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Nepal field trip report June 2011

Hi everyone,

Just a follow up note here from my previous post from Nepal.  The electricity situation there was challenging to say the least, so I held off posting anything until we were all safely home.  The trip went well, we saw progress on the bio gas and latrine projects, as well as taking the MFC project with Sanu at FoST up to the next level.   We met with the NCDC board on two occasions and mapped out the agenda for the next year, which will see the continuation of the biogas and latrine project(s), as well as a pilot project with Sanu's briquettes from waste material.  In Kathmandu we visited the Nepal Orphans Home, which is partially governed by our friends Toni Thomson and Paul Mahler. 

I was accompanied on this trip by my partner Cindy Muskat, my friend Byron Bignell and his daughter Emma. Emma can be seen teaching an English class in the Namsaling High School. Bhupal helped us through the journey with his usual grace and good humour, and we were hosted superbly by Laxman Nepal and his family in Namsaling.

Shown here are some images of the biogas project and new latrine construction, as well as our NCDC board meeting(s) and a few shots from the arduous trails around Ilam / Namsaling. Also seen here is Frances Fierst (and her friend) from EWB / USAID who graciously lent us a SIM card for our time in Nepal and even got us access to the swimming pool on top of the Radisson Hotel in Kathmandu.  In the 34 celsius heat it was appreciated!

I'll post more images and details about the projects as time permits.
Best,

Tony

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Hi everyone,

Just a quick note here to say that we've arrived in kathmandu safely with everything intact and will be getting down to work shortly.  The power is only available intermittently so I'll probably save most of the posts for when I get back.  Here's two images from the first day.

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We will be visiting Sanu at FoST later today.

Best,

Tony.

 

Prathivara fog collector project

Hi folks,

Posting a video that I put together of the Prathivara Temple fog collection system.  This was shot last October.  I'm getting ready to visit this system again in May, as well as continue new prioject work with Sanu at FoST.  Looks like we have two new areas to install the medium sized collector that we've been developing.

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I'll have a full report with new images and video when I get return in late May.  Hope everyone's keeping well!

 

 

 

Nepal field trip October 2010

Dear friends,

Happy to have a report from the field after a false start in May. I've just returned from an exhausting but productive trip. There were several objectives, all of which were achieved, I'm happy to report. One important goal was to establish a link between NCDC and FoST for briquette production in Ilam. These images show FoST's operation in Kathmandu, showing solar cookers being constructed, briquette production and the briquette stoves.

This is an innovative and sustainable energy solution and should be widely implemented, in my opinion. I'm still organizing the images into groups and will be posting more over the next few days.

Best regards to all.

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Namaste? Not so fast, buddy...

via nnv.nepalnews.com

Hi folks,

Many of you know that I was scheduled to visit Nepal this week in service of my ongoing fog water project(s) and to continue the photographic project I've been working on since 1995.

Unfortunately, a general strike - in effect since May 1st - has more less shut down the entire country and as it progresses things may turn nasty. If that wasn't bad enough, the bars are closed. That itself was enough to make me postpone the trip. I don't want to arrive there and find I can't get anything done. The video above is in Nepali but will give you an idea of what's going on. We can only hope this episode passes soon and life will return to normal.

I've rescheduled to October. Thanks to those of you who have supported the fog project in one way or another, and I hope to have good news about this project in the coming months. My partners in Nepal and the folks at EWB / EDC in Colorado remain committed to our project work and this is a temporary setback.

Stay tuned for more news as it occurs. In the meantime, two weeks have opened up for me, which is a nice feeling. Time to do some gardening, methinks.

Best regards,

Tony

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