule. We've also been very pleased to witness an even higher level of community involvement than ever before. In this blog I hope to run through some of the setbacks we have faced and the increasing number of accompishments which will hopefully allow us to finish everything we planned before leaving the Cameroon.

The first night we arrived in Bamenjou we had dinner with Nura, our friendly neighborhood Peace Corps volunteer. She has been an invaluable resource; acting as our eyes and ears in Bamenjou and Bakang when we're not in the country. One of the first bits of news she gave us was that the community in Bakang had installed a door on the enclosure around the crossroads water tanks. The door is locked at night and has posted hours of operation. This means that well/tank use is monitored by responsible people, and at night the tank spigots can not be left open or broken. While technically this is a small step, it is very significant with regards to demonstrating greater community responsibility.

Nura also informed us that the community has recently purchased gravel, sand and concrete to contruct more slow sand filters. The next day we drove to Bakang and were very pleased to see some of villagers mixing conrete and filling the steel molds we gave them. Meanwhile, children were streaming to and from the well water tanks to fill buckets.

After witnessing this new level of community involvement, our spirits were further bolstered by a very touching ceremony where Dr. Steve was crowned a prince in Bakang. While having a prince as our faculty advisor is certainly novel, ultimately it was the message conveyed by the chief and the water committee that really encouraged us. We were told of of decreasing levels of water borne illnesses amongst the villagers. We also witnessed monetary pledges from villagers that had emigrated to the big cities around Cameroon. These pledges will help support the water committee and its efforts to maintain the sand filters and wells in the community. All in all the community is taking an increasing level of ownership over this project, and we couldn't be more excited to see this.

However, as I alluded to, there have been setbacks. By far the most frustrating one has been the progress on drilling the two new wells. As I write this entry, the well drilling company is over 5 days late to begin drilling on the first new well. We have been assured that each well takes at most 3 days to drill. Hopefully this will give us enough time to complete both new sites before we must leave the country. Omenously, we were also assured that the well drilling team would be here last Monday. Needless to say we are a little bit nervous.

The flip side of this situation is that since we have not had to supervise the well drilling, we have had time to work on the various other tasks in front of us. As of the 13th, we have built both racking systems and mounted all the solar modules. Most of intra-module electrical wiring is complete. The racks have been set in conrete footings and the concrete slabs/foundations for the water tanks have been poured. The first rack was designed and built at home before we left. This aluminum rack was easy to assemble in country and was set in concrete with the modules mounted in less than half a day. The second rack was a much different story. In effort to use in country materials, we relied on a Cameroonian supplier for the modules and racking system for the second well. While the modules are slightly used and cost about twice as much, they work fine. Unfortunately, the rack itself was more or less a disaster. Not only did the modules not fit into the rack, but it was also made from steel that was "galvanized" with silver paint. It took us two wrecked drill bits, about $200 dollars worth of additional materials and tools, and two days worth of work, but we were able to modify the rack and it is now installed at site two. Yesterday the modules were mounted and the legs were set in concrete. Now both racks sit waiting to be connected to the well pumps.

We have also had time to assemble most of the wiring and many of the fittings for the water pipes. The hope is that this well allow us to just drop in the well pump and screw together a few fittings, bolt the well cap and wire connectors and have a significant portion of the well systems complete in a short period of time.

Today a portion of the team will be at the well sites laying the concrete blocks and placing the water tanks. The goal is to have all wiring and piping connections completed as soon as possible. If the worst case scenario occurs and both wells are not completed before we leave, we aim to leave the systems in such a state that members of the community will have a manageable level of work to do in order for the wells to be completed without our physical help.

Over the next couple days another part of the team will be evaluating elevations, possible piping routes, and spigot locations for the distribution system we hope to implement. Concurrently the assessment team will also be doing site assessments and water quality tests at existing hand-dug wells in the neighboring village of Balatsit. The goal is to evaluate underground water levels and also get an idea of where water is being used in the village. These efforts will help us monitor the water table as our wells are used more and more. This issue will become increasing important when we implement the distribution system.

As we approach the home stretch of the trip, the days ahead appear daunting. However, the team is still positive, and each day we seem to be functioning more efficiently. Moreover, despite various bouts with travel sickness and fatigue the team is now in good health and increasingly eager to work. Last night, Nura, with some help from Alyssa, prepared a wonderful trio of of red, cream, and pesto sauces along with some spaghetti for dinner. It was welcome change from the usual rice, beans, and chewy Cameroonian chicken. The heavy dose of carbohydrates should give us all the energy we need to push forward and make this implementation trip a success.

I'll end this entry with some assorted pictures of the people we're working with.

- Ramsey

Nura: a source of comfort, comic relief, delicious food, and valuable community relations.

Local children playing a game while we are working on installing the solar modules in Balatsit.

Janvier working on the concrete slabs for the water tanks.

The ever helpful Guy: our driver, part/tool finder, soccer player, and cowboy.

Little Guy, affectionately known as "El Diablito."

Quick Update

2009-06-10T12:00:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone! I appologize for the lack of blog posts, we've been working non stop. I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Andrew for all the effort he put into organizing when helping the travel team pack all our bags. Its saved us from a lot of headaches! Edwin definitely deserves a shout out too for making sure all our funding was accounted for and in the right place (Andrew helped with that too). And Sam, we really apprecieate that lovely binder you put together for us about well drilling. We'll get to use it as soon as FORAX shows up... And I have to give a big shout out to the whole design team for all of their imput and hard work behind the scenes. We are here because of all the hard work you put forth.

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, but the people of Bakang have managed to impress again. When we had dinner with Nura the first night in the village, she told us that the water committee installed a door and a lock on the fence that they built in January and only have it open during certain hours. This doesn't really seem like a big deal, but its actually HUGE... The community of Bakang has completely taken ownership of the pilot solar powered water pumping system. That means we are one step closer to a sustainable solution in Bakang. We didn't ask the community to put up a fence around the panels and storage tank. We didn't ask them to make a drainage system for in front tanks. We didn't ask them to mount a door and only have the tanks open during certain hours of the day. They did all of this on their own accord. AND ANOTHER THING, they're making water filters!! Isn't that awesome?!? Thanks everyone who sponsored filters!!! Okay, well there's a lot more to get done tonight before the well drillers get started tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed!

-Taylor

How do you say Swage-Lock in French?

