Back to Ulu Papar - Day Five

Day 5 - Sunday 27th November 2016

Yesterday Luno found out that Goin and Joel have already finished their work in Longkogunan (he seems to have some phone signal somewhere) so the plan has changed and they’re going to walk here today rather than the original plan which was to meet them at Longkogunan. It means that I won’t be able to do the water filtration survey there but, given it’s a three-hour trek, I think that it’s unlikely to be a good idea to install large water filters and tanks there in any case. My attempts to suggest that we keep to the original plan were not understood anyway (although this might be a strategic communication barrier!)

The plan for our work today (or so I thought) was to go and install meters into the other houses in Kalanggaan. I had forgotten that today was Sunday though so we haven’t started on installing the meters yet. We’ve been to Church which was just a 10 minute walk up the hill. One other family came to the service which was conducted in the local language but followed the same general format as church services in the UK, with a mixture of readings and hymns. The kids spent most of the service playing around outside the church and collecting sour fruits to eat.

We’re back now but it’s almost lunchtime so we can’t do any work now until after that. Joel and Goin are here and we’re all out on the decking. Some of the men are mending the fishing nets while lunch is being prepared in the kitchen.

After a very slow conversation in a mixture of broken English and broken Malay, I think we’ve now got a plan for the next few days. Rather than having to carry the heavy computer and screen on the hike to Pongobonon, we’ll wait until our transport is booked on 29th and get them to collect us from the end of the road early in the morning. We’ll stop in Pongobonon on the way back to give me time to set up the PC there and leave the meter installations to Henry who is a competent electrician.  Joel and Goin also have some work to do in the Powerhouse here – something to do with a restrictive pipe.

With this new plan, there was no longer any need to work on Sunday so we went fishing this afternoon instead.

I had optimistically brought my camera along which was a bit of a liability given how prone I am to be knocked off my feet by this river. Luckily Goin was looking after me well – in the faster flowing bits of river he held my camera above his head with one hand while securely holding onto my arm with the other to keep me upright! Having successfully kept the camera dry through the river, it started to rain. We saved the camera again though with some natural waterproofing using big leaves to make a parcel. The big leaf I chose happened to be covered in hundreds of ants - I’m definitely not adept in the jungle!

A natural waterproof packet

Dinner tonight should be good but, having met it face-to-face, I’m not sure I’m that enthusiastic to eat the prime catch...

Back to Ulu Papar - Day Four

Day 4 - Saturday 26 November 

Today has been frustrating again! Yesterday there was a faulty screen but a functioning computer in Pongobonon and a faulty computer but functioning screen in Kalanggaan. My idea was to collect the computer from Pongobonon and install it in Kalanggaan, leaving the loan laptop (which I’ve already set up) in Pongobonon. It would be easy to replace the laptop on another site visit since Pongobonon is relatively close to the road.

It turns out that Luno had not understood this idea and so I was proudly presented with the laptop, not the PC this morning.  Getting Luno to confirm whether he’s understood and what he’s understood is pretty tricky.  I normally get a huge grin, a laugh, or he just says ‘relaax, relaaax’ which I don’t find very relaxing. We’ll try to make it work though and I’ll try to ‘realaaax’! I’ll set up the laptop here and we’ll have to go back to Pongobonon later in the week with the functioning monitor so that we can set up the PC there.

Testing the meters and practicing with the software

All-in-all we did make some good achievements this morning. We walked up to the powerhouse and intake, replaced the cooling fan in the ELC (it had stopped working) and I tried to identify if there would be a suitable site to put the water filtration system. We also set up the laptop and practiced using the software and installing the meters using the same test setup as in Pongobonon.

Doing some work to keep the route up to
the intake clear

The route up to the powerhouse and intake is not an easy one here. It involves crossing back over the strong river which had swept me off my feet yesterday as well as a few streams. Some of the vegetation needed cropping back to keep the path passable and we all found a few leeches and one dangerous snake (quickly taken care of with a parang).

