Derek Zoolander and my meh attempts to drill a well ......

Apologies, this post is super late! I am now actually finished with my time at Trailblazer in Siem Reap and am in Phnom Penh for one week to do a few interviews with NGOs here before going home on the 24th. Where has this entire summer gone?!

Part of what I had been doing with Trailblazer was going out with the well drilling team (with Sumnang, Vichet, and Kat) to villages around Siem Reap Province. The village chief chooses the family who receives the well, while the family chooses where they want the well. Trailblazer makes sure to work within existing village systems instead of waltzing up with wells and installing them, in turn increasing the sustainability of the project because it is integrated within the community.

I went to Trapeang Svay Village, Reul Commune, Puk District twice. Fun fact: “Trapeang Svay” means “Mango Pond.” I did not see any mangoes when I was there.

My first time in Trapeang Svay we were drilling the actual well. I pretty much embodied Derek Zoolander coal mining as I was basically utterly useless for drilling. This is not a machine drill-- this is a manual drill that you need to be pushing down onto while twisting. A sort of jump-push-twist movement that no machine in the gym can simulate well (or maybe, I need to go to the gym more). The pole is actually made from a bunch of poles linked together with a handled twisting contraption. This is tough work!! Simple and easy(ish) for the well drilling team when the water source is close to the surface, a lot harder for everyone when you have to drill through clay and rock (as we did).

Water being pumped into the truck. Pretty sure the water
buffalo just chilling was not too pleased.

To make the well at first before any drilling, we dug a small pit close to the would-be well that we then filled with water. This water was pushed down the hole (that would become the well source) to coax the pole to go deeper while drilling. 

When the pit ran out of water, we went to a river/field/pond nearby and got water using a pump and lots of tarps (and in the end, most of the water ended up on the ground, not in the pit) laid out in the back of the truck. Two little boys accompanied us for this (although this was midday, many schools are only for half days), and Sumnang and Vichet seemed to trust them more than me. This might have been perhaps due to my Derek Zoolander status or my being a woman, which sadly is more likely to be the main factor.

We continued drilling, only breaking for a meal of morning glory (Khmer water spinach), rice, and oily bony fish with a red tomato/onion sauce. At the end of day, we hit eighteen meters. We tried to pump water from the ground (an up and down movement with one pipe within the other) but sadly with no avail. We had to take out the piping from the well and succumb to the fact that the next day we would be back to drilling. In the end, this well had to be twenty-five meters deep, while at other homes in the village ten meters deep was sufficient.

In Trapeang Svay the second time but at different part of the village, I could help a bit more. This time, rather than drilling, we were making the cement base for the well. Again, this was completely manual. We had no cement machine, but rather I manually mixed the Camel cement mix and sand together with water and a shovel to make the functioning cement.

1. We dug a dirt platform and flattened it right in front of where the well pump was.
2. We then put large rocks in the dirt--still retaining platform’s flat structure (in other words, the rocks we used were flat on at least one part).
3. We filled in the dirt gaps surrounding the large rocks with smaller stones.
4. We built a brick square around the well’s platform that would later become the raised edge of the well structure.
5. We put the concrete mixture on the bricks, and then the stone.

This is super confusing without a plethora of visuals that my slow internet prohibits me from uploading (hopefully the ones that did upload are okay!!), but I hope it makes some sense! Basically: ground --> platform base -->  walls --> finished well. I have noticed that whenever going into villages for filter installation or well drilling, the project seems to encompass the entire village and not just the filter or well team. While in the US one might not help the contractors re-doing your kitchen, in Cambodia this seems completely normal and appropriate.

The mom at this home seemed to have really taken a liking to me, especially as I was helping her son with his English (he was perhaps the only child who actually would talk to me when I spoke to him without parents’ help!). I also sat and talked with her about all of her children, told her about my family, and also looked through her daughter's drawing book which was adorable. Her school notebooks showed photos of (still) current prime minister Hun Sen and his wife--unsurprising to say the least. The mom also wanted to make sure that I was out of the sun to protect my super white skin, and kept telling me to be very careful with my head because I am so tall. When she found out that I was vegetarian, she sent her daughter out to buy me rambutans! I was elated at their kindness, even though I have no qualms about having morning glory and rice every day.

