We have much to be thankful for as we enter our sixth month in Ghana. The biodiesel plant at Dompoase is taking shape, Jeremy’s garden, goats and chickens continue to grow, we emerged unscathed from a traffic adventure with friend/driver Eric and we made some new friends.
THE GENERATOR ARRIVES AT THE PLANT
There was much progress on the biodiesel plant in November beginning with the arrival of a generator. Some of the work comes easy and some does not. Pat fired up the new generator without incident but the generator was larger than described in the spefications and so a concrete pad needed to be built to accomodate. Eric overses the work. More on the birthing of this new asset here: Installing the Generator
BACKYARD WONDERS
While expanding the garden to create a bed for the Moringa seedlings Bob started, Jeremy discovered a firghteningly large grub. Rather than eat it, he placed it back on the earth so that it could morph into a frighteningly large Rhinoceros beetle one day (or one year, as the case may be.) Ebeneezer and Aponche peer into the garden, keeping an eye on the human with the camera, hoping for something more interesting to eat than grass and weeds. Please enjoy this months goat and garden photos at: November Garden
ART
Be it mosque or poster, art is where you find it.
DOIN’ OUR BIT
In a show of support for the November 6 U.S. election we shared a bottle of Obama wine with house guest Ashley.
COFFINS AND ZOMBIE MOVIES
We are always surprised when we come around the corner to find a shop selling coffins. The local movies often belong to the horror genre.
YEOW
We were jolted into the reality of traffic accidents while running errands with Eric during the weekly Wednesday shopping trip. Luckily we were only shook up and perhaps lightly concussed and all resulting muscle aches disappeared within days. The system for dealing with fender benders like this one is slow and not so efficient. Read more at: Traffic Accident
BEANS CUISINE
Camille has taken pains to present beans in every form imaginable as they are the staple protein of our diet. On this evening she presented a lightly curried coconut bean stew with Jollof rice and cauliflower. Jeremy is not vegetarian but happy to explore the happy world of bean cuisine when it comes to dinner. His rigorous workout regime demands copious protein so he supplements his diet with eggs, tuna and cheese and street food which includes meat.
GETTING OUR PARTY ON
Andreas invited us to a BBQ and we regret not snapping a photo of our generous host. Bob did pose for a snapshot with the two men who worked the BBQ grill and caught Camille enjoying the company of Katharina, Matilda and Susan.
BIODIESEL FEEDSTOCK
Everyone has been looking forward to the day when all the hard work setting up the digesters and arranging for biodiesel feedstock to be loaded into them. That day came on November 29th when they were filled for the first time with fecal sludge and rumen. For the rest of the story, please see: Filling the Digesters
DREDGING AND DRYING
At Dompoase, fecal sludge is dumped into the holding pond, eventually dries out on it’s own and must be dredged. When the dredging machinery is unavailable the pond morphs into a sort of wetland. Dredging has recently resumed, turning the wetland back into holding ponds. For more photos, please go to: All about the Sludge
DUMP OR PARADISE
On November 28th, Bob found himself with time on his hands at Dompoase, the landfill where the biodiesel plant has been built. So he went on a nature walk and captured many images of the natural beauty there. For more pictures, please visit: Wildlife at Dompoase and Beyond
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THIS MONTH’S QUOTES:
“History is becoming more and more a race between education and catastrophe.” – H.G. Wells
“It took me a long time to learn that being miserable does not alleviate the world’s misery.” – Hannah Tennant-Moore
“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.” – Mother Teresa
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” – Mother Teresa
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