At this stage we have progressed a lot. Constrcution of the next prototype will start on 25th January 2010.

5 Members of the Screpine society at Kallara who have already trained in masonry by the M. G. University adult education department and working as masons for the last 1 year have agreed to get trained in our programme also and I think they can influnce the women community at Achinakom too..

The training will start after finishing the second prototype in February 1 st week

John

As I start my first blog entry on the Rainwater for Humanity site, one thought comes to mind: I should have blogged way before this. Not just blogged in general, but specifically, I should have blogged about this trip. For the past twelve days, Becca and I have been staying at Mahatma Gandhi University in Kottayam to meet the Indian staff, visit the village of Achinakom, and basically coordinate plans for the upcoming semester. We have finally gotten around to writing our first blog post, which means that I am stuck looking at twelve days full of trying new foods, conversations with many people that basically consisted of pantomimes (Malayalam, from what I have gathered, is a very complicated language that I have no chance of learning in three weeks), and serious discussions about the future of Rainwater for Humanity. Now I have to consolidate all of that into a single blog post. Here is a list of things I have done that have nothing to do with Rainwater for Humanity, but which have greatly affected my experience here:

• I killed three spiders, one with a power converter, one with my shoe, and one with a bottle of bug spray. A word to the wise: if you are going to kill a spider, use something heavy, i.e. a shoe.
  

  Not one of the ones in our room, but you get the idea

  Do not use a bottle of bug spray. I did not relish killing three spiders, but they were quite large and in our room. Fortunately, Becca and I had extra mosquito net and used it to cover our window, so both the spiders and I have been spared further interactions.

• I have driven on Indian roads. Not personally, but I have sat in a car that was in motion on a road that was in India. Driving in India is basically a video game, except it’s not a video and it’s not a game. There are no traffic lanes, no traffic lights, and if I thought jaywalking was bad in Providence, it’s nothing to what goes on here. I have so much respect for people who drive in India because I think I would have a heart attack just turning the keys in the ignition.
• There are power outages fairly frequently here. Most only last a minute or so, and you get used to them. The first one I experienced happened in the middle of the night. It was dark outside and I had been sitting at my computer for the past half hour or so. When the lights went off, my first response was to wave my arms around to activate the motion sensors that are present in so many rooms at Brown. Surprisingly enough, that wasn’t the reason the room was suddenly dark.

Of course, we have spent the majority of our time here on things that actually relate to Rainwater for Humanity. I don’t think I realized just how many people were involved in the Indian branch of Rainwater for Humanity. I had already met some of the staff via Skype, though it was great to meet them in person. But there was also an official Leadership Team and Executive Team set up along with a Village Committee and several MGU student volunteers. It’s so great to meet all these people who are so invested in Rainwater for Humanity. One of our concerns at Brown is that we can’t tell directly what sort of an impact we are making; it’s nice to know that there are people here on the ground who can observe and push forward Rainwater for Humanity’s progress. Everyone has been so welcoming too. Thankfully, everyone at MGU is at least proficient in English or else Becca and I would have been completely lost. But even in the village, those who speak English have been eager to talk to us, and those who don’t have been happy to listen to Becca and me butcher Malayalam in our attempts to speak to them. However, I can now say hello, ask people if they are hungry or if they have eaten, and say “Rainwater for Humanity” in Malayalam. So I have the really essential stuff down pat.

We’ve visited Achinakom, the site of Rainwater for Humanity’s pilot program. Guess what: Our first prototype actually exists! We saw it ourselves in person and drank lemon juice made from the water that came out of the tank. Combined with the absolutely gorgeous scenery (No offense to Providence, but palm trees with actual leaves on them beat out a New England winter any day), the prototype made for a beautiful sight (Check out our Picasa page for photos!). On our first day Mrs. Jimmol, the Village Coordinator, invited us to watch her family’s temple festival, which featured amazing drumming and a march with candlees. We’ve also been discussing the second prototype.

To go into detail about our plans for the second prototype would take another whole discussion, and I don’t want to make this blog entry go on for too long, so I will simply say that we have met the family and discussed basic plans for its construction. I’m really excited to see its progress and I would encourage everyone who is interested in the process to contact us (info@rainwaterforhumanity.org) to find out what they can do.  Stay tuned for further updates on Rainwater for Humanity! ~Carolyn

Rainwater for Humanity is seeking a team player with at least a B. Tech / B.E. Degree in Civil Engineering to  join us.

