Oh say can you see that awesome biodigestor?

Hey guys!

So, Happy 4th of July! It's weird to not be in the country today. A lot of the other interns and I have talked about this and we all missed home today. I feel like being thousands of miles away from home on a national holiday really makes you think about all the stuff you're missing at home. I wish I could have a good hotdog and burger right now, plus I haven't seen any fireworks in a while. As much as I miss home, I'm really glad that I'm here.

Okay, so today was a great adventure! I didn't have to go to work and I got to sleep in! The other interns and I ate breakfast at 7 and had a relaxing morning. We didn't have to go to lunch until 11, so once we were done eating we went to our dorms to relax. Once lunch came around we ate and got ready to build a biodigestor! Lina, Kilian, and I went to a local farm with a study abroad group to help a farmer re-install a biodigestor.

Before we left campus, our group stopped by the gym to prepare some supplies. We had to roll and cut out these huge plastic bags. We needed to cut 4 12 meter long bags. This type of plastic was really hard to cut through so it took a little while to get our end result.

Laying out some of the plastic

Lina and a professor folding the bag so someone can cut it

Once we cut up the bags we had to insert a valve so the gas can be piped into the house. Since Kilian had the longest arms of the group, he had to roll up the bag to his sleeve and hold still as an assistant burnt a hole into the plastic. Nobody got burned and the valve fit perfectly.

Kilian and the professor waiting for the fire tube

The valve

We folded up the bags, threw them in the back of a truck, and drove an hour or so off campus. It was a really bumpy ride! Speed limits were not relevant at all, passing other cars while 18 wheelers approached was a common occurrence, and there were quite a few bumps. Once we were a mile or so away from the farm our bus got stuck on a small path over a river so we walked the rest of the way. We climbed up the rocky hills and finally made it to the farm. The farmer, Arnoldo, was so grateful to have us there. He has worked with EARTH for years and had a biodigestor for a few years before it broke. Arnoldo really believed that the biodigestor was a good investment and didn't hesitate to replace it.

Since he already had a biodigestor, Arnoldo didn't have to dig the long hole where the biodigestor has to lie. The pipes were ready to be used and all we really needed to do was line the hole with a plastic sheet, position the biodigestor, attach it to the pipes, and inflate it. It was a little difficult to work on these tasks since the ground was soft and muddy and we were trying not to fall into the biodigestor, but we managed to complete our task!

The hole where the old biodigestor was

Lina has all the pictures of the finished results since I couldn't take any pictures, so I'll upload those eventually. We got the biodigestor set up in 1 hour and 45 minutes flat! It was really fun. Those of us in the pit were covered in mud, we were laughing about language differences, and once we were done we watched Colombia play Brazil in Arnoldo's living room. It was a really great experience and I'm glad I went.

Sorry today's post was short guys, it's really late, I'm tired, and the fair is this weekend so I'll write all about that. That post will most likely be published Monday because I want to make sure I experience the festival to the fullest. I'm so excited!

Buenas noches y pura vida guys!

-Allie