The route to the intake

Picking the ripe papaya

I’m sitting on the decking again. It’s 6pm and the tapai is out again. This afternoon we got the meter properly installed, ate some fresh papaya and I went for a wash in the river. I’m feeling much more ‘relax’.

Back to Ulu Papar - Day Three

Day 3 -  Friday 25th November 2016

It’s 10:30 am and we’re now at Kalanggaan. I’m sat outside on the decking which is a pleasant temperature with a cool breeze.  There’s noise from the kids watching the TV inside*, the river right by the house, chickens clucking and insects humming. There’s a kettle on the fire but I’m having to wait a while for my coffee unless I want it lukewarm.



*The TV takes about 30 minutes to warm up and even then shows a slightly squashed blurry picture. There's definitely no need for HD here.

We left Pongobonon at 7:45 am this morning to start the trek here while it was relatively cool. For most of the route we walked along the track road, and then the last twenty minutes is along a trail. Although the way is well kept, it's still not quite so easy as it may sound - the road is pretty much either up or down the whole way and we needed to ford a few streams and rivers... I managed to cross the first river with my kit completely fine but wasn’t so successful on the second river - it was just too strong for me and I ended up being swept downstream.  The good news is that I escaped with just a colourful bruise on my shin. I’ve also still got dry kit and a working laptop because Luno had already safely taken my bag - I’d foreseen that it might happen as soon as I started crossing this river!

Luno pondering the best route across the first river we needed to cross. I managed this one fine!

It's 8pm now and we’re sat on the decking after a delicious meal enjoying a glass of tapai.  I’d definitely give Kalanggaan top marks for catering so far in Ulu Papar. We had stewed babi (boar), chicken and spinach, beans and (of course) rice. The tapai also tastes alright which is a stark contrast to the fermenting liquid that I struggled to politely refuse last night!

We struck some problems (again) with installing the prepaid meters this afternoon because the computer seems to have broken. My normal first step would be to consult google but that’s not an option here. Luckily there’s currently a spare computer in Pongobonon because the monitor there was faulty. Luno isn’t so keen on this idea but he has agreed to walk back to Pongobonon tomorrow to collect it while I do the survey in Kalanggaan for the water filter installation. It seems to be another case where cutting corners on price is making our job much more difficult. The computers are cheap second hand refurbs from a shop in Donggongon and, like the cheap meters, seem to be more hassle than they should have been.

Today has been another day of highs and lows. It is definitely frustrating when everything seems to be broken, and communicating my ideas can be painfully difficult (my drawing skills are coming on a treat and my Malay is definitely getting better). On the other hand, everyone here is very friendly and cheerful in spite of the fact that nothing seems to work when I turn up! It is also a beautiful, peaceful place which I’ve been able to appreciate properly in quiet moments; brushing my teeth outdoors last night gave me the opportunity to look up at a clear starry sky, bathing in the river in Kalanggaan is refreshing and beautiful, and the walk here from Pongobonon had some awesome views down to the river below and waterfalls alongside.

Our hosts' house in Kalanggaan

Back to Ulu Papar - Day Two

Day 2 – Thursday 24th November 2016

I’m feeling lazy to write too much today after a busy day so I’ve made a list of things that happened. It’s 8pm and the house is now full of children who (I think) returned from school at about 7pm. The adults (and some of the children) are drinking tapai and playing cards. I’m not sure how to describe tapai, the home-brew that gets served up at any occasion…  it’s a milky white-yellow drink, which can be sweet and/or sour with a distinctive taste - kind of a thick version of scrumpy perhaps! Everyone is also chewing on betel nut and leaves.

Here’s what we achieved today:

• Fixed the grounding (the cable had just been accidentally cut while they are replacing the concrete at the side of the house).
• Discovered that the PC monitor is faulty. Luckily I’d brought the spare ruggedized laptop so I set that up to be used in Pongobonon and we’ll collect it on the next site visit when we bring a new monitor. 
• Successfully installed a meter and showed Henry (one of the residents) how it needs to be installed so that he can install the others.
• Used a test set-up to check all the other meters are working correctly. This had multiple benefits because Henry did it with my support - it both checked none of these cards were corrupted (we only found one this time) but also made sure he could wire up each meter and add value to the cards.*
• Hiked up to the powerhouse and higher to look for a location to put a water filter system. I identified a few places and made some very crude estimates of how high each place is. The height is important because it dictates the pressure of the water at that point. With that type of system we would need sufficient pressure to pass the water through the filter into an accumulator tank and then that will need sufficient pressure to be able to distribute the water to all of the houses in the village.
• Ate lunch of rice and fish, and tinned fish, some fishy snacks and then dinner was rice and (you guessed it) fish.

