8/15/2010
The summer experience has come to an end. I know that the Hondurans are anxious to go back home especially Alex. He is ready to be with his daughter. We became really close with the Honduran students. It’s going to be sad not waking up in the morning and working together in Acopian.
Alex and I worked hard on finishing the costs of the latrines for the life cycle inventory satisfying Professor Jones requirements. We were able to finish the pits, some of the superstructure, and some of the slab detailing all the exact costs of materials used in each scenario. I know Carmen, Alex, and I would have liked to have finished the paper but we knew it was a continuous project that Gabi and Professor Jones will work on during the fall semester.
We ended our experience with Professor Jones inviting us to dinner. Saying good bye was very difficult later that night. Dan, Joelle, and I stayed up with them until 1:30 a.m. helping them with their luggage. We must have said goodbye over 4 times. I’m going to miss hanging out with them in Ramer after working in Acopian. I got to know them really well outside of a professional setting.
Although some of the U.S. students may not be able to see their Honduran counterparts sometime soon, I have a feeling I just might be able to pay them a visit when I’m in El Salvador in the near future. After being in Honduras for so long, it made me want to plan a visit back to El Salvador. It’s been over 6 years and from what I remember my parents’ grew up in a similar environment similar to where we worked in Las Casitas. It’s different hearing my parents talk about their childhood than having this experience and witnessing how they grew up in a small rural pueblo.
This summer was an experience of a life time. It will have a lasting impression on us at Lafayette and beyond. I plan to apply my experience from this summer to the Lafayette chapter of Engineers without Borders. It has made me open to exploring other countries besides traveling the U.S. and El Salvador. I will research more career possibilities similar to or the same as what we did this summer with “international development”.
8/8/2010
We spent the majority of this week in the office working on our papers. Carmen & I divided the work between us. She was going to focus her research on the environmental effects aspect of the life cycle inventory while I focused on the costs. Towards the end of the week Gabi and Alex joined our group. Alex was a great help to me because I was beginning to struggle with evaluating the costs of each latrine scenario. There was a lot of information and I needed help with organization. A major accomplishment we had was finding an organized form of presenting all the different costs to the numerous latrine scenarios we came up with. We found out the hard way that you cannot list all the scenarios because it would take a very long spreadsheet. Instead we broke the latrine in different sections such as the superstructure, door, roof, pit, etc. We made the options have a feel of “building you own latrine” where you can pick what you want in a latrine. Once we had a presentable format, Alex and I began to crunch numbers, putting a price to every latrine construction option.
I was finally able to go home this weekend and I brought along Fernando! Fernando stayed over his Aunt’s house in Gaithersburg, Maryland. We then met up in DC on Saturday. I of course took him site seeing. He noticed many differences between New York City and D.C. We went everywhere, from the Smithsonian Institute of Natural History, to the Lincoln Memorial and the National Monument, to Chinatown! I know Fernando really enjoyed it. His camera did not stop flashing from the moment we got out of the metro.
8/1/2010
The Honduran students are really enjoying their visit in the US. From the moment we got out of the Newark Airport, the Honduran students have taken numerous pictures of everything imaginable.
This past week we did a lot of sightseeing. Sharon gave them the tour of Easton and we took them on a tour of the Crayola factory. We of course went to Easton’s wastewater treatment plant and the Pen Argyl landfill. Our visit to the Big Apple was great for the Honduran students and us. Although it was more for the Honduran students, I really enjoyed the visit to New York City because I have only previously visited a handful of times. The Hondurans were loved visiting the skyscraper museum. It was like a civil engineers dream come true.
After weeks of editing, we finalized the report on the Adobe and Bahareque latrines. We were now able to move onto our other assignments. Sharon broke us into groups. Carmen and I are responsible for working on the Life Cycle Assessment report.
Throughout the 3 weeks the Hondurans are in the States, I hope to show them around the area. I know that not all of America looks like Lafayette’s quiet campus. I might get the chance to show them around Washington D.C. if I my plan works out!
