In light of the recent blog post I made hilighting my village's water project, I thought I should remind everyone that Peace Corps work is about capacity building (and not bringing in outside funding). So, here is a brief list of all the projects I've done so far in my village. Very few of these projects involve money.
- Water Project (filter construction).
- Teeth Brushing (with pre-school kids and parents).
- Village Cleanup and Waste Separation (with primary school students).
- Kickball Team (class 7&8 at the local primary school).
- Aerobics Classes (with the women).
- Budget Development and Money Management (with the Village Development Committee).
- Nutrition Work ("Iron Chef" Cooking Competition with the women's group).
- Gardening (leading by example, giving away seeds) and Planting Trees (raising seedlings).
- 1-on-1 Relationship Violence Awareness and Education (advocacy and safety planning for survivors, explainations aimed at prevention in male population).
- HIV/AIDS Workshop (at one of the training villages during the Volunteer Connect Conference).
- SPCA Outreach: Animal De-Sexing (in the works).
- Condom Dispensory (my house...).
- Teaching French to Village Kids (once a week while we walk home from school).
- World Geography Awareness (informal with inflatable globe in my house).
- Water Conservation Education.
and more...
Vinaka Vakalevu for checking out the blog.
xx
Milika
:-)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Noqu Teitei ("My Garden") as of July 2010
When I left for the Peace Corps, I had three personal goals (in addition to helping the community). #1 was to learn a new language. #2 was to learn to cook. #3 was to learn how to garden.
I am very proud of the gardening skills I have developed. Here are some pictures of what my teitei looks like so far.
(August 2010)
This is by far the most self-indulgent article I've ever posted on this blog before. I realize that most of you probably don't care to see the minute changes in plant growth taking place on my compound, but I am utterly fascinated by what is taking place before my eyes. It is so cool to plant something, watch it grow, see it flower, and finally eat its fruit! So, I've posted the most recent pictures of my garden and flowers (that I spend at least 30 minutes watering every single morning and at least a few hours a week weeding and tending to). These plants are one of my proudest accomplishments so far in Fiji.
So, enjoy.
:-)
*************************************************
Noqu Kompound: Before. (March)
Noqu Kompound: After. (June)
Noqu Kompound. (August 2010)
Pink Frangipani Tree. (June 2010)
Bougainvillea Flowers. Planting along my front veranda railing and against my bathroom wall. They just started flowering! (August 2010)
Fijian Flower that's growing next to my compost. (August 2010)
Papukeni (Pumpkin). (June 2010)
Papukeni (Pumpkin). (June 2010)
Pumpkin. (August 2010)
Kiukaba (Cucumber). (June 2010)
Cucumber. (August 2010)
Passionfruit. (June 2010)
Passionfruit. (June 2010)
Passionfruit. (August 2010)
Squash. (June 2010)
Squash. (June 2010)
Squash. (August 2010)
A view of all three creeping plants. (June 2010)
A view of all three creeping plants. (June 2010)
There is also a watermelon plot to the left of the Squash, but at the time this picture was taken, the buds were too young to be remarkable.
Zucchini. (August 2010)
One of S.K.'s kittens, Meleni. (translation: "Melon". I like to think that this name, given by her new owners, was at least partially inspired by the name of my cat back home in San Diego, California, whose name is Mango.)
My Compost.
********************************************************************
The side yard: Before. (March 2010)
The side yard: After. (May 2010)
The Side Yard. (August 2010)
Dhanya and Cilantro. (May 2010)
Rokete: Lailai/Levu (Hot Chili Peppers: Small/Large), Tomole (Basil). (May 2010)
Basil. (August 2010)
Rokete (Hot Chili Peppers). (August 2010)
Baigani (Eggplant), Cobona (Lemongrass). (May 2010)
Kareti (Carrots), Kiukaba (Cucumber). (May 2010)
Baigani (Eggplant), Cobona (Lemongrass). (May 2010)
Kareti (Carrots), Kiukaba (Cucumber). (May 2010)
Cucumber. (August 2010)
The back yard. (March 2010)
The back yard. (April 2010).
The back yard. (June 2010)
The main garden consists of: Tomata (Tomatoe), French Beans, Butter Beans, Capsicum (Bell Peppers), Kaveti (Cabbage), Letisi (Lettuce), Broccoli, and Cauliflour.
**********************************************************************
The back yard. (March 2010)
The back yard. (April 2010).
The back yard. (June 2010)
The main garden consists of: Tomata (Tomatoe), French Beans, Butter Beans, Capsicum (Bell Peppers), Kaveti (Cabbage), Letisi (Lettuce), Broccoli, and Cauliflour.