Case Study Writing

Part of being a not-for-profit NGO is just that: it is not for profit. Trailblazer's funding relies on donations, and soliciting donations is not an easy feat. Roughly just over half of donations come from individuals, meaning that the personal case studies from Trailblazer's projects are very important. They need to make that person reading them at, say, 1am be compelled to send a check or click on the paypal icon. Last Friday, I went to Chea Smun village (per usual, not how this village is spelled in Khmer (obviously) but how I understand and pronounce the name) to interview two students who had received donated bikes from Trailblazer. 

Srei Mau and her bike

Chea Smun, about an hour by moto away from Siem Reap, was one of the most remote and undeveloped (in terms of infrastructure) village I have been to while in Cambodia thus far. The dirt-clay road was a brilliant sinopia-tawny color, accentuated even more by the puddles left from the immense amount of rain the night before and that morning. We arrived at the secondary school: two lines of classrooms with a portico attaching all of them and a tattered Cambodian flag in the center. 

One of the hardest parts of doing the case study was making sure that the questions my Cambodian partner, Lon Sey (works with Trailblazer), asked were indeed the questions I had prepared. A lot can get lost in translation! Getting more sentimental / opinion answers to the questions (versus one-word answers) I was asking was a tough feat as well from the the boy and girl I interviewed. They were so shy! Then again I would probably be shy too if this massively tall foreign woman wearing strange clothes came to my school asking questions about my bicycle. As for the case study itself, this is what I have written: 

FINALLY got a smile :)

Every day many children in Cambodia have to walk long distances to get to school, meaning they arrive physically tired and mentally drained before class even starts. This situation is exacerbated in Siem Reap province, one of the poorest in Cambodia, and specifically in Meanchey Commune where children often walk to school. The reality is that walking long distances limits students’ capability to succeed and disincentivizes them from attending school. To address this problem, the Trailblazer Foundation has provided bikes to multiple students in Siem Reap Province, allowing for the students and their families to have more mobility and save valuable time. 

As part of Trailblazer Foundation’s Cambodia Assistance Program, Trailblazer provided bikes to students at Chea Smun Secondary School in Chea Smun Village, located in Meanchey Commune of Prasat Bakong District. Besides this, Trailblazer has also installed four biosand water filters at Chea Smun Secondary School to help the students maintain good health. More than half of the students at Chea Smun Secondary School have bikes, making it important to help those who do not integrate at school. The donated bikes in general are easy to use and bike maintenance has so far only included simply repairing flat tires. 

Seyha, a 17 year old student in his eighth year of school, received a bike from Trailblazer four months ago. He said that already his studies and day-to-day life have greatly improved with the time gained from biking as opposed to walking to school. It used to take him thirty minutes to walk to school, and now it takes him five to ten minutes with his new bike. His father finished his studies through grade eight and his mother did not even go to school, so Seyha is excited to attend high school next year and complete his studies as he aspires to become a mathematics and chemistry teacher. Seeing as Chea Smun Secondary School currently only has six teachers for 176 students, Seyha finishing school and becoming a teacher would greatly help the Cambodian education system at large. Because Seyha’s high school next year is 10 kilometers away, his bike is going to substantially reduce the time it takes to get to and from school. On the weekends, his parents also borrow the bike to go to and from the market to buy food for Seyha and his two younger brothers at a much faster pace than before. 

Another one of Srei Mau's neighbors

One of Seyha’s neighbors, Srei Mau, also received a new bike from Trailblazer. Srei Mau is 15 years old and in grade eight as well, and her favorite subjects are chemistry and biology. Similar to Seyha, Srei Mau wishes to become teacher but for biology, yet admits that she has a lot more to learn. Srei Mau loves that her new bike allows her to stay after school for longer to continue studying rather than have to dedicate time to walking home. She will also attend the same high school as Seyha next year, likewise surpassing the education level of both of her parents. Her parents use the bike on Sunday to go work on the farm, while she uses it also to go to the market for her 3-person family.  

