GOING.

RV and I get up at dawn, spend 10 hours a day at the workshop and then work on the computer until after midnight before sleeping until the pattern repeats. It’s working: I have anywhere from 1 to 7 people following my directions at any given moment in time when at the workshop. From the neighborhood children who sit around saluting us and chanting ‘toobaboo’ (whitey) at us while making us tea, to Diadié a shop man with impressive skill (it’s his workshop), his apprentice Drisa, RV, Konan, Yusuf (an economics student who wants to help promote the array) and a seemingly endless supply of interested randomers who have dropped by to lend a hand for the simple, long and repetitive work of making the spiders.

Today we finished the frame, and the mirrors have been glued up and ready for a couple of days now. Tomorrow is going to be a big and exciting day: we’re going to mount the mirrors, concentrate them, and start experimenting with local supplies for insulation (vermiculite and fiberglass insulation don’t seem to exist here). Next week, before Karim gets back on the 5th I hope to have painted the machine and built a hybrid oven/roaster, since two of the most interesting applications are bread baking and peanut roasting.

The real fun should begin then. For now, enjoy some pictures from around the workshop.

Proof that the solar arrays can be built just about anywhere:

Instead of giving the full explanation to every passerby (you never know who will be the vector that makes the connection to the precise person you want to talk to) I got the schematics printed up and I taped them to the wall of the ‘shop’ and they inform themselves, and if they’re interested (most are) they come over and talk it up.

RV at work slitting the spiders (if you’re interested in knowing more about the construction process, it is outlined in some detail at http://www.solarfireproject.com/spider )

Tea a la Mali is like teaspresso: they basically fill the teapot with green tea, fill up the between space with water, boil for half an hour, remove some water to add the sugar and then boil for another 15 minutes while pouring it back and forth ceremoniously. They then serve a half shot of it and you’re good to go for the next 45 minutes while 2nds gets made.

Here’s the jig we made to make sure the spiders get welded square (it’s important or else the screws fall outside the perimeter of the mirror and do nothing).

Work gets interrupted by Didier’s daughter; he gives her a coin and she goes to the corner store to get a candy (even though she can’t yet speak).

RV is good to go.

Didier isn’t impressed though:

By curving the main beam by weighting down the middle we’re able to weld some strap iron to make a tensor which strengthens the structure.

Warning: getting Bulldog glue out of the tube without the glue gun is surprisingly and amazingly difficult.

Headlamp to the rescue! We were able to glue up all the spiders.

On the way to work I stopped by the local bakery and found a bunch of jovial bakers willing to let me walk around and observe things. They didn’t speak to much French, but I got across that I was trying to build a bread oven and wanted to know how it worked. That’s not a wall behind them, that’s the oven. It’s over 2 meters tall by 3.5meters by 2 meters deep. It has two levels of bread and can make 240 baguettes measuring 80cm long at a time.

Finally we finished the frame. The mirrors are all glued up, and we’ve got a game plan for figuring out how to build the oven. Tomorrow, with the first sun of the new year we’ll light a Solar Fire.

Initial leaps

Due to time and logistical constraints (Karim's van and Pierro's vans leave tomorrow) we have purchased all major steel and mirror components for a Helios ( http://www.solarfireproject.com/thehelios) array (no doubt at slightly higher costs than would have been possible with more time, but orders of magnitude more convenient).

Note the nice clean T-shirt.

The Project is in very high gear.

Last night: strategy meeting with RV and the President, secretaries and Administrative council of FIMB-Mali, and Tomota, who seems to have a hand in just about everything. We are in general agreement that the plan is as follows: build a Helios ASAP, promote it at the highest levels permitted to us through pooling our (their) contact networks and solicit funding for a solar energy research, development and training (R,D&T) center, where my colleagues and I would explore all low tech (for now) solar technology options, while training others in the science of solar concentration as we build concentrators to distribute to eligible people. To this end, it was decided to call the director general of the Cité des Enfants, a ‘Ministry of the Promotion of the Woman, Child and Family’ institution housed in a sprawling complex of buildings built to look like fairytale castles: All those at the strategy meeting knew him and agreed that Mr. Dembele was the man who could set this thing off with a bang. The Cité des Enfants has plenty of space to set up the unit for demonstrations and is a government institution, which will reduce the red tape for inviting government representatives and media to the unveiling of the Helios.

This morning RV, Lalla, Tomota and FIMB-Mali’s general secretary and I met with Mr. Dembele, who was astonished by the capacities of Solar Fire technologies. He said there were a half dozen solar cooking devices sitting in a warehouse owned by the ministry of energy, unused, because they were not worth the cost. He said it would be a pleasure for us to do the demonstration at the Cité, and said that it should be no problem for him to arrange for various Ministers (Energy, Environment, others) to be in attendance, as well as directors of various NGOs and institutions, plus TV, newspaper and radio reporters. When I asked him how much notice he needed to set up what he called ‘an inauguration ceremony’ with such attendees, and he told me three or four days. I said I’d be ready by mid January and he shook my hand and said he looked forward to it. He gave me his cellphone number and said if I needed anything he’d do what he could.

Afterwards I went and checked out the workshop. Lalla’s brother, Diadié, owns the place. It is rustic to say the least, but he has everything we need to build the array. It’s a good thing he has an apprentice who is basically a human hacksaw, because there’s no abrasive chop saw. There is a hand grinder and a hand drill and a table vise and some welders’ beams and we’ll be working in the street, since there is no space in the actual workshop (and it’s blazing hot in there).