2009-06-08T06:08:00.005-04:00

For the first time in 4 days I finally have enough time and energy to sit down and write an entry for our blog. Since arriving in Yaounde, and then Bamenjou, we have been working non-stop to assemble and organize parts for our project in Bakang. Thankfully our team has done an amazing job of planning all our daily tasks and has assembled the parts and tools we need to accomplish them. After months of discussion and debate, packing lists and designs have been put together. Never the less, no matter how much foresight (or hindsight from previous trips) we have, little things still get overlooked.

When I was working in R&D at a solar cell manufacturer we undertook numerous projects that required months of planning. Even in such a professional setting, surrounded by engineers with 20+ years of experience, details would be overlooked. The main difference from EWB was that when we were missing a part or tool, we'd just go on a web site, look up a part number and forward it to our purchasing manager. The next day after our morning cup of coffee, we'd walk to our desks, and receiving would have dropped off our missing part. Usually by the end of the day we'd have the part installed and tested. If we had the wrong part, we'd leave it on the desk of our purchasing manager with a new part number and he'd handle the exchange. That was real life in the working world.

Now I'm in Cameroon. Things are a little different here. We're lucky to have internet access every few days. Every purchase we want to make requires a translator. If we're lucky parts may be available in Baffousam which is about a 30 minute drive from where we are. In some cases parts will only be available in Yaounde (about 4 hours away). And in many cases they aren't available anywhere in the country. All this makes for some interesting adventures at local metal shops and plumbing supply stores.

On our last day in Yaounde we were fortunate enough to discover a plumbing supply store where the fittings we required for our well pumps and piping were available. Dr. Steve, Sarah, and I wandered into the “Maison Du Plombier.” Dr. Steve served as our translator, and I was the money man. Sarah was the most knowledgeable and we let her pick out all of the parts, much to the bemusement of everyone working at the store. They were very surprised to see a little white woman happily fitting together various parts to make sure they worked. They wondered if she was a plumber. We tried to explain to them that she was a mechanical engineer, but they decided she was a mechanic, and ended up even more confused. In the end though, they were very happy to help us, and we left with all the parts we needed.

After that experience, I suspect that many parts and materials are available somewhere in Cameroon (at prices that could be wildly higher or lower than in the US). However, finding the suppliers can be quite tricky if you don't speak French, or don't know who to talk to. Moreover, with only a limited amount of time, driving all over town looking for stores is not an option. It adds a new dimension to engineering, that a typical US education, or even a professional job, does not prepare you for. Ultimately, this lesson is only one of the benefits that EWB provides to its members. While parts supply issues are always frustrating, I am sure the patience and persistence that we are all acquiring will be invaluable in our future careers.

Dr. Steve: I've been named a "Prince" of Bakang

2009-06-07T13:11:00.003-04:00

ok, I've been an Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Full Professor . . .
Did you know that the next rank is Prince? Here you see me being promoted by the chief of Bakang II in front of a gathering of Bakang villagers. The wardrobe is genuine, handmade and donated by the Water Committee President. The crowd even sang a song in patois that (I'm told) was all about the wonderful things I've done.

Thing is, I don't really deserve this. Firstly, it's the students who make this possible, and there are lots of them who have been to Bamendjou and Bakang to help, and others who provide the behind the scenes support, including tireless fundraising work. And of course there are LOTS of folks who provide the finances that underwrite our efforts. You *all* deserve this recognition.

And secondly, we are not finished. The people of Bakang are grateful already, but there's no time to rest on laurels. As I write this, Matt, Sarah, and Ramsey are stuffing cables through conduit to get ready for pump installation. We'll be rushed because the well drillers are starting a day and a half later than we thought. Taylor and Alyssa are putting together a detailed work schedule to deal with this.

So I'll try to keep my ego in check. But I did call my wife to tell her that her husband is now a prince and a village Notable. She said these titles will not apply in Delaware.

But they do send a *message* to Delaware. They really love what we do!

Dr. Steve

Travel Team made it to Bamendjou

2009-06-04T15:16:00.003-04:00

Sarah called and let me know that the travel team has safely made the long car ride to the village. She mentioned something about a little car trouble (i.e. the car not turning on) that caused a bit of a delay, but they persevered and made it. They are off to find some dinner and get ready for the work ahead. Keep checking back for their posts!

-Sam

de le debutante (Matt)

2009-06-04T05:11:00.003-04:00

Bonjour friends/fans/members of EWB! The flight over here went well enough, everyone arrived in Yauonde with just enough energy to get to work on things right away. Besides a few questions on aspects of the project that the team has yet to decide on, the main thing that has been on my mind the past two days is culture shock. Having done a bit of traveling before, I knew to expect it, but let me illustrate the particularly stark contrast in conditions I experienced in 24 hours. One minute I'm in a an immaculately clean airport in Belgium. I buy a coffee and the cashier exchanges money with me on a little plastic mat on the counter, so our hands never touch. I learn from Dr. Steve that the country doesn't let any non-biodegradable plastic bags into the country for environmental reasons. In the restroom, I experience the Dyson Airblade, a device that uses carefully engineered nano-vortices for the simple act of drying your hands.
After another 8 hour flight, I feel kind of dirty and smelly after traveling for so long, but I'm strangly relieved when I arrive in Yaounde and there isn't an inch of the airport that doesn't smell like human body odor. I'm walking out of the airport in Yauonde with people reaching for my bags, and just saying "dollar, dollar" to me. We get in the car, our driver stops and looks both ways at a circular red sign on the way out of the airport, and I haven't seen a traffic sign since. Merging into another lane in Yaounde is just a game of chicken between the two drivers, and people pass one another pretty much whenever they feel like it. But it isn't complete disorder, there is communication between drivers by use of hand gestures, (some of which I could tell were for those not-so-friendly sentiments highways are known for). Despite all this our driver, Guy, handled everything with complete confidence, and our car was calmer than you would expect.
If the traffic situation isn't telling enough of the area's need for improved infrastructure, the train track outside of my hotel room seems to be used more by cyclists and pedestrians than trains. Things may sound chaotic here, but all the Cameroonians I've encountered have made things run smoothly. The are generally laid-back, and have been very helpful in finding my way around (and without laughing at my french!). Even the people who make a living selling things to tourists are much less annoying than other places I have been; they quickly get the picture when you are not interested, and never become aggressive. I'm thankful that everything has gone relatively well so far, and that the team is in good health and good spirits, and I am generally optimistic about the trip.

-Matt

Luggage off!