Seyha and Srei Mau thank Trailblazer profusely, smiling widely, for giving them the bicycles because the donation has helped them concentrate on their studies with more passion. Bikes save students’ valuable time so that they can study and learn more while following their dreams. Both students also ask if Trailblazer can donate more bicycles or school supplies in general to other poor students, Srei Mau relating poignantly, “please try to help us some more...because we need it.” For only $45, you can supply a bike to help a Cambodian student pursue his/her educational goals, thereby improving wellbeing and quality of life. More educated Cambodian youth means more power for development and social change, and a brighter future for Cambodia.

Me and the cutest savior ever! 

We went to both Seyha and Srei Mau's houses to get photos with their families (that I had to really try to coax smiles out of) and bikes. In both cases, the father was not at home. Seyha actually did not have his bike at school in reality because his mom used it that day. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon in these cases albeit slightly awkward (I mean, we were doing an interview about how he bikes to school). Nevertheless, his bike was at home which was great because using the same bike in their individual photos at school was honestly super obvious. 

For the photos at Srei Mau's house, I hid the TV that Srei Mau had in her house toward the front entrance within visibility of the camera. Contrary to popular belief, you can be in dire poverty and still have a television--but most people do not want to see or know this. "If they can afford a television, why do I need to donate a bike? Shouldn't the latter be the top priority?" Well, it can actually be easier to access a 3G network in the jungle than it is a proper waste system in a town, for example. What's more: who are you to tell a family how to spend its money? Just because a family cannot readily afford a bike, does not mean it should be deprived of any simple entertainment. Must a family live extremely basically / in borderline squaller if it cannot afford rudimentary items, but can afford a small toy for a child for the time being? I also made sure not to  photograph the solar panel that a Japanese NGO installed on Seyha's roof the day beforehand. The family also had a water filter from yet another NGO, furthering my burgeoning opinion that NGOs in Cambodia are, in a sense, enabling the government to continue their corrupt practices by doing a ministry's job. That being said, would the government actually step up to the plate? Moreover: we cannot wait ten years for water, transport, education, etc. etc. etc. 

What was most shocking about where Seyha and Srei Mau live is that the flooding is so bad in the rainy season that they must take a boat to cross the murky river that separated their neighborhood from the main village roadway (bike is not going to help in that situation!). Right now, a very slippery and narrow bridge connects the land masses--a bridge that a little girl held my hand walking across. Houses are right up against the river, and I can only imagine the living conditions inside of them during the wet season, and what this does to water supply as well as sanitation practices. Sadly on the way to Lon Sey's motorbike, the little girl was not there to hold my hand. But I sucked it up, realizing how silly I probably looked towering over this girl yet nearly shaking with my fear of heights. 

Filter Installation~~

A shop at Lolei Village

All of the time I have spent sifting sand, sifting gravel, washing sand, and washing gravel has paid off! On Friday, I went to Lolei Village outside of Siem Reap to install eight water filters which--let me tell you, reader--was an incredibly long and arduous day.

I rode out to the village on the back of a pick up truck, and borrowed Bone-knee's (not how you spell his name, but how I pronounce it) über Cambodian hat that was camouflage colored with a lovely flap that covered my neck and then wrapped across my face to snap onto the other side. Literally my entire head, neck, and face except for my eyes (which had sunglasses) were covered. This was great, as this hat was going to do more than any sunscreen I owned would. As well, the dust flying everywhere would not stick to my sunscreen and sweat, but only my sweat. Much better!

A family next to their filter

The village had no electricity, only one generator in one of the nicer houses. There was one dirt road that went through the village, houses lining either side, and a few small shops. Behind the houses were either more houses or gardens / farms / open land. Most of the villagers were at home to receive the filters, and from what I observed at least, about half of the children went to school.