The Backyard Garden. (August 2010)
Tomatoes in the Back Garden. (August 2010)
Next to the main garden there is a living fence (to deter prying eyes) of Sila (Corn). (June 2010)
New Backyard Garden. Watermelon, Round Cabbage, Carrots, Long Beans, French Beans, Corn, Eggplant, Avocado Tree, and Papaya Tree. (August 2010)
Fijian Cilantro. (August 2010)
Nursery for future planting. (August 2010)
******************************************************
(August 2010)
Another reason that gardening has been one of my most satisfying tasks thus far in Fiji has to do with the transformation that has taken place around me in the village, simply as a second-degree result of my efforts... Almost every single house has started a vegetable garden of their own!!
This is not a culture that prides itself on growing perishable vegetables close to home. Instead, Fijians hike into the jungle and plant enormous "fields" of root crops. After 4-6 months of no work (weeding the "farm" once), they harvest the roots, which can last up to 6 weeks before being cooked. Furthermore, while the crops are growing underground, the leaves can be picked, boiled in hot water, and eaten with Coconut milk (squeezed coconut shavings mixed with hot water). This is the staple of the Fijian diet... at least in my village. It is sometimes supplemented by fresh fish.
Unfortunately, there is some racism in Fiji between the ethnic Fijian population, and the approximately 30% Indo-Fijian population that is mostly concentrated in town areas. Traditionally, vegetable garden is associated with Indo-Fijian culture, and that is another reason that Ethnic Fijians often resist starting home gardens.
However, when I began my own garden--by planting simple, Fijian, crops like Bele (a leaf that can be boiled and eaten like Spinach), Pumpkin, and Eggplant--many people in my village began to grow jealous. So, we started sharing seeds, and planting tips. Luckily, around the time that everyone was starting up these staple crops, the "hurricane relief" fund kicked in and cabbage, bean, and cucumber seeds were distributed to villages all across my island. As you can imagine, the gardening extravaganza blew up from there. Now, I am proud to say that most of the women are getting out of their houses more and contributing to their families in a traditionally-male way (by providing food). The teachers at the local elementary school have remarked that the kids from my village have started bringing noticeably healthier lunches to school, and all the village families have started to eat more balanced diets (getting a far greater variety of nutrients than before).
In the Peace Corps, this is what we refer to as a secondary project. I am VERY proud of mine.
Emi in her Cabbage Patch. (August 2010)
Ili and Jo's Tomatoes and Long-Beans. (August 2010)
Lydia's Eggplant, Bean, and Herb garden. (August 2010)
Sotia's Corn Patch. (August 2010)
Mesi and Tevita's Cabbage and Cucumber Nursery. (August 2010)
That's all for now.
Vinaka Vakalevu for visiting my blog.
xx
Milika
Friday, June 25, 2010
Tuvatuva Ni Sava Wai (Water Filtration Project)
When I first got to my small, remote Fijian village almost a year ago, my community made clear to me that the most valuable work I could do for them would be to help them get clean drinking water.
Although the village was lucky to have existing piping and storeage to give them running water from two distant sources, a spring and a river, the water looked and tasted dirty. When it rained hard or for long periods of time (which happens frequently in the tropics), the water became so sediment-heavy that it would literally turn white clothes brown if laundry attempts were made (I have first-hand experience with this). As a result, the village would send someone up to the source to divert the river water until it cleared up. This has often lead to water a dry storeage tank (and therefore drought in the village) often for days at a time. Furthermore, when I obtained World Health Organization pathogen water tests (and later other, more sophisticated tests), the results showed dangeous levels of contamination probably due to the wild animal population living in the jungle along the river.
So, in September 2009, I made a contact in the local Rotary Club, an engineer in his former life until he retired and moved to Fiji. I helped my village form a Water Committee, and we got to work on testing our village water usage and water quality (3 months of almost-daily hikes up to the resevoir tank or the source) so the Rotary Club engineer could design a filter for us. At the same time, I trained the leader of our Water Committee (and he got help from the other members) to write a grant, and we finally finished one to the Rotary Pacific Water For Life Foundation (RPWFL) in December 2009.
By February 2010, when the technical portion of the grant application was finished (i.e. when the filter design was complete and we had obtained materials quotes), we submitted our grant.... Soon, however, we learned that RPWFL was no longer accepting applications because of funding issues.Luckily, our Rotary Club partners were able to adapt the original application and submit it to some private contacts, local companies, and rotary clubs around the world. Within days we had pledges for funding.All the money finally came through and we started ordering materials (some from all over the world) in May 2010.
