Past Few Days (20-23)

Today we made preparations for the installation of the manual pump. Despite the initial disappointment following the realization that we would be unable to see the solar pump at work during this trip, every one seems to have rallied. Everyone seems optimistic about bringing water back to the plaza, even if for now it will be pumped by hand. Another lesson for us about how to be grateful for what we have, how to have patience and take things one day at a time. Our plan for now is to return to the U.S with the pump, repair it and ship it back to Yua for the community to install it. Thankfully, this trip has been very successful in building a relationship between the community and a wide support network of technicians that they can call on for assistance when the need arises. Once we ship the pump back they should have no problem getting it up and running.

Today we had our first successful test of the drip irrigation system. We were able to get the tank running, despite a small leak which we hope to patch easily with epoxy. We set up the pipes, flushed them with water, replaced the end caps and “let her rip”. Actually, it wasn't so much a “rip” as a small trickle but that was great because that is what we were going for. We were working with a few farmers from the area who were eager to see how it was going to work. They have been very skeptical all week but I think once they saw it in action they are optimistic. The holes were the perfect size. The water seemed to be coming out at exactly the same rate as the ground could absorb it. We let it run and watched the size of the wet spots on the ground at each hole. The water covered a circle about 6 inches in diameter and maintained that size during the whole test. No run off, no time to evaporate, a success!

Kate

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The mechanical pump is on it's way, and so far the concrete base around the borehole for the pump has been set and the screws set in place. Otherwise the next big thing is that Henry had agreed to help with the installation of the old solar panels on the primary schools in Yua. We began today! The first installation had been done and shown to Patrick, one of the Yua workers, who will use the equipment and the business connections we have set him up with to continue the installation on hopefully two other schools. These solar panels will be used for lighting the schools, so the students will still have the opportunity to attend class at night (during the wet season, many students help in the fields during the day). It is great that these old solar panels are being put to good use.

In unrelated news we went to Bolga yesterday to run some errands along with feeding gas to the insatiable beast that is our van and revisiting the welder.

The other day we had dinner at Pok's house, it was a beautiful time. We were glad to see him, even though he had to drive a casket to Sirigu for the funeral we were lucky enough to witness today. Funeral's are a two day celebration here, where the entire village gathers at the family's house to drum and dance. We saw about 30 men dressed in tribal war gear holding satchels of arrows and dancing in a line around the house. Two days of this, wow; James one of the drummers looked exhausted. He has been working with us during the day and drumming all night long for the past few nights. It's a relentless fiesta! There had also been a cow killed, and it laid at the house's entrance as some of the villagers danced on it. Rock on!

Anna

And the community has given us Zamatikas (Smocks)!

Day 19: Breaking down the wall

A mechanical pump, is going to be brought to us from Ben Adongo. This is very good news. Even though repairing the solar powered system for the borehole was the primary focus, the mechanical pump is less convenient for the villagers but a much more sustainable method. Ideally we would be able to implement both into the same borehole this trip, but obtaining a functional solar pump is looking rather difficult at this time. The plans for a mechanical pump are underway.

Today in Yua we began preparation for the installation of the mechanical pump. To do this we needed to take down the east facing wall. We began by standing in front of the wall, curiously looking at it, heads tilting left and right. “How many days do you think it would take to get this down?” was questioned. One hour later, the Polytank was fully exposed, the rubble being carried away, and three tired men holding sledgehammers were breathing heavily nearby.

Patrick

Sonia a peace corps volunteer living in Sirigu met up with us in Yua today. She also joined us for dinner, and explained to us more about the unique area that is the upper east region of Ghana. We learned about Murango, a seeded plant in the area that is used to heal just about any ailment, how Shea butter is made, and many other interesting facts and stories.

Kate and I took another long walk through the village today as well, and it's strange how accustomed we've become to life here. Greeting people on the street, you're always asked the same questions “Where are you going?”, “How are you?”, “How is your body, are you strong?”. Replying in Fra Fra has become well ingrained, but as a team we are all trying to branch out to new response phrases. The time has begun to go by very fast, and it is unbelievable that our time in Yua is nearing it's end.

Anna

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With the plans for installing the manual pump underway, the drip team is working to have systems ready for when water is flowing again at the plaza. Today was another day of melting emitter-holes much to the begrime of Kate and I as the lighters we must use get extremely hot and are unreliable outside of a closed building. Despite our burned fingers we press on to finish one of our two systems soon.

James

Although we were not able to finish a full system today we have brought supplies to SWOPA and have set up a small system to troubleshoot tomorrow morning. Hopefully we won't encounter any problems and are able to build a fully functional system tomorrow, fingers crossed.

Max

Day 18: The pump

Day 18: The pump

Screeech. Bang. Halt. Kapow!

The above collection of onomatopoeia are not only here because we need to remember to get new brake pads for the van, but also as a metaphor for the Water Plaza portion of this project. We've come to a screeching halt in the finishing of the solar powered water pump. When we had assumed that it was because of the failing wooden structure that held up the panels, and the miss-operation of these panels that caused the plaza to stop working it may have been in fact that the pump had failed. We do not know for certain, though. The structure still needed to come down, and the new panels are better and far more applicable to the power needs of the plaza. The pump, though, just isn’t working which is what has been determined so far. This was found today once we had two specialists from Bolga come look at it and Henry the solar guy, along with Matt's astounding thorough knowledge of the entire system.

With Matt's calm guidance we set forth for the aid of Pok and Ben Adongo in acquiring a new pump or repairing the old one in Accra or Kumasi. A new pump would require a new control unit, and hopefully we will be able to source a mechanical pump as well. Other options are also being considered. We did source more items in Bolga today, especially for drip thanks to Solomon and his helpful enthusiasm.

From here contacts need to be reached, price assessments made, and a plan determined for getting done what we can before we leave for the south again next week. We also need to make certain of the functionality of the pump.

All in all, we are hopeful, and appreciate all the help we've been receiving from everyone involved.

Anna

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The last few days have been great for the progress of the drip irrigation system. The manifolds which will attach the system to its tank were made with relative ease (using hammers and other heavy things to tighten them) . We also started the process of melting emitter-holes into the pvc that will lay next to the crops. Having changed the design of our overall plan we will be using two separate tanks instead of one large tank, this will allow us to test out a system sooner and foresee any problems that may spring up in the second system.

After Matt, Anna, Henry & the water technicians determined the pump was damaged we moved to Bolga and sourced a few more parts for our tank (with the help of Solomon) . Tomorrow we hope to begin the final steps towards finishing one system.

Max