We installed eight filters, which took a total of about six and a half hours including lunch, installation time, and driving time. The filter mold comes from a Canadian organization called CAWST (The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology) that creates a lot of filter molds, I am told, for NGOs all over developing countries. The filters are immensely heavy, as they are made out of concrete, and so are the bags of sand (I really never realized how heavy sand could be). The filters are relatively easy to install seeing as they are just plopped on the ground wherever the family wants them (and this means they can be near a toilet or sewage source, but because the filter does not draw on this water (necessarily :/ ) this is fine). On Friday, we installed the filters either next to their well or next to their kitchen area.

Putting well water into a filter 

Basically, we wheeled the filter on a dolly to where the family wanted it installed. The family pays 13,000Riel, or $3.25, for the filter that then goes to the village fund. The price in 2012 was $2.60, but due to inflation, I am told, the price increased. This place has to be level in order to function properly, and in a few cases we had to add sand or a pebble or two underneath the filter in order to ensure this. We then put some water into the filter, pour the large gravel into the bottom, and level it. I leveled the gravel as I can reach the bottom of the filter with my rather long arms and still not get my sleeve wet. Then, we pour in the small pebbles, level these again, and then the sand which two people need to pick up to dump in due to its immense weight. We level the sand carefully without packing it in, and also then clean the filter using water and a cap-full of bleach. Finally, we pour more water into the filter and place the blue perforated filter contraption on top of this sand and water (it fits nicely into the concrete filter). You pour water on top of the blue filter and then, after about two weeks of being installed, clean water comes out of the drinking end.

Diagram of a filter

The two week waiting period is for the biofilm to develop and mature in the sand. The biofilm is created in the sand to trap bacteria in the water (it will consume bacteria such as E.Coli), and is developed organically and biologically specific to that water source. A biofilm for pond water would be different from a biofilm for well water, for example. The biofilm traps about 40% of the bacteria, while 60% or so of the other objects / not-so-great minerals in water (if there is a lot of iron, for example) is physically trapped with the blue filter or does not make it through the sand at all. For example, pond water had a lot of silt that is physically blocked with the sand and/or blue filter. Biosand filters trap about mid 80s to high 90s % of the bacteria and objects found in water, with percentages varying due to maintenance and quality of the original water source. When the biofilm develops after about two weeks, clean water is good to go. The gravel serves as another physical filter to maintain the integrity of the sand part of the filter, preventing it from going through the outlet tube.

A page from a booklet

The cleaner the water is going into the filter, the cleaner the water is coming out. Therefore, if you use water from a stream that feces run into, the water that comes out of the filter will not be as clean as water coming from a well 30 meters or so from a toilet. With each filter Trailblazer installs, they also hand out and explain a blue booklet in Khmer with pictures to show how to maintain the filter, how to use the filter, and how to drink/use water responsibly and sustainably in general. The pictures show fenced in livestock so they do not poo in streams, and also enclosed toilet areas, for example.

Drunk driving and helmet notice

Rice (duh), sauce, fish, and omlet

We stopped for lunch at one of the houses that actually belongs to one of Trailblazer's staff. His wife cooked a great meal of rice (of course), a sauce for the rice that consisted of chili and some sort of cilantro-esque herb, grilled fish, and a great omlet. While eating the omlet, Sotirot (again, not how you spell his name but how I pronounce it) asked me what the eggs of the fish were called. "Fish eggs," I said, "or from certain fish, it is called caviar and this is very expensive." "Ohhhhhh" he said, very excited. "There is caviar in this omlet!"

I am vegetarian, and trying to not eat fish in the middle of nowhere. So much for that one. But it did explain why the food tasted so good!

Also on the Lolei trip, I held three more naked babies that I loved but God was I worried about them peeing on me. We also went by a makeshift school with English and Khmer letter charts, as well as an English parts-of-the-body chart. There was also a fruit poster in English, and randomly in Chinese, with fruits I don't even think they readily have in Cambodia, like blueberries. The man at this house said he learned English with monks at the pagoda, and hopes to teach English to Khmer students for free. I also witnessed the only anti-drunk driving poster I have seen in Cambodia, and I am told that drunk driving is actually a serious problem.

At about 3:15, I climbed back onto the back of the truck, put Bone-knee's fashionable hat back on, and went home. 