7/25/2010
On Monday we split into two groups. I went to El Retiro with Gabi, Joelle, Diana, and Carmen. We did water monitoring of Water for People latrines to evaluate the success and effectiveness of the latrines. Although some of the data we collected will not be used, we were able to improve the monitoring surveys for the following Lafayette IRES students. We reviewed 15 latrines in total. Members of the local water committee guided us around the community. For the most part the latrines were in good condition. The family members kept the inside of the latrine clean. There was one family that had 25 family members.
Tuesday and Thursday we returned to La Casitas to work on Irma’s adobe latrine. Irma got extra help from her father and a boy from the community to help with completing the door and pit. We almost finished the latrine. We meticulously worked on completing and attaching the bamboo roof. We broke it down to a procedure. The roof had to be attached and resist the constant rains falls in the area. After finishing the latrine, it was time to say good bye. What I’m going to miss the most about building the adobe latrine are Irma’s children Julio, Rosa, Alejandra, and Selma. It was difficult to tell them that there was a chance I may not see them again. They believed I would return the following summer with the next group of interns.
We spent Wednesday reformatting our Adobe and Bahareque procedures into a full report. Diana, the Honduran student had previously written a Water for People report on water taps. I helped Alex with the material costs and added details to the procedures before Diana changed the format.
Friday was our last day. We spent most of the day buying souvenirs and packing. This was time for me to buy the list of souvenirs my family asked me to get them. Later that day the Honduran students threw us a surprise party with amazing food and music. We even learned how to dance Punta, Honduras traditional dance.
The four weeks in Honduras have passed now. I don’t know where all the time went. This has been a once in a life time experience that has raised my interest in “international development” and changed my academic goals in Lafayette. I have mixed feelings coming back to the states. I’m going to miss the wonderful food, the friendships we have made, Irma’s family, even all the festivities in the plaza outside our hotel in San Pedro Sula. Even with a different standard of living, Hondurans are still a proud people rich in culture and history.
7/18/21010
This week went by extremely quick for our group. On Monday we went back to La Casitas to work on the adobe and Bahareque latrines. Irma the head of the household had put on the final layer of adobe bricks with the help of her neighbor Don Escolastico. Since we did not have wood to make the door frame, we worked on preparing all the bamboo that was needed for the rooftop. We had to saw the bamboo, split them in half with a machete, chisel out the knots, and apply a protective coat. We also made a concrete mix to apply to the floor of the latrine.
On Tuesday we stayed in the office and worked on finalizing all our procedures for the latrines, editing the water sanitation and latrine questionnaire, getting familiar with the GPS systems, and creating visuals for the latrine procedures. We tried to split up into groups and finish all the tasks but the procedures were not completed. We had questions on how exactly we were going to place the roof on our adobe latrine and what wood dimensions were needed for the ventilation.
On Wednesday the majority of the group went out to the communities El Golfo and El Vallecito while Joelle and I stayed in and worked on finalizing the procedures. I tried getting familiar with Google sketch to work on the visuals for the latrine and clarified steps in the procedures. I spent the afternoon communicating with the architect working out the details of the roof and ventilation.
Wednesday was a big day for us. We performed the time study! Unfortunately we had to wake up at 3:45 am to make sure we reached the communities before they went out to retrieve water. We split up into two groups. Diana, Carmen, Dan, and I went to El Golfo. I was surprised by the strength and agility these people had fetching water. I witnessed two Hondurans over 50 years of age and a 20 year old walk down a steep and rough hill, collect water from a spring in a 5-gallon bucket, and then carry it back on their head. This was their daily routine. It made me think of how fortunate we were back in the states.
After we got back around 11:00 am, Joelle and I returned that afternoon to Las Casitas to check up on the latrine projects. The Bahareque latrine were almost complete. The adobe latrine has come to a halt. Since Irma is a single mother it’s difficult for her to devote a lot of time to the construction of the latrine because she has to take care of her four children. We were running out of time before we left back to the states. The architect made some modifications and removed some aesthetics. The latrine will have an open ventilation where the adobe walls and the roof attach. Before we left we gave Irma instructions for the weekend. If the weather holds out she should be able to have the latrine ready for us to build the roof, build the door, connect the seat, build a diversion next to the pit, and make the cement slab for the pit. We have a lot to do and I am beginning to get worried because we are running out of time.
