Cilia

Cilia
Social Impact Design

Friday, November 11, 2011

Field Based Training

The past few weeks I have been traveling to other volunteers sites, seeing projects and listening to the wise words of those who have come before me.

We took an overnight bus north about 8 hours to the department of La Liberdad. We arrived in the regiounal capital of Trujillo around 7am and ate a small breakfast of beef empanadas and bananas. Then guess what? another bus! after about an hour ride up the mountains, we stopped at the side of the road next to a small adobe house. Here we met Brian, a volunteer who has been living in a small mountain town (Otuzco) and making a daily commute to the surrounding small villages.

From there, we lathered up in sunscreen and hiked for about 30 minutes down a valley of Eukaliptus trees, across a river on a small wooden suspension bridge and up the other side of the mountain. We met up with a small Peruvian man who is the operatore of the water system that services about 30 families. We hiked another 20 minutes up the mountain to inspect the different components of the gravity fed water system. It was fairly new, built by Engineering without Borders, a NGO from Spain.

Later we inspected a "Eco Bathroom", an oder free toilet that recycles human waste into fertilizer. Basically it seperates solids and liquids with a nifty toilet. After going #2, you throw in a handful of lime or ash to keep the pit dry. Once full, you let it sit for 6 months and presto! great fertilizer.

Okay well there is a lot more of this story, but it going to have to wait. In the mean time, enjoy the photos below!

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