Rainwater for Humanity is a start-up community project in the Kuttanad region initiated by Mahatma Gandhi University School of Environmental Sciences in India and Brown University students and graduates in US. Rainwater for Humanity uses rainwater harvesting as an entry point to improve community health and empower women in the Kuttanad region of Kerala, India. Our vision is a low-cost rainwater harvesting system that will be affordable and functional in a low-lying wetland region like Kuttanad. We have started in the Achinakom Village. By designing a low cost rainwater harvesting system with financing options and involving women throughout, we will extend our operations to other villages in the future. Our local partners include Vechoor Panchayath and a 8,000-member-strong women’s self help group, Kottayam Jilla Mahila Thazhapaya Vikasana Federal Samithi (KJMTVFS). The project leaders include academia and experts from Mahatma Gandhi University, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), KJMTVFS and Brown University.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Design different prototypes of low cost rainwater harvesting system functional in a low-lying wetland region like Kuttanad, with the assistance from Brown University R&D team and engineering experts
• Render CAD drawings of the prototypes
• Conduct focus group meetings with local masons in Kuttanad
• Source materials by visiting factories or manufacturers
• Visit and identify appropriate locations for building prototypes
• Participate in the construction of the prototypes
• Assess and monitor the structural stability and durability of prototypes
• Proactively reach out to experts in the engineering field for feedback and guidance
• Communicate frequently, on average once per week with the Brown University R&D team via internet video conference call
• Report regularly, once per month, to the leadership team on the result, evaluation and ongoing progress of prototyping. This prototyping updates should be compiled with the Program Coordinator’s monthly report

 

REQUIREMENTS

• Persistence and passion in serving marginal communities
• Determined in achieving RW4H’s vision of providing clean drinking water through appropriate low cost design
• Entrepreneurial, ambitious, adaptive, systematic and results-oriented thinking
• Bachelor degree or higher in civil engineering. Masters or post-graduate degree preferred
• Proficiency in Malayalam and English
• A 2 months probation period
• Strong system diagram rendering skills, using software such as CAD
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills in accessing materials strength, water pressure and optimization of material usage
• Strong computer skills such as ability to conduct research online, use & communicate via emails, blogs and skype
• Comfort in motivating and working with villagers
• Knowledge in appropriate technology or water treatment a plus
• Experience in bottom-up projects in areas such as appropriate technologies implementation, women empowerment, community health, water and sanitation a plus

 

BENEFITS

• Competitive salary. Rs 15,000 per month, plus bonus. Salary negotiable depending on candidate’s experience
• Opportunity to build an innovative startup with the counsel and support of numerous leaders, academic experts and activists from India and the US
• Satisfaction from working in a team dedicated to provide a sustainable source of water and living to the Kuttanad communities and beyond

 

START DATE & LOCATION

The Engineer will begin work in December 2009. The location of work is in Kottayam, Kerala State of India. The project has a timeline of 1 to 2 year(s) at present.

 

HOW TO APPLY?

1. Send your resume/CV and a cover letter to info@rainwaterforhumanity.org at least 1 day before December 16
2. Attend the walk-in interview. Please bring the original and a copy of your degree certificate(s), academic transcript(s) and relevant award(s)

Date: December 16, 2009 (Wednesday)

Time: 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon

Venue: School of Environmental Sciences, MG University

For enquiries, contact –9446058120 / 9447914132 / 9605442580

The system has been completed and the first drop of rainwater has trickled down the catchment area, sped along the gutter, squeezed through gravels sand and charcoal, rolled into the PVC pipe and entered the ferrocement tank.

The journey of this raindrop is made possible by the perspirations, brain juice and hard-earned income of people across the world. However, we are not in the position to celebrate yet. This is the beginning of trillions more of raindrops that need to be harvested.

With that note, the following tasks are yet to be accomplished in the coming 3 months-
Reiterations of rainwater harvesting prototypes
Hiring of a full time local Program Director
Building an organization structure to ensure accountability on the impacts we held ourselves against
Clarifying Rainwater’s visions and strategies
Aligning stakeholders’ values with Rainwater’s

There’s a saying “spectators can see the race clearly, but the athletes’ views are clouded.” We appreciate any thoughts especially on appropriate technology design, hydrology & engineering, and setting up the organization structure of a start-up social enterprise.

