Hi everyone!
First off, more pictures of the completion of our latrine project will be posted shortly. Also, our group is excited to announce that we have a new phase for our program within Kukra River. We are now going ahead with a schoolhouse construction project in the community of Las Brenas. This schoolhouse will have with it a water catchment system (and possibly another composting latrine if resources permit it). Further details will be developed in the weeks to come.
-Julia P.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Step-by-step construction process for Composting Latrines in the San Sebastian of Kukra River in Nicaragua:
1) Leveling the ground for our foundation
2) Cutting rebar for reinforcements on top and base slabs as well as vertical corner reinforcement for vaults. Wood was also cut for base slab's form at this stage of the process.
3) Arranging rebar and tying with wire to measured dimensions
4) Hammering together the form for the bottom slab, filling it with rocks to approximately half the height, then placing the rebar frame on top
5) Using the volcanoe method for mixing concrete (aggregate was added after water, cement, and sand were mixed)
6) Layering on concrete for bottom slab
7) Once dry enough (approximately a day), prefabricated blocks shipped in from Bluefields were stacked layer by layer while being cemented together. Rebar propped up at the corners. Note how two gaps were left in the back. These will provide access into the vaults. Separate concrete slabs with handle bars on them will be cemented into place with a 1" clearance that is to be filled in by paper or plastic bags and is chissled out at the time of removal.
8) Wooden planks were hammered into concrete to cover the tops of both chambers in order to provide a backing for the top slab's concrete form. Toilet holes made from sheets of zinc and nailed in around the outside into the planks. Rebar reinforcement was also used for this slab.
9) Top slab being filled in with concrete
10) Once base is completed, a wooden superstructure was built. This process took longer than expected so beware! We started out with a frame made of 2x4's and used planks placed in the horizontal direction. The corrugated Zinc was attached using roofing nails
11) The steps were (unfortunately) made after the concrete vault was created, as we were unsure at the time on how much concrete would be left over. In the future, the concrete steps would be taken into account when designing the base slab.
12) Fly ventilation was placed on the side. We had initially designed for the vent to be placed along the backwall which would have been designed to have access into both chambers, however lack of communication led to a modified design by the mason, where the top row of blocks in the divider is spaced approximately 1/2" between each block to allow for ventilation and fly passage from the vault that is not directly connected to the vent. We will see the effectiveness when we return to the area. Another issue we had was the fact that gray vent pipes were provided for us instead of white. This may end up having an effect on the number of flies able to be effectively removed from the latrine.
The end result. Due to a scarcity in toilet casts, the toilets for these latrines were unable to come in time. In addition to this, we also ran out of time for the assembly of the door. We anticipate receiving photos and updates from our onsite NGO affiliates, FUNCOS, who will inform us whether or not all has been completed. In the mean time, here is a photo of us and all those who helped (including the entire family):
1) Leveling the ground for our foundation
2) Cutting rebar for reinforcements on top and base slabs as well as vertical corner reinforcement for vaults. Wood was also cut for base slab's form at this stage of the process.
3) Arranging rebar and tying with wire to measured dimensions
4) Hammering together the form for the bottom slab, filling it with rocks to approximately half the height, then placing the rebar frame on top
5) Using the volcanoe method for mixing concrete (aggregate was added after water, cement, and sand were mixed)
6) Layering on concrete for bottom slab
7) Once dry enough (approximately a day), prefabricated blocks shipped in from Bluefields were stacked layer by layer while being cemented together. Rebar propped up at the corners. Note how two gaps were left in the back. These will provide access into the vaults. Separate concrete slabs with handle bars on them will be cemented into place with a 1" clearance that is to be filled in by paper or plastic bags and is chissled out at the time of removal.
8) Wooden planks were hammered into concrete to cover the tops of both chambers in order to provide a backing for the top slab's concrete form. Toilet holes made from sheets of zinc and nailed in around the outside into the planks. Rebar reinforcement was also used for this slab.
9) Top slab being filled in with concrete
10) Once base is completed, a wooden superstructure was built. This process took longer than expected so beware! We started out with a frame made of 2x4's and used planks placed in the horizontal direction. The corrugated Zinc was attached using roofing nails
11) The steps were (unfortunately) made after the concrete vault was created, as we were unsure at the time on how much concrete would be left over. In the future, the concrete steps would be taken into account when designing the base slab.
12) Fly ventilation was placed on the side. We had initially designed for the vent to be placed along the backwall which would have been designed to have access into both chambers, however lack of communication led to a modified design by the mason, where the top row of blocks in the divider is spaced approximately 1/2" between each block to allow for ventilation and fly passage from the vault that is not directly connected to the vent. We will see the effectiveness when we return to the area. Another issue we had was the fact that gray vent pipes were provided for us instead of white. This may end up having an effect on the number of flies able to be effectively removed from the latrine.
