One down. . .fifteen to go

SUCCESS!! After 9 months of work we have finally built our first ecostove! I received a grant through ECPA (the environment and climate partnership of the Americas) to build ecostoves in my community.  As part of the grant community members need to contribute to the project as well.  The families in my stove group are responsible for getting sand and rocks (that get mixed in with cement), ash (used as insulation to fill the stoves) and dirt from a specific type of ant (used to stick together the bricks on the inside of the stove).  Also, we did fundraisers (in the form of raffles, people donated small prizes and everyone sold tickets for a quarter, they LOVE raffles), to raise money to pay for the gasoline needed to transport the bricks.  A member of my community works for an NGO called Cosecha Sostenible (Sustainable Harvest), and used a Cosecha car to do the brick transport for us.  ANAM (the ministry of the environment) helped me transport the cement, rebar, cement blocks, and wire that we needed).  We also did fundraisers for money to purchase gasoline to power the saw to cut the bricks. 

 

Now, before I show pictures and explain the construction of the ecostoves I guess I should explain WHAT an ecostove is.  In Panama traditional cooking is done over an open fire, generally women use 3 rocks to balance their pots and cook on top of this.  This method of cooking using a LOT of firewood, leading to deforestation.  It also gives off a lot of smoke and is dangerous for small children and pets.  Ecostoves are a more efficient way of cooking with firewood.  They are much more efficient, burning hotter which allows food to cook faster, requires less firewood and emits less smoke.  Also the flames are enclosed, so children are less likely to be accidently burned.  The volunteer before me built some stoves in the community, and when I got to site many more families were interested in the stoves.  We are going to build 16 family stoves, and hopefully 3 industrial (larger stoves). Here are some pictures of the stove building process!

 

we had to move the bricks to where we were going to cut them

cutting the bricks. . .in 6 hours we only cut the bricks for 3 stoves, it's a LONG, dirty, process

 

 

haha everyone told me that it looks like I'm about to give a sermon. . .

you have to soak the bricks in water or else they suck all the water out of the cement when you stick them together

kids collected rocks to mix with the cement

best little helper ever! helping me shovel sand into a bucket

we reinforce the cement table with rebar

putting down the cement blocks

mold for the table and completed rebar

 

mixing cement!

this is the inside part of the stove, we use mud to stick it together because cement breaks under too much heat

inside of stove

building the outside part of the stove

almost done!

CSIP- Cosecha Sostenible Internacional Panama

CP- Cuerpo de Paz

Finished stove! that is ash in the middle to act as an insulator

I'm officially Panamanian because. . .

1. I have killed a chicken.  Yes, I seriously have.  Gallina de patio (aka the chickens that people raise in their "yards") are really popular, and killing chickens is a big part of life here.  So, one afternoon, my two good friends taught me how to properly kill, pluck, clean, butcher and then make pollo con macaron (chicken and noodles in a tomatoish sauce, quite delicious).  I thought I was going to wimp out, but I managed to go through with it, and still eat the chicken afterwards. 

 



2. I now pronounce pescado as pescao . . .pintado as pintao . . .aka have developed feo spanish. 

3. I consistantly use the phrase "si dios quiere" when I don't want to do something. . .most recent usage - " Will you be my girlfriend one day?" my response "si dios quiere."

4. I am now dark skinned. . .haha ok even though I am the tanest I have ever been in my life I will NEVER be mistaken for Panamanian.

5. I know how to, and have now successfully made, two sombreros!

6. I LOVE yucca, especially with huevos de patio (aka the eggs that the gallina de patio's lay).

yucca unpealed

yucca, eggs and peppers. . .yum

 

7. I wear jeans even when it is 90 degrees out.

8. Any time their is a lag in conversation I just bring up the weather. . ."hace calor!" "Brisa fuerte!" "Sol fuerte hoy!" "Me encanta la brisa."

9. I can pilar with two hands!

 

 

10. I can squeeze myself into any full bus or pick up truck and I have no shame sitting on random people's laps or forcing men to stand on the bumper so I can have a seat.

11. I lip point. . .what is lip pointing you ask? Just what it sounds like, instead of pointing with your finger you point with your lips.

12. A rope holding up my hammock broke and sent me crashing to the cement patio floor.  According to people in my community this makes me Panamanian haha.











A Quick Update

A ginormous apology for my lack of blogging.  I could spend forever writing all of my excuses but instead I will just try to give you the highlights of what's been going on in the last few months. 

Panama Half Marathon
On December first, along with a bunch of other volunteers, I ran in the Panama Half Marathon! It was HOTTTTTT, but a lot of fun.  A friend of mine got 2nd female foriegner and I got 3rd. 

Eco Stove Project
So what most people in my community wanted was more eco stoves.  Traditionally people in Panama cooking using the "tres piedras" method.  Another words they balance their pot on three rocks and create a wood fire underneat.  This is not very efficient, emits a lot of smoke, and is dangerous for children and animals running around.  It also contributes to deforestation because of the amount of wood needed to keep the fire going.  There are many forms of eco stoves being built, the type I am doing is called an eco-justa and made out of bricks.  The stoves are pretty pricey, but last up to 20 years if cared for correctly, use a lot less wood, keep the fire contained, and emit less smoke.  After writing a grant in english and in spanish and going to a seminar with a member of my community I recieved a grant to help build about 24 stoves in my community! The community members have to contribute things as well.  Now I am working on organize the transport of materials etc. 

Family Visit!
My family, mom, dad, brother, sister and her bf, came to visit over Christmas and New Years.  It was a lot of fun to see them and to play tourist a bit! And to have hot showers and eat out.  They even came to visit my community for a day. Here's a pic of my host mom and family!