Ferrocement Tank and Rainwater Harvesting Training!

Hey there! I just blew in from Pamplona and BOY is that rain harvestable!

Last week, I went to the next province north of me and had a grand old time building thin-walled concrete tanks with a bunch of other water and sanitation volunteers.

Ian, Lee, Alan, MAriah, MOria, honorary Wat/San Tom, myself, and all of our various Filipino counterparts, under the direction of the fearless Kiwi mixed and poured concrete in the almost-pouring rain. Fun times!



A ferrocement tank is basically a cheap way of making a large-volume concrete water reservoir. The tank is used, in this case, to catch rainwater so that the people near this school don't have to walk a half-kilometer to take a drink.

It is round because circles have all kinds of NEATO physical properties. It is made of concrete because, let's face it, concrete is about as awesome as a bucket full of ninjas. It reinforced only with tie wire because engineers like to show off how cool they can be by using minimal materials and still having a casual conversation on a 3" thick roof:



"But Paaage, I know all that and I want to be able to make one myseeeeelf."

"Slow down there, little lady, and let me walk you through the process."

First:
a) find or make a tank-shaped mold made of rebar
b) divide the mold into sections
c) wrap each piece in rice sacks
d) re-assemble into something resembling a giant beehive
e) fill mold with tallest volunteer in Philippines for the amusement of the Filipinos "Oh! He is very tall!"


a) find or make a tank-shaped mold made of rebar


b) divide the mold into sections


c) wrap each piece in rice sacks


d) re-assemble into something resembling a giant beehive


e) "Oh! He is very tall!"

Next comes the concrete:
a) Stand around while other people mix concrete
b) Pour a circular base with tie wire embedded
c) Watch with glee as your boss mixes concrete
d) Plaster the outside of your beehive (making sure to remove honey first)


a) Stand around while other people mix concrete


b) Pour a circular base with tie wire embedded


c) Watch with glee as your boss mixes concrete


d) Plaster the outside of your beehive (making sure to remove honey first)

And then you build some more:
e) Cover concrete with vertical tie wire
f) Place concrete like you mean it
g) Wrap horizontal tie wire (looks kinda like a giant bug-zapper)
h) One more layer of concrete!
i) Remove form from inside (I hope it's not too big...)



e) Cover concrete with vertical tie wire


f) Place concrete like you mean it


g) Wrap horizontal tie wire (looks kinda like a giant bug-zapper)


h) One more layer of concrete!


i) Remove form from inside (I hope it's not too big...)

And then you do a victory dance:

a) Get a pic with the army detachment sent to guard against any kind of full-frontal assault on your training.
b) Place small female volunteer inside concrete shell
c) Take a picture with counterpart for posterity
d) Take a CU/CSU rivalry pic for the heck of it
e) Go get loaded and celebrate


a) The guy next to me was known only as 'Nades


b) Place small female volunteer inside concrete shell


c) Take a picture with counterpart for posterity


d) Take a CU/CSU rivalry pic for the heck of it

e) FUN CENSORED BY THE FORCES OF CULTURAL SENSITIVITY

Ingat kamo!

Island Adventures from Far, Far Away

Let me tell you a little story about a place I know.
I got back from there about a week ago.
It’s in a category by itself.
Just above the continental shelf.
With a machete and a sidekick too,
I went exploring on Rapu-Rapu.



I had a plan to go help some folks,


By cleaning water and telling bad jokes.


We swam in the falls and forded the streams,


And were consumed by our sweat in the dense jungle steam.


We trekked and we hiked and we saw water sources,


But broke every hour for the day’s many courses.


Some people drink water straight from the river,


While others use tubes of bamboo to deliver.


We ate many odd foods and had too many laughs


But honestly, I could’ve taken more baths...


Come rain or come shine we’d make our way


Each beach to each beach knowing not where we’d stay


This woman is rolling some betel-nut for me


And this banana-sized spider hung from a tree.


For Elmer, deceased, I write this short poem


For the hat that he got me, I guess that I owe him...


RIP Elmer Casillan (1958-2007)
Father; friend; co-worker; goofball.

PenaFrancia Festival, Naga City

As usual, I have new pictures posted from my trips. Rapu-Rapu Island and PenaFrancia Festival are the recent additions.

Festivals are, in general, a good time. Religious festivals are, at least in my alternative-reality view, usually an awkward event. I don't believe what the christian masses and, as such, cannot appreciate the spiritual impact on the lives of so many people. In my more judgemental past, I thought it would be impossible to enjoy a religious festival simply for what it was because I did not share the values of anyone else attending.

Friday, fellow PCV Jarod and I biked 100km up to Naga city through the pouring rain to kick off the weekend with sore legs and the mental significance of having made our own pilgrimage. After 5 and a half hours of sitting on a seat and cranking our legs up and down, we finally made it to town and felt like, if the festival was a disappointment, at least we did something that weekend.

The party had been constant all week, but all events culminated on saturday with what is called the fluvial procession. Every year for the last 300 or so, Naga City has had a christian celebration where 2 large, metal icons are carried around the city by a rather pious mosh-pit. Once the icons reach a river at the other end of town they are then boated back to the church from wence they came on a barge towed by hundreds of canoes. It is quite the spectacle and, since I missed it last year, I was looking forward to seeing something as significant for a large percentage of my fellow Bikolanos.

We watched the first of two icons pass and be attacked by countless people who wanted the good luck that comes from touching this symbol of christianity and Bikolano-hood. I took pictures and watched people go crazy. When the second symbol passed, I ran down, charged through the crowd and touched the hulking metal burden.

