Banteay Meanchey Part 2

Wednesday morning was the education workshop with the community and commune leaders and started off with a very swanky biscuit and water tasting affair. The overall idea we got is that it was very important to get these well respected men ‘on side’ in order for the community to fully accept and support the project.

The session went very well with a talk on health risks from dirty water with a picture flipchart and interactive presentation which was very well received. There was then a tour of the station and the different water treatment steps with full explanations of the processes of each one. This was alongside the role of the jar and kit tests in determining how much alum to add in the beginning and to ensure the water was fully treated at the end respectively. It was really good to see the positive reactions to the treatments we use and the depth to which the processes were explained – they specified that the UV filtration worked because the UV rays damaged the DNA of the viruses present in the water so that they could not make you ill.

 

Oh and they all seemed to like the taste of the water too so a really positive result all round. It’s interesting how the taste can be more important than the quality of the treatment to some villagers. Following on from this we have been asked to create a prototype of the station i.e. the five different steps of the treatment, which can be carried on the cart when a new site is opened, to show villagers who cannot make it to the station for a tour or tasting. We aim to show the stages of settlement/flocculation, sand filtration, microfiltration, UV filtration and clean storage techniques. It’s a really exciting project with links to both education and technology and we’ve been to the market since being back in Battambang to scout out the materials we’ll have available.

We were hoping to get underway with this next week in Battambang but rumour has it we’ll be travelling to Siem Reap to observe the installation technology in a new station tomorrow morning. No plans are final in Cambodia but if you don’t hear from us we’ll probably be there and without internet connection.

And if we’re in Siem Reap we might pop to Angkor Wat on the weekend, it’d be rude not to!

 The sanitation talk with flipchart

 The jar test to determine the optimum amount of flocculant to add (for sedimentation) and to the left the red kit test solution showing no significant bacteria levels are present

Hiba and Sinead

Site Opening

We travelled up North to Banteay Meanchey on Sunday afternoon for the Site Opening on Monday morning.  After a briefing on Sunday evening on the busy events of the next day we got our first insight into how things can not go at all to plan and I think it might take a little adjusting to.

Monday - 

Arriving at the site on Monday morning we found that the station was locked and the key nowhere to be seen, the pipe from the river to the station was broken in two places and the UV filtration box had been home to a cat and his leftover dinners for the last 3 months.

So the morning was taken up by replacing the broken pipes but without addressing the problem – they were only 7 or 8cm under the ground and so hardly very well protected and by cleaning out the station and breaking the lock. In this time we managed to learn about the logistics of the station and how it will benefit the school upon whose grounds it is built by providing free water and serving as a source of income.

Tuesday – 

Cleaned out the sand filter, installed the UV treatment system, set up a jar and an indicator test, labelled the bottles and finally by late afternoon we were starting to see the bottles of clean water piling up ready to be distributed tomorrow.

The afternoon, like Monday Afternoon, was spent recruiting new customers from the surrounding houses and it was really interesting to see their current methods in explaining the water treatment methods and benefits as this is something we will be working on helping them to develop in the coming weeks. It was really inspiring to see the community set-up:  a commune leader overseeing a team of community leaders and school and police board officers overseeing specific areas. No stone is left unturned.

Generally everyone approached by the Teuk Saat team was very excited about the project and the benefits for themselves and the local school. They didn’t take much persuasion but the main concern was to do with taste. The old station used groundwater which has a distinct taste of the dissolved minerals (an area we can look into improving in the education workshop) which is not generally liked. However we were able to reassure them that surface water will be used and activated charcoal is used to remove the taste. We are finding that most people here understand the health risks of drinking untreated water but their methods to treat it at home are not effective. 

Tomorrow the station will be open to the villagers so they can see the treatment in action and hopefully register for safe water!

Hiba, Sinead and Doug

Bamboo Train

Been away for a while so no blogs but went on the bamboo train on Sunday morning. Very touristy but so worth it.

Sinead, Hiba and Doug

Visiting Water Treatment Stations

Today we got our first insight into a fullly operational water treatment station. The first station was Preytoch (meaning small forest) which is set up in an orphanage. Clean water is provided for the children and this means they do not have to buy it and they can sell the considerable extra treated water to the locals around the village for a profit.

The second was much bigger and all the water was sold in the local area. It produced on average 100 bottle/day (20l bottles) which provides for 600 families. Each station used different sources of water, the first being a shallow well and the second was sourced from a very dubious looking river.

We now have better idea of the logistics of the program which is invaluable for the work we will be doing in the coming months.

As we visit stations we are taking GPS readings to map existing locations accurately which Teuk Saat have so far been unable to do.

 Us with the operators at the first station

On the way back to Battambang we stopped at a Pagoda to take some pictures. Chay Lo also explained a bit about how they contribute to the communities providing education and housing to people who can't afford it. We geeked out on the architecture, this photo is just one of 40... on Hiba's camera!

Sinead and Hiba

Teuk Saat 1001

Yesterday we finally rendezvoused with 1001 Fontaines in Battambang! We were picked up early from our hotel in a tuk-tuk motorbike taxi and dropped off outside their offices where we’ll be working and staying for the next 10 weeks.

Chay Lo, the co-founder of 1001 Fontaines was absolutely lovely and showed us the market (so many photos to come) and helped us buy bikes to travel around Battambang this summer. Then in the afternoon we discussed the sort of things we’ll be doing and started testing out the kits we brought.

Went to the night market in the evening – it’s no Bangkok but a bit more laid-back and very tasty. Particularly the coconut milkshakes, a Battambang speciality so hopefully plenty more to come. Afterwards we went for some drinks with some French volunteers also at 1001 Fontaines (let’s call it Teuk Saat from now on as that’s the Cambodian name).

Today it rained. A lot. A hell of a lot.

Hiba and Doug 

Cambodia at last!!

Hi Everyone!

We have finally arrived in Cambodia! We got to Bangkok late last night and travelled to Battambang this morning. Its been a long journey but we are having a great time here and have managed to avoid the  scams (so far) thanks to a helpful American, followed by a kind Canadian.

After sampling some Thai cuisine at a local night market on Saturday we have just enjoyed a delicious Cambodian meal, vegetable amok. We will be getting a good nights rest and will meet with 1001 fontaines bright and early tomorrow morning.

I will try to attach a photo of us enjoying our Thai meal however we are facing a few technical difficulties with the blog and slow internet access. Bear with us!

Sinead

Preparations

First blog post of the project!

Preparations are in full swing and both panic and excitement are setting in. Sinead arrived in London today and so now we're mainly waiting, doing extra research and convincing ourselves that we've forgotten to pack everything we could possibly need. Most important though we've got the Colilert and the Petrifilm kits packed and ready to take out and you'll be hearing a lot more about these in the future.

Our flight leaves at half 10 tomorrow evening so just over 26 hours away and we'll be meeting Doug at the airport before our 15 hour flight to Bangkok. We're hoping to have wi-fi in the hostel there so shouldn't be too long till the next post.

Speak to you from Bangkok,

Hiba