See previous posts: Travel to Uganda and Preparing for Workshop
The workshop was a three day event, but I could only stay for the first two since I had to grab a bus to Nairobi to catch a flight. We started off by demonstrating some bicycle repair and maintenance skills. My station was on repairing flat tires. The one time I tried to fix my own flat, I wound up destroying the whole tire (not just the tube, mind you). Fortunately, I was staying in a guest house with Bernard, so the night before, he showed me how to do it and I got to practice. For the demo, four different groups came through and we looked at different types of tires (regular, racing and mountain) and then I used my nail to make a puncture as we all took turns using the tire iron, applying the patch and then checking for additional leaks. The participants also learned how to pack a bearing, how to spoke a tire and how to work on a chain.
After that, there was a session on identifying challenges, but I had to miss that one. After lots of hassle, we got a box of GCS equipment that morning (phone chargers and corn shellers), so I spent my time setting the kit up. By the time I finished setting things up (with some help from Bernard, since I was having an embarrassingly difficult time and for some reason couldn't apply basic problem solving skills), they were just finishing up the discussion.
Then, we demonstrated a few technologies that we had set up for the occasion. There was a charcoal crusher* that Bernard designed and built based off a project that he had worked on at IDDS in 2008. There was a peanut grinder using spare bicycle parts (everyone loved this one since we got to eat a sesame-peanut butter concoction that we prepared to show the machine). There was a blender that ran off the back wheel of a bicycle (people also enjoyed the smoothies that came out of this demo).
In the afternoon, we broke off into teams to work on the design challenges that they had chosen. I was working with a team of Caritas staff members who were looking at designing a sorghum thresher. All of the other participants had previously done a workshop with Amy, so they were familiar with the design process, but the Caritas staff had been a last minute addition. It was really interesting to see what it's like trying to design something with people as they try to decide the order of steps themselves (imagine watching someone build a house starting with the roof). I worked with them to try to guide them down the right path (identifying constraints before selecting design elements) and though it was a bit slower than usual, by the end of the day, we had an idea that we were happy with.
The second day was mostly building and testing ideas. It was a bit difficult with the sorghum threshing team since we didn't have dried sorghum that was ready for threshing, but they still produced a pretty nifty machine. Mid-morning we took a break and Bernard and I demonstrated the GCS technologies for everyone. People were really amazed to see the corn sheller work and were also very excited by the bicycle phone charger. Everyone kept passing up their phone to see if it could be charged by the bicycle (they all could). It was really unfortunate that shipping is such an expense, because it definitely drives the price beyond the means of the communities.
All of the sessions were translated from English into Acholi, the local language, by the Caritas staff. I had to leave after the second day, which was really sad. At dinner that night, the participants gave me an Acholi name. They called me Otam, which means the thinker. I think they just saw me constantly staring at bicycles and could hear the wheels turning in my head. I was really touched by everyone there. I was a little disappointing that the only words that I learned in Acholi were "hello" "thank you" and "good". Still, I managed to get pretty far with those as well as lots of wild gesturing.
I also really enjoyed the food in the community. Every morning, we ate a very hearty cassava stew with very sugary tea. Then lunch and dinner were a mixture of greens (but not kale like I usually eat in Kenya and Tanzania) with posho (the Ugandan term for what we call ugali in Kiswahili), rice with beans, peanut stew (really delicious) and roasted goat. We were definitely full at the end of every meal.
* It was fun that this was included, since it meant that Amy and I got to run a charcoal burn the night before to provide the material for the demonstration.
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
IDDS 2011 - Delivering Content
One of the most exciting opportunities I had this summer was to stand up in front of everyone and lead some sessions. It feels weird to think of the participants as students, which is why we euphemistically referred to it as "delivering content". The curriculum team does an amazing job of balancing the amount of time spent in the classroom with hands-on learning experiences and I worked on both (I hope to do that more in future IDDSes).
On the third day of the summit, we had a series of Build-It activities where participants built different simple technologies to learn how to use various tools. There were six different areas (metal-working, sheet metal fabrication, wood carving, electronics circuitry, plastics-working and metal casting) and I was on the metal-working team. We were building charcoal presses (link to pdf), so I signed up since I figured I could be pretty useful in explaining the context and why the tool was useful. But as the session went on, I realized that we were a bit short-handed, so my friend Joseph from Tanzania and I taught people how to use the hacksaw, the shear and files to make clean cuts. Then we teamed up with some of the technicians at the Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit where we were working in order to teach welding and especially welding safety. By the end of the session we had three welding stations and I was supervising one of them. It was interesting to be teaching and supervising stick-welding since I have never done it in my life and and I haven't even welded anything in three years. Still, we didn't break anything and no one got hurt and all in all, the charcoal presses came out really well. I was impressed with everyone in the session, but especially with a Zambian woman named Mainess who picked up all the techniques so quickly and was super-eager to try everything. (There's even a picture of me helping her on the IDDS blog (about two-thirds of the way down the page).)
For one of the sessions on venture design, they asked me to present some slides with Ben Linder and Bob Nanes (both much, much bigger names than mine). They prepared most of the slides, but I offered input on some of the topics and they took some of my suggestions. I also put together a slide on my work with GCS and presented a few of the slides during the session. I wish that I had practiced a bit more since I was having a bit of trouble hitting all the points that I wanted to make, but all in all I was really excited about how the session went.
Later that morning we had a panel on water treatment ventures* and my friends Mustafa from Pakistan and John from Zambia and I were up in front to moderate. There were some logistical headaches (the hall where we originally planned to have the event cut off their power and then demanded that we pay them exorbitant rates to switch on the generator--we just changed the venue in the end), but once we got started, it went off really well. Running the event took very little effort and every time I was about to say "Let's have a question for our first panelist" or "Are there any questions from some of the women in the audience?" the audience came through without me having to say a word. I was really happy with the event and very grateful to the panelists who shared lots of interesting experiences.
And that afternoon we had an activity where participants took apart different technologies to consider the manufacturing techniques involved. I was working with Mustafa again and Suprio from India with help from a few of the other organizers to make sure that we knew what we were talking apart. Our project was those cheap flashlights, and our main goal was to make sure that we didn't just sound like we were quoting Wikipedia. In the end, the flashlight had lots of different parts and a short time to talk about injection molding, electro-plating plastics, spring steel, stamping and drawing, circuit board design and some of the other subtle intricacies. It was a really fun session and it was great to have a hands-on activity to wrap up the day, but at the end of the session, I was downright exhausted and ready to collapse. I actually did end up skipping out on the next session to get a nap, which was unfortunate since I really wanted to catch that session, but I figured it was less rude to fall asleep elsewhere than to fall asleep in the classroom.
* Water technologies tends to be a popular sector and none of the projects this year involved water, so we decided it would be good to bring in some speakers to talk about water issues. Since the panel on solar issues was called the Solar Panel, we debated calling this event either the Water Table or the Water Board.
Introduction
My Project (Part 1)
My Project (Part 2)
Other Work
Delivering Content
My Team
Language
Where We Stayed
Suame Magazine
New Longoro
Maker Faire
Food
Potluck
Ramadan
Transportation
Accra
On the third day of the summit, we had a series of Build-It activities where participants built different simple technologies to learn how to use various tools. There were six different areas (metal-working, sheet metal fabrication, wood carving, electronics circuitry, plastics-working and metal casting) and I was on the metal-working team. We were building charcoal presses (link to pdf), so I signed up since I figured I could be pretty useful in explaining the context and why the tool was useful. But as the session went on, I realized that we were a bit short-handed, so my friend Joseph from Tanzania and I taught people how to use the hacksaw, the shear and files to make clean cuts. Then we teamed up with some of the technicians at the Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit where we were working in order to teach welding and especially welding safety. By the end of the session we had three welding stations and I was supervising one of them. It was interesting to be teaching and supervising stick-welding since I have never done it in my life and and I haven't even welded anything in three years. Still, we didn't break anything and no one got hurt and all in all, the charcoal presses came out really well. I was impressed with everyone in the session, but especially with a Zambian woman named Mainess who picked up all the techniques so quickly and was super-eager to try everything. (There's even a picture of me helping her on the IDDS blog (about two-thirds of the way down the page).)
For one of the sessions on venture design, they asked me to present some slides with Ben Linder and Bob Nanes (both much, much bigger names than mine). They prepared most of the slides, but I offered input on some of the topics and they took some of my suggestions. I also put together a slide on my work with GCS and presented a few of the slides during the session. I wish that I had practiced a bit more since I was having a bit of trouble hitting all the points that I wanted to make, but all in all I was really excited about how the session went.
Later that morning we had a panel on water treatment ventures* and my friends Mustafa from Pakistan and John from Zambia and I were up in front to moderate. There were some logistical headaches (the hall where we originally planned to have the event cut off their power and then demanded that we pay them exorbitant rates to switch on the generator--we just changed the venue in the end), but once we got started, it went off really well. Running the event took very little effort and every time I was about to say "Let's have a question for our first panelist" or "Are there any questions from some of the women in the audience?" the audience came through without me having to say a word. I was really happy with the event and very grateful to the panelists who shared lots of interesting experiences.