Some may say that my difference in belief is enough to make my participation in this event a mild blasphemy, but I disagree. As with most traditions that have been handed down, generation to generation, their true meaning and intention becomes lost and they are more of a cultural phenomenon that unites a group. Although, in my mind, metal is metal and physical contact with a symbol has no reason to change me as a person, simply being involved in an event that the people with whom I live and work is enough to make me feel like a more culturally aware person. Everyone I talked to about attending the festival and touching the icon thought it was a good idea and encouraged me to experience this spectacle first-hand.

Enough pontificating.

Me in Naga. Icon passes by. I touch icon. Icon is placed on boat. Boat is brought, quite conveniently, below my hotel balcony. Pictures were taken. Connectiveness was felt between myself, other volunteers, and Bikolanos alike.

Good times.

The best part about Peace Corps

There are many reasons people join the Peace Corps. Some join for resume building, some to save the world and some for good ole-fashioned escapism. We all have different motivations for being here, but there is a certain feeling of understanding that we are all looking for deep down.

I recently went to an island; you may giggle because the Philippines is known for 7,104 of those but this island is special. It is called Rapu-Rapu and is within an exceptionally poor municipality in a down-trodden and typhoon-prone province (Albay)in a neglected and forgotten region (Bikol) of the Philippines. We are installing water filters there. 50 BioSand water filters will be donated to this rural, poor area.

Instead of having the trained artisans of the BioSand filter production facility install them, I thought that people would care about the filter more (treat it better, and be more likely to use it correctly) if they installed it themselves.

So I had a training. Training of trainers is the crux of being a Peace Corps volunteer. You impart the ability to teach skills and information to locals who will teach it when you are gone (sustainability).

Normally, when you give a training in the Peace Corps, it is likely that the people who attend do so more to listen to a tall white guy (Halangkaw na puti!) speak and be funny in public than actually learn what you are trying to say. There are usually one or two people who think that what you are doing is a good idea and only one of them isn't too shy to let you know how they feel.

This event had been postponed a number of times: Weather, Protest Rallies, Absent Attendees, Fiesta. All of these factors finally worked in my favor on this particular weekend and I travelled to the island with a smile on my face. The venue was prepared and the people showed up (REALLY; A BIG DEAL!!!). The weather was BEAUTIFUL. My training materials were completed and fully prepared!

Begin.

A woman whom I work with "Ate [ah-tay, meaning 'older sister'] Flo" and I gave a presentation on water and sanitation and how, if you drink contaminated water, you are most likely eating someone/something else's poop. That went well, people asked questions.

I presented the BioSand filter. They liked that.

We installed 5 filters and taught people how to do it themselves.

And then the smile on my face got big: one woman from the people's organization I was working with stood up and started answering people's questions. She had just learned all these good and bad ways to live and be healthy and now she was relating these to her fellow citizens. She understood me. She not only understood me, but she believed me enough to take the initiative and explain it to those around her after less than an hour!

In case my punctuation does not make this clear enough, this is a very good thing.

Given the number of times that people don't listen to what you say or really appreciate that you are trying to help them, having someone teach/do/listen/understand what you tell them of their own free will is amazing.

We are returning to this island soon with the rest of the 50 filters for the poor and down-trodden of that area, so the training these people recieved will be put to good use in the near future (ideally, they will take responsibility for the installation of the next 40). Pictures to follow soon.

Vacation in the Philippines, a photo essay

Before we get down to the business of telling you about my life, I just thought you would want a bit of bouyancy to get your gallstones jiggling.  Here's the funny stuff.


Recently, a number of my friends from educational institutes past, Juan, Josh and Abby, came and visited me in the Philippines.  After three long months of intense project work, I felt I deserved a bit of a break.



Sometimes I wonder about my choice of friends.






After a few minor delays and an afternoon of muscling through the hellish traffic jam that is Manila, we found our way to a boat bound for Puerto Galera, Mindoro.





A rare shot of the fearless tour-guide.





We stayed for about 6 days (the haze created by beautiful white sand mixed with San Miguel beer makes for an inaccurate concept of time) we stayed at Tamaraw Beach Resort on Aninuan Beach.





The closest bit of semi-offensive touristiness was called White Beach....





....a mere 5 minute rocky scramble away.





We hung out on the beach.





We played at an amazing natural waterslide in the hills nearby.





Abby and Juan got Dive Certified....





....with an excellent instructor named Noel....





.... but Josh and I decided that we couldn't let them have ALL the fun.





Some random hotness to keep the folks at home guessing.





We got in-situ massages at the place we ate dinner.





We drank a lot of this....





....and this.





Abby and Juan debating proper posture for perfect pictures.





We hung out in grass huts by the beach.





The sun set occasionally.





After we got tired of money-munching Mindoro, we headed down to Bikol to check out a very large waterfall....





....and with the support of a few random onlookers....





....we managed to clear a gargantuan tree from the pool....





....to make a few high jumping platforms safe again.





We went to the Naga City market, a place so far removed from the world of the supermarket that it took a bit of convincing to show my fellow travelers that here you COULD, in fact, buy....





....Pig Face....





....and Stingray....





....and Tapioca Balls for Halo-Halo (the national dessert, a dish that does not jive with most American taste buds)...





....and, of course, lots of random chicken pieces.





We also hit up the craft stores, like any good group of foreign tourists.





Thanks for coming!
See you again next year!!!