Jan 8

Trial and error

Today started off with running water and a homemade breakfast of chorizo and eggs and our usual toast. After eating, we decided to tackle projects at Casa Nica including the trellis replacements, final planning and experimenting for the French drains, and research into protecting bamboo for the greenhouse.

The trellises proved to be a much more difficult process than we expected. The wood was too thick for the notches already in the trees so we had to make them bigger. Once we got the wood to fit, the hole did not align correctly, so we had to drill a new hole and coat it in motor oil to protect it. Zach was greeted by a scorpion that decided to land on his hand after falling out of the damaged wood we replaced. I don't think the scorpion or Zach appreciated it. After a quick break, we moved on to the next piece of the trellis where we managed to break a round file in the drilled hole of a tree trunk while trying to remove a bolt. Derek eventually removed it with some needle nose pliers and some needed willpower. Lastly, we had to cut off the ends of the bolts to thread nuts onto the ends of them.

We ate lunch at a local cafeteria where we were able to try some different foods. The majority of the group had shredded beef and rice with vegetables. Once we finished eating Dr. Basha, Zach, and Cristian went shopping for French drain supplies while Derek, Trevor, and Giselle went back to Casa Nica (stopping for ice cream on the way).

While one group ate ice cream, the others visited a textile shop as well as a hardware store. The textile store featured beautiful patterned sheets as well as bright, mono colored fabric. Our goal at this shop was to find cotton sheet to use as a semi-permeable fabric for the French drain. In the United States, semi-permeable gardening membranes typically cost $6-10 per square foot and we wanted to save money using cloth textile. Semi permeable membranes prevent soil erosion into the drain while allowing water to flow through. Shop employees showed us three different cloth options ranging from 40 Cordoba up to 200 Cordoba per yard. Afraid of buying improper fabric we purchased 1 yard of the cheaper cotton and 1 yard of medium grade cotton to perform testing at the house. Another stop was made to purchase bags to cultivate mushrooms in for one of Josh’s projects. Thinking these bags could be a cheaper alternative to cotton sheet, we bought an extra bag to compare in our test. We continued on to a hardware shop to purchase PVC piping which we easily found.

Walking home was a new challenge as Zach and Cristian carried 20 ft pvc pipes over their shoulders. Weaving around tight corners in the city, they returned home to the rest of the team putting finishing touches on the trellises installed this morning.

Next up Zach, Cristian, and Giselle put the three materials to testing. Using a Pyrex glass, one bucket, water, soap, and dirt, the group analyzed which materials allowed water to travel through the material while preventing the soil passing. The bag material was a complete failure as it was waterproof. The two cloth materials were close competitors but ultimately the less expensive cloth won out. Cristian and Zach then sat down to calculate the minimal amount of stock cloth sheet that is needed to effectively construct two French drains.

Dr. Basha and Derek started soldering together the new version of the weather station and testing their code. Like the other projects we worked on today, they ran into issues. They debugged for an hour or two and eventually discovered their problems.

For dinner, we used our leftover food to make chicken fajitas with rice, squash, and slaw for dinner. Afterwards, we went out for our usual ice cream trip (a second time for some people).