2009-06-04T04:08:00.002-04:00

Here we are (Ramsey, Saeah, Alyssa, Taylor, and our driver Guy in the background) after loading all the solar panels and mounting equipment into the SUV. Obviously we can't fit all this plus ourselves, so we ship the equipment by bus. In fact, there will be another load with our luggage then a load of plastic pipe! Then we head off to the High Plateau. The practice is to never drive at night, so we'll leave here by 1 .

In the background you can see the power lines. Yaounde has the best infrastructure in Cameroon and we'll miss it. But the rural areas have a beauty of their own.

Dr. Steve checks in

2009-06-02T16:51:00.002-04:00

Hi everybody! EWB-UD has landed in Cameroon for the fifth time! All of our tools, equipment, and personal belongings also got here just fine. Mr. Mukam had arranged for us to be picked up, so we're now at out hotel. We were pleased to find that the bathrooms have been redone in Hotel Mansel and so the hot water appears to be functioning very nicely. Mr. Mukam stopped by to say hello, and he will also meet us in Bamendjou later this week.We have a lot to do tomorrow, and also during this entire visit. A big question is siting the new wells, which we need to decide on pretty soon. Tomorrow we also visit the College of Public Works to continue our collaboration with them; we also need to purchase equipment for the solar panel system, and a host of other tasks. I pulled an all-nighter writing a research proposal before leaving the U.S. - this is a standard practice I employ to avoid jet lag, but for some reason I'm pretty tired and it's only 9:30 here. So I'll just post this entry and we'll be getting more updates to you soon. Thanks for all the messages already - stay tuned!

water is life. Cameroon June 2009.

2009-05-31T21:45:00.002-04:00

The Cameroon team is leaving tomorrow to work on expanding the solar water pumping system in Bakang. Check back periodically and leave a comment/post! water is life.

Our deepest gratitude goes out to all those who made this trip possible...

2009-02-09T20:33:00.003-05:00

The team has finally made it home tonight after a 24 hour delayed flight trying to leave Cameroon on Saturday. Hooray! Job well done team! We are glad to have you home!

The travel team had a lot of people helping to make this trip possible this semester. They were supported by a design team of about 25 students who worked extremely hard trying to create the best design for our filter mold, working on efficiency calculations, researching all aspects of sustainability, and looking into expanding our solar water pumping system. Great job design team!

This trip also would not have been possible without the support of the College of Engineering or the Alumni Association. Thank you to all who have donated to our chapter over the last couple of years! In particular, thank you Murphy's Steel for providing and bending the steel for our mold, and Danny Richardson and Steve Beard for helping to troubleshoot mold construction problems.

We are holding a Benefit Dinner on Thursday March 12th at the Marriott Courtyard in Newark, DE. To further support this organization visit our homepage at http://udel.edu/stu-org/ewb/ and register for the event.

-Sam

All I ever needed to know about life I learned from an engineer... Alyssa

2009-02-07T09:04:00.002-05:00

When I told my dad I was going to Africa, he had two main concerns. One was that I would not have enough food to eat. This was a non issue as Martine daily cooked enough rice to feed a group three times our size.
The second was that I would not be coming home for six months. This is legitimate for my parents to worry about. Over the past six years, my travels have become much longer and farther from home. And to be quite honest, the two weeks I have spent here have rivaled some of my favorite trips I have taken. There is nothing about this place that does not take your breath away, whether it be the red brick houses, the kids playing the same games of tag and soccer that we did as kids, or the way that doing something as a simple gesture of kindness can get you a marriage proposal.
My dad was right to be concerned about me not coming home for awhile. Even though we get on the plane to Paris in a couple hours, I am not at all ready to leave. I have so many questions that I still want answers to and so many people and places and customs to explore. It is bittersweet to say that I have grown attatched to yet another place that is halfway around the globe, but I am happy to have seen something so incredibly awe inspiring.
Dont worry dad, Ill be on the plane with the rest of the group coming home. And there is nothing better than coming home after a trip like this.
We will see you all soon, much love.
Alyssa

Steve the Younger - Saturday in Yaoundé

2009-02-07T08:48:00.003-05:00

We are back in Yaounde, and its amazing to think of all that we've seen and done in the past 2 weeks. I've been to 2 countries that I've never seen before and probably would never go to if I was not on this trip. I've learned how to construct slow sand filters, speak a little (very little) french, and see how an international enginnering project works. I played soccer in a Cameroonian pickup game, visited a king, chiefs, professors, mayors and met hundreds of people extremely far away from home. I've rode and walked down more bumpy dirt roads than I ever could have imagined. I've ate many different cameronian foods, some good (chicken, vegetables, pinapple), some bad (dried fish and spinnach, some grey mush with limestone in it?). I've worked on a project that can help save lives in Bakang, Cameroon. Its been a good 2 weeks.

Back In Yaounde

2009-02-07T08:39:00.002-05:00

We have made it back to Yaounde after a great adventure in Bamenjou/Bakang. The bio sand filters in Bakang are finally becoming more popular. There is a long list of people that are going to be getting filters in the next few months. I think that the filters popularity is due to the test results obtained from the cheifs water filter and the evidience that Peter presented to the water committee. The water from the chiefs well had a significant amount of bacteria present. After using the filter the water was 10 times cleaner. It was great getting to see all of the hard work from the past year making a positive impact on the community. The community now realizes the benefit of the filters. The doctor at the local hospital made a good comment about the filters... He said "Its like fighting nature with nature" which is essentially what the bio sand filters do. They use bacteria to kill other bacteria. I look forward to hearing the sucess of the filters in the months to come. This trip has been such a great learning experience and I am so greatful that I had the opportunity to participate in it. I look forward to doing some more work with everyone when we get back home.

Tyler

Two weeks went so fast

2009-02-07T08:32:00.002-05:00

The past two weeks have been amazing. I`ve learned so much from being a member of this implementation team, the biggest lesson being organization. There is so much that goes into organizing a project like this. Itineraries need to be made and kept. Materials have to be ordered and delivered. Labor needs to be organized and trained. Tools have to be ready and prices need to be set. All of these things are done in the corporate world every day. Organization is necessary for producing and selling a product, which is essentially what we are doing.

The design process also required a lot of organization. Research had to be done and deadlines for the stages of design had to be met. Prototyping required working space and materials, all of which had to be set up in advance. It was a collaborative effort. Everyone had to be kept on the same page. Members had to be notified if schedules were changed, which they often did. It wasn`t an easy task, but I took so much away from the experience.

