Will Miller and I sit in a steamy Nicaraguan Internet Cafe hatching a plan for the rest of the day.  The team is currently working on a composting toilet for the CO2Bambu fabrication/factory site.

On Monday we should have supplies to work on the eco stoves.  Some speciality cut tiles need to be transported from Managua to Rosita for the stoves to be put into production.

Our ride to the factory just showed up.

James-

The team left Granada at approximately five in the morning and embarked on a harrowing twelve-hour drive, mostly on dirt roads, to get to Rosita. Once in Rosita we cleaned off the 3-inch layer of dust and grime that had accumulated in our ears, organized ourselves for the evening, got something to eat, and promptly passed out in the CO2bambu workers house. The next day we toured the CO2Bambu factory and the town of Rosita. We met with a community leader named Aurelia for lunch, who told us that we could stay at her community center/hostel bungalow during our stay here. Aurelia then invited the team to visit the town disco later in the evening. The team was tired from the trip but managed to rally behind the cause. The disco adventure was of course very fun and one of our team members Will ¨The Will¨ Miller made a new friend. There was an elderly woman that was quite taken with Will´s rugged good looks. Soon this woman was making some gyrations in very close proximity. Will, being a good sport, embraced the situation and continued to dance.

We have been fortunate enough to be able to work at the production facility and on some of the bamboo housing. We have toured the sites for the eco stoves and are sorting out a few logistical matters. We also have been able to design a few side projects that will be useful to the bamboo facility like a composting toilet and some additions to their bamboo nursery.

Today we Team Bamboo 6 consisting of Will “The Will” Miller, Sarita “The machine gun”  Upadhyay, Chris “Gizzard Wizard” Dennis, Jamie “I’m too tall for trouble” Jameson, Jeff “Red” Curry, and I explored Granada in the morning.

Later in the day we met up with our contacts from CO2bambu.  Thelma and Delila gave us the run down for some of the work we will be doing in Rosita.  They also showed some photos of the recent construction on the bamboo housing.

Tomorrow the team is headed back to Managua to learn how to build efficient stoves.  The 18 of these brick and mortar constructions will equip the existing bamboo housing with a low cost high efficiency stoves.

James Ingram

ASU

I know you’re all probably worried sick about us, but despite the perils of our journey, we’re doing OK. Actually, upon landing in Managua and meeting up with everyone, we were whisked away in the night by Juan, our silent and mysterious caretaker, to an incredibly awesome little hostel in Granada. The place is cheap, beautiful, comfortably equipped with lots of amenities (including a pool), and throngs of bronzed surfer babes. We’re off now to explore the city a bit, and we’ll be meeting up with the CO2Bambu people in a few hours to get our plans hammered out.

peace and love

Will M.

The day started at about 5:00a.m. in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

Let me begin with a little personal exposition: I am normally riddled with concerns regarding my travel arrangements.  Most of these concerns are based on irrational fears and phobias I have invented.  On my flight from Phoenix to Ft. Lauderdale I realized that another intense fear is specifically being trapped in a confined space with a smell that is offensive to ones sensibilities.  I call it Claustrofushophobia.  This new found phobia was brought on by a combination of odors.  The man to my right consuming with great vigor a California Pizza Kitchen Express Ranch Chipotle  Chicken sandwich.  The quiet moans escaping from this man were terrifying.  It was also the rate of consumption that was unnerving.  It was as if he was in a race for some foodnetwork show.  One row ahead of  Sandwich man sat breakfast burrito man.  Riddle me this, would you eat a burrito that smelled like it had been dunked in a port o’ potty?  The combination of sounds and smells were overwhelming.  I was feeling quiet trapped at the moment.  Cold sweat and white knuckled from this series of events.

There is a secondary effect for the rate of consumption times the particular food items can only result in a gastrointestinal orchestra the likes of which the world has never seen.  Oh… no… It has begun.  First the strings… So high pitched.  OK!  Tuba solo.

Hola! Packing and gearing up for the project in Nicaragua. I have so much to do before I leave town. More to follow soon.

-James Ingram

Arizona State University