And that afternoon we had an activity where participants took apart different technologies to consider the manufacturing techniques involved. I was working with Mustafa again and Suprio from India with help from a few of the other organizers to make sure that we knew what we were talking apart. Our project was those cheap flashlights, and our main goal was to make sure that we didn't just sound like we were quoting Wikipedia. In the end, the flashlight had lots of different parts and a short time to talk about injection molding, electro-plating plastics, spring steel, stamping and drawing, circuit board design and some of the other subtle intricacies. It was a really fun session and it was great to have a hands-on activity to wrap up the day, but at the end of the session, I was downright exhausted and ready to collapse. I actually did end up skipping out on the next session to get a nap, which was unfortunate since I really wanted to catch that session, but I figured it was less rude to fall asleep elsewhere than to fall asleep in the classroom.
* Water technologies tends to be a popular sector and none of the projects this year involved water, so we decided it would be good to bring in some speakers to talk about water issues. Since the panel on solar issues was called the Solar Panel, we debated calling this event either the Water Table or the Water Board.
Introduction
My Project (Part 1)
My Project (Part 2)
Other Work
Delivering Content
My Team
Language
Where We Stayed
Suame Magazine
New Longoro
Maker Faire
Food
Potluck
Ramadan
Transportation
Accra
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Appropriate Technology Workshop Part 5
On the third day of the workshop, we were doing a lot of work on finishing up projects. But, the workshop wouldn't be complete without a charcoal demonstration, so in the morning, we did side-by-side charcoal burns. We tested out the kiln that they had assembled a few days before as well as an oil drum. As Kofi talked a bit about the kilns, I was running back and forth to the kitchen to make sure that we had materials to demonstrate charcoal binding (the ones I had collected the previous day had been thrown out--understandably so, as few people would assume that someone would want to save those concoctions). Fortunately, that was all set, so as we talked about the process, Amy and I went back and forth explaining. It was slightly difficult, since I hadn't conducted a burn with her in over two years and the process had evolved, but we still had a good time presenting. At one point, I was trying to explain what was going on while I was completely engulfed in smoke as the water vapor burned off. However, all in all, the process went well and people were pretty excited about everything. We had some issues sealing the brick kiln, which led to a good discussion on how to improve the design, but people were excited to be asked for their input on improving the process. And we closed the demo with David and I talking about briquetting, which was a really fun conversation.
Most of the rest of the day was project work. It was nice to see the designs taking shape. One of my favorite contrasts was a Zambian designed hand-washing station that was about the simplest design I've ever seen next to an American designed one with rope following a crazy path and four pulleys that still didn't seem to work quite as well. I was really impressed with the mango picker (and even tried it out a few times to help some of the other teams get mangoes for slicing, peeling and pressing). I enjoyed watching the evaporative cooling team think about the possible uses for their unit. I was blown away by the seed planter (Bernard couldn't conceal his amazement, and it takes a lot to wow him). I enjoyed looking at the corn shelling designs and lots and lots more projects taking shape. Even Bernard was working on a valve for the well-digging tool so that we wouldn't have to get as muddy (after we all took our first crack at laundry, we were definitely grateful for that).
The volunteers cooked for us again, which was wonderful again and after a peaceful night, we were trying to get everything ready to show visitors from the community. Unfortunately, the worst of the rain came that morning, so we decided to cancel the showcase. But as we were canceling it, the weather cleared up significantly and we decided to un-cancel it. I was most excited to redeem myself with the oil presses (we didn't have enough peanuts to fill the screw press, so we were using it as a mango press, which was interesting in its own right). Everyone had a final burst of energy to get things as close to ready as possible.
As people started arriving, we talked a bit with them about what they would be seeing and then let them wander through. I couldn't resist sharing my thoughts on charcoal making and peanut shelling, but I was mostly talking about oil presses. People were impressed this time by how easy it was to use and enjoyed trying it for themselves (I made sure to explain that there are plenty of difficulties with the design as well). There was one visitor who felt compelled to tell all of us that none of these machines would be useful in the villages. All the villagers loudly disagreed with him (he was clearly urban and had spent little or no time in his life in villages) as he went from place to place, but that didn't stop him from offering his "expert" opinion every time. I saw it as a good example that if you just listen to one person who is happy to pretend they know everything, you can get a lot of incorrect information.
Anyway, the showcase was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. After that, we went back to the hotel for the closing ceremony and when we got to the room that we had reserved for it, we found a church group had also reserved the room. Ummmmm, yeah. The hotel was nice enough to let us take over their dining room and we had a fun time in there. Everyone stood up and said a few words and we all received certificates and none of us could believe everything that we had accomplished over those 4 short days. It was really sad knowing that we were leaving after such a short time, but we were glad that we were able to become close friends so quickly.
The trainers' all went out for a celebratory dinner and final discussion (Amy and Kofi treated us, which was even more amazing). It was a lot of fun and we joked a lot (well, that happened at every meeting) and even found humor in the food that we were eating. My favorite part was learning that some people call traffic lights "robots". I'm not entirely sure what part of the world that comes from, but it was really fun to discuss that and other examples where we're all speaking the same language, but the words are so different. In the morning we had a few housekeeping tasks as we cleaned everything up and packed up the vehicle to head back to Lusaka. My luggage was nearly left behind, but Eric heroically grabbed it and saved the day.
Most of the rest of the day was project work. It was nice to see the designs taking shape. One of my favorite contrasts was a Zambian designed hand-washing station that was about the simplest design I've ever seen next to an American designed one with rope following a crazy path and four pulleys that still didn't seem to work quite as well. I was really impressed with the mango picker (and even tried it out a few times to help some of the other teams get mangoes for slicing, peeling and pressing). I enjoyed watching the evaporative cooling team think about the possible uses for their unit. I was blown away by the seed planter (Bernard couldn't conceal his amazement, and it takes a lot to wow him). I enjoyed looking at the corn shelling designs and lots and lots more projects taking shape. Even Bernard was working on a valve for the well-digging tool so that we wouldn't have to get as muddy (after we all took our first crack at laundry, we were definitely grateful for that).
The volunteers cooked for us again, which was wonderful again and after a peaceful night, we were trying to get everything ready to show visitors from the community. Unfortunately, the worst of the rain came that morning, so we decided to cancel the showcase. But as we were canceling it, the weather cleared up significantly and we decided to un-cancel it. I was most excited to redeem myself with the oil presses (we didn't have enough peanuts to fill the screw press, so we were using it as a mango press, which was interesting in its own right). Everyone had a final burst of energy to get things as close to ready as possible.
As people started arriving, we talked a bit with them about what they would be seeing and then let them wander through. I couldn't resist sharing my thoughts on charcoal making and peanut shelling, but I was mostly talking about oil presses. People were impressed this time by how easy it was to use and enjoyed trying it for themselves (I made sure to explain that there are plenty of difficulties with the design as well). There was one visitor who felt compelled to tell all of us that none of these machines would be useful in the villages. All the villagers loudly disagreed with him (he was clearly urban and had spent little or no time in his life in villages) as he went from place to place, but that didn't stop him from offering his "expert" opinion every time. I saw it as a good example that if you just listen to one person who is happy to pretend they know everything, you can get a lot of incorrect information.
Anyway, the showcase was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. After that, we went back to the hotel for the closing ceremony and when we got to the room that we had reserved for it, we found a church group had also reserved the room. Ummmmm, yeah. The hotel was nice enough to let us take over their dining room and we had a fun time in there. Everyone stood up and said a few words and we all received certificates and none of us could believe everything that we had accomplished over those 4 short days. It was really sad knowing that we were leaving after such a short time, but we were glad that we were able to become close friends so quickly.
The trainers' all went out for a celebratory dinner and final discussion (Amy and Kofi treated us, which was even more amazing). It was a lot of fun and we joked a lot (well, that happened at every meeting) and even found humor in the food that we were eating. My favorite part was learning that some people call traffic lights "robots". I'm not entirely sure what part of the world that comes from, but it was really fun to discuss that and other examples where we're all speaking the same language, but the words are so different. In the morning we had a few housekeeping tasks as we cleaned everything up and packed up the vehicle to head back to Lusaka. My luggage was nearly left behind, but Eric heroically grabbed it and saved the day.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Appropriate Technology Workshop Part 4
Well, I just want to say that there are fantastic pictures related to this post, but I don't have them. I'm hoping to get some copies of them in the coming weeks, so I'll be sure to share them as soon as I do. Also, I want to apologize for the fact that I'm still posting stories from December. I have a few more before I move on to my adventures from January (I've got a bunch of those as well). Hopefully I can start telling stories as they happen again soon-ish.
Anyway, the weather had been mostly co-operative during our time in Zambia, but we knew that we were there at the start of the rainy season (which was fortunate in that it provided us with an ample bounty of mangoes) and had to be ready in case the skies opened up and deluged the town as they are wont to do in that part of Zambia. Sure enough, starting with the second day, we had a lot of moving around as we tried to work in spite of the rain. It was mostly successful, but definitely complicated things a bit.
Day 2 had one of my favorite presentations where Amy was showing how a design for a honey press might evolve and Bernard just put together a few cardboard contraptions to show people how to do very simple designs to evaluate concepts. We were having more discussions on the second day and although half the participants were Peace Corps Volunteers while the other half were counterparts from the villages where the volunteers were stationed, much more than half of the substance was coming from the volunteers. I even led a session that went much better than my previous one (still with a few fits and starts, but barely noticeable to the audience) and felt a lot better about that.