EWB offters students so much more than what they can experience in a class. The real world problems that we face add so much value to our education. We probably won`t be able to see all of the benefits from this trip until we enter the workforce and possibly after that. I know that I will return to the United States with a better idea of what it really means to be an engineer.

Taylor

Souveniers and Goats- (by: Andrew)

2009-02-07T08:31:00.004-05:00

As Dr. Steve has pointed out we are back in Yaonde. We will be heading home, in a few hours. On any trip, we want to find something to take home with us. On the last trip I found small momentos and trinkets to bring home, they were small compared to the true souveniers--The memories of the village and the villagers. I am glad I had the chance to return to Cameroon. On this trip I was able to experience and learn even more. I am certain that the memories of this trip and the last will be useful and that They will not sit on a metaphorical shelf and collect dust for a few years.

Instead they will serve as motivation. When we collected water for mixing cement treking down a steep hill to the source and back up to take the water to the work site. I will remember that is a small taste of what the villagers face everyday. As we talked to people throughout the village there were some villagers that walked many kilometers to the solar pump system. Because they understood that this water would be healthier for their young children.

During one meeting with the water comittee an analogy was thrown around comparing the filters to a goat. If someone is giving a goat away they would prefer to give it to a family that would take care of the goat, instead of one that did not care and would not take care of it. This was to explain why it was important for families to pay a portion of the filter cost.

This would apply to the solar pumping system as well. The community has shown that not only do they appreciate the system, but that they can take care of it. The placed a fence around the panels to protect them from the children and prevent them from climbing on them. As seen before they had leafy poles which would block the sun during the summer months. After explaining this to the community they removed the porturding sticks. And they placed a fence around the tanks as well. At different times the taps on the tanks broke and the community has fixed them and fastened them more securely.

They are taking good care of the goat that we have given them. And I am excited to begin the design work on a larger system with distribution and storage as well as develop the two proposed drill sites that were chosen, investigated and assesed on this trip.

-André

We left Bakang today - Dr Steve (again)

2009-02-07T02:47:00.012-05:00

We left Bakang today. Lots of our friends are wearing their new EWB-UD tee shirts which are VERY popular. We had a busy morning packing up, cleaning, completing construction and placement of two more filters, and saying goodbye. Warning to parents: all the students say they want to come back to Cameroon! This is in spite of constantly failing electricity, limited water, and no hot water at Mr. Mukam’s house. But house is very comfortable in many other respects, and Martine has kept us well fed. Although the house has a “modern” kitchen, she cooks most of our food over an open fire in the adjacent building.

Here are some pictures from yesterday. The rest will have to wait until we get back to the U.S. (as well as some videos!). I have strongly advised the students to post something for you before we leave Cameroon, so maybe you'll hear from them too.

Here’s one of the students that came to watch us after school let out. This also gives an idea of the of learning facilities they have available.

Back in the distance is Taylor, helping two men from the Water Committee build a sand filter. The woman in the front is getting her water supply. You can see why the filter is needed at this location.

The kids put their water containers down in front of the water tank while playing with Andrew and Alyssa. There’s a shy girl behind the barrier.

Here is the seamstress who made all the guys’ shirts and Alyssa’s skirt. She has three women who help her.

Here’s our first delivered water filter with the proud owner. His family has been getting drinking water from the Bakang solar pump, so the filter will save his family a long hike – now they can purify water from their hand dug well.

The Water Committee Meeting

2009-02-05T05:42:00.005-05:00

Here we are with the water committee after the meeting that Steve the Younger mentioned earlier (below). I was once again impressed with all of them and particularly the eloquent chief. The women were especially pleased that they are going to get filters for households. One woman stood up to say that they would like to celebrate by dancing, but it would raise too much dust (she was definitely right!). In addition to saying that we are all citizens of Bakang, the women all wished that their future children would come out just like the American students. That got a good laugh!
So today is very busy. We got up at 5:45 to go out to three water points and survey morning usage. Then we packed up a bunch of suitcases to take to Bafoussam for shipping to Yaoundé where we will get them (that's the only way we can get everybody and everything back and forth). The group going to Yaoundé will also buy some locally made crafts to auction at our appreciation dinner (mark your calendar - Thursday March 12th). Our other team is arranging for more sand, gravel, and cement purchases from the mission to make one more filter before we leave tomorrow, and more by the village folks later.
Which brings up finances. It costs about $25 to build a filter for one family that will last for many years. They cannot afford this, which is why the only filter in use since our last visit has been the chief's (which we found to be removing 90% fecal coliform even when used only occasionally). The committee said they can afford $10 and we hope the rest can be donated. So please think about donating $15 so a family can have safe drinking water!
More later. I've been invited for lunch at the mission.
Dr. Steve

We are the roots and branches of one tree

2009-02-05T05:21:00.003-05:00

For the past week and a half I've been trying to put my second trip to Cameroon into words. I love it here so much. The scenery is amazing and the fruit is delicious, but what really sets it apart from anywhere else I've ever been is the people. I don't know how to describe them.

They have so little compared to our standards, yet they live such happy lives. The kids here don't want a Wii or an Xbox. If they want to bowl, they pile some rocks up and find a bigger rock to throw at them. They don't want games like Halo, Grand Theft Auto, or Need for Speed. The kids just want to spend time with their friends. People might rotate through three or four sets of clothes while we're here, but it doesn't bother them. They can live without having that new pair of jeans or another pair of shoes. The ones they have are just fine. Hardly anyone has a car here and people are okay with that. They walk. They walk for miles everyday, sometimes with a large bucket of water, sometimes with a book, sometimes with a bunch of plantains balanced on their head. They don't think twice about spending an hour or two walking everyday. People have walked everywhere in Bakang for as long as the village has been established, its just a part of life.

The people of Bakang have been dealing with waterborne illnesses for the same amount of time as well, but unlike walking, this is something that people are trying to change. As mentioned in previous blogs, the government drilled a well and installed a hand pump with the intention to provide cleaner water, but did not train anyone to fix it when it broke. Scanwater installed a water distribution system, but did not include the people of Bakang in the process so they did not know how to maintain it after they left. What were the people supposed to do? They keep getting let down.