On Friday we went out to a project called “17 communities”. It took us a little over 3 hours to get near the top of a mountain where freshwater was being collected from a spring using a dam. The magnitude of the project was enormous. There were over 700 people employed and around 100 people working on busy days. The workers could only transport materials so far up the mountain until they physically had to carry PVC and metal pipes. Some metals pipes took up to five people to carry at a time. The president of the water committee for the project accompanied us and explained the difficulties in maintaining the 17 communities together. The project is supposed to take 2 years, funds permitted. If not it may take up to 5 years to complete, straining his role as the mediator.
This weekend we went to the city of Tela right next to the beach. This was the first time I’ve gone swimming in warm Caribbean water! We got much needed relaxation and socializing time with the two Honduran students that came along, Alex and Fernando.
After visiting Tela and looking back to this week I realized the disparity in the social economic statuses of Hondurans. We have been working alongside humble Hondurans in the countryside that made their living off the soil they live on. We’ve lived in the middle of a San Pedro Sula, the busiest city of commerce where there is still widespread poverty. And have worked with Honduran students completing their civil engineering degree yet are worried of finding jobs after they graduate. That has been a lingering worry for me. I’ve noticed all the Hondurans I’ve met have said, ‘There is no work”.
7/12/2010
This has been a busy week for us! We finally went out to the community and began building the pilot latrines. We split up in to two groups. Team Adobe and team Bahareque! I was in team Adobe with Gabi, Alex, and Diana. I learned from Alex some common practices used in the field to center and level the site. This week was physically demanding. We dug a 2m pit, set up the foundation using a mix of concrete, rocks, and limestone, and put 6 layers of adobe bricks for the walls of the latrine. The community progressively helped with the project throughout the week. The neighbors, the single mother of the house, and her local family members helped out. I’m getting to know the family very well. In order for our latrines to be truly successful we must collaborate more with the community. We must make sure to teach the community members so that they can maintain the latrine long after we leave.
Team Bahareque is working on the latrine design we created. We have been sharing tools and helping each other out. The weather plays a major role on our progress because it tends to rain a lot in the area. When it rains we have to cover the adobe blocks and put a stop to the work. We wrote up the procedures of the pilot latrines to help Water for People with a proposal. There is an organization in Tegulcigalpa that is interested in our project and may provide funding to Water for People to expand our pilot latrines!
This weekend we went to the Copan ruins. Copan is a beautiful town with many tourists from around the world. Hondurans have a rich Mayan history. I always look forward to the weekends because we get to travel to different areas of Honduras and experience the natural beauty of the country.
7/3/2010
This has been our busiest week yet! We spent Monday morning learning more about Water for People, their multiple locations around the world, and their strategic plan in Honduras. We also got to meet the Honduras students! They were just as excited to meet us. Y’all can learn more about them under “Meet the Teams”, Honduras 2010. Throughout the week I joked around with the Honduran students that Salvadorans and Honduras are pretty similar. We eat the same foods and have a similar life style.
Our goal was to build a better latrine than the ones being built. The current latrines being used in Honduras are pour flush latrines which cost about $300 (US). Although the superstructure lasts over 20 years because it’s made out of expensive aluminum and the soak pit only lasts 5 to 7 years.
We got to see first hand a typical pour flush latrine and two experimental compost latrines. A common misconception Honduran farmers have about compost latrines is that the compost will be enough for the fields when in fact there may be enough for a small garden.
We were also introduced to the architect that will be working with us. She is a professor that specializes on earth constructions. We worked as a group over 2 days on the creation of a pour flush latrine with two soak pits and a superstructure made out of mainly bamboo and earth. We really made it our own. Water for People and the architect had a price list for raw materials and we were able to calculate the price and the architect sketched the latrine on AutoCAD.
