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I went for a run this morning and it was a bit chilly (sorry, not trying to brag). When I turned the corner to head back to the house I see this great view: Volcan de Agua. |
Here are two more volcanoes. Farthest is Fuego (fire). It is active. The closer one is Acatenango, which is dormant, and from which you can see into Fuego to look at the magma. |
A flower. |
A young coffee farm. Coffee came from Etiopia, where it was not used as a drink or food at all. Here in Guatemala a goat herder investigated what was causing his goats to not fall asleep at night and eventually the Guatemalans figured out how to make coffee. Coffee is a shrub and needs shade, thus the trees growing above the coffee plants. Here in Guatemala the beans are picked by hand and twice: once in November and then they wait until January to pick the beans that weren't ripe earlier. In Brazil and Columbia they pick with machines and ALL the bean are harvested, whether ripe or not. |
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Here's where we are going: EcoFiltro, near Ciudad Vieja.
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We are here so I can buy an EcoFilter for Maria Elsa to save them money. The filter costs Q300 (Qabout $40) for the initial set up which includes the container and the ceramic filter. The filter last for a year and a replacement is Q200. It is estimated that it would save a family Q1100 in the first year ($140), which is significant even in the US. AND it reduces plastic bottle waste and works even with river water.. |
Different types. These are more elaborate and more expensive ($100 or more). They are sold above cost to help subsidize filters for poorer villages. I bought the plastic one just so it was more durable if dropped. |
Cutout of the filter part. The black part is the activated charcoal. |
We also got a tour. Here they are drying the sand for the ceramic and the sawdust for the charcoal. The sawdust converts to charcoal in the kiln (the 800 degree oven). |
As you can tell this is a very modern and new facility. |
Areas for indoor drying, since half the year it rains. All of the materials are local and natural. |
They make the ceramic in the same way as concrete concrete. |
It is extruded from this machine. |
Hydraulically pressed in a mold.
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Here is quality control, which, like everything else, is simple by nature. They fill the dried filters with water and after an hour they check how much has drained. Too much and the holes are too big and it won't stop contaminates; too little and it doesn't have sufficient flow to be useful. |
The last step is to coat it with colloidal silver, which is a natural anti-bacterial, but also degrades with sunlight, so they must be stored in black trash sacks. More info is at: ecofiltro.org |
The view from the facility. |
In the center are pine trees, a rarity here. |
In Parramos, where Hugo lives. |
We are here to ask an organization about CFCA, the organization a friend of mine is giving money to. Hugo knows that this group in his city is the same. After a lot of time we get a number. |
This precious thing kept walking by us and smiling, over and over and over. When I finally took her picture she was so excited. The small building was filled with girls and woman. The kids were writting things and having them checked. We eventually figured out that they were preparing thank you and informational letters for their sponsors. Then they would write then on organization letterhead as neatly as they could. |
As we headed out we were greeted with a surprise: Hugo's wife (on the left) and some friends were in the square having lunch. It is my first time to meet Hugo's wife. |
A soccer and basketball field. What I found interesting is that they also have concrete bleachers on either side for spectators. This is only interesting because they are of the exact same style as those used by the Mayans in their kind of soccer that resulted death of the winner. Click the picture for a closer view. |
On the way back to Antigua is the very small village of Pastores (Shepherds). What is surprising is that every shop sells "Bota Vaquero" (Cowboy boots). |
I don't care for slip on shoes, so I wasn't interested. Also, I don't like to collect "things" whether they are a good deal or not. Later that night I remembered that the "Chicas" at the house have horses. They were really excited about possibly going back and buying boots. |
Putting together the filter. Takes about a minute and 30 sec of that is getting it out of the package. |
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Hugo explaining the apparatus to the surprised Maria Elsa. Of course she immediately understands the value of the filter. |
