As I am in SPS with a fast internet connection, let me post a number of pictures for you. Enjoy!
Working hard! My colleagues and I putting up chicken wire around our demonstration garden. We were only demonstrating how
not to have a garden, especially as the chickens like to eat seeds, ripe strawberries, etc.
A spectacular sunset over La Campa, looking from the office.
Dust.
The Church of San Manuel. This is a church in the neighbouring municipality. It is rumoured to be the oldest in Central America, but also one of the most decorated. I was able to see inside at a different visit, but not take pictures. The inside is stencilled all over with mud-based paints, and the Jesus on the crucifix is black. A gorgeous church.
Part one of the Festival of San Matìas, the patron saint of La Campa. Altar assistants robed in white came from all over the four municipalities to help out, and mass was said outside the church, as we couldn't all fit inside.
My neighbours, granddaughters of my host family, celebrating Haydee's third birthday!
Last Friday the president of Honduras, the US ambassador, the head of USAID Honduras and several other dignitaries came to La Campa to celebrate $82million from USAID that will be coming to the region over the next five years. See my post on discontent for more.
Security was tight-ish for the president's visit. Most noticeable were the soldiers in the bell tower of the church. I think I took more pictures of them than of the president!
One of the byproducts of coffee production is "aguas mieles" or "honey water." The coffee beans ferment in water for a while, and this water is very acidic and very full of organic matter, promoting bacterial growth. It is a significant form of contamination in the area.
This is a biodigestor, and the coolest one I've seen yet. Beneath the central concrete circle is a large underground chamber. A mixture of manure and water gets put in the biodigestor from the right hand pipe. Bacteria break down the manure, creating biogas (methane, primarily). The gas will leave the central chamber through the small tube which will be connected to a gas stove for cooking. A high quality fertilizer comes out at the far left. Marvelous!
Although we have an inch or two of dust in La Campa, up in the mountains it's a bit damper. The truck slid into the ditch on a clay mud road. We all attached ourselves to ropes and pulled it out!
We visited a group of sugar producers. They used to use wood for their fires as the cooking stoves were really inefficient. Now they just need a bit of wood to start up the fire, and then they can use the crushed sugar cane for the rest. In this picture you can see the cane juice boiling down, and the fire burning brightly below.
Working hard! My colleagues and I putting up chicken wire around our demonstration garden. We were only demonstrating how not to have a garden, especially as the chickens like to eat seeds, ripe strawberries, etc.
A spectacular sunset over La Campa, looking from the office.
Dust. 
The Church of San Manuel. This is a church in the neighbouring municipality. It is rumoured to be the oldest in Central America, but also one of the most decorated. I was able to see inside at a different visit, but not take pictures. The inside is stencilled all over with mud-based paints, and the Jesus on the crucifix is black. A gorgeous church.
Part one of the Festival of San Matìas, the patron saint of La Campa. Altar assistants robed in white came from all over the four municipalities to help out, and mass was said outside the church, as we couldn't all fit inside.
My neighbours, granddaughters of my host family, celebrating Haydee's third birthday!
Last Friday the president of Honduras, the US ambassador, the head of USAID Honduras and several other dignitaries came to La Campa to celebrate $82million from USAID that will be coming to the region over the next five years. See my post on discontent for more.
Security was tight-ish for the president's visit. Most noticeable were the soldiers in the bell tower of the church. I think I took more pictures of them than of the president!
One of the byproducts of coffee production is "aguas mieles" or "honey water." The coffee beans ferment in water for a while, and this water is very acidic and very full of organic matter, promoting bacterial growth. It is a significant form of contamination in the area.
This is a biodigestor, and the coolest one I've seen yet. Beneath the central concrete circle is a large underground chamber. A mixture of manure and water gets put in the biodigestor from the right hand pipe. Bacteria break down the manure, creating biogas (methane, primarily). The gas will leave the central chamber through the small tube which will be connected to a gas stove for cooking. A high quality fertilizer comes out at the far left. Marvelous!
Although we have an inch or two of dust in La Campa, up in the mountains it's a bit damper. The truck slid into the ditch on a clay mud road. We all attached ourselves to ropes and pulled it out!
We visited a group of sugar producers. They used to use wood for their fires as the cooking stoves were really inefficient. Now they just need a bit of wood to start up the fire, and then they can use the crushed sugar cane for the rest. In this picture you can see the cane juice boiling down, and the fire burning brightly below.
Thanks for the pictures! They're great! The church does look gorgeous and your little neighbours are adorable. Soldiers in a bell tower is definitely a strange sight. The bioreactor really neat, and I didn't know about contamination from coffee production and now I feel the urge to read up on it despite having actual schoolwork to do. :)
ReplyDeleteReally enjoying the detailed explanations for each picture! Cheers.
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