Biogas Digester Work Begins

After over a month of goofing off, it is time to get back to work. With the project engineer, Anna, leaving in July, the biogas digester has taken priority. At this point, we are about 10 days into the build and about half way finished with the construction. In total, we are looking at about 3 weeks to finish. My role in the actual construction has been minimal. Since my expertise with cement and bricklaying is next to nothing, I have had to limit myself to shoveling sand and mobilizing learners to assist. 

Our first task was digging a big hole. Luckily, the learners were able to help us with this and they were able to make quick work of the 10 foot circle with a depth of 6 feet. From there, with the help of a local builder and community members we poured the foundation, laid the bricks, and plastered the walls. This coming week is the most important part – pouring the dome.

The learners at school are beginning to do their critical part as well which is to bring manure from home. I think that they still haven’t fully grasped how the digester exactly works so they find it silly that they are bringing bags of cow poop with them to school.

Some students and a lecturer from the University of Namibia Engineering College have been assisting.  Here, they helped to prepare the reinforcement for the foundation.

With the reinforcement bars in place, the concrete foundation was then ready to be poured.

With the help of several community members, the concrete was simply mixed on the ground and then wheel-barrowed into the hole where our builder Kavili spread and smoothed it.

After the foundation had set, the bricks could be laid.  We found that Kavili is very skilled when it comes to bricklaying.

After 2 long days, Kavili had finished laying the bricks for the digester itself.

With the inside plastered the digester is now ready to be filled with sand and the dome poured.

Kids in a Candy Store

Africa really isn’t a place that invokes images of a delightful candy store like the ones we liked to visit in our youth.  However, to some, it is a candy store in so many other ways – in ways that are much more profound and life changing than having some high-fructose corn syrup stuck in your teeth.  To my parents, Africa is just that.

Over the month of May, I had the privilege of having my folks come out and visit.  They were my first visitors since I have been here and it was an honor to show them around the only other place I have been able to truly call home.  For me, it was wonderful to finally be able to explore this country unrestrained while at the same time getting to share it with my folks.  Without a doubt, getting to share the experience with them has left me with a greater appreciation and love for this country as well as for the entire continent.

The photos below highlight only some of this extraordinary trip.  We covered a lot of country and saw some of the best that this continent has to offer.

With our fully equipped Toyota Hilux we set out on the dusty roads of Namibia from Windhoek.  In the end, we visited 3 countries and covered nearly 5,000 km.

First stop, the Namib Desert.  The iconic red dunes around Sossusvlei are like nothing we had ever seen before.  The lines, curves, and shadows of the dunes were an awe-inspiring way to start the trip and left us giddy as to what lay ahead.

No 5-star game lodges for us.  Our pick-up was equipped with roof-top tents which meant we were able to enjoy absolute isolation in very empty landscapes.

Prior to this trip, I had underestimated the wildness of this country.  Even outside of the national parks, Africa’s most majestic wildlife would unexpectedly appear.

Elephants became a daily sight for us later in the trip.  However, spotting desert elephants in the arid Kaokoland of Namibia rivaled the big herds we would later come across in Botswana.

Bare-assed and utterly delighted to see themselves on the camera screen – welcome to Africa.

Some of my fondest memories of Namibia are from my times spent around the Himba.  Even though our time with the Himba was brief (and in some respects not entirely genuine) it was thrilling to spend time with my folks amongst them.

Yep, you guessed it…those are zebra.  Rest assured, we didn't have to pull out the field guide for that one.

A fly-fisherman’s dream – fishing for Tigers on the Zambezi.  The catching wasn’t too good but then again, does it really need to be when you are on the Zambezi?

In this family, no trip is complete without lacing up the boots, throwing on the pack and disappearing into the wild.

When worlds collide – my white family meets my black family.

My folks were warmly welcomed at Enguwantale.  The culture groups put on special performances and were of course thrilled to get their photos taken with a white woman.

My folks were able to do something after 2 days which took me over a year to do – walk into a room of 3^rd graders and entertain them.  I don’t think those 3^rd graders will ever forget Tate Clay and Meme Karla and I don’t think my folks will forget them any time soon.

Our big project at the school was refurbishing and labeling a world map on the wall.  It turned out extremely well and my parents were able to leave with something to be proud of.  Just last week, for the first time, I saw a class outside using the map as a study aid.

I am extremely grateful to my parents for taking the time and money to come out and visit me.  For us to come together after a long separation and be able to share the experiences that we had was very special.  They have put me on a new high that is going to carry me through the rest of my service.  However, with a new love for this country, it is now going to be harder to say goodbye in a few months time.