In terms of the construction update, the side wall has been erected. A coat of plaster has also been applied on the exterior surface. The remaining days will be used to apply the last layer of cement and plaster on the interior surface, install the gutters, put up the mild steel sheets and build the filter units. We also plan to trim the tree branches around the system to prevent leaf debris and birds droppings from accumulating on the system’s catchment area.

The Kottayam District of Kerala has recently banned sand mining. Therefore, it has been impossible to purchase river sand, one of the essential building materials, within the Kottayam District. The lack of materials has led to a few days of delay. Fortunately, there is some sand available from a neighboring construction site that we can use for now. The second challenge we face is installing a filter system which will function properly. According to literatures on slow sand filters, they are capable of filtering out 90-99% of bacteria. However, we found that fecal coliform is present in all rain water samples collected from Achinakom Village’s existing ferrocement tank. After discussing with Dr. Abhirosh, Sylas and Rahul, we think that there are 3 possible explanations- 1) the slow sand filter is functioning properly, however the catchment area is highly contaminated, hence even after filtering, fecal coliform is still present in the storage tank; 2) the filter is not functioning properly, this might be due to an insufficient retention time or the poor design/construction of the filter and; 3) the rainwater harvesting system is not maintained/cleaned properly by the users.

In order to shed light on why there is such a high fecal coliform level in the existing rainwater harvesting tank, we will build several slow sand filters in the MGU School of Environmental Sciences laboratory and test their filtering capabilities.

We had a second and third official MGU Rainwater for Humanity student team meetings on September 17 and September 22 respectively. Dr. Thomas clarified how such community work/service like RW4H are learning opportunities and how it fits with the academic program in the Department. Afterward, Sylas and I explained the 4 areas that the students can work on, namely Technical design, Women empowerment, Water quality and Communication. The students then freely joined whichever team that was interesting to them. Each team also nominated a coordinator to be the contact person. As most of the first-year Master students are unfamiliar with the Kuttanad region, we are planning a field-trip to the Achinakom Village and the surrounding area soon.

 

On a personal note, I managed to stop by a supermarket in the area a few days ago. There, I found “Red Delicious” apples! I am having a kanka mouth sore, most probably from consuming too much curry. Together with a bunch of tissue rolls (a luxury too, as each of them is equivalent to the price of a meal in a restaurant i.e. Rs 35 or USD 0.7), I left the supermarket with joy and much anticipation to sink my teeth in the apples.

The Achinakom Model

The past week of Onam holiday offered me a chance to step back and reflect on the project’s progress thus far. The day after Eli and Andrea left, I traveled to Haripad and met with one of our advisors, Dr. Anil Kumar from MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. I returned to MGU with a clearer idea of how the project could proceed. Dr. Kumar suggested convening a high level meeting with senior representatives from every involved partner and stakeholder namely MGU School of Environmental Sciences, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Women’s self-help group, Achinakom Local Committee, Vechoor Panchayath representative, and Brown team. The pilot model will take about 2 years to show its track record. Rainwater for Humanity is a collective effort, and thus the decisions should be made collectively as well. The meeting will lay out the roles and responsibilities that each party should take up. In addition, the meeting will set targets, milestones and timelines attached to each of them. The next step is then to derive strategies to achieve each of those targets or milestones.

The meeting will lay down the incremental steps needed from each partner during the next 2 years needed to achieve our vision, the Achinakom Model. Ideally, the meeting can happen at around the same time as the opening ceremony of the rainwater harvesting system in Achinakom.

The system tilts

On Sunday, Sylas, Dr. John and myself went to Achinakom to 1) check on the system and 2) conducted a meeting with the Achinakom Local Committee and the mason to determine the remaining construction schedule. Due to a number of unexpected technical difficulties, the total construction cost has exceeded the original estimation. The total cost of the system is now Rs 165,000, an increase of about 25% from the estimation. As a measure to cut costs from hiring labor, the beneficiaries have agreed to take turns to help with the construction. In return, we shall provide the participating beneficiaries a living stipend. The mason has also guaranteed to complete the system within the upcoming seven days.

