Our Month a Success

We have been home 10 days now, it took a week to get back to normal, sleep, surroundings etc. The Dominican prepared us for the local heat wave, which hasn't bothered me.

We had 7 charcoal stoves made and gave them away to those most in need.

 

The ladies were very excited about being able to cook outside. I followed up the day after and found one of them cooking inside, with a little coaxing, we moved her stove outside where she continued to cook. You know what they say about old habits. By the third week others were asking where they could get their stove for cooking outside. I am working on a program to subsidize the cost of providing 2 stoves for each home in Ascension within one year. The cost of a stove is $10 US, it take a Haitian 3 - 4 months to safe that much money

The Block Stove turned out to be a more of a challenge. The vents pipes I wanted to use are not available in the Dominican, so I had vent pipes made. The insert and pipes turned out to be a bit crude, but they worked.

The next step is to set up both the men who are able to make the metal stoves with the right equipment to efficiently make the insert and pipes required.

I was able to press a briquette from composted grass clippings without any type of binder. This is something I wasn't able to do at home. When I duplicate the process here, I can then write a procedure to start making briquettes at Ascension. There grass clippings were much like our hay or straw here in Canada.

The Loom was a challenge as well. I had a hand saw, 18V drill and a hammer. But I was still able to make the loom, not like I would have with my shop and tools, but it got made. All the hardware I needed, I had purchased before we went to the Dominican.

Some parts will definitely need to be remade in my shop and replaced when I return in March 2012.

Thanks to everyone who supported this project financially and with their prayers.