That is why I am so happy about how much trust the people of Bakang have in EWB-UD. They are accepting us into their lives. They call us their brothers (Alyssa is a sister, not a brother) and they made us citizens of their village. They invite us to play soccer with them on the weekends and into their houses for meals. They dance and sing when we tell them about the plans that we have (Dr. Steve gets most of the dancing). They have so much hope that we can work together to make their village a healthier place to live. You can see it in their eyes. You can see it in their smiles when we are sieving sand for the filters. You can see it when they are filling their bottles at the storage tanks. All of the parents have hope that their children will grow up with fewer illnesses than they did. They see the Bakang of tomorrow being a much better place than the Bakang of today. But the people of Bakang trust us to help them get there. We don't want to make the same mistakes that others have. We are here to show them that we really are their brothers and sisters, united for one goal: to make this planet a better place to live for everyone.

If you ever get the chance to wake up early and watch the sun come up over the mountains in Bakang, do it...

Taylor

From Steve the Younger - Wednesday evening

2009-02-05T04:45:00.001-05:00

While Cameroon may seem at first glance to be a poor nation, upon closer examination it becomes evident that wealth is not as important to quality of life as I have been taught to believe. While large disposable incomes are few and far between, life here is more comfortable than what one might expect. Hunger appears to be a non issue here, as most people grow food, and usually have an excess to sell. Education is important, as almost every child can be found in school Monday through Friday, with the family usually footing the bill for school. Most people can’t afford a car, but that does not mean that transportation is not readily available. Many families own a motorcycle, and for those who do not, a moto-taxi or bus can take you anywhere you need to go for significantly less than what it would cost in the US. Perhaps more important is the fact that people simply walk to wherever they need to go. School, work, and the village of Bakang is for most people, a walk of only a few miles or less. The hospital, stores, restaurants, banks, and whatever else one might need is accessible by a short walk, a concept that seems lost to most Americans.

More importantly, quality of life is not based upon what people have in the material sense, but rather what they have as a community. In this case, the people of Bakang, Cameroon are wealthy as any. A place rich with tribal traditions, a reverence reserved for elders, and a general feeling of goodwill, is easily apparent to me that this is a great place to live. People here have been very friendly and generous. I have never received so many waves, smiles, and gifts from strangers as I have the past two weeks. People treat each other as family, from young children who are extremely affectionate and caring to their friends, to adults who literally referring to friends as “brother”. While this behavior makes it difficult to figure out who is related to who, I think it is the best example of this brotherhood is how people here are very caring of those around them, making Bakang a welcoming home to its inhabitants.

Today’s water meeting was a great success for us. We had scheduled a meeting with the water committee and whoever else was interested in our future implementation plans. The committee had put serious work in since our last meeting, deciding on a price of five thousand CFA (approximately ten dollars) for the filters. The committee had also selected the first three families to receive filters, and showed a lot of interest in using them in many households. This was a huge relief, as we had been working with these filters for the entire trip, but we were not sure that there would be a demand for them. Wise words from Dr. Steve, the Chief, and our guest Peter, who runs an organization that distributes these filters, explained to the audience the importance of these filters and how they work. We were received with many rounds of applause, a song from the ladies of the community, and a lady started dancing in Dr. Steve’s general direction (again). The highlight for me was when the members of the community pronounced us “citizens of Bakang”. This connection to the people here is really gratifying, and is great motivation to continue this project to bring clean water to the region.

Here's what we're up to . . .

2009-02-04T08:15:00.010-05:00

Here's our team Alyssa, Guy, Steve, Taylor, Tyler, Andrew after removing the interior mold section successfully. This is up at the school. We have decided to move this filter because the water they get at the school is already from our solar-powered well, so no filtration is necessary.

Andrew, Tyler, and Steve at the market. Market day is an amazing chaos that happens every 8 days. Andrew has a bag with 3 large cubes of soap. We also purchased some local goods for the silent auction coming up this spring at our appreciation dinner . . . be there !

This is Steve, Taylor, and Tyler putting together the water filter at the hospital in Bamendjou. The hospital has water from SNEC (the water company but this water is unavailable, sometimes for days (like right now!). Imagine a hospital with no water....pretty bad. The filter will allow them to purify water from a hand-dug well in their courtyard when this happens.

That's it for now....they're having a celebration for us this afternoon (a "water fair") and also another meeting with the water committee. I'm off!
Dr. Steve

Alyssa - Tuesday

2009-02-04T03:32:00.000-05:00

I bought a lot of what my mother would call junk today at the market. My purchases included a pipe, slingshot, hand-carved knife, lots of jewelry, a spice grater, and two bars of soap big enough to get me through the next eight years of my life. I’m hoping that it will encourage me to shower more, but chances are not likely.

The market itself was an interesting experience, not only because it was something new and an anthropologist’s dream site, but also because it reminded me about the concept of poverty that I was struggling with in the beginning of writing my thesis. Early last summer, I stumbled across a book called Festival Elephants, in which the author explores the meaning the word poverty and the manner in which this perception affects aid work throughout the world. Most importantly, he discusses the perceptions of western ideals of poverty imposed on the developing world, which lead to the epidemic of what development analysts call global poverty. According to the author, however, global poverty does not exist. It was an interesting idea, but one that is difficult to understand without visiting a place such as Bakang. Cameroon, by western standards, is a poor country. They lack consistent modern conveniences, such as electricity and computers, and most people live off less than twenty dollars a month.

So the Cameroonians lack money, modern appliances (with the exception of cell phones), traffic laws. They don’t trust refrigeration and they wear their clothes more than once a week. But this is not what defines their poverty. In fact, the community itself very proudly stands by who they are and the work they do. They do not consider themselves part of the endemic of global poverty; instead, they see themselves as a strong village with a problem of water access. The premise of Festival Elephants is that “global poverty” cannot exist because the concept of poverty itself is defined by the community and therefore cannot be uniform across the world. For some societies, this means a lack of family, food, money, even cows. In the case of Bakang, it is lack of access to water.

I am reminded of our mission here, which is not to save the community from their lack of monetary income or rather unique traffic laws. We are here to help problem solve and to explore different methods that can aid with a problem that cannot be solved by one group alone. This mutual relationship and understanding that has developed over that past two years has enabled the organization to approach the problems here in a way that does not encourage the fixing of “global” poverty. Instead, we get the opportunity to really explore the ways that a different community works, and learn all kinds of new and crazy things. How to walk with 20 pounds on your head. How to keep your clothes clean in this dirt. How to build a chair without nails. And ultimately, how a different way of life does not necessarily make someone worse or better off than you.