"You must be the tallest woman in the universe"

Well, contrary to the popular belief held among many villagers, I am not the tallest woman in the universe. In fact, the tallest woman ever was reported to have been eight foot four inches, while I am a mere six foot 1 inch. But, this is what everyone (so I am told, I have not learned the Khmer sentence "you are the tallest woman in the world" but am on lesson three with my tutor!) has been saying about me, wherever I go.

Ratanak showing how to use the stove

Although this week at Trailblazer I have mostly been working on filtering sand for the water filters or picking salad / weeding (and dealing with my uncooperative stomach -_____-), on Tuesday I (along with others) delivered 82 new cooking stoves to eight different villages (or rather, we went to one village where villagers from eight different villages gathered). The cooking stoves are meant to simulate what Cambodians normally use to cook, but instead of fill the enclosed cooking space with smoke, these new cook stoves make the indoor air quality (or rather, slightly-enclosed-space-air-quality) much better (and contrary to popular belief, indoor air quality is often worse than outdoor air quality). The stoves are also meant to reduce time spent cooking, allowing the villagers to pursue other projects and improve overall quality of life.

Getting the surveys organized

We arrived at a village Town Hall at about 9:30am, and the families from the eight villages selected to receive the stove also met us there. In order to be selected to receive the stove, each family had to fill out a baseline survey, asking questions such as "How long does it take for you to cook dinner?" or "How many people do you cook for?" The surveys will avoid yes/no questions unless it is about something directly observable (ex: "is there soap in your bathroom area?") and not opinion ("do you think you cook for a long time?"). After the families who want the stoves fill out the survey, the village chief (of the eight villages, there was one female village chief which is quite rare--they are almost always male) decides who gets the stove. Trailblazer picks the villages, the village chief picks the villagers. Trailblazer works within the already existing systems as not to impose onto the villages; however, this can also create problems if the village chiefs are corrupt (as is often sometimes the case).

Village chief collecting money and recording it

The Cambodian president of Trailblazer, Ratanak, showed the villagers how to use the stove briefly, and the stove itself came with picture instructions. Scott, one of the American founders of Trailblazer explained how it had taken two years to get the stoves shipped from the US with customs and everything. Some villagers had already paid the $1.50/6,000Riel fee for the stoves, while with others we saw the transaction take place with the village chief taking and recording the money for bookkeeping. The money goes to a central village fund / savings account, as I described a bit in my first post.

Strapping the stoves to bicycles and motos

Getting the stoves turned into a celebration of sorts. With each stove handed out, we got a photo of giving it to the villager. In my honest opinion, this was excessive. I understand how monumental this stove was for the people, and played along with the photos, but did so through a rather fake smile (I was a cheerleader in high school). As someone who really is not a fan of getting photos of myself when I literally appear like a ball of sweat, my hair is sticking straight up, and dirt is stuck to my sunscreen-slathered face, I was not amused.  One of them men receiving the stove remarked about its high quality, literally saying "Looks like quality" and was very excited and proud to have the stove--it was truly moving. Men, women, and children strapped the stove to their motorbikes or bicycles to go home, excited to use them. 

First two (sunburnt) days in Cambodia

One of the lettuce gardens. The filter is "toaster" because I
literally feel like a burnt piece of toast in this heat -__-

I arrived in Cambodia early yesterday morning (by early, I mean I had to be up at 2:30am in Kuala Lumpur to make it to the airport--of course, there was no traffic so I could have easily slept until 3:30am (!) but oh well) and was able to get to Trailblazer foundation by 9:30am. My home-stay unfortunately fell through, but I booked a guesthouse for three nights and will go on the hunt tomorrow to find a cheaper one with a monthly rate that is closer to Trailblazer. I have been taking motos or tuk-tuks to Trailblazer and unfortunately, this will begin to add up more than I would like (even though I love motorbikes). My other option is to bike, but unfortunately bike helmets are hard to come by and gawked at; however, if I rent a bike I will insist on a helmet not only because my biking skills are not 100%, but also because other people's bike/driving skills are not 100%. I might look dumb but I would look even more dumb having exorbitant yet avoidable hospital fees (although Siem Reap has a branch of Bangkok Hospital, bb <333 #gapyearmemories).

