After a particularly embarrassing fall and a nearly rolled ankle, I decided to do something about the large number of maize cobs littering my yard. The year's harvest has finally finished being shucked and stored for its trip to the grinding mill and left a wake of maize cobs throughout my village. They can't be composted, too acidic, they can't be used as feed, whats to feed on, and burning them in the cooking fire produces more smoke and carbon monoxide than anyone should spend time around, especially the women and children typically given the task. It turns out that the cobs produce a great charcoal when the carbon monoxide is ignited and the oxygen removed inside a kiln. Building the kiln cost me thirty-six mud bricks and a day's labor laying them down. A successful workshop and the subsequent disappearance of maize cobs from my village, priceless.
The family kids enjoyed listening to a few tunes and pressing out the briquettes the following morning. After the cobs were charred, we filled a sac with them and beat it all into a homogeneous powder. This was mixed with a small amount of boiled cassava flour and water which has the properties and consistency of glue. The mixture was poured into old tin cans and pressed with a bit of wood cut to size and then the finished briquettes were set out to dry in the sun. The community was impressed with the ease of the whole operation and the quantity of free clean burning fuel that we produced. I'm now planning to construct a small rack to fit the kiln so that it can double as a smoker for the preservation of fish that local farmers would like to preserve.
Its hard to believe that I moved into that village one year ago this month. Taking the oath of service on September 24, 2009, I had no idea what was in store. To celebrate the occasion, I took a celebratory trip up to lake Bangwelu in Luapula Province and had a wonderful evening camping on the beach with my friend, B. We met up with a trio of friendly German cyclists who had travelled from Eastern Province, over the Mchinga escarpment, and were passing through Luapula on their way to Northern Province and Tanzania with the hope of making it up to Dar-es-salaam. They had unfortunately lost their road bikes in transit to Africa but had managed the trip so far on the local Chinese steel (bikes that weigh around 40 kilograms and are anything but a nice ride). We shared a camp fire and the beautiful piece of lake upon which we happened to meet and then we parted ways the next day. I returned to Changilo refreshed and ready for another year.
After a particularly embarrassing fall and a nearly rolled ankle, I decided to do something about the large number of maize cobs littering my yard. The year's harvest has finally finished being shucked and stored for its trip to the grinding mill and left a wake of maize cobs throughout my village. They can't be composted, too acidic, they can't be used as feed, whats to feed on, and burning them in the cooking fire produces more smoke and carbon monoxide than anyone should spend time around, especially the women and children typically given the task. It turns out that the cobs produce a great charcoal when the carbon monoxide is ignited and the oxygen removed inside a kiln. Building the kiln cost me thirty-six mud bricks and a day's labor laying them down. A successful workshop and the subsequent disappearance of maize cobs from my village, priceless.
The family kids enjoyed listening to a few tunes and pressing out the briquettes the following morning. After the cobs were charred, we filled a sac with them and beat it all into a homogeneous powder. This was mixed with a small amount of boiled cassava flour and water which has the properties and consistency of glue. The mixture was poured into old tin cans and pressed with a bit of wood cut to size and then the finished briquettes were set out to dry in the sun. The community was impressed with the ease of the whole operation and the quantity of free clean burning fuel that we produced. I'm now planning to construct a small rack to fit the kiln so that it can double as a smoker for the preservation of fish that local farmers would like to preserve.
Its hard to believe that I moved into that village one year ago this month. Taking the oath of service on September 24, 2009, I had no idea what was in store. To celebrate the occasion, I took a celebratory trip up to lake Bangwelu in Luapula Province and had a wonderful evening camping on the beach with my friend, B. We met up with a trio of friendly German cyclists who had travelled from Eastern Province, over the Mchinga escarpment, and were passing through Luapula on their way to Northern Province and Tanzania with the hope of making it up to Dar-es-salaam. They had unfortunately lost their road bikes in transit to Africa but had managed the trip so far on the local Chinese steel (bikes that weigh around 40 kilograms and are anything but a nice ride). We shared a camp fire and the beautiful piece of lake upon which we happened to meet and then we parted ways the next day. I returned to Changilo refreshed and ready for another year.
The kids look great! I am so glad you are enjoying the village as much as I did. Did you get the package I sent? How is Winston? How are the farmers? How is Tata?
ReplyDelete