Service Day #1

Yesterday was a long day of really hard work under very hot sun, and the WCCS-ers pulled through with impressive persistence. The theme of the day was: "Costa Rica has already given us so many incredible experiences and memories; we should try to give something back." Maren and Mane got us connected up with the Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center, whose mission is to get the community members of Chilamate (the area of Costa Rica we're in) involved in conservation projects and environmental education and to provide eco-tourism opportunities for folks like us. After watching a video (in Spanish, translated for the group by a bunch of our proudly Spanish-speaking students...) about how to make a biodigester (which can be done in one day, costs only $120 in supplies and can provide 16 hours of methane gas per load of excrement and water in a 13-meter plastic tank), we talked about the benefits of making one. In addition to providing gas for the family at no cost to the family indefinitely, the leftover liquid produced by the biodigester in addition to the gas can be used as fertilizer for crops on the farm, combats global warming by keeping the family from relying on a wood-burning stove and decreases water pollution because the waste from the animals is not running into the rivers. Then we headed out to the farm that needed a biodigester and met the awesome family who lived there, including their 8- and 10-year old boys, Alfredo and David, who worked all day barefoot seemingly without taking breaks and told us stories of their 24 cows who all have names. Below are pictures of the whole process-- which we got to see and help make happen pretty much from start to finish!

Here's their house and kids getting started on digging the ditch in which we later buried the PVC pipe that will bring the gas from the biodigester straight to their kitchen to power the stove.

Another big part of the project was shoveling dirt out of the enormous hole we needed for the actual biodigester and moving that dirt to the other side of the barn to be spread out.

In the middle of the day, we took a break and went down the neighbors' house for lunch. We hung out with Ronny, the little grandson of the neighbor, listened to music, ate a yummy homecooked meal, sampled "ice cream beans" that Maren found growing outside and enjoyed a break from the heat.

Then it was back to work! We buried the pipe in the ditch, finished moving what at one point had seemed like an endless pile of dirt, and watched as the head of the project inflated the plastic bag with exhaust to start the system. Success!

Some of the kids really shined in particular yesterday and were given Shout Outs by their peers at our meeting (after our cooking class back at the Learning Center where we made tostones and bean and cheese empanadas, dinner at the hotel and a surprise birthday cake for Alenson!) Super notable Shout Outs included Daysha, who seemingly never took a break from her dirt-spreading job, Kelvin who not only worked really hard with shoveling but cracked pretty hilarious jokes throughout the process, and Joemi and Kevin who just kept going the whole time with incredibly positive energy.

Today we are headed back to the same farm, where we're aiming to plant 400 trees in the forested section of their property. The reforestation project is about creating habitats for endangered bird species like the green macaw, preventing erosion and producing more oxygen. The kids are psyched about seeing the family again, checking out the family's cows and pepper crops and the idea that planting trees will probably not be quite as hard as the ditch-digging! And then later today, a soccer game in town, some time at the hotel pool, dinner and then back to the Learning Center for a dance lesson! Also, we're trying to make sure that all the kids have called home by this morning-- it's been a little tough since each of our hotel's has had just one public phone to use! Thanks for being patient and trusting all is well if you haven't heard from your student just yet.