So we continue with this goal in mind: to make cleaner water more accessible to those who need it. I am also trying to convince the kids here that my hair is real, but I am thinking I will have more luck with the first goal.

We’ll see you all soon, stay warm all! Love.

Alyssa

“So much we take for granted” - Tyler

2009-02-04T03:16:00.001-05:00

We have been here for just over a week and it seems like there is a list that goes on forever of things that are completely taken for granted in the United States. From the first steps out of the Yaoundé airport we have to be very careful of what we drank or ate. “Don’t drink the water”, drink only bottled water, don’t eat lettuce or other washed vegetables, brush teeth with bottled water, and stay out of streams and ponds. It may seem like a simple task until you rinse your toothbrush with dirty water out of utter tiredness. Then you have to boil water to clean your toothbrush off and by the time you are done it takes you 20 minutes to brush your teeth when it should have taken 2 minutes and you are now thinking of the sleep that you have just lost. In the US there is no need to worry about all of these things. When you turn on the water at home water comes out and you know it is clean enough to drink. In Cameroon, it is a gamble if water even comes out of the tap let alone being safe to drink.

Electricity… another technology that is taken for granted in the US. When you switch the light switch…you get light. Here in Cameroon the power supply is frequently not working. Almost every night, after having dinner, we sit down and have a meeting about what was completed during the day and what needs to be completed the following day. Frequently these meetings are done over the light from one of our flashlights. And…the lights just went out as I was writing.

Traffic laws……haha what traffic laws? In Cameroon you make your own traffic laws. Avoid people, motorcycles, chickens, goats, cows, or any other strange obstacles at all costs. Driving in reverse on a one way…not an issue here in Cameroon.

Public Transportation… The only public transportation here in Cameroon is a bus the size of a minivan that is packed like a can of sardines, has people riding on the outside, and is strikingly similar to something that you would see out of a Dr. Seuss book.

This list can go on and on (sanitation, doctors, paved roads, supermarkets, drug stores,…. etc.) I expect to find many more that I can add to this list in the coming days. I am not at all saying that Cameroon is a bad place, because it is not. It is a wonderful country with extremely friendly people and it has been one of the best learning experiences of my life. But I think that it is very important to remember how fortunate we are. So…next time you go to your sink for a drink or turn on the light to read a book remember that there are billions of people that are not as fortunate as you.

Tyler

Monday February 2nd (Dr. Steve again)

2009-02-02T07:44:00.008-05:00

Everybody wanted to see the Scanwater fiasco so here we are (except Dr. Steve) at that site, not far from Bakang. Andrew, Steve, Tyler, Taylor, Nura, and Alyssa admiring the view from up on the (empty!) water storage tank. This is the facility put in by a Scandinavian outfit in the late 80's with no community involvement and using expensive fuel to run water pumps. The people stopped using it very soon after Scanwater presented it to them. We expect to do better, needless to say. We met with the village's Water Committee and talked about what we're doing next. We want to help make the water filters more affordable for them ($10 is way too much it turns out) so we may invite families in Delaware to sponsor families in Bakang - paying a goof fraction (but not all) of the filter cost. This is under discussion.

Here's Alyssa going native. This was during one of our survey hikes.

We also brought in a hydrogeologist from Yaoundé who used Tony's map and dc conductivity to test two distant sites proposed by the chief for new wells. These will be in sites with very little water currently available, near other village areas so the water could be shared. Great job by Tony - both sites have water pretty much deeper than at our existing well (60-70m) . . . but he thinks the capacity could be four times as much (5 cubic meters per hour if you can imagine that).

Good news that we seem to have succeeded with our filter mold. The first one had to be broken apart because the interior mold section could not be removed, but we now know that a shorter drying time is essential. We'll have more pictures on our next post. A shout-out to Murphy's Steel for donating the materials and doing the heavy bending for the filter mold!

Today was market day. We bought some stuff to silent auction at our upcoming banquet. This is rather unlike any farmer's market in the U.S. so we'll post some pix, asap.

Finally, a story. I was with our hydrogeologist on his second day - the original well site had good production possibilities but was on a hill where the drilling truck might not be able to reach. So he walked up the road a ways then down a wide, hard-packed dirt path where he pointed to a spot and said it would be ideal. I looked around and saw that this was smack in the middle of a family "concession" or compound. Nobody was ho,e though I did note a hand-dug well nearby. The bucket rope was very muddy and looking down into the well I saw that it was pretty dry.

But I was getting pretty nervous. Imagine coming into your driveway in the aftrnoon and some strangers are poking around, taking measurements to put a community well in your backyard! And sure enough, here came an older woman with a basket on her head, down the path. She looked at me and all the activity and asked something in the local dialect - I said "peut-être nous pouvons avoir un forage ici" and the hydrologist said a few other words about putting a well there.

She smiled. She exclaimed something. Then she started singing and dancing. She danced with me, and with the hydrogeologist. And she danced for a long time.

I have a brief video of her I'll try to upload (although it failed yesterday). In any case, the experience made my day - and, of course, hers.

Pictures of Bakang

2009-01-30T07:49:00.010-05:00

Above are folks getting water from the water tanks we installed last time. The system works great! The tanks are behind the inner fence you see. The Water Committee had the fences built to protect everything.

Above on the left you see Taylor taking a water sample from the location I mentioned last post (he's also apparently walking on water). This is close to where we hope to have a well drilled, far up the road from our solar panel location in rest of these pictures.

Above, you see our filter team with the mold for our next water filter. The mason mixes the concrete in the standard way, and the mold is filled already. This was two days ago and we have now removed the exterior mold section. The filter team is having problems separating the interior mold and were interrupted by the necessity of putting out a fire (not metaphorically!) in the grass by the school. After that we were distracted by a party breaking out as students finished school and the drums and ballaphone appeared - pictures next time. So we hope to get the mold apart, somehow, tomorrow, when we can concentrate.

ok, here's the solar panel installation - also protected now by an attractive barrier. Not visible in the lower right is a small opening that Andrew could barely crawl through (missed a good picture there) but he was able to remove the solar logger so we have now offloaded all the solar data since last June. Also note Nura, the fantastic Peace Corps volunteer of Bamendjou, standing next to Alyssa. The locals get the two of them mixed up, quite understandably.

Below is a better view of the panels. We need to make sure they get dusted off during nthe dry season, but even with a good layer of dust and dirt they put out enough power to keep the tanks filled (2000 liters).
Here are the filter guys surrounded by excited kids. Andrew, Tyler, Taylor, and Steve had just finished rinsing out their filter sand....obviously, school had let out! After this pic there was a rousing game of soccer in the village intersection.