All we needed was to choose the right village and house. We had to find a house where the soil met the requirements of the architect. One of the sites actually had 60 adobe bricks left over from the construction of their home so we decided to use them for the latrine. The second house already had one of the pits ready and all we needed to build was the superstructure we designed and the second pit!
This weekend was the grand finale of the annual festival. We got to watch a parade and there was a celebration at the end! This week coming up will be physically demanding but I’m just excited that we will be helping a family and getting some hands on experience. This has been a great experience. It’s completely different than a classroom setting. We are working as a team brainstorming, researching, and proposing ideas together. I believe the differences in our backgrounds and experience allows us to come up with creative ideas. Our team is definitely working well together.
6/27/2010
We realized this week how difficult our project could be. There are so many scenarios that can affect the construction of a latrine. We must narrow down the scenarios to the most essential. Our goal was to nearly complete the first part of our cost and life cycle inventory before leaving to Honduras. We have the supplies needed but we have hit a wall. We need to find a general price for the materials required for construction.
Furthermore, I found a difference in the accumulation rate used in my calculations for determining the dimensions of a compost latrine. I will have to use a third source and back track their construction lay out to verify what rate they used. This may put me slightly behind. I didn’t have time to find the rate because we were all getting ready for our trip!
We have been in Honduras two nights now. It’s a beautiful country and the food is amazing! Our hotel in San Pedro Sula places us in the cultural center because of the La Feria Juniana is going on. We are located right in front of a plaza and El Palacio Municipal. There have been festivities going on since we got here. Literally, from early in the morning until late at night. Children have been playing sports on the street during the day, we’ve seen local Honduran dances, an even a novice exhibition boxing match. During the night when its cooler there was a fireworks show and a live band. We have definitely have experienced first hand the Honduran culture and its humble people. They are definitely proud to be Catrachos!
I can’t wait to meet the coordinator for Water for People and the Honduran students they paired us up with tomorrow!
6/19/2010
We are getting closer to our departure date! After a week of getting updated on water and sanitation systems and a brief history lesson, we were finally ready to start preparing for our projects. We did some background research on current Honduran events such as the coup d’ etat of the former president Manuel Zelaya , its economy, and favorite sports to get more familiar with its history. I laughed in the inside when we listed some common foods Hondurans eat. They were very similar to what Salvadorans eat.
There was a lot of freedom for us to work independently and then regroup daily. The four of us divided the work. Joelle and I were responsible for working on the sanitation paper. The difficulty of this report was a surprise because we needed to provide detailed information on the environmental and cost life cycle inventory of four rural latrines from the construction to the end of its use. Joelle and I decided to split the work until our group mates were able to help us out because of the large scope of the project. I believe that’s what made us very efficient. We were able to narrow our searches down to a specific latrine and were responsible for all the details. Every time we came back as a group we would update each other, ask questions and sometimes even share new ideas and valuable resources to each other.
I can’t wait to leave for Honduras! I’m a little nervous to see if I can clearly communicate with the Honduran people. It’s a little different than talking informally with my friends back home.
6/12/2010
It has been a busy week for us. Professor Jones has definitely hosed us down with a lot of valuable information. I know we will appreciate it more once we are down in Honduras and we understand the project site. Not only are we trying to get up to date with background information on sustainability and sanitation but also learning the history of Honduras. Every presentation has increased my interest and raised my awareness of the inequalities there are in the distribution of water in some countries. I feel like we are taking for granted the water we have when there are over a billion people in the world without access to clean drinking water.
There are numerous organizations (NGOs) that specialize in “international development”. Every NGO has its own philosophy and approach method. Water for People has its own unique method of mentoring and guiding projects without being an initiator or crutch to the community. A common misconception we have is that the only solution is to provide a water system to a community and water-related illnesses will decrease but that is just part of the answer. A sanitation system must also be implemented and education on hygiene in the community goes a long way in creating a sustainable community.
People use to ask what I was doing for the summer and I ignorantly replied, “Making sure rural communities are getting clean water.” This was a huge understatement, as I learned there multiple components that need to be taken into consideration before implementing a system. Even though it can be simple to create a system; there are many cultural aspects of the project that can also decide its success.