The really interesting part of day 2 was during the end of the lunch break when Amy wanted to test out a well-digging method that only uses metal pipes and water. Kofi suggested that we should probably wait, but Amy went ahead with it. Step 1 was learning how to draw water up a pipe using your hand using a basin (you bring the pipe up and down with your hand over the top with a suction grip allowing air out slowly, which draws water in from the basin). We all really enjoyed this and set up two adjacent basins so that people could have water fights as the water sprayed all over once it reached the top. After that, we moved on to step 2, which consisted of doing the process in the same way, but instead of a basin filled with water, it was a small hole. In this sense, we were using a lot more force to draw water up the pipe and bring mud with it. However, we were all taking turns and spraying and the mud was flying everywhere. In order to create enough force on the pipe, we needed to have 3 people helping lift it and the person whose hand was acting as a seal got some pretty nasty blisters on their palm. As we got deeper, we attached more pipes (the pipes were threaded so that we could put more on) and had more people helping with it. At the 7 meter depth, we had 5 people working on the pipe and with all the mud spraying, we were all indistinguishable mud monsters. Everyone took lots of pictures. I offered hugs to several people who opted to stand a safe distance away and watch, but they all declined. I felt bad for some of the Zambians who had coated some of their best clothes in mud, but they didn't seem to regret it at all. Everyone who had participated just had the biggest smiles on their faces and probably would have dug all afternoon if we didn't have several other projects to work on. One man named Martin showed particular enthusiasm for the method and we were all predicting that if we visited his village after one month, we would find dozens of new wells dug everywhere. (I promise to post the pictures up here as soon as I get them.)
We also had some technology demonstrations in the afternoon. I was showing the oil presses, so the wonderful housekeeper Esther roasted some peanuts and sunflower seeds for me (I had gone to the market with David and gotten much better prices the 2nd time around) so that we could extract peanut and sunflower oil. One of the people who was hosting us had assured us that he could get all the supplies we needed like peanuts and sunflower seeds and kept assuring us that it would be just one more day. When it came down to the wire we finally just bought our supplies, but it meant that we hadn't tested the machines before using them. I had used similar ones three years before, so I was hoping it was like riding a bicycle. Turns out that it wasn't. Neither press really worked (the yenga press and screw press from this post) and were pretty underwhelming for the participants. It was nice that everyone started trying to tinker with it to make it work, which really drove home to me the importance of a good oil press, but mostly it served to highlight some of the flaws in the design and to chastise me again for not practicing before presenting.
Still, it was nice to see all the technologies coming along nicely. After we cleaned up for the day, the volunteers cooked vegetarian stir-fry for us, which was delicious, and it was fun to hang out and talk about experiences in Peace Corps and life in general. It was also nice to be eating multiple complete meals in a day again. Sadly, it also made me realize how much I miss cooking as a way to unwind.
Anyway, the weather had been mostly co-operative during our time in Zambia, but we knew that we were there at the start of the rainy season (which was fortunate in that it provided us with an ample bounty of mangoes) and had to be ready in case the skies opened up and deluged the town as they are wont to do in that part of Zambia. Sure enough, starting with the second day, we had a lot of moving around as we tried to work in spite of the rain. It was mostly successful, but definitely complicated things a bit.
Day 2 had one of my favorite presentations where Amy was showing how a design for a honey press might evolve and Bernard just put together a few cardboard contraptions to show people how to do very simple designs to evaluate concepts. We were having more discussions on the second day and although half the participants were Peace Corps Volunteers while the other half were counterparts from the villages where the volunteers were stationed, much more than half of the substance was coming from the volunteers. I even led a session that went much better than my previous one (still with a few fits and starts, but barely noticeable to the audience) and felt a lot better about that.
The really interesting part of day 2 was during the end of the lunch break when Amy wanted to test out a well-digging method that only uses metal pipes and water. Kofi suggested that we should probably wait, but Amy went ahead with it. Step 1 was learning how to draw water up a pipe using your hand using a basin (you bring the pipe up and down with your hand over the top with a suction grip allowing air out slowly, which draws water in from the basin). We all really enjoyed this and set up two adjacent basins so that people could have water fights as the water sprayed all over once it reached the top. After that, we moved on to step 2, which consisted of doing the process in the same way, but instead of a basin filled with water, it was a small hole. In this sense, we were using a lot more force to draw water up the pipe and bring mud with it. However, we were all taking turns and spraying and the mud was flying everywhere. In order to create enough force on the pipe, we needed to have 3 people helping lift it and the person whose hand was acting as a seal got some pretty nasty blisters on their palm. As we got deeper, we attached more pipes (the pipes were threaded so that we could put more on) and had more people helping with it. At the 7 meter depth, we had 5 people working on the pipe and with all the mud spraying, we were all indistinguishable mud monsters. Everyone took lots of pictures. I offered hugs to several people who opted to stand a safe distance away and watch, but they all declined. I felt bad for some of the Zambians who had coated some of their best clothes in mud, but they didn't seem to regret it at all. Everyone who had participated just had the biggest smiles on their faces and probably would have dug all afternoon if we didn't have several other projects to work on. One man named Martin showed particular enthusiasm for the method and we were all predicting that if we visited his village after one month, we would find dozens of new wells dug everywhere. (I promise to post the pictures up here as soon as I get them.)
We also had some technology demonstrations in the afternoon. I was showing the oil presses, so the wonderful housekeeper Esther roasted some peanuts and sunflower seeds for me (I had gone to the market with David and gotten much better prices the 2nd time around) so that we could extract peanut and sunflower oil. One of the people who was hosting us had assured us that he could get all the supplies we needed like peanuts and sunflower seeds and kept assuring us that it would be just one more day. When it came down to the wire we finally just bought our supplies, but it meant that we hadn't tested the machines before using them. I had used similar ones three years before, so I was hoping it was like riding a bicycle. Turns out that it wasn't. Neither press really worked (the yenga press and screw press from this post) and were pretty underwhelming for the participants. It was nice that everyone started trying to tinker with it to make it work, which really drove home to me the importance of a good oil press, but mostly it served to highlight some of the flaws in the design and to chastise me again for not practicing before presenting.
Still, it was nice to see all the technologies coming along nicely. After we cleaned up for the day, the volunteers cooked vegetarian stir-fry for us, which was delicious, and it was fun to hang out and talk about experiences in Peace Corps and life in general. It was also nice to be eating multiple complete meals in a day again. Sadly, it also made me realize how much I miss cooking as a way to unwind.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Appropriate Technology Workshop Part 3
The start of the workshop was delayed by a day because of a scheduling miscommunication. This meant that our already intense five-day curriculum needed to be packed into four days. But then, we wouldn't all be there if we didn't like a challenge. In theory, having an extra day should have made the organizers feel less rushed, but somehow, it seemed to make us all feel like we needed to get more done, so even though it was like gaining a day, we still had a lot to do.
I ran to the market and tried to find some supplies for the event. I bought some peanuts in the shell, which were really hard to find (and which I was actually severely overcharged for since there was only one person in the market who hadn't already taken them out of the shell) and when I got home, I discovered that they were actually immature peanuts and wouldn't work for the sheller we were using. Oh well. It was also at this point that I discovered that they had drinking yogurt (a thin dairy product that tastes like yogurt, but is only slightly thicker than milk) in the supermarket and started trying to down one a day (it was much healthier than my soda habit and much cheaper than living off of juice). I don't know why Tanzania doesn't have much drinking yogurt, but it was big in Kenya and I was thrilled to discover that Zambia had banana flavored yogurt.
I was also avoiding the hotel's kitchen and living mostly off of peanut butter and bread. I decided to try to change things up by buying some potatoes and cooking them (remember, the room had a hotpot). It didn't go so well. I boiled some water. Put some potatoes in a cup and poured the boiling water onto them. Let them sit for five minutes and dumped out the water and poured more boiling water onto them. I repeated this about 4 times before adding a bunch of salt and trying to eat them. Turns out that potatoes prepared this way are borderline edible. I was pretty hungry too, so I'm guessing that under almost any other circumstances, they would have been completely inedible.
In the evening, the participants started to arrive, and I was torn between trying to meet them and trying to plan for the next day. Since I was presenting a session on problem framing and didn't have a whole lot of sense how to do it, I wanted to really work the lesson over in my head since I didn't have a whole lot of time to talk with Amy about what she had in mind. We also needed to do some final prep work to get the spaces ready for the next day, so I was disappointed that I didn't get to spend more time getting to know people before the workshop started.
The next morning we did our welcomes and introductions and everything was going really smoothly (the extra day pretty much guaranteed that). We told everyone how much we planned to accomplish and it sounded pretty daunting, but everyone was really energized about the whole program. During the tea break, Amy came up to me to show me the lesson plan that she had put together for my session so that it would have some continuity. It was a lot better than what I had, so I decided to base my lesson mostly around her idea. She also gave me the assignment to set up some bowls of mangoes with a towel over them (one part of the workshop was to have them work in teams to design mango-processing technologies since they were so abundant during that part of the year, so we wanted to have a dramatic reveal of the theme). Although I never watched cooking shows much, I was trying to use Iron Chef for inspiration. A nice big stack of mangoes (including a few strategically stacked around the bowls) that could be shown with adequate intrigue. In hindsight, I should have spent more time nailing down how I was going to do my session.