And finally, here's Tyler's photo of me after taking the above picture. Everybody wants a look at themselves!

Today we are also busy with the geohydrology study - DC resistivity combined with Tony's map - we have confirmed a very nice fault along the road in upper Bakang, where the chief also agrees that a productive borehole well could serve a lot of people who are far from clean water (see picture #1 above).
We're far from done here. I'm posting this from the Piarist mission computer but we have more on today's to-do list. We'll post again soon (some of the students, j'espère). Thanks for all your support!
Dr. Steve

A kitchen without clean water - Thursday (Dr. Steve)

2009-01-29T06:15:00.003-05:00

While in Yaoundé we were able to arrange for a geohydrology study to assure that wherever we hava a new well drilled, we'll be sure to find a good supply of water at a reasonable depth. That visit will happen on Friday, so we've beeen revisiting some of the drier areas, way up the road from the existing well. There, we stopped at one family compound and found a man building a new outbuilding - by himself, using clay bricks that are home-made. This will be the new kitchen, he told me (this means an open fire in the center and a tall ceiling).
But there's no water. To get water for this kitchen they will hike down a steep hill to a little creek. We saw that creek. . . to put it bluntly, I wouldn't allow my dog near water that looked that muddy, buggy, and oily.
This man is also secretary of the Water Committee. So he knows what we hope to accomplish in the future. When we have the chief and the geohydrologist there on Friday, I hope we can find a good location to drill. They work so hard and deserve better than these conditions.

2009-01-29T06:09:00.000-05:00

As we traveled to the village it became more and more evident that this was the dry season. There was a heavy haze, blocking the beautiful view of the mountains that I had been looking forward to, a clear result of the still common practice of slash-and-burn agriculture. But we soon discovered that was not the only air pollution; before we left the paved roads our driver suggested we close our windows. In front of us the previously lush green vegetation was now covered in the brownish-red dirt which provides a false hope of a tan. During the dry season the roads are kicked around, spewing a layer of dirt over everything. This presented a stark contrast to the muddy roads that we slipped on in the rain. However, some things have not changed: the people are still so wonderful and the climate is great. Regardless, some people in the outlying areas of Bakang still lack access to safe, potable water for drinking and cooking.

One thing I was excited to see was the maintenance of the solar pilot system. As we approached the system we noticed fences around the tanks and the PV array. After we left, the community erected fences around the key components of the system to protect it from children and animals. Also, each of the spouts on the tanks came off at different times through the year and the community fixed them, much sturdier than we had left them. The community clearly appreciates their new water system and the people are excited to help with any construction for future phases of installation.

This is not an assumption that we can make without hesitation. As the dirt stains our clothing, so is the landscape stained with failed projects, from Scan Water to some building projects that lacked funding, which now lay in ruin. I am certain that this project is sustainable since we are working with the community and they are taking charge. Throughout the country people have heard about our project and are abuzz about reproducing our efforts elsewhere. Public officials, technical people and people from other villages have heard about or seen the water pump in Bakang and the slow sand filters. They are all excited to talk to us and hear from us.

That’s all for now, I need a shower and to get some sleep, busy day tomorrow.

-Andrew

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give. - Sir Winston Churchill

EWB Team has made it to Bakang!!

2009-01-26T13:30:00.003-05:00

I just got a call from Dr. Steve saying that the EWB travel team has made it to Bakang! They are sitting down to have a nice dinner at the 7-11 restaurant. As Dr. Steve explained in a blog post from the June trip, the 7-11 in Bamendjou is not the same as a 7-11 in the U.S. It is the only restaurant in Bamendjou, and it consists of a single room with a few wooden tables and some white plastic chairs. They serve some very tasty Cameroonian food!

It sounds like everything is going smoothly. I'm sure they will update on their progress in more detail in the days to come assuming they are able to access the internet.

Way to go team!

-Sam

In Yaoundé

2009-01-25T02:04:00.002-05:00

Our crew's in the capital city now, and our new team members waking to the chaos of Yaoundé outside the hotel window. No problem getting the mold and all out tools & materials through customs because Mr. Mukam was awaiting us. And he had time to assure these things because our flight was delayed leaving Paris while they figured out what to do with an unruly passenger - evidently an illegal Cameroonian in France being returned to Douala, but shouting loudly to annoy the passengers, who then insisted he be removed. So that guy is still in Paris, and we are here! Busy day ahead.
By the way, the toilet in my hotel room has a slow leak so it wastes water. I was going to write a few paragraphs on whether toilets are a sustainable technology, and if so, under what conditions - but I'll save it for an essay question in the course next semester.

FOURTH TRIP - Here we go! - Dr. Steve

2009-01-23T17:34:00.003-05:00

Hey, just reporting our luck with baggage check! No extra charges for the steel filter mold, which weighed in at 69 lbs (the cutoff is 70) - great design calculations! And they seemed to give us some leeway on the combined weight per passenger, too. So we're under budget and in the middle of a 3.5 hour wait for the flight (yeah, how did the group get Dr. Steve here so early? I think I was tricked somehow...)
We'll report in from Yaoundé if the internet works!

Other notes

2008-06-17T09:18:00.002-04:00

Just an update to the itinerary for those who want to follow the team's progress on getting home: the flight number is AF 366, which should arrive at 3:35pm to Terminal A. Their cell phones will work at the gate but of course they'll have to go through customs first. But then, excitement! Can't wait to hear from these guys in person, sounds like it was a pretty awesome trip.

--Melissa

A final entry from Dr. Steve

2008-06-17T06:12:00.002-04:00

I mentioned a few days ago that everything seems uphill here. One such Sisyphean effort is the battle against the reddish brown dirt and dust that blow and stick everywhere. Of course, it’s part of the fertile soil that supports the corn, beans, and potatoes grown here, but the dust, in particular, gives you a reddish collar, cuffs, and fingerprint within a short time outdoors. You can avoid having a brown tinge by frequent change of clothes, but when it rains, everything turns to a colorful mud that cannot be defeated. The mud adheres to shoes and gets tracked everywhere. Everyone takes off their shoes when going indoors, but this process seems to get mud on the bottom of your socks, too. Futility.

