Progress

The past couple of days have been full of work. On Monday, the team went to the three clusters we´ve already seen and took measurements of where the tanks will be placed. Roof height, ground slope, etc. We also worked on formatting the first flush system with a pipe. Using the pipe to collect roof runoff makes access to clear the runoff easier. A bottle to collect runoff would have to be on a stand that would be built. The bottle would have to be detached from the first flush system and emptied and reattached. A pipe would not require a stand, just some extra support for the weight. And to clear the runoff from the system, the PVC cap at the bottom of the cap would just need to be removed and then reattached.

Yesterday, the travel team accomplished a lot. Yesterday had its ups and downs, but finished very well. In the morning we worked on logistics and laid the chicken mesh in the ferrocement tank and began the second render. Because the chicken mesh available in Masaka is thin and not particularly strong (and because the documents we´ve been working off of do not specify the type of "chicken mesh"), we initially doubled up the chicken mesh. However, this caused the render to bow out a bit, so we cut out the second layer of chicken mesh. We also built an aboveground section of the tank to demonstrate that the tank will be partially aboveground. About two thirds of the tank circumfrence has the above ground portion, 4 bricks tall. In the afternoon, Lynette and Katelyn went into Masaka for (hopefully) the last time and the rest stayed to continue to hard work or laying the second render. In Masaka, we purchased a small metal tin to do charcoal burns in and had a welder burn holes in the bottom. We printed out the MOU´s for the clusters, got more water for the clinic, and on our way back, we stopped in Kinone to buy some more food for the clinic. While in town, we spoke to the welder about making the charcoal press. He understood the design, but demanded 40,000 UGX to make the press, which is way above the estimated cost of $2-5. Luckily, the travel team had already come up with a press without welding.

And at the end of yesterday, after a hard day of work on everyone´s part, we walked up to the shops up the street and got some banana pancakes and finally saw the stars, which were magnificent.