The mango reveal went really well and people were definitely entertained. My session did not go well at all. I was jumping back and forth between Amy's lesson plan and my own and presenting it like a high school teacher by providing way too many examples and constantly checking if there were any questions (in some ways that's my natural way of presenting, but it didn't do much to help me connect with my audience). The content did not come across clearly, the follow-up activity was explained poorly and I definitely did not seem like a confident presenter (I kept doubting myself as I tried to pull the bullet points from the lesson plan). The audience was very nice about humoring me and we got through the lesson, but I was mortified by how badly I had botched it. I have to say that Amy did a good job of coaching me through it without shaking me further or letting me get discouraged and without letting the rest of the room know how much I needed coaching.
I felt like I regained some face while I was walking around and talking with teams on a one-on-one basis (well, at least in a small group setting) and I was able to redeem myself by the time everyone was working on their projects in the afternoon. As soon as we had our trainers' meeting, I announced that I wanted to try leading another session because I definitely needed practice. Everyone was supportive and reassuring about how my session had gone, which was a little disappointing since I wanted really blunt feedback, but I was grateful for their kindness. Amy signed me up for another session and I knew I needed to spend a lot of time and really figure out what I needed to do to get it right.
But in the mean time, there were a lot of projects going on. I was talking to one team about what it would take to design a centrifuge for honey extraction (and the possibility of making it pedal-powered), and then another team about the principles of an evaporative cooling system (I wish my physics degree had given me a more practical background in thermodynamics), and then another team about building smokers and solar dryers and then another team about oil extraction and then back to the second team to talk about shelling peanuts and so on. It was a lot of fun and a really great way to get to know everyone. By the end of the first day, we had definitely accomplished a lot, but we could see that we had our work cut out for us.
I ran to the market and tried to find some supplies for the event. I bought some peanuts in the shell, which were really hard to find (and which I was actually severely overcharged for since there was only one person in the market who hadn't already taken them out of the shell) and when I got home, I discovered that they were actually immature peanuts and wouldn't work for the sheller we were using. Oh well. It was also at this point that I discovered that they had drinking yogurt (a thin dairy product that tastes like yogurt, but is only slightly thicker than milk) in the supermarket and started trying to down one a day (it was much healthier than my soda habit and much cheaper than living off of juice). I don't know why Tanzania doesn't have much drinking yogurt, but it was big in Kenya and I was thrilled to discover that Zambia had banana flavored yogurt.
I was also avoiding the hotel's kitchen and living mostly off of peanut butter and bread. I decided to try to change things up by buying some potatoes and cooking them (remember, the room had a hotpot). It didn't go so well. I boiled some water. Put some potatoes in a cup and poured the boiling water onto them. Let them sit for five minutes and dumped out the water and poured more boiling water onto them. I repeated this about 4 times before adding a bunch of salt and trying to eat them. Turns out that potatoes prepared this way are borderline edible. I was pretty hungry too, so I'm guessing that under almost any other circumstances, they would have been completely inedible.
In the evening, the participants started to arrive, and I was torn between trying to meet them and trying to plan for the next day. Since I was presenting a session on problem framing and didn't have a whole lot of sense how to do it, I wanted to really work the lesson over in my head since I didn't have a whole lot of time to talk with Amy about what she had in mind. We also needed to do some final prep work to get the spaces ready for the next day, so I was disappointed that I didn't get to spend more time getting to know people before the workshop started.
The next morning we did our welcomes and introductions and everything was going really smoothly (the extra day pretty much guaranteed that). We told everyone how much we planned to accomplish and it sounded pretty daunting, but everyone was really energized about the whole program. During the tea break, Amy came up to me to show me the lesson plan that she had put together for my session so that it would have some continuity. It was a lot better than what I had, so I decided to base my lesson mostly around her idea. She also gave me the assignment to set up some bowls of mangoes with a towel over them (one part of the workshop was to have them work in teams to design mango-processing technologies since they were so abundant during that part of the year, so we wanted to have a dramatic reveal of the theme). Although I never watched cooking shows much, I was trying to use Iron Chef for inspiration. A nice big stack of mangoes (including a few strategically stacked around the bowls) that could be shown with adequate intrigue. In hindsight, I should have spent more time nailing down how I was going to do my session.
The mango reveal went really well and people were definitely entertained. My session did not go well at all. I was jumping back and forth between Amy's lesson plan and my own and presenting it like a high school teacher by providing way too many examples and constantly checking if there were any questions (in some ways that's my natural way of presenting, but it didn't do much to help me connect with my audience). The content did not come across clearly, the follow-up activity was explained poorly and I definitely did not seem like a confident presenter (I kept doubting myself as I tried to pull the bullet points from the lesson plan). The audience was very nice about humoring me and we got through the lesson, but I was mortified by how badly I had botched it. I have to say that Amy did a good job of coaching me through it without shaking me further or letting me get discouraged and without letting the rest of the room know how much I needed coaching.
I felt like I regained some face while I was walking around and talking with teams on a one-on-one basis (well, at least in a small group setting) and I was able to redeem myself by the time everyone was working on their projects in the afternoon. As soon as we had our trainers' meeting, I announced that I wanted to try leading another session because I definitely needed practice. Everyone was supportive and reassuring about how my session had gone, which was a little disappointing since I wanted really blunt feedback, but I was grateful for their kindness. Amy signed me up for another session and I knew I needed to spend a lot of time and really figure out what I needed to do to get it right.
But in the mean time, there were a lot of projects going on. I was talking to one team about what it would take to design a centrifuge for honey extraction (and the possibility of making it pedal-powered), and then another team about the principles of an evaporative cooling system (I wish my physics degree had given me a more practical background in thermodynamics), and then another team about building smokers and solar dryers and then another team about oil extraction and then back to the second team to talk about shelling peanuts and so on. It was a lot of fun and a really great way to get to know everyone. By the end of the first day, we had definitely accomplished a lot, but we could see that we had our work cut out for us.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Farewells in Kenya (Day 2)
I slept pretty well through the night, but I was woken up at one point as the mosquitoes were attacking and then I woke up early to see one person off. After that, I passed out until 11, when I was greeted by someone telling me that my friend Nick (he was the closest volunteer to me for most of my time in Peace Corps) had arrived a while ago and hadn't been able to reach anyone (we both had dead batteries on our phones).
We hurried over to meet Nick and had a bit of brunch. We wound up sitting at the restaurant for a few hours catching up and grading Nick's students' exams. I think Reuben learned a bit about education over here as he joined in the fun (nope, not being sarcastic, marking papers definitely made me a bit nostalgic). I was really impressed with some of Nick's students, and I think that his effort to help them improve really shows. I also had a Coke as we were grading, and as much as everyone says that Coca-Cola tastes the same wherever you buy it (with the exception of high-fructose corn syrup as opposed to sugar), I have to say that Kenyan Coke tastes better than Tanzanian Coke. Maybe it's my imagination? Maybe there's a bad bottler in Arusha?
After that, we decided to spend the afternoon at the pool, so we put on our shorts (close enough to swimsuits) and headed to the pool. It was really perfect weather, and the pool was a little small, but just big enough for diving. We swapped more stories, and I felt really happy when Nick told me that there was another volunteer who had raised similar issues to what I raised to Peace Corps Kenya about his work and they had given him permission to decrease his teaching load significantly and work on more secondary projects. I don't know all the details, but it's nice to know that the staff is trying to accommodate volunteers these days. It made me wonder how many more volunteers from my group would have stayed around had they been more supportive back then. Still, the important part is that attitudes have definitely changed.
After that, Nick had to get back to his site, so we tried to hurry back to the bus stand, but we couldn't find any vehicles heading that way, so we wound up walking most of the two kilometers (it was nice to talk more, but Nick was becoming more anxious about missing the last bus back to his site). We made it in time and Nick got home safely, which was nice. Then we ate a quick dinner and played more cards. Once again, it was after midnight and I decided to crash. Reuben headed out to the club and later reported that it had a decent scene for a Sunday night.
Reuben and I woke up the next morning, packed and hopped on the bus back to Arusha. The ride was pretty uneventful. I mostly read The Economist on my phone. As we passed through Maktau, I saw my old landlord Mr. Kori and noted that he was looking well. Then, we saw six elephants further down the road. At immigration, I was trying to get my permit stamped, but they told me that I will need to go to the immigration office in Arusha (a place where I don't have happy memories) to get it stamped and attached to my passport. However, above the stamp in my passport, they wrote "RR" for Returning Resident. Reuben and I made it back to Arusha without further event (although 17 hours on buses in less than 60 hours is making my spine increasingly unhappy) and then hopped on some motorcycle taxis and headed to the office to put in the last two hours of the workday.
We hurried over to meet Nick and had a bit of brunch. We wound up sitting at the restaurant for a few hours catching up and grading Nick's students' exams. I think Reuben learned a bit about education over here as he joined in the fun (nope, not being sarcastic, marking papers definitely made me a bit nostalgic). I was really impressed with some of Nick's students, and I think that his effort to help them improve really shows. I also had a Coke as we were grading, and as much as everyone says that Coca-Cola tastes the same wherever you buy it (with the exception of high-fructose corn syrup as opposed to sugar), I have to say that Kenyan Coke tastes better than Tanzanian Coke. Maybe it's my imagination? Maybe there's a bad bottler in Arusha?