The tilting of the system has increased significantly compared to last week. On the western end, the system’s shell has detached from the canal wall and is uplifted to about 10 cm above ground. (See video) The mason explained that the uplifting are due to 1) the higher water pressure from the western end closer to the canals and 2) a heavier weight in the eastern end as more cement has been applied there. In order to ascertain the structure’s integrity, we went to speak with Dr. George Abe (an engineer and scientist of the CWRDM Kottayam sub-center) on Tuesday. He confirmed that the system shall sit once it is filled with water. The structural integrity of the system is still sound, since no crack develops though the system is uplifted by water. We also discussed several versions of the second generation prototypes with him. Mainly, we have been brainstorming several designs with different combinations of 1) using clay or jute bags filled with sand as cushion, 2) precast concrete rings or rubber tires as skeleton, and 3) silpaulin as the water proof membrane.

Dr. Abe suggested looking into a type of grass called Vetiver, locally known as Raamacham. It is commonly used for soil stabilization, water conservation and water treatment. Vetiver is non-invasive and can grow in extreme conditions; it has deep roots and can be used for handicrafts making or perfume production, making vetiver an appealing candidate to preventing surface water run-off.  See overview slideshow or learn more at Vetiver Organization.  

In addition, he highlighted that the transportation cost of bulky materials might outweigh the economic benefits of their cheap prices. He mentioned a NGO operating in the area known as Anthyodhaya which sells ready-made 5,000L capacity above-ground ferrocement tanks. We should compare the costs and make sure that the new design is more cost effective.

The next steps

The pursuit to design an affordable and durable rainwater harvesting system in the Kuttanad wetland area continues to be challenging and exciting. We shall learn and incorporate local technologies along the way. The immediate next step is to start conducting small-scale components mock-ups. We are building the MGU R4H team too. Sylas and myself have been brainstorming what the format of the first meeting should be, the type of materials to include and the type of activities that will create self-motivation. Any suggestions out there?

How are the Brown R4H team members doing? All the best with the semester ahead! 

After all those celebrations, on Thursday, we went back to work and planned a visit to Achinakom to check up on the construction progress.

On our way to the village, we first stopped at a private hospital to visit Smrt. Sali, the President of KJMTVFS, a women’s self-help group located in Kerala that has over 8,000 members and aids screwpine workers. Smrt. Sali was present at the meeting Chrisina held in Achinakom in January about the potential of rainwater harvesting and announced her support for our program. Unfortunately, she was recently hospitalized due to complications from diabetes but has been steadily getting stronger.

We talked to her for almost two hours with Sylas as our translator; she has been active in social work for forty years and her primary mission has been the empowerment of local women. She founded the aforementioned self-help group in 1997 when she saw how screwpine workers were being cheated out of profits by middlemen and their raw materials were being depleted. Over the past twelve years, the organization has grown to support over 6,000 families. There are six local societies that are then overseen by an Apex committee, and women manage the entire operation. They provide marketing support and training for women working with screwpine or coir, as well as coordinate awareness programs for women empowerment. Their principal activities also include providing health insurance for all the member families and scholarships for needy children from ninth through twelfth standards.

Smrt. Sali emphasized how a family’s well-being starts with the woman of the family. The income a woman earns gets completely invested in her family and future. Furthermore, when a woman attains any education, she passes it on to other generations, as well as among her neighbors and social network. For these reasons, she approves of our project. One suggestion she gave us was to provide a stipend for women as they undergo the training program. We enjoyed our conversation and learned a lot; we wish her a speedy recovery.

From the hospital, we made our way to Achinakom. Progress has definitely been made on the prototype. The RCC layer is almost complete and the reinforcement for the aboveground portion of the wall has been put in place. While we there, the masons were applying another layer of mortar to the walls; they were applying water and then slapping on and smoothing the cement mixture. The entire tank was almost covered with the first layer of mortar. Progress was not made without obstacles (the area had received a lot of rain in the past couple of days—it is monsoon season—and the neighboring canals had recharged), but they had been dealt with and work was continuing fairly smoothly. 