The first week in June 2010, the men of my village started ripping timber (by hand!) for the wood that would be the "community contribution" to the project. We spent the next two weeks in a frenzy of activity as materials were delivered, the tower was constructed, and an elaborate scheme of piping was put in place.
After another week or two the project should be complete, and my community will have water as safe to drink as the bottles they can buy in the grocery store.//Sa Vinaka Saraga. :-)
Headng into the veikau with three chainsaws, some fuel, and a portable radio for day 1 of ripping timber for my village water filtration project.
From the village, our prime timber spot took maybe 45 minutes to hike to.This is Maika, the project's head carpenter, getting the first tree started.
"Vesi" is a gorgeous variety of timber that is very valuable and somewhat rare. Luckily, my village's Mataqali (family clan) has lots of it on their land.
Measuring out the timber so we can mark it for individual plank sizes.
To mark the timber, we opened up an old battery and mixed the black acid with water to make a sort of ink. Then, we used a long piece of string wrapped around a small stick to dip in the ink, stretch accross the timber, and snap against the horizontal surface so as to leave a perfectly straight line for the chainsaw to follow.
One of the best moments of my Peace Corps service, hands down, is when one of the ladies carried lunch to us on our last timber day in the bush. She cooked this alternative meat product called "Natrella" with Penne pasta and vegetables. She learned how to cook all of these foods during the "Iron Chef" cooking competition program I led in the village when my mom was visiting in May. If this isn't behavior change, I dont know what is!
After we unloaded the posts from the truck, the hard work of turning and positioning them began. 
Four posts and a frame were in place by the end of day 2 at the construction site
On day 3, we nogged into the posts and place 3"x10" Vesi bearers into place (there are four on this structure). These bearers might be the most important source of support for this entire structure. The weight of a two-ton truck will be resting on them soon.
... while I sat down and explained the project to some of the village elders who came to watch us young people work.
Although the village was lucky to have existing piping and storeage to give them running water from two distant sources, a spring and a river, the water looked and tasted dirty. When it rained hard or for long periods of time (which happens frequently in the tropics), the water became so sediment-heavy that it would literally turn white clothes brown if laundry attempts were made (I have first-hand experience with this). As a result, the village would send someone up to the source to divert the river water until it cleared up. This has often lead to water a dry storeage tank (and therefore drought in the village) often for days at a time. Furthermore, when I obtained World Health Organization pathogen water tests (and later other, more sophisticated tests), the results showed dangeous levels of contamination probably due to the wild animal population living in the jungle along the river.
So, in September 2009, I made a contact in the local Rotary Club, an engineer in his former life until he retired and moved to Fiji. I helped my village form a Water Committee, and we got to work on testing our village water usage and water quality (3 months of almost-daily hikes up to the resevoir tank or the source) so the Rotary Club engineer could design a filter for us. At the same time, I trained the leader of our Water Committee (and he got help from the other members) to write a grant, and we finally finished one to the Rotary Pacific Water For Life Foundation (RPWFL) in December 2009.
By February 2010, when the technical portion of the grant application was finished (i.e. when the filter design was complete and we had obtained materials quotes), we submitted our grant.... Soon, however, we learned that RPWFL was no longer accepting applications because of funding issues.Luckily, our Rotary Club partners were able to adapt the original application and submit it to some private contacts, local companies, and rotary clubs around the world. Within days we had pledges for funding.All the money finally came through and we started ordering materials (some from all over the world) in May 2010.
The first week in June 2010, the men of my village started ripping timber (by hand!) for the wood that would be the "community contribution" to the project. We spent the next two weeks in a frenzy of activity as materials were delivered, the tower was constructed, and an elaborate scheme of piping was put in place.
After another week or two the project should be complete, and my community will have water as safe to drink as the bottles they can buy in the grocery store.//Sa Vinaka Saraga. :-)
Headng into the veikau with three chainsaws, some fuel, and a portable radio for day 1 of ripping timber for my village water filtration project.
From the village, our prime timber spot took maybe 45 minutes to hike to.This is Maika, the project's head carpenter, getting the first tree started.
"Vesi" is a gorgeous variety of timber that is very valuable and somewhat rare. Luckily, my village's Mataqali (family clan) has lots of it on their land.
Measuring out the timber so we can mark it for individual plank sizes.
To mark the timber, we opened up an old battery and mixed the black acid with water to make a sort of ink. Then, we used a long piece of string wrapped around a small stick to dip in the ink, stretch accross the timber, and snap against the horizontal surface so as to leave a perfectly straight line for the chainsaw to follow.
did I mention that wood is extremely heavy in these quantities? I am continually amazed at how strong these Fijian men are...
The Varovaro team chills out and takes advantage of a photo opportunity with our last vesi tree.