After that, we decided to spend the afternoon at the pool, so we put on our shorts (close enough to swimsuits) and headed to the pool. It was really perfect weather, and the pool was a little small, but just big enough for diving. We swapped more stories, and I felt really happy when Nick told me that there was another volunteer who had raised similar issues to what I raised to Peace Corps Kenya about his work and they had given him permission to decrease his teaching load significantly and work on more secondary projects. I don't know all the details, but it's nice to know that the staff is trying to accommodate volunteers these days. It made me wonder how many more volunteers from my group would have stayed around had they been more supportive back then. Still, the important part is that attitudes have definitely changed.
After that, Nick had to get back to his site, so we tried to hurry back to the bus stand, but we couldn't find any vehicles heading that way, so we wound up walking most of the two kilometers (it was nice to talk more, but Nick was becoming more anxious about missing the last bus back to his site). We made it in time and Nick got home safely, which was nice. Then we ate a quick dinner and played more cards. Once again, it was after midnight and I decided to crash. Reuben headed out to the club and later reported that it had a decent scene for a Sunday night.
Reuben and I woke up the next morning, packed and hopped on the bus back to Arusha. The ride was pretty uneventful. I mostly read The Economist on my phone. As we passed through Maktau, I saw my old landlord Mr. Kori and noted that he was looking well. Then, we saw six elephants further down the road. At immigration, I was trying to get my permit stamped, but they told me that I will need to go to the immigration office in Arusha (a place where I don't have happy memories) to get it stamped and attached to my passport. However, above the stamp in my passport, they wrote "RR" for Returning Resident. Reuben and I made it back to Arusha without further event (although 17 hours on buses in less than 60 hours is making my spine increasingly unhappy) and then hopped on some motorcycle taxis and headed to the office to put in the last two hours of the workday.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Other People's Homework
I was one of those kids in school who used to have lots of people asking for help with their homework. Sometimes, they were asking me about classes that I hadn't actually taken yet, but in almost all cases, I tried to help them however I could.
These days, I am usually the one who replies to emails with general queries for GCS. This week, I received an email from a university student asking some questions for an assignment from a class. If you ever find yourself in this position, I have a few pieces of advice for people who may need to ask for homework help in the future:
1. Don't just copy-paste your homework assignment onto the email. Scheduling an interview is better than a numbered list of 19 questions that look like they came right off of a worksheet. Also, looking at some of the questions, I have some doubts about the professor teaching the class
2. Make sure you know the name of the company you're writing to. I do not work at GSC. There is a company called GSC here in Arusha. Maybe I should direct future queries to them instead.
3. Most university students use their school email. It lends credibility. Emails from a Yahoo account trip some red flags.
4. Just wanna go back to the first point. I don't know if there's a rule for something like no more than 7 questions requiring a substantial answer in an email (especially an email to a stranger). Does anyone have a better rule? If not, let's make this 7 Questions rule official. Tell your friends about it. Extra points if you come up with a good name for this rule.
These days, I am usually the one who replies to emails with general queries for GCS. This week, I received an email from a university student asking some questions for an assignment from a class. If you ever find yourself in this position, I have a few pieces of advice for people who may need to ask for homework help in the future:
1. Don't just copy-paste your homework assignment onto the email. Scheduling an interview is better than a numbered list of 19 questions that look like they came right off of a worksheet. Also, looking at some of the questions, I have some doubts about the professor teaching the class
2. Make sure you know the name of the company you're writing to. I do not work at GSC. There is a company called GSC here in Arusha. Maybe I should direct future queries to them instead.
3. Most university students use their school email. It lends credibility. Emails from a Yahoo account trip some red flags.
4. Just wanna go back to the first point. I don't know if there's a rule for something like no more than 7 questions requiring a substantial answer in an email (especially an email to a stranger). Does anyone have a better rule? If not, let's make this 7 Questions rule official. Tell your friends about it. Extra points if you come up with a good name for this rule.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
4 weeks + Lessons
Sorry for the delay, let's just pretend that I managed to get this posted on Tuesday. Should be a post up here shortly explaining the craziness that was this week.
This week's list is things that I'm proud to have learned on this journey. As this is my third time living in dollar-a-day communities, I can't list things like doing laundry by hand, coping with intestinal parasites or having to skip two or even three meals a day. I'm also leaving off things that I learned from books (though I am very proud to know so much about Dean Acheson these days), and focusing on some of the practicals:
1. New languages. I'm not fluent in kiswahili yet, but people have stopped talking to me like a foreigner and they speak kiswahili to me the way they speak to other native speakers. I also learned a bit of Kenyan Sign Language (which is moderately different from American sign language) and tidbits of some local languages.
2. Driving on a manual transmission. Well, I had some lessons with my dad before coming here, but I never completely got the hang of it. Now I can get around in a pickup truck that doesn't have 1st or 2nd gear most of the time.
3. Making bread. I learned a lot in the kitchen, but successfully proofing yeast and getting bread that rises was probably my biggest accomplishment.
4. Using a slide rule. I got this as a graduation present and decided to bring it here and try to figure it out in my spare time. Then I discovered that the math curriculum in Kenya required me to teach students to make calculations using log and antilog tables. All of a sudden, the slide rule made sense.
5. Computer software. Yep, I went to a school that is particularly well known for it's computer science department, and I probably learned nearly as much in a year and a half here. I picked up database and accounting software as well as Ubuntu (I still have a lot to learn there) and now I'm starting on twitter.
6. Running a chemistry lab. Okay, so I never actually learned the lesson about not spilling nitric acid, not breathing hydrochloride fumes, and not setting my hair on fire, but I still managed some pretty nifty tricks. I produced ethene and laughing gas, but the best moment was definitely watching kids using test tubes for their first time.
7. Trees. Yeah, I learned a lot about them in books, but I learned just as much in the field and if you don't watch out, I'll probably talk your ear off about planting trees. When you finish reading this post, you should go outside and plant one.
8. Treatment for sea urchins. Rub papaya on the spines. I cannot underscore the importance of this lesson. (For those of you thinking of urine, that's for jellyfish stings)
9. Agriculture. My knowledge in this field probably increased one hundredfold since coming here. Of course, it was a pretty small base to grow from, so maybe one hundredfold is an underestimate.
10. Hitchhiking. This is definitely something that you don't want to do wrong. And sometimes doing it wrong means just plain having bad luck. Still, there are plenty of situations where I found it to be the safest means of transport. I would still say that I am far from being an expert.
Now, for a really long list, I would write the things that I wish I had learned. Good thing I'm coming back here soon.
This week's list is things that I'm proud to have learned on this journey. As this is my third time living in dollar-a-day communities, I can't list things like doing laundry by hand, coping with intestinal parasites or having to skip two or even three meals a day. I'm also leaving off things that I learned from books (though I am very proud to know so much about Dean Acheson these days), and focusing on some of the practicals:
1. New languages. I'm not fluent in kiswahili yet, but people have stopped talking to me like a foreigner and they speak kiswahili to me the way they speak to other native speakers. I also learned a bit of Kenyan Sign Language (which is moderately different from American sign language) and tidbits of some local languages.
2. Driving on a manual transmission. Well, I had some lessons with my dad before coming here, but I never completely got the hang of it. Now I can get around in a pickup truck that doesn't have 1st or 2nd gear most of the time.
3. Making bread. I learned a lot in the kitchen, but successfully proofing yeast and getting bread that rises was probably my biggest accomplishment.
4. Using a slide rule. I got this as a graduation present and decided to bring it here and try to figure it out in my spare time. Then I discovered that the math curriculum in Kenya required me to teach students to make calculations using log and antilog tables. All of a sudden, the slide rule made sense.
5. Computer software. Yep, I went to a school that is particularly well known for it's computer science department, and I probably learned nearly as much in a year and a half here. I picked up database and accounting software as well as Ubuntu (I still have a lot to learn there) and now I'm starting on twitter.
6. Running a chemistry lab. Okay, so I never actually learned the lesson about not spilling nitric acid, not breathing hydrochloride fumes, and not setting my hair on fire, but I still managed some pretty nifty tricks. I produced ethene and laughing gas, but the best moment was definitely watching kids using test tubes for their first time.
7. Trees. Yeah, I learned a lot about them in books, but I learned just as much in the field and if you don't watch out, I'll probably talk your ear off about planting trees. When you finish reading this post, you should go outside and plant one.
8. Treatment for sea urchins. Rub papaya on the spines. I cannot underscore the importance of this lesson. (For those of you thinking of urine, that's for jellyfish stings)
9. Agriculture. My knowledge in this field probably increased one hundredfold since coming here. Of course, it was a pretty small base to grow from, so maybe one hundredfold is an underestimate.
10. Hitchhiking. This is definitely something that you don't want to do wrong. And sometimes doing it wrong means just plain having bad luck. Still, there are plenty of situations where I found it to be the safest means of transport. I would still say that I am far from being an expert.
Now, for a really long list, I would write the things that I wish I had learned. Good thing I'm coming back here soon.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
A really cool project
Jackie and I didn't have a very solid plan for what we would get done in Iringa. Our first day, we figured we would scout around in town and see if we saw anything promising. We explored the market and looked at the types of shops in town (we were excited when we saw some bicycle shops and agro-dealers), but we didn't see anyone immediately obvious with whom we could partner.
We both decided that we could use some lunch and maybe our luck would improve in the afternoon. The first place we went to didn't have much selection (and Jackie and I were both looking for something a little less fried than most of what we'd had for the rest of the trip), so we decided to keep looking. We saw a nice little cafe and decided to see if the prices were reasonable. The food looked pretty good and the prices passable, so we decided to go for it. The first thing we saw was that the entire cafe staff was deaf (except for a hostess). We were pretty impressed and looked over the little Tanzania Sign Language guide on our table (apparently it's a bit different from American Sign Language or Kenyan Sign Language).