 

On Friday, we returned to Achinakom with the hopes of interviewing more women and trying to get a better sense of their mindsets and perceptions. After briefly stopping by the construction site, we walked through the village, this time with Daniya as our translator, and stopped when we met two women going about their daily chores. They agreed to take a break and talk with us, so they brought out chairs and we all sat down. Within minutes, five more women joined us and spiritedly and eagerly answered our questions.

The women (their names are Prasanna, Usha , Rathi, Omana, Knjumol, Rajamma, Mini Prashannan, Mini Shivadas, and

Mini Lalappan) currently earn about Rs. 125 ($2.50) a day; they emphasized that they need to work everyday to have money for food for the next day. They work on rice paddies about two months out of the year and, during the other months, make items out of screwpine and coir rope. When asked what they would do if they had extra money, they responded that they don’t see that happening, but, hypothetically, they would save anything extra for the children. The women stressed that it made a difference whether they or their husbands earned income. The women invest all the money they earn in their families. Men, on the other hand, don’t come straight home after work, and they spend some of their earnings on chai, toddy (coconut alcohol), cigarettes, and other superfluous items and also take breaks throughout the day. Smrt. Sali, as have many developing world experts, mentioned this same pattern.

We also talked with the village women about the time and energy they spend gathering water; some of them wake up at 4 AM to go to the well, returning home at around 6:30. They mentioned that they very thankful for our efforts because we are the first people to try and improve their water supply; even the Panchayath has not tried to do anything about this problem they are facing. Though they are glad to cooperate with us, help in the maintenance of the first prototype (they are all future users), and work during the construction, they were hesitant when we asked them about the training program we hope to put in place. They are worried that they would not be confident in the work and could not handle the heavy loads. However, they would participate in the program if there was a stipend and a professional mason supervised the work.

Their feedback reinforced our plans for the next prototype: to design a system that will be made out of lighter material, which is easier to handle, and yet will still be durable and withstand the construction difficulties posed by the high water table and differential settlement. Before leaving, we walked around the entire village with GPS to map the main pathways. 

Saturday, we attended two SES students’ wedding. It is a love marriage, uncommon in this area. About eighty percent of marriages are arranged.

On Eli’s and my final full day in Kerala, we again visited Achinakom. We stopped en route at a store, located in the backyard of someone’s home, that sells concrete rings that are commonly used to build wells. We’re looking into the possibility of using them in the next design. Eli and I won’t be here to see the completion of the system, which is nearing completion. The final layers of mortar are currently being applied on the walls of the subsurface part of the tank; the supports for the walls have been made. There’ll be a break in construction for Onam festivities, which officially start next week. (MGU celebrated early, while all the students were still here.)

 

 

Eli and I are sadly saying goodbye to Kerala tomorrow morning and flying to New York through Delhi, but stay tuned for the next blog entries from MGU. Christina will be here until December and will be working with the MGU student team. Her plans include: tracking the impact of the system by administering the survey we created; further developing the organizational structure of our group; and starting construction on the next prototype. As soon as school starts, the Brown team will also be hard at work experimenting with some new materials, fundraising, and revising the original design.

Apologies for the long delay; we have been frantically engaged in last tasks before Andrea and Eli leave on the 31st.

With the approval of Dr. Ramasamy and Dr. Thomas, we were able to hold a Rainwater for Humanity information session for interested MGU SES students. About 30 people showed up (unfortunately a lot of the first-year M.Sc. students were off campus at a meeting) and sat through our presentation (available here) and discussion session. Despite the students’ English proficiency, it is hard to successfully conduct a presentation without resorting to Malayalam. Differences in accent and diction mean that information is not always communicated effectively, and forcing people to use a language they are not entirely comfortable with makes them far more reticent to candidly ask questions and start a conversation, especially in a formal academic context. Luckily for us, Sylas went over some of our information in a clearer manner, and fielded questions from the audience in Malayalam. Dr. Thomas also said a few motivational words, hopefully highlighting to the students the important elements of social entrepreneurship and optimistic, perhaps lofty, student leadership.

We got back about 10 informational slips and several other students expressed interest, so we now have to figure out how to begin to engage them in the project. This will have to be a gradual process, but the upcoming impact baseline survey we will be administering to the system users in Achinakom will be a good opportunity for them to get involved. We hope to have a stable group of committed students here to work with Christina and Sylas in parallel with our Providence team, keeping in touch with email and conference calls throughout the year.