The end result. Due to a scarcity in toilet casts, the toilets for these latrines were unable to come in time. In addition to this, we also ran out of time for the assembly of the door. We anticipate receiving photos and updates from our onsite NGO affiliates, FUNCOS, who will inform us whether or not all has been completed. In the mean time, here is a photo of us and all those who helped (including the entire family):
Monday, September 7, 2009
Hello from Bluefields!
We have finally received approval from the Technical Advisory Committee and tomorrow, September 9th, we shall venture in to the kukra river region to begin the implementation phase of our project. Designs have changed dramatically over the months but we have finally sorted out a lot of the confusion. we will be using a ´T´pvc piece for the top part of the ventilation (as that was what was available at the hardware store) and there will be no separated urinal diverter. All three of the latrines will be quite similar in structure, except for one which will include a pvc ventilation system. Additionally, one or two of the latrines´staircases will be made of wood so as to cut down on costs (and because wood is quite abundant within the area).
Materials have already been gathered and a mason has also been hired so as to ensure the success of this project. Also, as a side note, the toilets are being purchased ahead of time as opposed to being made from a cast. this will cut down on time and cost. Pictures of the construction and final results will be posted in a few weeks!
We have finally received approval from the Technical Advisory Committee and tomorrow, September 9th, we shall venture in to the kukra river region to begin the implementation phase of our project. Designs have changed dramatically over the months but we have finally sorted out a lot of the confusion. we will be using a ´T´pvc piece for the top part of the ventilation (as that was what was available at the hardware store) and there will be no separated urinal diverter. All three of the latrines will be quite similar in structure, except for one which will include a pvc ventilation system. Additionally, one or two of the latrines´staircases will be made of wood so as to cut down on costs (and because wood is quite abundant within the area).
Materials have already been gathered and a mason has also been hired so as to ensure the success of this project. Also, as a side note, the toilets are being purchased ahead of time as opposed to being made from a cast. this will cut down on time and cost. Pictures of the construction and final results will be posted in a few weeks!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
After an intense interview with the Technical Advisory Committee, we were told that in order to be approved for our pilot phase trip in September, we will need to produce a safety and health plan, a site plan (which shows the relative distances of our latrines to any water sources), and a foundation plan. On top of this, we were told to perform a concrete construction lab, which we completed last Thursday with Warren and I, along with the help of Chelsea from ASCE and my friend, Shannon. We will also be performing this lab again tomorrow with our Mentor, Tim, Karen, and possibly Amanda and Bart.
Also, one big thing that was suggested by the committee was that we may want to consider clear or light colored plastic roofing as opposed to the traditional zinc. Though this may considerably detract from the overall task of fly removal (by not being able to provide an appropriate gradient in brightness for which the flies can follow), it will (perhaps more importantly) increase the user friendliness as well as provide visibility that may prove highly desirable from a health standpoint in certain circumstances. If we do not go with this alternative, it is suggested that the recipients will be more likely to transform their latrine into a storage unit or some other form of alternative usage.
Also, one big thing that was suggested by the committee was that we may want to consider clear or light colored plastic roofing as opposed to the traditional zinc. Though this may considerably detract from the overall task of fly removal (by not being able to provide an appropriate gradient in brightness for which the flies can follow), it will (perhaps more importantly) increase the user friendliness as well as provide visibility that may prove highly desirable from a health standpoint in certain circumstances. If we do not go with this alternative, it is suggested that the recipients will be more likely to transform their latrine into a storage unit or some other form of alternative usage.
Monday, June 22, 2009
So we had our interview with Tiffany from the National Chapter of EWB on wednesday and discussed our site assessment trip back in March. One of the key things to take from this interview was the necessity for having a written agreement between our group and the recipient families of the composting latrines. This serves both as a means of solidifying a commitment from the families and also as a clarification for them on what our scope is for this project.
Our pre-implementation papers have been sent in and we will be expecting a TAC review within the next few weeks to discuss our trip, which is scheduled for mid September.
Our pre-implementation papers have been sent in and we will be expecting a TAC review within the next few weeks to discuss our trip, which is scheduled for mid September.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
During our assessment trip back in March, Tim, Warren, and I had a conversation with Leonel Luna, The president of FUNCOS. He told us that in addition to the obvious need for sanitation improvement within the area, there was also the potential for hydroelectric dam construction that would be used to power Kukra River, which currently has no source of electricity. Since then, Hannah Lawrence, Hagan O'Connor, and myself (Julia Pasternack) have performed a fairly detailed analysis on the feasibility of such an undertaking for our UCLA senior design project. The outcomes revealed that for optimum efficiency and under the fairly low head and flow conditions, a kaplan turbine with a synchronous AC generator mounted via a directly coupling shaft would be the optimum choice. Our resultant poster is provided below. However, it should be noted that further analysis will indeed be pursued by both UCLA students as well as correspondents in Nicaragua.
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