I am particularly aware of this as I now write, because we didn’t make it to Yaoundé in time to get our baggage yesterday. So all of us have been in the same change of clothes for 48 hours. My blue jeans are an interesting mix of tints from blue to dark brown that, frankly, looks very unprofessional. Note to parents: because these colors come from the ferric iron content of the soil, a laundry additive intended to remove iron stains *may* be successful in treating the clothes you will soon be staring at with some consternation. Bleach is less likely to work. The best solution may be to pack the clothes away until you go back to the High Plateau again.

So we're done and packing up. I have learned from my previous trips to Cameroon that I can adjust fairly quickly to the third world disorder and standard of living, as well as the dirt, and at least for a couple weeks at a time. But strangely, I have more difficulty coming back the States. It’s hard to shake the sensory intensity of this place. Whatever I mean by “sensory intensity” is hard to explain, but it sure stays with you. The city noises and air pollution, the lush green above the red dirt, the make-do and can-do mentality, the coconut, banana, and many other tropical trees that I need to learn names for. The friendly faces, the continuous foot traffic on urban dirt roads, everything carried on peoples' heads, the dirty water carried home to use. And so many other things.

….Tuesday!! We had no internet in Bamendjou or Yaoundé and we are now in Paris, on our way home. Our projects ended up pretty successfully, but it’s important to understand that this is only the beginning. Our solar cells submersible pump will provide water for a significant fraction of the people in Bakang, but not the ones at higher elevations or further distances – probably two thirds of the population. To get them water means more wells – a tough proposition. We have our next project ahead of us, and look forward to the challenge.

And we’re also looking forward to being home!! See you soon!!

Friday by Dr. Steve

2008-06-14T10:18:00.000-04:00

Hey, all you folks supporting us should know how *great* it feels when we read your comments. It reminds us that we represent more than just a few students and their advisor while we are here. I think we’ve done a good job so far, because our projects are really reaching fruition. The solar panels do a great job with the pump, even bringing water to the tanks when it’s cloudy. The folks in Bakang put concrete in two more filter molds today, and helped us sieve the sand to put in them. We had a good crowd involved, and I got to ride in a truly massive masonry truck carrying one of our completed filter boxes from the mission to the chief’s quarters (the “chefferie”) in Bakang. We had visitors watch all of this, too – Dr. Nkeng and a student, Valentine, came from the College of Public Works in Yaoundé (about a five-hour drive) because Valentine is going to do research on the filtration process, and now they see the context for his work. We talked his specific problems with the sand properties and getting the right balance between ease of sand preparation, cost of the sand, Peter Njodzeka from the Life and Water Development Group, also in Yaoundé.
Saturday – we’ve finished just about everything, and shipped most of our baggage to Yaoundé so that we can all fit in our vehicle, still tightly packed because we want to bring back some handicrafts to give to our supporting patrons! We feel great!
We’ll post again –
Dr. Steve

Dr. steve on wednesday

2008-06-12T09:24:00.000-04:00

Wednesday by Dr. Steve

We got a lot done on both projects today and morale is high. Tomorrow, when the sun shines, Bakang will have water, pumped from a depth of 150 feet using four solar panels and an electric submersible pump, and stored for use in a pair of 1,000 liter tanks. The hand pump that we’re replacing was broken again, so there had been no potable water at all.

I gave a presentation to the Water Committee yesterday on how the solar system works*, and I also explained the biosand filters. They were very interested in both, and asked some good questions. We also have a local NGO helping to orient the Water Committee on officers’ duties and financial aspects – I sat in on the first session and it was informative and oriented toward local issues. These people will be responsible for a lot, and they seem to take it seriously.

*I mean the solar-powered water system, not the Solar System. Thanks to Taylor for catching this.

There are 40 families signed up for the bio-sand filters and we’re progressing well on that project, too. We built two of the concrete filter boxes while we learned the local materials, then had a local mason build another concrete form and pour the concrete while the Water Committee watched. We had some trouble with the diffuser system for the filter – that’s the part that keeps the water being poured in from disturbing the fragile biolayer on the sand surface. Metal screen didn’t work very well, but we found that local grain bags, made of woven plastic, work great when fastened to a framed screen. We’ve also sieved a lot of the local sand to put in the filters, and we’ll demonstrate that process on Friday. We’ve got people from an NGO in Youndé and from the College of Public Works also coming on Friday to see our filters, so things will be busy.

I am once again enjoying the incredible skills of Cameroonians. For example, the mold for our filter box is fairly complex, because we designed the interior mold as a set of boards that can be extracted stepwise and reused. When we showed the mason our mold, he understood the process almost instantly, even though we speak different languages. By the time we had been through the demonstration with him, we had seen several shortcuts on putting the thing together. We were using two-headed nails in some places to allow easy disassembly, but ran out…he immediately began bending the nails over a bit before they were all the way in, which provides good retention but easy extraction. I think he was impressed with us, though, because when he suggested we apply oil to the wood surfaces for easier dismantling, we already had the vegetable oil ready to go, and he really smiled. We were speaking the same language after all.

I should mention that this is an expensive trip. Many things are inexpensive, especially labor and some local foods (see below), but other things are not. The lumber, piping, and other building materials are more expensive than in the U.S. because they’re mostly imported. We use an SUV here, and it is a true necessity, but it gets poor mileage and the price of gas (“carburant”) is 594 CFA per liter - $5.50 a gallon. We thank all our sponsors for assuring that this can all be paid for. We are working hard to make sure the money is well spent.

Actually, here’s a rundown of some food prices from the expense list Martine gave me this morning. She’s Mr. Mukam’s sister and she’s been putting together our dinners with help from other family members. Since I love giving tests, it’s in the form of a very difficult matching quiz:

1. Avocadoes, 3-5, fresh and perfect

2. Carrots, 1 bunch

3. Greens (enough for 7 people)

4. Pineapple, yummy ripe

5. French bread

6. Chickens

7. Beef

8. Cooking oil

a. $0.65 a loaf

b. $1.25. This is something similar to kale or spinach.

c. About $9 apiece (free running, for sure)

d. $0.25

e. $3.10/lb

f. $1.20 apiece, not sliced. They’re not grown here, only at lower, more tropical elevations.

g. $2.50

h. $2.50 a qt. – seems to be used for everything

Answers, unless I got confused. Grade your own!

1-d

2-g (seems expensive – I’d better check on this)

3-b

4- f

5-a

6-c

7-e

8-h

That’s it for now. We’ve got a lot of sieving and sand washing to do.

Trip Photos

2008-06-11T05:58:00.001-04:00