The University (along with the entire rest of Kerala) is closed next week for Onam festival holidays, so festivities were held here on the 25-26. We participated in a bunch of the traditional activities and managed to get pretty much no project work done. Environmental Sciences fared very well in the inter-departmental competitions, winning both pookkalam-making and a surprisingly enthusiastically-waged men’s tug-of-war. The next day saw a variety of party games in the department, as well as a traditional Onam banana leaf feast.

We can at least rest assured that our time spent informally with the students and faculty here have helped ingratiate ourselves into the department, building the local network necessary to keep this project going. Despite the frequent tea breaks, the students here are quite serious and dedicated, and their expertise in environmental systems, water quality and safety, and GIS is very valuable to incorporate into the project work.

Our week so far had been productive but had included a lot of traveling—we hadn’t been at MGU for enough hours to finish conducting our analysis of the water samples. Hence, Tuesday evening, we started our work in the SES microbiology lab and prepared mediums to repeat the E. coli tests with diluted samples to get a more precise count of the bacteria. Once the test tubes went into the incubator, we headed to bed for much-deserved rest.

Wednesday morning, we prepared the other tests of our analysis. We started with the simpler tests and determined the pH of each sample, as well as the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids). Then, we measured out our samples in beakers, boiled water, and added drops of indicators and chemicals to test tubes, following the procedures to measure the phosphate, nitrate, and iron content of each sample. Each step of the way, we had an MGU student helping us and showing us around the labs; thank you, Daniyal! Our analysis stretched into the evening, when we received good news from Sylas: the groundwater had stopped seeping into the canal, and the first layers of concrete were officially setting! Construction would continue Thursday with the placement of the RCC (reinforced cement concrete) layer. Concrete would be laid on a frame, built of chicken mesh and a rebar grid, made against the floor and walls of tank. Our water sampling analysis would therefore be put on hold and would continue Friday morning—we unfortunately couldn’t finish because of the necessary waiting time in some of the procedures.   

In the morning, we set off for Achinakom in a van—enough room for about 10 MGU SES students that came along with us. Our efforts to recruit local students last week were successful and ten men had enthusiastically volunteered to assist the mason, workers, villagers, and three of us during construction on Thursday. (On a side-note, we plan to have an orientation meeting for everybody else that didn’t get a chance to go on Thursday next week and will hopefully attract an even larger crowd.) We inspected the canal upon arriving and the concrete had indeed dried; workers had already laid the chicken mesh along the walls and were starting to bind together the rebar grid on the floor of the tank and the surrounding walls. A couple of us jumped into the tank and started twisting the wires and completing the grid.Taking turns, we squatted on the muddy floor, hunched over the crisscrossing rebar while nimbly trying to twist the tie wire. 

In the afternoon, a few men started mixing the mortar while all the students and village women lined up in an assembly line to transport the mortar from the front of the house, where the materials were originally delivered, along the narrow pathway that leads to the canal. The mortar was placed onto metal basins and thrown or handed down the line to the masons at the end, who proceeded to lay the mortar on the floor of the tank. Moving so much heavy material was a tedious task, but wheelbarrows are hard to maneuver around the house to the canal and space to mix the mortar behind the house is also lacking. Furthermore, trying to coordinate a more efficient way is difficult with the language barrier. Nevertheless, everyone persevered and work didn’t cease even when the heavy rains started. More tarps were draped from the roof over the tank to protect the mortar and everyone else continued as they had been working.  

Patterns of division of gender in the work were similar as on the first day of construction—though they have expressed interest in learning masonry techniques, women mainly delegated themselves to helping move the materials, while masons and experienced men worked on mixing and laying the mortar. We will have to motivate and help the women gain confidence throughout the rest of the construction process, so they will feel comfortable on taking on the tasks usually done by men. The floor of the tank was completed by the late afternoon, and everyone, soaked to the bone, took a break to eat dinner prepared by the village women. We soon departed the village with the MGU students, traveling back to the SES on the same van; even though everybody was working hard all day, physical exhaustion wasn’t apparent on the bus. Malayalam songs were playing loudly while many students were singing and clapping along—a few even managed to start dancing in the aisle.

We have been plodding along with various tasks the past couple days, continuing our consultations with local experts, monitoring the prototype build, and testing water samples at MGU. It’s a little hard to believe our time here is over half over; there is still far too much to do as schedules fall by the wayside.