*The last site visit to Kalanggaan to install the meters had not been successful because the cards were corrupted and gave error codes when they were inserted into the meters. I’ve been in contact with the supplier in between the visits and they sent us some replacement cards which, in theory, should be fine.

Back to Ulu Papar – a time-lapsed site visit! Day One

I was on a site visit last week in Ulu Papar (finally going back after the visit which I wrote about here). I had lots of time through the week with no distractions because there’s no internet connection and very limited phone signal in the region (none at all on my network). With all that time that I normally waste with emails, I was able to keep a diary but unable to blog about what was happening at the time. Instead, I’ve decided to treat you to daily instalments of my unedited diary, exactly one week after the event!

Day 1 – Wednesday 23rd November 2016

It’s felt a bit of a rush to get ready for this visit and I’m still quite apprehensive about whether it will go to plan.  The visit will be a multi-purpose trip. I’m responsible for installing the prepaid meters in Kampung (Kg.)* Pongobonon and Kg. Kalanggaan, as well as scoping out Kg. Longkogunan and the other two villages for filtration systems to provide clean water. Luno is helping me while Joel and Goin are going to Kg. Longkogonan to finish the installation there.

Adidas Kampung in action - bargain shoes which
are great in the wet, slippery conditions, and for
wading through streams and rivers. 

We were due to leave from Kg. Nampasan at 12 this morning, getting a lift to the Kaiduan Dam Road Blockade where we would change cars (I hadn’t understood that this was what was going to happen though until it did!). As all of the company 4x4 s are either in the garage for repairs, or in use, we had chartered a lift up river with Luno’s uncle, Paul.

The morning gave us some time to do some last-minute shopping for provisions and double-check we have all the kit and equipment we need for the visit (this is important because there are no shops where we’re going - the only choice is to do without whatever it is you forget!). I needed to buy a pair of Adidas Kampung (picture on the left) for the trip because we’ll be doing a fair amount of walking between the three sites in Ulu Papar and they’re really the best shoes for that (even better at 7.90 RM <£1.50 for a pair!)

True to form, we left Kampung Nampasan at about 1pm (~12 Sabah time) to set off on the 5-hour journey. Not long into the ride we found another vehicle stuck in the deep mud so we all got out and they used our vehicle to pull the other one up (after several attempts by each and some good ‘roadworks’). We had a few other stops en-route but no other major obstacles.  We also stopped to drop off three ladies who were getting a lift to Kg. Buoyan, another Ulu Papar village on the way. This is pretty standard - it ’s very rare to have a car which does not have more people in it than the number of seats!

Luno and I got dropped off at Kg. Pongobonon which is just a short walk down the hill and across a river from the road. We went to the powerhouse to collect the computer and prepaid meters which had been left there on our last visit, and I got to work installing it. I didn’t get very far though - I got a nasty shock when I plugged in the PC so began a bit of an investigation to discover where the problem was. Turns out that the ground wire had been cut. As it was getting dark by this point we stopped work for the day and will fix it tomorrow.

The powerhouse at Pongobonon

 I went to have a wash in the open air shower – there’s a hose which takes water straight from the river and is propped up on a post for washing. As there’s no cover, I washed in my shorts and t-shirt and then tried to wring them out a little before dripping up the stairs to get changed. There is a more dignified way of doing this and a better technique for washing without falling over in the mud - I think I was a bit of light evening entertainment!