As we were finishing up (it was delcious), a British man came up to us, introduced himself as the owner (Andy), and asked us if we would vote for them in an online campaign they were having. We agreed and he asked us a little bit about GCS (I was wearing my GCS T-shirt, which always helps start the conversation), so we explained a bit about the company to him. He seemed pretty impressed and invited us to come see the workshop after visiting the cyber-cafe in the restaurant to vote. We went in and voted (all the machines in the cyber run Linux; it was the only cyber-cafe I've visited during my time here that advertised itself as being completely virus-free) and then went down to see Andy again.
Andy showed us all of the work that they do there. The cafe is only a small part of the place. The center is focused on providing employment opportunities for the deaf and physically disabled (the disabled population is above average in the area), since they are excluded from jobs nearly everywhere that they turn. Andy showed us the weaving workshop where they have all manner of looms (some can be operated using only hands, some using one hand and one foot, and various other combinations to suit people with different disabilities). Then he showed us the solar workshop where they assemble small (and cheap) solar panels, which they sell with lights for rural communities. Then we saw the shop where they offer vocational training so that people can start their own tailoring business. After that, Andy showed us the paper-making workshop where they turn elephant dung, maize stalks and other "waste" products into paper. They also had beading workshops where they made beads from either glass (by recycling old alcohol bottles) or paper. We saw the shop where they sell the crafts that they produce. Then there was the physiotherapy clinic where they treat a lot of people who can't afford or access treatments under any other circumstances. Finally, we saw the guest house that they are building, which will be the first one in Africa (or maybe worldwide) that is operated exclusively by deaf and physically disabled people. Everywhere that we stopped on the tour, Andy had remarkable success stories (interspersed with a few stories with lessons learned, but I can't bring myself to call them failure stories) about the projects.
The center is a really vibrant part of the town and Andy has really hit on a good solution to a pressing need. He also seemed to really like our work and showed us his appropriate technology library. Then he offered to arrange a demonstration for our sheller for the following day. Jackie and I were pretty overwhelmed by our good fortune.
Andy assembled a good crowd for the demonstration the next day (some of our most active participants could not use one or both of their legs, but loved the design and showed how they would just drive the pedals by hand). One lady with a bicycle wheelchair was particularly excited and wanted to know if she could mount it on her wheelchair. Jackie and I ran the demo pretty smoothly, but there was no maize to run through it (so the demo was really just setting up the machine and showing how it would work), since it's too early in the year for that.
Andy also pointed me toward a nice little campsite right outside of town where he thought there might also be some interest. I hopped on a daladala to see what I would find. The daladala dropped me off at a sign saying 1.5 km to the campsite. I cursed under my breath as I thought about how tired I was (I'll discuss that in the next post) and how much I didn't want to haul the sheller down the path. I made it to the gate and the guard pointed me to reception. When I got there, I showed the staff what I had brought and they seemed pretty impressed. I asked if I could speak to the owner and they brought me to a woman named Kay. Kay was another Brit and we had a pretty frank discussion on development theory and practice. She seemed pretty happy with my ideas and wanted to support us whatever way she could. She told me that when the harvest arrived, most of the staff would be interested and that there was a good chance that we could set up a demonstration for some of the patrons, since a lot of their guests are missionaries who stay there before traveling to far-flung regions of Tanzania.
So yeah, I'm really glad that I met Andy and I hope that I'll be able to help someone so much sometime down the road.
We both decided that we could use some lunch and maybe our luck would improve in the afternoon. The first place we went to didn't have much selection (and Jackie and I were both looking for something a little less fried than most of what we'd had for the rest of the trip), so we decided to keep looking. We saw a nice little cafe and decided to see if the prices were reasonable. The food looked pretty good and the prices passable, so we decided to go for it. The first thing we saw was that the entire cafe staff was deaf (except for a hostess). We were pretty impressed and looked over the little Tanzania Sign Language guide on our table (apparently it's a bit different from American Sign Language or Kenyan Sign Language).
As we were finishing up (it was delcious), a British man came up to us, introduced himself as the owner (Andy), and asked us if we would vote for them in an online campaign they were having. We agreed and he asked us a little bit about GCS (I was wearing my GCS T-shirt, which always helps start the conversation), so we explained a bit about the company to him. He seemed pretty impressed and invited us to come see the workshop after visiting the cyber-cafe in the restaurant to vote. We went in and voted (all the machines in the cyber run Linux; it was the only cyber-cafe I've visited during my time here that advertised itself as being completely virus-free) and then went down to see Andy again.
Andy showed us all of the work that they do there. The cafe is only a small part of the place. The center is focused on providing employment opportunities for the deaf and physically disabled (the disabled population is above average in the area), since they are excluded from jobs nearly everywhere that they turn. Andy showed us the weaving workshop where they have all manner of looms (some can be operated using only hands, some using one hand and one foot, and various other combinations to suit people with different disabilities). Then he showed us the solar workshop where they assemble small (and cheap) solar panels, which they sell with lights for rural communities. Then we saw the shop where they offer vocational training so that people can start their own tailoring business. After that, Andy showed us the paper-making workshop where they turn elephant dung, maize stalks and other "waste" products into paper. They also had beading workshops where they made beads from either glass (by recycling old alcohol bottles) or paper. We saw the shop where they sell the crafts that they produce. Then there was the physiotherapy clinic where they treat a lot of people who can't afford or access treatments under any other circumstances. Finally, we saw the guest house that they are building, which will be the first one in Africa (or maybe worldwide) that is operated exclusively by deaf and physically disabled people. Everywhere that we stopped on the tour, Andy had remarkable success stories (interspersed with a few stories with lessons learned, but I can't bring myself to call them failure stories) about the projects.
The center is a really vibrant part of the town and Andy has really hit on a good solution to a pressing need. He also seemed to really like our work and showed us his appropriate technology library. Then he offered to arrange a demonstration for our sheller for the following day. Jackie and I were pretty overwhelmed by our good fortune.
Andy assembled a good crowd for the demonstration the next day (some of our most active participants could not use one or both of their legs, but loved the design and showed how they would just drive the pedals by hand). One lady with a bicycle wheelchair was particularly excited and wanted to know if she could mount it on her wheelchair. Jackie and I ran the demo pretty smoothly, but there was no maize to run through it (so the demo was really just setting up the machine and showing how it would work), since it's too early in the year for that.
Andy also pointed me toward a nice little campsite right outside of town where he thought there might also be some interest. I hopped on a daladala to see what I would find. The daladala dropped me off at a sign saying 1.5 km to the campsite. I cursed under my breath as I thought about how tired I was (I'll discuss that in the next post) and how much I didn't want to haul the sheller down the path. I made it to the gate and the guard pointed me to reception. When I got there, I showed the staff what I had brought and they seemed pretty impressed. I asked if I could speak to the owner and they brought me to a woman named Kay. Kay was another Brit and we had a pretty frank discussion on development theory and practice. She seemed pretty happy with my ideas and wanted to support us whatever way she could. She told me that when the harvest arrived, most of the staff would be interested and that there was a good chance that we could set up a demonstration for some of the patrons, since a lot of their guests are missionaries who stay there before traveling to far-flung regions of Tanzania.
So yeah, I'm really glad that I met Andy and I hope that I'll be able to help someone so much sometime down the road.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Exam week hell
Last week was pretty crazy, but I didn't have any time to catch my breath. At school, I had 130 exams waiting for me to mark. I went to school Sunday morning and stayed there the whole day to grade and record. It was pretty tedious (especially grading agriculture; I vowed not to teach it, but I promised the 3rd years that I would write exams for them), but I saw some healthy improvements on the chemistry papers. I stayed at school until sunset and then hurried home to avoid running across any elephants (they come out after dark these days and they're uprooting trees right now).
Sunday night, I talked with one of my colleagues who told me that he had written an exam and given it to my chemistry students. I was pretty irritated by this. I knew that for him "writing an exam" means copying the review questions from the end of each chapter (that's what he does for the subjects that he knows, and he's not a chemistry teacher, so I was pretty confident that this was just a waste of the students' time). I had promised my students authentic exams, so this kinda undermined me. He had offered this earlier in the week, and I had politely declined, then I had to re-explain to another teacher and clear it with the headmaster. Apparently the headmaster felt that in spite of this understanding it would be better to have someone set the exam for me (I had already written everything, I just needed to make the photocopies). The really frustrating part is that the reason for the change was so that we could close the school on Tuesday (today) instead of Wednesday as planned so the teachers could start their vacation a day earlier.
Monday morning, I went in and informed the students that the exam would be going ahead as planned. They were not happy about this. They had been told on Saturday that they were done with exams. They had not studied since Saturday and they had left some of their books and supplies at home (massive calculator shortage). I prodded them until they agreed to study a bit before the exams (they were also unhappy since I was going ahead and giving them Paper 1 and Paper 2 just like they will see on exams next year). I had to make myself the bad guy a bit, which was pretty unpleasant. Also, all the time spent discussing this with the students meant that my stack of exams wasn't getting any smaller. I gave them the exams and added another 45 papers to my stack (I had finished 100 of them by that point). Instead of diving right in, I decided to bond with my students a bit, so we kicked the soccer ball around in the rain for a little while.
