January 24, 2010 - Ddegeya

At about 6 a.m., there was a heavy rain, and we neglected to put the solar cookers away. As a result, everything was soaking wet. However, by about 11 a.m., most of the stuff was dry, and the sun was up again. We got out the rectangular open box (ROB) and the EasyLid box cookers to test. After about 4 hours, both WAPIs failed to melt (though one in the EasyLid box appeared to have melted partially). As a control, during breakfast, we also hijacked a thermo with hot water to put WAPI in. The WAPIs did melt quite easily, but when Kevin emptied out the hot water and put one WAPI in again, the whole thermo had a spectacular explosion! Fortunately, the Albany crew, Mike, and Monica went to Masaka today, so we just asked them to pick up a thermo on our behalf. The WAPI survived the explosion intact.

In the morning, we put together the second Biosand filter. There was about 10 cm of gravel and maybe 18 cm of sand. The standing water level was definitely lower than that of the first filter, and as a result, the flow rate was faster due to the higher pressure drop possible. As usual, the water ran turbid for maybe the first 40 L, and then cleared up significantly.

In the afternoon, Kevin went with Joseph to visit a clay-brickmaker, but he was not interested in pursuing with the ceramic filter idea. However, he suggested a lady who lives past the Trading Centre who actually is knowledgeable in ceramic filters. We spent some time tracking this lady down, but it turned out that she had moved away from Ddegeya, and we do not have her contact information. There are other brickmakers in Ddegeya (possibly with firewood/kilns) that Kevin and Joseph might contact tomorrow, but testing ceramic filters is probably beyond the scope of this trip. If anything, Kevin bought 3 clay bricks (60 shillings each) and brought them back to the clinic. If we have time, we might try breaking them into pieces and/or bringing them back to the U.S. On our way to the brickmaker, we stopped by the newly fixed BH1, and did find many jerry cans lining up to be filled. However, the water flow rate was not as prolific as BH4, and something felt wierd about pumping: it felt like moving a lot of water up, and some portion of it did end up coming out of the wrong places at the pump head.

In the meanwhile, Dave went to investigate BH6---he was interested in seeing if turbidity would change with continued pumping. He found that continued pumping for about 5 min. dropped the turbidity level from 50 NTU to 30 NTU. We might take a look at this BH a little more before we leave---provided that we have time---but are unlikely to do anything to fix it.

In the morning, Joseph advertised to the two families (Jawadu and Gertrude) that the solar cooker workshop would begin at 4 p.m. today. Disappointingly, Gertrude never showed up, so we ended up holding the workshop to the family members of Jawadu. We first explained our tests, and how they never really worked (possibly due to uncooperative weather, limited materials, and our short stay). We are interested in testing the prototypes during the dry season---and asked the family's help. We emphasised that water is not safe to drink until the wax in the WAPI has melted---but even if it is not, then it is probably hot enough for other purposes (such as bathing) or for continuation for boiling using firewood (which could be saved). The family was quite eager helping us build the solar cooker (using the EasyLid design), but it appears that it was motivated just by the "free stuff".

In the evening, we moved the Biosand filter to Joseph's house. We did this by loading the filter onto a wheelbarrow, and then pulling the system over a bumpy dirt road. When the filter settled into Joseph's home, we found that the flow rate slowed significantly, and the water turned out yellowish. We did switch to the more turbid water source from BH1, but we think the main reason for this dramatically decreased performance is that the moving of the filter caused the sand to be intermixed with the gravel, causing clogging. This called for an emergency repair procedure tomorrow morning, where we intend to take the sieves and run through the different layers again, washing sand away from the gravel. Lesson learnt: never move an assembled Biosand filter on a wheelbarrow on a bumpy dirt road.

This implies that we should also not move our second Biosand filter prototype away from the clinic. Perhaps Tom and Monica (and their successors) could help us with the daily monitoring. As for Eddie, instead of the Biosand filter, he might be getting Gertrude's solar cooker, which he originally had wanted. But we shall see tomorrow.

Priority of things to be done before we leave:
- Fix Joseph's filter
- Clean up our mess of engineering on the Engeye grounds
- Hold a community debriefing meeting (likely Monday evening, say at 5 p.m.)
- Right BH5 with carjacks, and assess BH6 and BH1 (regarding the water coming out the wrong way).
- Set up some framework through which ceramic filtration can be pursued in the future.
- Chase down local hydrologcal / topographical maps from the office in Entebbe.

Chris Arsenault e-mailed yesterday informing us that he would not be able to join us in Ddegeya due to a sudden demand in Sudan. But he passed on the contact information of some people who work in Uganda whom we might contact later for collaboration/advice.