The bridge across to Pongobonon and the house where we stayed

Dinner was mountains of rice and a massive fresh fish from the river made into a kind of peppery soup (supplemented with some of our tinned fish from our provisions, and chillies), followed by a cup of 3-in-1 coffee (instant coffee, creamer and lots of sugar). Now (8pm) it’s very quiet and I’m typing this out in the dim light (there are just a few bulbs in the house). I’m going to grab my head torch so that I can go to the outhouse and then come back to read a little before an early night. There’s lots to do tomorrow!



*Kampung means village in Malaysia

Two birds with one stone

Today I’m going to post about two exciting events that TONIBUNG have recently been involved in. The first was a training course based in Sarawak, and the second a wedding!

After our experiences in the Philippines, our journey to the training course seemed like a breeze. We kickstarted the first day with a McDonald’s breakfast before hopping on a plane to Miri. A six hour drive took us to Tanjung Tepalit, close to the Indonesian border.

Traditional houses in Tanjung Tepalit

The course was run in partnership with several other organisations such as JOAS, Save the Rivers and the UNDP, and several of their representatives had travelled to support the event. Around 60 people in total had descended upon the village and the atmosphere upon our arrival was buzzing with high levels and enthusiasm from locals and non-locals alike.

Exploring a local waterfall 

The course was targeted at people from the surrounding area who were interested in learning about micro hydro. The first two days consisted of classroom sessions covering a range of topics such as basic technical theory, management and operations. Particularly relevant to my project was a workshop where teams pitched productive end use ideas to each other. These included carpentry workshops, traditional longboat manufacturing and rice milling.

Classroom-based training

The third day was spent in the nearby jungle, where we rotated around stations and learned how to survey a potential micro hydro site. This knowledge was consolidated on days four and five, when surveys of three nearby locations were performed. The people who attended the course will now be able to perform similar surveys on their respective villages and contact TONIBUNG about any feasible sites they discover. This is a significantly more efficient way for TONIBUNG to source projects than conducting the surveys themselves as they are time-consuming and involve considerable travel from our base in Sabah. The training course has also provided these people with an understanding of TONIBUNG’s other project requirements, such as strong village leadership. Their appreciation of these criteria and approach will hopefully increase the project’s likelihood to succeed in a sustainable manner.

Measuring flow rate

We will now fast forward by ten days to Helen and John’s wedding. Helen is the sister of Bani, one of the directors of TONIBUNG, and the wedding was held in the Create Centre (the site of TONIBUNG’s workshop and the place where we live). The week running up to the workshop was spent preparing for the big day. The whole community came together to cook, clean and decorate, and by the time Saturday arrived the Centre had been completely transformed. There was even tissue paper in the toilets, and not a gecko shit to be seen!

The family arriving

Traditional dress was worn, but was quickly ditched for more the more temperature-appropriate attire of shorts and tshirts after the ceremony! This consisted of several parts. There was the priest’s blessing in a flower-adorned archway whilst the bride and groom touched their feet on a stone that symbolised the rock of their marriage. They then fed each other rice balls and chicken soup that represented the sharing of their first meal together, and traditional gongs were played. The family sang a traditional indigenous song and the couple shared their first dance. Then the ceremony was over and the party really began.

The priest's blessing

A feast of local dishes was served and the rice wine began to flow. I’d been previously warned about the beverage capacity of the Sabahans - and rightly so, because these guys can seriously drink. Novel ways of serving rice wine included drinking from an earthenware pot with a straw and taking shots from bamboo glasses!

Rice wine through a straw

Some really delicious food

 Over the course of the day around 300 guests dropped in and out. Particular highlights were the dancing, the singing and the arrival of an ice cream van! The party continued into the early hours and everyone had an awesome time. Congratulations Helen and John, and thank you for inviting us to your lovely wedding.

Visiting The Philippines

If you've read our last post, you’ll know that we've been out battling the traffic in the Philippines to visit SIBAT, another EWB-UK partner organisation. Throughout our trip we continued to experience the fine Filipino fumes and tedious traffic – our experiences included walking through congested Manila, travelling the 100 km between the SIBAT office in Manila and their farm in rural Tarlac, traversing the island of Luzon by Tricycle, Jeepneys and minibuses to try and reach tourist destinations, and travelling for a total of about 32 hours to visit a site in the northern provinces. The travelling may have been tedious but the trip has been really helpful to help direct the next few months for both of our projects (find out more below) and we've had some great experiences.

