Working with Wilus and Wilner--The Cistern

Looking out over the cliffs towards Basen Zim on the wayto Wilus and Wilner's homes.

Wilus and Wilner live in a community called Leodigyan (Leo dee yag),

about six miles from the MPP center as the crow flies.

The route we had to take in the truck and then

on foot is closer to fourteen miles.

The View: Saman river flowing from the Bassin Zim waterfall

Wilus's home garden. In the very back are Papaya trees. In front of the papaya are the vegetable tires, with chives, hot peppers and green peppers. In front of the tires are two beds of Moringa trees, which provide sprouts on a weekly basis to add to rice or corn porridge.

Tim and Wilus mixing sand and cement to begin the process of plastering the walls of the cisterns. When all goes well, the walls take no more than three bags of cement, 10 wheelbarrows of sand and about 60 gallons of water for a cistern that is 3 m X 3 m by 1 m deep.

Mary Beth and Alexander are watching. Alexander is an agronomist who recently finished his degree and is spending a month with the Road to Life Yard crew as an intern.

Tim and Alexander keeping the mortar wet while Mark and Wilner finish plastering the walls. Wilus is on the far right, working on former the border for the cistern. If all goes well, this cisternwill hold more than 2000 gallons of water.

Visiting Wilner's house, just down the path from Wilus.

Wilner's home garden. On the far left is a tire with hot pepper seedlings. The tire in the middle has green peppers and the tire on the right has amaranth, a plan used widely as a spinach. Alexander, Wilner and Mark are looking at Wilner's tire with African redworms.

Wilner with a handfull of redworms and redworm compost (vermicompost).

Thanks for dropping in. I'll try to add new postings tomorrow to finish off the trip--the work on Jenny and my new house, Bassin Zim waterfall and the caves, the party and the trip to Port au Prince in the truck.

Peace.

Mark