After that, I went home and put every ounce of focus I had into grading. It was really draining. I had only slept four hours the night before (because of all the grading) so at 1 AM I had to set aside my last 25 exams and take a nap. I woke up at 3:30 and methodically worked through the last stack of papers (I was not completely coherent, so it was going pretty slowly). I finished at 7:15 at which point I had to hastily get dressed and run to school. At school I found that there was still another teacher grading exams (he was the other one who had to give exams) so I was glad that they weren't waiting only for me. I set to work recording all of the grades. The numbers were a bit dispiriting in math; on one of the math papers, the median score was 1% and the students were having trouble copying formulas that were provided to them.
Compiling grades is always an interesting beast. I have the task of compiling all the scores in the computer to calculate averages and rankings. I have to rely on the other teachers to actually enter their grades. I often get yelled at for not entering them for them, which is incredibly unpleasant (a certain teacher spent all of last week bragging about how little work he had and how he was just sitting around and then had the nerve to yell at me for not entering his grades for him fast enough this morning). By the time I finished all of that, they were waiting on me to complie everything for the third years. The sleep debt was taking its toll and I was going a bit slowly, but it also takes me a bit longer than the other teachers because I don't just use their standard choices (1. Wake up, 2. You are not trying, 3. Aim higher, 4. Poor/Average/Good and a few others and on a few papers I saw "to improve your score, stop getting Fs") but instead try to give relevant feedback to the students. The other teachers don't like this when this cuts into their vacation time by 20-30 minutes.
I had to make an appearance at a meeting for the parents before we could dismiss everyone. I explained to them the issues that we are having (teacher deficits last year and this year mean the students are 1 or more terms behind in nearly every subject). I think I used my last ounce of coherency speaking to them since I had to do it all in Kiswahili. I thought it was pretty choppy, but I got a nice ovation. We left for the day at 3 PM. The best part was after I handed out exams and report cards and gave a little speech about studying during the break when one of my other students asked if she could make an announcement. She told the class to use their time well during December and to be very careful so that everyone would return next year. I smiled as I realized the meaning. There is a lot of downtime for adolescents in December, which leads to a disproportionate number of September babies amongst teenagers.
Good advice. Don't get pregnant right now.
Sunday night, I talked with one of my colleagues who told me that he had written an exam and given it to my chemistry students. I was pretty irritated by this. I knew that for him "writing an exam" means copying the review questions from the end of each chapter (that's what he does for the subjects that he knows, and he's not a chemistry teacher, so I was pretty confident that this was just a waste of the students' time). I had promised my students authentic exams, so this kinda undermined me. He had offered this earlier in the week, and I had politely declined, then I had to re-explain to another teacher and clear it with the headmaster. Apparently the headmaster felt that in spite of this understanding it would be better to have someone set the exam for me (I had already written everything, I just needed to make the photocopies). The really frustrating part is that the reason for the change was so that we could close the school on Tuesday (today) instead of Wednesday as planned so the teachers could start their vacation a day earlier.
Monday morning, I went in and informed the students that the exam would be going ahead as planned. They were not happy about this. They had been told on Saturday that they were done with exams. They had not studied since Saturday and they had left some of their books and supplies at home (massive calculator shortage). I prodded them until they agreed to study a bit before the exams (they were also unhappy since I was going ahead and giving them Paper 1 and Paper 2 just like they will see on exams next year). I had to make myself the bad guy a bit, which was pretty unpleasant. Also, all the time spent discussing this with the students meant that my stack of exams wasn't getting any smaller. I gave them the exams and added another 45 papers to my stack (I had finished 100 of them by that point). Instead of diving right in, I decided to bond with my students a bit, so we kicked the soccer ball around in the rain for a little while.
After that, I went home and put every ounce of focus I had into grading. It was really draining. I had only slept four hours the night before (because of all the grading) so at 1 AM I had to set aside my last 25 exams and take a nap. I woke up at 3:30 and methodically worked through the last stack of papers (I was not completely coherent, so it was going pretty slowly). I finished at 7:15 at which point I had to hastily get dressed and run to school. At school I found that there was still another teacher grading exams (he was the other one who had to give exams) so I was glad that they weren't waiting only for me. I set to work recording all of the grades. The numbers were a bit dispiriting in math; on one of the math papers, the median score was 1% and the students were having trouble copying formulas that were provided to them.
Compiling grades is always an interesting beast. I have the task of compiling all the scores in the computer to calculate averages and rankings. I have to rely on the other teachers to actually enter their grades. I often get yelled at for not entering them for them, which is incredibly unpleasant (a certain teacher spent all of last week bragging about how little work he had and how he was just sitting around and then had the nerve to yell at me for not entering his grades for him fast enough this morning). By the time I finished all of that, they were waiting on me to complie everything for the third years. The sleep debt was taking its toll and I was going a bit slowly, but it also takes me a bit longer than the other teachers because I don't just use their standard choices (1. Wake up, 2. You are not trying, 3. Aim higher, 4. Poor/Average/Good and a few others and on a few papers I saw "to improve your score, stop getting Fs") but instead try to give relevant feedback to the students. The other teachers don't like this when this cuts into their vacation time by 20-30 minutes.
I had to make an appearance at a meeting for the parents before we could dismiss everyone. I explained to them the issues that we are having (teacher deficits last year and this year mean the students are 1 or more terms behind in nearly every subject). I think I used my last ounce of coherency speaking to them since I had to do it all in Kiswahili. I thought it was pretty choppy, but I got a nice ovation. We left for the day at 3 PM. The best part was after I handed out exams and report cards and gave a little speech about studying during the break when one of my other students asked if she could make an announcement. She told the class to use their time well during December and to be very careful so that everyone would return next year. I smiled as I realized the meaning. There is a lot of downtime for adolescents in December, which leads to a disproportionate number of September babies amongst teenagers.
Good advice. Don't get pregnant right now.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Not getting enough sleep
Well, the fourth years finishing exams means that the rest of the school is about to start them. Today was the first day for the third years and the second and first years will start on Monday. I have 8 exams during this set of exams. I've been up past 11 every night this week (and past 1 twice) writing exams, which is a far-cry from the 9:30 bedtime I maintained during my first two terms. The other teachers are baffled that I'm still teaching lessons all along. They asked me why I wasn't in the staff room most of the day. I just walked out rather than trying to explain why I think it is helpful for students to have a teacher in the classroom.
Fortunately, our deputy principal brought some tree seedlings to school this week, so I really enjoyed that activity with the students. The students were really impressed that I could dig a hole and plant a tree (some students actually didn't fully grasp the concept and were planting seedlings that were still in plastic wrappers). I've encountered this a lot at school and I used to think that was because of their perception of Americans as being very removed from manual labor; I have since learned that it is because of their perception of teachers as being very removed from manual labor (I would stand jaw agape with all of my students if I saw any of the other teachers wielding any kind of gardening tool).
My topic in life skills this week was drugs. With my third years, we talked about alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and miraa (a leafy plant that is chewed as a stimulant). With the second years we only made it through the first two topics. All the third years who had been suspended for smoking marijuana were back for the lesson (one day after their trip to "jail"), including one who was expelled (I don't understand what these words mean anymore). One student asked what marijuana plants look like. Fortunately, lots of people here have T-shirts and handkerchiefs with the plant on it, so one student pulled her handkerchief from her desk and all the students' eyes widened with understanding. I felt like this was one of the most important and productive lessons that I had given all year, and it still baffles me that most schools do not make real efforts to teach students about these topics (unless you count caning students for any kind of suspicious behavior, which most of the teachers at my school deem sufficient) considering how rampant the problem is in schools.
I took all of the students into the lab this week (not all at the same time, though). I'm glad to report that I have no scars to show for it. It was really sobering to realize that the first years hadn't even held test tubes yet. They felt such pride just pouring compounds from one test tube to another. The bulk of my time in the lab, however, was spent putting out fires (not figuratively). Students were learning how to use the new Bunsen burners and apparently several of the hoses leak. I had forgotten how much I like fire. :)
My mind keeps coming back to exams. I wrote this set on the computer, which was really nice. I'm way more organized this time around, which has been somewhat refreshing, but has led to the title of this post. I had a few essays earlier this week to distract me, but now I'm in exam mode. I'm dreading the part where I will have to grade 8 stacks of papers in 36 hours. The principal makes it sound like we might close the day before Thanksgiving, which means I might be able to meet other volunteers and have a celebration. Unfortunately, this sleep deprivation may well continue until that point, so I'm expecting to be quite the zombie for Thanksgiving.
Today marks one year in Kenya for me and my training group. I'm usually pretty big on anniversaries, but I'm actually kinda numb to this one. Oh well, congrats to the 30 volunteers who have made it this far.
Fortunately, our deputy principal brought some tree seedlings to school this week, so I really enjoyed that activity with the students. The students were really impressed that I could dig a hole and plant a tree (some students actually didn't fully grasp the concept and were planting seedlings that were still in plastic wrappers). I've encountered this a lot at school and I used to think that was because of their perception of Americans as being very removed from manual labor; I have since learned that it is because of their perception of teachers as being very removed from manual labor (I would stand jaw agape with all of my students if I saw any of the other teachers wielding any kind of gardening tool).