Yesterday, I had a tour of the NGO grounds, and learned more about what they are doing. The three main areas of work that Trailblazer is involved in are agriculture, water for families (filters), and township water (wells). The Cambodian people pay a very small amount ($5) for the water well, and the money is collected by the town and creates a sort of town trust. People can borrow from the trust to buy chickens or to take their child to the doctor's office, for example. The filters provide water for three families, and I have already witnessed that this water comes out very slowly so it cannot be used for commercial use (such as creating a fish pond). As for agriculture, Trailblazer is working on setting up local gardens in towns in order to jumpstart economic activity with the  vegetables. At the moment, Trailblazer is test driving arugula and other high end salad greens to sell to tourist restaurants in Siem Reap as that is where the most money is and the demand is highest. If all goes well, Trailblazer will set up gardens in the village communities. Trailblazer also attempted to grow and sell mushrooms to restaurants, but this did not work and right now, I am helping with the aftermath of this.

Look at all of those mushroom bags!! 

Type of bag that I have been
putting the mushroom
compost into. 

After the mushroom attempts failed, I have been opening each plastic bag that held the soil, comprised of lime, sawdust, and rice for the mushrooms, and emptying it into large former fish bags to be used for compost in the future. The mushrooms were grown in plastic bags molded in the shape of plastic bottles. Yesterday was brutally hot, while today it has cooled down a bit after it rained last night--making this work much more enjoyable (because I went to bed at 6pm last night, and accidentally screwed up my alarm and woke up 11pm, I missed this rainstorm although I heard the thunder was very loud--a testament to my heavy sleeping). By hot, I mean it feels like the sun is pressing against my shoulders, and as sweat drips off me (in waterfall proportions), my knees my buckle into the dirt ground and I will slowly melt. Although it is somewhat mundane work, I am still learning a lot about how things are run at the NGO and although it sounds corny: I am learning that not everything attempted works (which might seem obvious), and it is good to know that when things do not work, they don't try and pretend they do but rather stop (what also might seem obvious  but think about it: how often do people recognize their mistakes and backtrack like that?). Mushrooms can work in Cambodia, so I have been told, they just need to have very specific conditions.

Doing all of this work makes me sweat up storm, meaning I have a great excuse to replenish electrolytes with young coconut water!!

On a more academic and environmental note, rice farming in Cambodia overwhelmingly uses pesticides, while there is a new push to use organic pesticides (don't be fooled: organic pesticides are not always better for the environment than synthetic, and in fact, synthetic pesticides can be better), according to my supervisor Rataunak.

[Fun Fact of the day: the verb "to eat" in Khmer actually means "to eat rice." This reminds me of the verb "to work" in Indonesian and how it literally means "to work in the rice field." This further proves how rice is not only ingrained in the culture and nutrition of Southeast Asia, but also in linguistic structures.] 

#thattypicalintropost

A young me at the Angkor Wat Complex, December 2009

I am so excited to announce that NYU Gallatin picked me (yes, me!) as one of the Gallatin Global Human Rights Fellowship award winners. This means that I am receiving $5,000 this summer to work on human rights initiatives with the Trailblazer Foundation in small villages outside of Siem Reap. And I couldn't be more excited!! Having been to Cambodia already in 2009, I cannot wait to return and help the local communities in a self-sustaining way. Although my duties with the Trailblazer Foundation are not set in stone yet, I will likely be working on clean drinking water initiatives and sustainable agriculture. And again.....I am SO excited!

Throughout spring semester, I will be taking an independent study class to help prepare me academically for this summer. Every week (er, hopefully...) I will be posting something class related or on my mind pertaining to Cambodia, development, drinking water, human rights, etc. Rather than write short response papers that will soon be recycled, I am posting everything on this blog--similar to how assignments worked in my "Environmental Communication" class last semester. This summer, I will also be posting at least weekly (and this promise I need to keep!) on the field. Enjoy, y'all!