Tricycles (motorbikes with a side-car) appear to make up a large proportion of the road traffic in towns and cities

The journey to the SIBAT farm.  Locals are taking advantage of the hot road to dry out their rice crop.

The SIBAT farm is in peaceful countryside
 - it's about 2 hours' bus ride from Manila

Jenny's project - working to develop a low cost Electronic Load Controller for micro -hydro systems

As I've described in previous posts, I’m working on a project to develop an Electronic Load Controller at lower cost than the off the shelf alternatives. For the same reasons as TONIBUNG, SIBAT are also trying to develop a prototype and are being supported by another EWB volunteer, Dan. Our requirements and high level designs are quite similar so we're trying to work together to share learning and review both designs. Being able to meet, review the designs together and work through some design processes has been productive and should make it easier for us to continue to work together remotely over the coming months. 

One of the tools we used is a failure modes effects analysis (FMEA).  The aim of this type of analysis is to be able to identify what might go wrong with a product so that you can reduce the likelihood of it occurring.  It's particularly important to think through the risks with the design when it's a safety critical system or needs to be robust and reliable. All of these apply to our ELC designs.

The controller will handle large voltages which can cause serious injuries through electrocution or fire. Installing the ELC in remote communities also makes it even more important that it is robust and reliable. It needs to be easy to install and operate correctly, and able to withstand bumpy journeys to the site, high humidity, heat, and possible invasions by insects or geckos! Reliability is also important since if the ELC is not working correctly, the community will be without power until the problem is fixed.  Since sites can be very difficult to reach or even contact (particularly during rainy season) and the powerhouse is likely to be a good hike from households, it could take considerable time to troubleshoot and fix any issues.

We weren't warned that the Philippines shuts down for All Saints' Day but we were able to make the most of the long weekend to visit some of the tourist sites, including Taal volcano.

Our visit to a SIBAT site in North Luzon and Tash's project

 

Ag Agama, Luzon

Milling rice by hand

Tash's project is to develop business models for productive end use to help fund community micro-hydro installations. The idea is that the community can make use of the electricity the system provides to generate income. This income can be used to help pay off the cash loan provided by TONIBUNG, which (along with grants) finances a proportion of the installation. SIBAT were able to take us on a site visit which helped Tash to understand how this kind of model may work in practice. She was also able to learn about the tools they use to assess whether a community is suitable for this kind of initiative.

Drying rice in the sun

A village on the road to Ag Agama where
we stopped to buy some chilli paste

Three SIBAT engineers took us on a 16 hour drive to Ag Agama, a small village of around 100 households in mountainous North Luzon. Ag Agama is powered by one of SIBAT's micro hydros. When the turbine had been installed, corn and rice mills were also placed in the village to productively utilise electricity from the hydro during the day.

We were able to spend some time talking to members of the community who are involved in the rice mill to learn about how it is operated and the challenges they have encountered. When working, the mill generated around 15000 pesos annually. This money went to the micro hydro committee and was spent on projects to benefit the whole community, such as maintenance of the turbine.

Unfortunately, the mill had not been used for over a year. This was partially because of a landslide that destroyed part of the building it resides in, and partially because of insufficient power from the turbine. On the visit we also found issues with the reliability of supply which SIBAT were able to address - they agreed some system upgrades with the community (replacing the ELC ballast loads for a more robust design) and helped the operators to understand how they could improve their operational practices (they had been using incorrect operating conditions for the generator and the wiring connections in some transmission cables were not robust).

The intake for the micro-hydro system

The powerhouse

Another highlight of Ag Agama was an afternoon picnic featuring the slaughter of a chicken and many 'Filipino tequilas' (a shot of local gin followed by a slurp of a passion fruit sprinkled with salt and chilli). We'd like to say a massive thank you to the team at SIBAT for their help in making this trip happen.

Picnicking in the Philippines