Since we completed our last concrete lid with have been working to build pumps and to determine if the community is interested in constructing more tanks. Mrs. Muwanika, our chef and host to the girls, and the village chairman have taken us to see many houses for potential tanks sites. At each site we ask if the homeowner and his or her neighbors would be interested in a shared tank. We also measure the house, inspect roof quality and take lots of photos. For each site we have arranged a meeting with the neighbors. So far we have met with two potential groups. They were all enthusiastic and said they were willing to contribute labor, money and materials. We are hesitant to believe them since many of the existing tanks are used by more people than they were funded by. Our partners from Makerere University, Sarah and Leone, believe that the villagers are now more willing to contribute since they have actually seen the tanks and they have been assured we are not trying to cheat them. Ultimately, it is up to the team at MIT to decide if they want to continue building tanks.
Constructing pumps has been going well so far. We tried to design a new valve from foam instead of wood but the foam here does not work because the valve gets pushed inside the pipe. We have reverted to wooden valves and ordered more from the carpenter. The people who use the tanks are familiar with the wooden valves and know how to replace them. Another problem to work on in the future is making the pump easier. It is convenient when the tank is full but pumping the last foot of water is difficult.
We have contracted the carpenter to remove the form work and build hatches for the tank. We will see soon if the hatches fit in the concrete space left for them. Once the form work is removed we can install the hatch and reattach the pump and downspout. We also plan to mortar over the concrete lids to make them smoother. With construction nearing completion we are focusing more on interviewing the community about how to make this project better. There is still plenty of work for the team at MIT to work on!
Constructing pumps has been going well so far. We tried to design a new valve from foam instead of wood but the foam here does not work because the valve gets pushed inside the pipe. We have reverted to wooden valves and ordered more from the carpenter. The people who use the tanks are familiar with the wooden valves and know how to replace them. Another problem to work on in the future is making the pump easier. It is convenient when the tank is full but pumping the last foot of water is difficult.
We have contracted the carpenter to remove the form work and build hatches for the tank. We will see soon if the hatches fit in the concrete space left for them. Once the form work is removed we can install the hatch and reattach the pump and downspout. We also plan to mortar over the concrete lids to make them smoother. With construction nearing completion we are focusing more on interviewing the community about how to make this project better. There is still plenty of work for the team at MIT to work on!
No comments:
Post a Comment