Yesterday, the owner of Panchami Lodge, our current residence opened a magical door to a special room containing a water heater and a western toilet!! This morning the hot water combined with tears of joy to provide the best shower Ive ever had.
The whole weeks been pretty exciting. The other day we were taken to a new eatery by a new intern whos working here and is from the area. While the decore was simple to say the least and I stepped in a large cow pat right in the middle of the doorway with only flip flops on, the authentic South Indian cuisine served on a banana leaf and eaten without cutlery more than made up for my misfortune/stupidity.
Then Pratik, the second intern left for home and a job in Delhi. A very sad moment and as both our room buddies and guides had left. It sunk in that evening that me and Rushil are on our own now but thanks to our guides useful advice and help I think we'll be ok (especially now we have hot water!)
This weekend myself and Rushil also made the two hour rollercoaster ride into Mangalore and on to Ullal beach where apart from the thunderous waves we found a level of peace in the Summer Sands resort which contrasted so dramatically with the general exciting hustle and bustle of India's streets.
Im also feeling very happy and comfortable with my project and Anand has announced a plethora of other things to keep us busy which also involve a fair amount of travel so that we can see a bit of the region.
Pictures of the shower to follow!
Sunday 19 July 2009
Wednesday 15 July 2009
Bye to Srinath, Hi to Hydro Power
So today is a very sad day. Srinath, one of the two Indian interns here who have helped us so much and who we've shared some good times with is leaving. To celebrate we're going to go to our usual haunt for dinner, Sapna, but we're going to sit in the AC SECTION!!!!!! Im very excited.
Meanwhile, not seeing the sun in 2 weeks has led me to believe that a solar cooking project may be a little tricky to investigate and Im waiting on an anemometer although initial measurements taken from the prospective sight suggest that wind speeds may not be consistent enough for a cost-effective wind turbine.
This has led me to look into a new project, a pico-hydro turbine with a view to providing mechanical power to a local industry and possibly electricity to a small community. Ideally both!
Although in two months its extremely doubtful that I'll get to any actual building, hydro is the technology with obvious potential in this region which is very hilly with a long, wet monsoon season and reasonable rainfall for most months of the year. Therefore I believe that looking into potential sites and sizing of a prospective system which can then be passed onto future interns as part of a 3-5 yr plan of implementation will be the best use of my time both personally and for SELCO.
As far as time off goes, we ventured up to Anands farm the other day. The farm is set at the foot of the Western Ghats, a range of picturesque, luscious green mountains with a stream running through and a small plot of rice fields. This was probably one of my favourite experiences of the trip so far.
We also went into Mangalore to the cinema. I was outvoted so we had to see Transformers rather than a Bollywood film but it provided a small reminder of home for which I was grateful.
With the existence of the sun being in serious doubt the solar water heater is still not working on our building so I'd kill for some hot water and a western toilet.
Anyway, I'm off to psyche myself up for the AC experience.
Meanwhile, not seeing the sun in 2 weeks has led me to believe that a solar cooking project may be a little tricky to investigate and Im waiting on an anemometer although initial measurements taken from the prospective sight suggest that wind speeds may not be consistent enough for a cost-effective wind turbine.
This has led me to look into a new project, a pico-hydro turbine with a view to providing mechanical power to a local industry and possibly electricity to a small community. Ideally both!
Although in two months its extremely doubtful that I'll get to any actual building, hydro is the technology with obvious potential in this region which is very hilly with a long, wet monsoon season and reasonable rainfall for most months of the year. Therefore I believe that looking into potential sites and sizing of a prospective system which can then be passed onto future interns as part of a 3-5 yr plan of implementation will be the best use of my time both personally and for SELCO.
As far as time off goes, we ventured up to Anands farm the other day. The farm is set at the foot of the Western Ghats, a range of picturesque, luscious green mountains with a stream running through and a small plot of rice fields. This was probably one of my favourite experiences of the trip so far.
We also went into Mangalore to the cinema. I was outvoted so we had to see Transformers rather than a Bollywood film but it provided a small reminder of home for which I was grateful.
With the existence of the sun being in serious doubt the solar water heater is still not working on our building so I'd kill for some hot water and a western toilet.
Anyway, I'm off to psyche myself up for the AC experience.
Thursday 9 July 2009
Wednesday 8 July 2009
Mumbai, Monsoons and Madness
Four days ago I stepped off the plane into Mumbai and the most incredible rains Ive ever seen, these have continued consistently until the present moment. I Knew I was coming for the Monsoon season but wow! Rather than feeling depressing and miserable though the rains complete the surroundings providing a luscious beauty.
After a crazy ride through the city and a brief stay in a guest house (kindly offered for free by some relatives of Rushil) we boarded the plane to Mangalore where we were met by two other very friendly interns working at SELCO, Pratik and Srinath who have been our indespensible guides. A 1 hour precarious ride through the jungle in a small tin box on roads that were far too damaged and narrow for the high amount of traffic using them and we arrived in Ujire, our final destination.
Ujire is a small town consisting of pretty much a fork in the road with numerous shops and a couple of veggie restaurants fighting for space. Although theres only two restaurants from which to pick the menu is extensive and with the help of my guides I've had delicious food so far.
The accomodation is fairly basic but everything that is needed except storage space (4 of us are currently sharing and theres no cupboards, wardrobes, etc) and a shower, instead we use a bucket of freezing cold water. Theres also no western toilet in the whole town and the quads are taking some real punishment.
Upon arrival we were asked to look at various projects that were available for us. Rather than the stove project which I expected to be looking at, I am now looking into the potential for wind turbines to back up solar electricity generation by taking wind speed measurements at various potential sites and also low cost solar cooking stoves. Rushil the other EWB volunteer is looking into solar crop drying.
Although we didnt expect these projects, Mr Narayan who is coordinating this SELCO branch is very flexible as to what we want to do and the options are numerous and diverse so we both found something to suit our tastes.
From rainy India, goodbye
After a crazy ride through the city and a brief stay in a guest house (kindly offered for free by some relatives of Rushil) we boarded the plane to Mangalore where we were met by two other very friendly interns working at SELCO, Pratik and Srinath who have been our indespensible guides. A 1 hour precarious ride through the jungle in a small tin box on roads that were far too damaged and narrow for the high amount of traffic using them and we arrived in Ujire, our final destination.
Ujire is a small town consisting of pretty much a fork in the road with numerous shops and a couple of veggie restaurants fighting for space. Although theres only two restaurants from which to pick the menu is extensive and with the help of my guides I've had delicious food so far.
The accomodation is fairly basic but everything that is needed except storage space (4 of us are currently sharing and theres no cupboards, wardrobes, etc) and a shower, instead we use a bucket of freezing cold water. Theres also no western toilet in the whole town and the quads are taking some real punishment.
Upon arrival we were asked to look at various projects that were available for us. Rather than the stove project which I expected to be looking at, I am now looking into the potential for wind turbines to back up solar electricity generation by taking wind speed measurements at various potential sites and also low cost solar cooking stoves. Rushil the other EWB volunteer is looking into solar crop drying.
Although we didnt expect these projects, Mr Narayan who is coordinating this SELCO branch is very flexible as to what we want to do and the options are numerous and diverse so we both found something to suit our tastes.
From rainy India, goodbye
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