One of the best moments of my Peace Corps service, hands down, is when one of the ladies carried lunch to us on our last timber day in the bush. She cooked this alternative meat product called "Natrella" with Penne pasta and vegetables. She learned how to cook all of these foods during the "Iron Chef" cooking competition program I led in the village when my mom was visiting in May. If this isn't behavior change, I dont know what is!
Carrying the timber out of the jungle to a road where we can get vehicle access might have been the hardest part of the whole operation.
All of our 2"x6" Vesi planks stacked neatly on construction day 1 at the resevoir storeage tank.
The building plan for our water filter tower basically consists of a two-stage filtration plan. On the tower's deck will sit a plastic water storeage tank that we have filled with a series of rocks, gravel, and sand to act as a roughing (particle) filter. The second stage filtration occurs below when the water comes out of the roughing filter, passes through a series of preliminary screens, and then flows down through two micro filters (for bacteria and viruses) that were purchased from Australia.
The major construction challenge of this project comes from the fact that, in order to work effectively, the 7,600 kg roughing filter (weight when filled with gravel sand and water) must sit a certain distance above the existing storeage tank so that, physics-wise, there will be enough "head loss" (i.e. gravity-induced pressure) to push the water through the entire system.
Day 1: breaking ground on the 1.1 meter deep holes for the treated pine posts to be placed into. The head carpenter, Maika, rolls himself a suki (special tobacco cigarette) while the rest of us are hard at work.
I even dug one of the holes. This was good work for me because Fijian men are HUGE and have a hard time fitting themselves into such a small space!
The four completed holes. You wouldn't be able to imagine how long it took me and the carpentars to square this thing (with no tools except a piece of string and a tape measure).
Day 2 Construction: the treated pine posts are delivered to our job site.
After we unloaded the posts from the truck, the hard work of turning and positioning them began.
(When I say "we," I of course mean the incredibly strong men from my village... I served as cheerleader, watergirl, and photographer for this portion of the project.)
The Rotary Club guys turned out on this all important materials delivery day to help us drill holes in the right places and place the posts properly for cementing.
Here, the last post goes up...
Four posts and a frame were in place by the end of day 2 at the construction site
On day 3, we nogged into the posts and place 3"x10" Vesi bearers into place (there are four on this structure). These bearers might be the most important source of support for this entire structure. The weight of a two-ton truck will be resting on them soon.
After the second round of materials were delivered, we had the plastic tank for our roughing filter, and the builders mix for cement (so we can secure the pine posts in place).
Many many subsequent days were spent placing 14 joists (arranged into 8 bundles for structural security) onto the tower's four bearers.
While the boys are hard at work getting the cement going...
... while I sat down and explained the project to some of the village elders who came to watch us young people work.
Lunch was an unexpected prize that day. We had curry stingray (Kari Vi), dahl soup with fish, boiled taro root (Dalo), and jungle fern (Ota)
.
Often, the ladies make fresh buns for tea and we enjoy it at a house in between the job site and the village as we make our way home.
Back to work for week 2 of construction...
Maika fits the pieces of freshly, hand planed, decking together to ensure as-even-as-possible surface for our roughing filter to sit on.
Hand planing 4 sides of each piece of decking takes a LOOOOOONG time!
This tribute reads "In memory of them who died with milika."Milika is my Fijian name.
The boys mean to say that I've worked them to death (by making them plane so many pieces of wood) and so this water tower is a memorial to that sacrifice.
The last day of week 2 construction, Jeff (the Engineer from the Savusavu Rotary Club) and Steve (Chapter President of the Savusavu Rotary Club) came back to deliver the micro-filters and help us install a ton of new piping.
Steve drills some connection for draining and water flow into the roughing filter tank while I secure the fitting from inside.
At the moment I'm the only non-child who is both small enough and brave enough to climb through the fresh-cut manhole and sit inside the plastic storeage tank. All I can say is that it's VERY hot in there!
The last big task of week 2: getting the roughing filter tank on to the structure itself...
up it goes...
Now that the tank is up, we can finish installing the piping below and hook up the micro-filters...
The final piping scheme (looking a lot like an outerspace rocketship-type mechanism) the way we left it at the end of construction week 2.
So, that's where the water project is so far. I'm in the capital city for some workshops and an annual Peace Corps Fiji Conference for two weeks. While I'm gone the boys are collecting sand for the roughing filter and cleaning the existing tank. When I get back we should have about one more week of work (cleaning sand and getting it inside that plastic tank, mostly) before my project is finished.
More info to come...
Vinaka Vakalevu for reading my blog.
I love you all.
xx
Milika
:-)
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