Sunday was spent here at the university, preparing the first round of Escherichia coliform (e. coli) tests, making arrangements for the next few days, and planning for the long term. Although there have been some delays with the prototype construction (as is expected when trying something new) we hope to see it completed next week.

We took a day trip to the nearby city of Alappuzha on Monday for a couple of meetings. Our first stop was at the medical hospital to meet with Dr. Padmakumar, an expert on monsoon and water-related diseases. Meeting in his office on the third floor of a towering hospital complex (we got plenty of stares walking through the wards), he outlined some of the environmental and social factors contributing to health problems in Kuttanad. There are a wide range of independent contributors to disease aside from basic surface water pollution (from agriculture, houseboat tourism, sewage/waste). Although Kerala has been much-heralded as a model for low-cost, community-driven health care, Dr. Padmakumar was cautionary about the current state of regional care. He said education is less pervasive than it once was, and people are not as focused on preventative care, instead resorting to emergency visits (a well-publicized failure in the American system as well). Among water-borne diseases, Hepatitis A and E, Weils disease (lactospirosis), typhoid, cholera, and amoebiosis are endemic in Kuttanad. His hospital is a “tertiary” center, one of a handful of top-tier hospitals in the state responsible for emergency care and complicated cases referred from primary health centers and district hospitals. While rainwater cannot solve all the problems with dirty and mismanaged water sources in the region, he said it is a definite improvement for individual and small-scale access.

We then visited Ms. Sudha Soni, a prominent social activist who was one of Christina’s original contacts for her research in Kerala. We updated her on our project work and discussed some of her recent activities. She has been involved in a number of community-driven environmental- and water-related projects, and had some valuable advice about management of a shared water system. Her current project is the development of a household-level sustainable foods initiative, encouraging families to grow their own produce for nutritional benefits and energy savings. It faces many of the same social entrepreneurship obstacles we are dealing with, in particular encouraging people to take up a high level of responsibility and administration of a system they are unfamiliar with.

On our way back from the city we stopped by Kainkary village, hoping to diversify our perspective beyond Achinakom. As evinced by Christina’s water testing last year, this area of southern Kuttanad has significantly worse health problems than the north, and it showed. It is downstream of a couple major rivers which bring waste and pollution from the highlands of Kerala to the ocean. Although the families we talked to were aware of the importance of boiling drinking water, they admitted not being entirely thorough in the process and oftentimes drew water from the adjacent canal (others used nearby wells or cleaner, albeit distant, rivers). There was evidence of a onetime-extant municipal water supply line in some areas, but they reported all nearby taps were rarely supplied. As has been the case throughout, once we (Sylas) introduced ourselves, everyone was very outgoing and friendly. This ease of access is extremely important in order to build connections in other villages for purposes of project expansion.

Our coliform test results were unfortunately unsurprising, all sources measuring over 1100 (max. count per liter water). We will have to repeat the experiments with diluted samples to establish upper bounds for the counts. While boiling for a couple minutes will kill all these organisms, it is a bit jarring to see such results from people’s (inclusive of us, on occasion) drinking water. They also might be indications of other, more impervious, contaminates.

We visited Achinakom Tuesday morning to see the progress of the latest water-elimination plan. To reduce (eliminate!) the water permeating the prototype walls, preventing the foundational concrete from setting, they plan to segment off and pump out the two adjacent canals. This seems slightly over the line to overkill, but we are assured it is “no problem,” and the cost is nominal. In the meantime, the continuing layers of concrete being applied to the walls have entirely failed to harden in place and stop the leakage, so it is clear something must be done.

Back at the SES, we attended a “Fresher” (first-year Masters students) welcoming event. It started off with introductions as awkward as would be expected from such a thing, ranging from pure terror (some of the women) to over compensatory bravado (some of the guys). We got a brief shoutout from Dr. Thomas’ introduction (he and Dr. Ramasamy attend all departmental functions), which was just about the last English we heard for the following two hours. (Here follows speculation on the content of Malayalam heard:) It was at the very least reassuring (heartening?) to see the older students having so much fun calling up questions and mild insults (?) at the assembled newcomers, a reminder that the social order, at least among youth, is much the same across the world.