A Day in the Life of ...

The last few days have been full of a variety of projects, conversations and duties. It has also been full of extra warm temperatures and soaring humidity. The past three evenings have featured heavy downpours ... I rather like the Spanish word – tormentas ... rather more descriptive in many ways.

Last week, in the search for a cheaper stove/oven, I had some molds made to help reduce the costs of the initial layer of blocks around the base. We hoped that they would produce simple concrete blocks of the same dimension.

Wednesday morning, Santiago and I headed to one of the block making spots near our house to get some ready mixed sand and cement. I figured it would be easier to buy a half wheelbarrow of the ready made stuff than to fiddle with buying sand, transporting sand, ... you get the idea.

We arrived at the place and asked the young girl in charge of sales if we could buy half a wheelbarrow. She thought about it for awhile and said that she would need 170 lempiras ($9.00). We were rather surprised at this figure and began questioning her calculations. Finally, I asked if we could buy some freshly made blocks. Well, that was possible. So, the next set of three blocks from the press, we had the workers dump them into the wheelbarrow. Of course, they crumpled into a very nice half wheelbarrow full of mix. We paid the girl for three blocks – 30 lempiras – and headed off to try our molds. The workers were rather amused at this and, I think, the girl was a wee bit chagrined.

The molds didn’t work. The blocks kept crumbling when we tried to tip out the new blocks. I hustled across the street and had the welder try to change the angles on one of the molds. Still no dice. By now, in 35’ C heat, I was beginning to worry about the mix drying out. We then spotted two concrete blocks and lined them up 4” apart and used them as a mold. It worked like a charm and we had 16” long blocks in no time. Of course, would they set? We covered them up with plastic bags and odd boards. Two days later and they are nicely stacked and perfect for the job. They are less than half the cost and we can make the blocks a variety of lengths.

Yesterday, a man who is helping over twenty young people in his village came to collect some exams. During the conversation, the problem of drying coffee came up. If they could dry and sort the coffee they could get a better price. Well ... now that you mention it ... Sigh. I dug up the picture of a portable greenhouse type dryer that we put together last year. We then discussed alternative building materials like bamboo. This dryer would also work for beans and maize. We also discussed a type of gravity fed system for sorting out beans by weight (and, therefore, quality).

Lime for prepping fish ponds, composting toilets, alternative types of pig food preparation and compressed earth block machines also cropped up.

The dying mother being recusitated by repentant daughters

The Board enjoying the theatre

Today was a special board meeting which the staff combined with a belated Mother’s Day celebration for the ladies involved. Several of the young students presented a skit with the very strong moral message that disobedience to mother may have tragic consequences but return and repentance will lead to a happy ending. Enjoyed by all.

I was up at 5.30 to cook the lunch. Fortunately, mashed potatoes, carrots and a pork rib stew went over well. The other staff quietly ensured that there was a tiny bag of salt so that newbies to my cooking could satisfy their salt habit without too much ado. They also made sure there was bread (the special tortilla equivalent) for people to feel comfortable with.

Not all the days are filled with exciting activity. Today, when I arrived at the office, I was informed that the wife of our night guard had delivered a baby last night but the baby was stillborn. So, this afternoon the board and staff went next door with flowers and candles to pay our respects to the family. The very young mother is still in hospital.

The baby was laid out in a lovely red gingham frock and matching hat. A tiny doll lay beside her. Flickering candles surround the little coffin and gave light to the gloaming of the room. She will be laid to rest this afternoon. The current heat means a burial is necessary even though the mother is still in San Pedro Sula.

TTYL

BB