Monday, May 22, 2017

Class is in session

Today we were able to meet the EOS (Emprendiendo Oportunidades Sustenibles) team that we will be working closely with during our time here.
Today we were able to meet the EOS (Emprendiendo Oportunidades Sustenibles) team that we will be working closely with during our time here. They told us about their projects, which include bringing energy, better ovens and stoves, and clean water to communities through technological systems that the community members are then able to maintain without too much difficulty. After this brief introduction to the many team members, they immediately put us to work installing fans in the office in an attempt to keep the building, and all its inhabitants, cool in the hot weather. We also learned how to construct one of the chlorinators they use to treat contaminated water in the communities.


Once the physical labor was out of the way, it was time to work out our brains by discussing our projects. There are three teams: a biochar reactor, a water testing, and a solar panel team. After discussing the projects with the group and with Milton, an EOS employee, many teams realized there are a lot of questions that need answering about their projects.

Our excursion for the day was to the health center here in town, with a quick stop at the store to buy some ice cream- just another step to ward off the heat. One of the most interesting things about the place, at least to us Americans, was that healthcare and medicine at the clinic are free. However, the clinic doesn’t always have the necessary medicine and doctors so they refer patients to hospitals in larger cities, such as Esteli, and that is when healthcare starts getting expensive. Although it was very interesting to see how the hospital operates, the highlight of the day was getting to work on our projects. For many of us, this is the main reason we came to Nicaragua, and it was great to get started.