My topic in life skills this week was drugs. With my third years, we talked about alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and miraa (a leafy plant that is chewed as a stimulant). With the second years we only made it through the first two topics. All the third years who had been suspended for smoking marijuana were back for the lesson (one day after their trip to "jail"), including one who was expelled (I don't understand what these words mean anymore). One student asked what marijuana plants look like. Fortunately, lots of people here have T-shirts and handkerchiefs with the plant on it, so one student pulled her handkerchief from her desk and all the students' eyes widened with understanding. I felt like this was one of the most important and productive lessons that I had given all year, and it still baffles me that most schools do not make real efforts to teach students about these topics (unless you count caning students for any kind of suspicious behavior, which most of the teachers at my school deem sufficient) considering how rampant the problem is in schools.
I took all of the students into the lab this week (not all at the same time, though). I'm glad to report that I have no scars to show for it. It was really sobering to realize that the first years hadn't even held test tubes yet. They felt such pride just pouring compounds from one test tube to another. The bulk of my time in the lab, however, was spent putting out fires (not figuratively). Students were learning how to use the new Bunsen burners and apparently several of the hoses leak. I had forgotten how much I like fire. :)
My mind keeps coming back to exams. I wrote this set on the computer, which was really nice. I'm way more organized this time around, which has been somewhat refreshing, but has led to the title of this post. I had a few essays earlier this week to distract me, but now I'm in exam mode. I'm dreading the part where I will have to grade 8 stacks of papers in 36 hours. The principal makes it sound like we might close the day before Thanksgiving, which means I might be able to meet other volunteers and have a celebration. Unfortunately, this sleep deprivation may well continue until that point, so I'm expecting to be quite the zombie for Thanksgiving.
Today marks one year in Kenya for me and my training group. I'm usually pretty big on anniversaries, but I'm actually kinda numb to this one. Oh well, congrats to the 30 volunteers who have made it this far.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Great job guys!
My fourth years finished exams yesterday. No ceremony. No fanfare (well, they got a slightly fancier lunch). Just calmness after three weeks of exams.
Congratulations Andrew (Mwafusi), Daniel (Mwadime), Fanuel, Nicodemus, David, Linet, Anne, Serapia, Lazarous, Sophrine, Margaret, Catherine, Noel, Eunice, Jane, Lucy, Dinaice, Thomas, Hillary, Alex (Mkala), Steven, Isabella, Monica, Herman (Peshu) and Mariam.
In case you were confused, Sophrine, Noel and Hillary are all boys.
Now they wait a few months for results. Then a few more months to figure out if they qualify for university, college, vocational school or simply a bright future in Maktau.
Congratulations Andrew (Mwafusi), Daniel (Mwadime), Fanuel, Nicodemus, David, Linet, Anne, Serapia, Lazarous, Sophrine, Margaret, Catherine, Noel, Eunice, Jane, Lucy, Dinaice, Thomas, Hillary, Alex (Mkala), Steven, Isabella, Monica, Herman (Peshu) and Mariam.
In case you were confused, Sophrine, Noel and Hillary are all boys.
Now they wait a few months for results. Then a few more months to figure out if they qualify for university, college, vocational school or simply a bright future in Maktau.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Drugs and flame-throwers
This morning, I was sitting in my office grading exams (only a month overdue on that). I kinda zone out while I do that, so I didn't notice that several of my third year boys were summoned to the office. I subsequently didn't notice that several of my third year boys were sent to the village cell (as close as we have to a prison) for drug use (marijuana). All in all, one-third of my students were sent away for the day. There was no drug bust or anything. I'm not really surprised by this, but I'm pretty sure that the confessions were extracted "under duress" (read: savage beating. The other reason that I avoid the office sometimes). I don't know what happens to them next. I hope they'll be back soon. Otherwise, we're gonna lose a lot of really good students. I had even planned a lesson for later this week on the hazards of drug use.
Also, in the afternoon I was showing my students how to prepare ethene (yes, that is part of the syllabus, I'll probably have a syllabus-tirade post up here soon). After demonstrating the test for ethene (it turns bromine water from orange to colorless) I had a bunch of extra ethene coming out of a flask. So I did the only logical thing that I could think to do with a large supply of gaseous fuel. I showed my students how to make a flame thrower. I was kinda disappointed in myself actually. If I were a cool teacher, I would have showed them how to make a green flame thrower. Maybe later in the week...
Also, in the afternoon I was showing my students how to prepare ethene (yes, that is part of the syllabus, I'll probably have a syllabus-tirade post up here soon). After demonstrating the test for ethene (it turns bromine water from orange to colorless) I had a bunch of extra ethene coming out of a flask. So I did the only logical thing that I could think to do with a large supply of gaseous fuel. I showed my students how to make a flame thrower. I was kinda disappointed in myself actually. If I were a cool teacher, I would have showed them how to make a green flame thrower. Maybe later in the week...
Friday, November 6, 2009
Real life adventures of a mad scientist
So I had a lot of fun on Halloween being a mad scientist. I used the excuse to say things like "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate" and the numerous jokes about particles hanging out in bars (neutron walks into a bar..., sodium is having a drink..., hydrogen and oxygen are hanging out...). I'm pretty sure everyone found the jokes at least as funny as I do. Nearly.
This week there's been a lot of madness and a lot of science in my life. On Monday, I was using some nitric acid for a chemistry demonstration. I spilled some on my hand. I've spilled acid lots of times, and it's usually pretty minor. This time, though, it was a lot. And nitric acid is some pretty fierce stuff. It started itching a bit and then the burning set in. I would have dealt with it more urgently but I was in the classroom at the time. I felt that this justified a break in the lesson, so I ran back to the supply room and neutralized the acid. It was kinda painful and actually turned my fingers yellow. Mostly just painful when I was holding chalk. But that's not a big part of my profession.
On Tuesday, I was working with hydrochloric acid. I didn't spill any on my hands (see, I can be careful from time to time). Unfortunately, concentrated hydrochloric acid is pretty volatile. And rather unhealthy to breathe. I think it causes loss of appetite and headaches. Pretty sharp ones, too. I think there's something about lung damage in there too.
Wednesday I stayed out of the lab. It was glorious. Yesterday was a busy day in the lab since we had to prepare a lot of things for the laboratory portion of the chemistry exam (that was today). We had to clean a lot of supplies and prepare solutions and sort through a ton of equipment. Mercifully, the headmaster recruited an extra set of hands for this. Having a professional lab tech around definitely took a lot of the pressure off. The gentleman was on loan to us from a nearby school (that is much more staffed than we are). He was a bit old and it seemed like he wasn't all there (he would wander off from time to time or open gas taps for no reason). Still, having him around meant that I got to leave school before sunset. I definitely give the headmaster credit for coming through on this one (he also bought gloves after he saw what had happened to my hands).
Mercifully, the exam went off pretty well (the only snafu was when the gas started leaking out of one of the lines and burning on one of the lab benches). We were disappointed that we couldn't figure out the results that the students were supposed to get from doing the specified trials. This was a pretty harsh exam, so hopefully there will be low scores across the country (national exams are hella curved). Oh and apparently I rubbed my face absentmidedly at one point. I didn't feel it, but apparently I have a little yellow acid burn on my nose.
I really need to work on this safety thing a bit (gloves are a step in the right direction, now I just need to make a sale on goggles and breathing masks).
This week there's been a lot of madness and a lot of science in my life. On Monday, I was using some nitric acid for a chemistry demonstration. I spilled some on my hand. I've spilled acid lots of times, and it's usually pretty minor. This time, though, it was a lot. And nitric acid is some pretty fierce stuff. It started itching a bit and then the burning set in. I would have dealt with it more urgently but I was in the classroom at the time. I felt that this justified a break in the lesson, so I ran back to the supply room and neutralized the acid. It was kinda painful and actually turned my fingers yellow. Mostly just painful when I was holding chalk. But that's not a big part of my profession.
On Tuesday, I was working with hydrochloric acid. I didn't spill any on my hands (see, I can be careful from time to time). Unfortunately, concentrated hydrochloric acid is pretty volatile. And rather unhealthy to breathe. I think it causes loss of appetite and headaches. Pretty sharp ones, too. I think there's something about lung damage in there too.
Wednesday I stayed out of the lab. It was glorious. Yesterday was a busy day in the lab since we had to prepare a lot of things for the laboratory portion of the chemistry exam (that was today). We had to clean a lot of supplies and prepare solutions and sort through a ton of equipment. Mercifully, the headmaster recruited an extra set of hands for this. Having a professional lab tech around definitely took a lot of the pressure off. The gentleman was on loan to us from a nearby school (that is much more staffed than we are). He was a bit old and it seemed like he wasn't all there (he would wander off from time to time or open gas taps for no reason). Still, having him around meant that I got to leave school before sunset. I definitely give the headmaster credit for coming through on this one (he also bought gloves after he saw what had happened to my hands).
Mercifully, the exam went off pretty well (the only snafu was when the gas started leaking out of one of the lines and burning on one of the lab benches). We were disappointed that we couldn't figure out the results that the students were supposed to get from doing the specified trials. This was a pretty harsh exam, so hopefully there will be low scores across the country (national exams are hella curved). Oh and apparently I rubbed my face absentmidedly at one point. I didn't feel it, but apparently I have a little yellow acid burn on my nose.
I really need to work on this safety thing a bit (gloves are a step in the right direction, now I just need to make a sale on goggles and breathing masks).
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