Here's a picture of our workshop. It's kind of like a 'Where's Waldo?'

Hit the Ground Sprinting

Touched down in Mali the night of the 19th.

It's holiday time (Tabaski AKA the sheepfest, where every family slaughters a sheep and feasts) but things are rolling along for Karim and his group. Due to Karim's sphere of influence we were invited to some kind of official function (we briefly met the minister of Elementary Education) for the education of orphaned children, where we feasted. In the afternoon we got down to business: preparing the materials needed to teach a group of women who represent women's associations how to build solar box cookers. The workshops were pretty thrown-together-last-minute, but have been going over very well.

The women saw what a box cooker can do (we had bisap which is Hacaranda flowers stewed in hot water, then cooled with mint leaves in it) and were impressed, and so when I gave a presentation with pictures of Solar Fire technology, it was received with significant enthusiasm.

The major player in Karim's network on the Mali end is named Lalla, she's the president of FIMB-Mali (Femmes International Murs Brisés), the Malian branch of an international organization dedicated to gender equality and women's rights. FIMB-Mali is a federation of many women's assocaitions with an aggregate membership of some 2500 women. She also has a high position in ASSOPROFEN (Association Pour la Promotion de la Femme et de l'Enfants) which runs daycares, teaches women to read, runs workshops to teach women and kids about things which might improve their condition and more. She is doing her best to enable us.

Due to her influence, ASSOPROFEN has put us up in the "little angels" daycare/school, where there are currently no children. Her brother makes metal doors and has a workshop we can share to build a demonstration model which we plan to show off to whoever is interested.

The solar workshops, run by Pierre, go from the 21 to the 25th (two groups, two days each). I helped out as I could, but I was pretty busy: Lalla's network is pretty high up; a couple of the more enthusiastic people there said they knew such and such minister, or director of XYZ. One such man, Tomota, has talked to the President's wife's brother about us, and says once we have something to show we can arrange a meeting. Tomota says that if the machines perform as advertised he thinks we can make this a national project. It has been decided to build a Helios ASAP.

Karim hits the road on the 26th for personal reasons and will be back in Bamako around the 5th of Jan. He has to be in Nouakchott, Mauritania on the 19th of January, which gives us slightly less than two weeks to promote the project together.

Wanting to help out, Tomota introduced me to a young man named Konan. Konan has participated in the solar box cooker formation and is pumped up. He wants to bring Solar Fire to his home in Ivory Coast, which is a major cocoa and coffee producing nation. Understanding the urgency of the situation, Konan introduced me to a friend of his (Titi) who made himself available to drive me around town investigating material availability and costs, plus taking care of some random tasks which would have taken me a great deal of time on my own.

Not seen in the above picture is the gasmask I should be wearing. Honestly, the pollution is gagging.

We found pretty much everything we'd need, despite the fact that many places were closed due to holidays. It was purely a scouting mission, but I was happy with the prices I found (my final price report is pending).

RV is totally onboard with the Project, he will spend the rest of his time in Mali (until around the 20th of Jan) assisting me.

The Road to Bamako

Our convoy left Nouakchott in a less than spectacular fashion. Since the condition of our van was in doubt it was decided we'd leave first, so if we broke down the others would find us and be able to help. We didn’t count on the normally super-navigatory skills of Pierre to fail. We took around an hour to find the road out of Nouakchott. We had agreed that if we didn't meet up on the road before the next town, we'd hang out there until we met up. When we arrived at the meeting point we parked, played a couple games of foosball with the kids and waited. No one really had any clue as to when the biotruck troop was moving out (they picked up about 5 hitchhikers at the hostel, so the chaos was somewhat understandable) but we assumed they’d leave after the second van. When they turned up and we still hadn’t seen the second van we started to sense something was amiss. Regardless of when and where we agreed to meet, we couldn’t let our safety net pass us by, so we joined up with the biotroop. After a quick top up,

we continued together until nightfall, where we lit up a traditional biofuel bonfire (don’t worry, the Biotruck expedition is fully carbon footprinted and carbon neutralized).

We camped out in the Savannah, not fully realizing the reason that lions have such thick pads on their feet. Ben, a travelling storyteller, juggler and artist soon found out:

pretty much everything in the Savannah is vicious. Essentially everyone was covered in burs the likes of which I’d never seen.

Since French phones don’t really work in Mali, we were unable to communicate with the other van, but we concluded that they had passed us by while we were turning around and around in Nouakchott, had not seen us and had concluded that we had continued the journey. With the biotroop safely bringing up the rear, we decided to speed ahead to see if we could catch our friends, since we had scheduled to stop at Nioro du Sahel to meet a French couple, Gerard and Mariane, who support an association of women farmer/gardeners by teaching the principles of eco-agriculture.

Our assumption was right; the other van had been speeding trying to catch us, thinking that we were ahead of them. Regardless, it means that we made good time getting to Nioro, after which we drove a couple hours on rough paths to get to Tourougoumbe where Gerard and Mariane do their thing.

Always vigilant for opportunities to improve efficiency and diffuse Solar Fire, I was somewhat taken aback when I saw:

*mental note: wood not particularly scarce here* This guy must be getting no more than 15% efficiency out of his rig. Regardless, I asked around to find the bakery to see if I could learn a thing or two about his business. I found him

in a kitchen so amazingly smoky that after no more than 2 minutes, tears were freely running down my face. He laughed and told me, between hacking coughing fits, that you get used to it. After we stepped outside for some fresh air, I asked him some questions about the quantity of wood he uses weekly, how much bread he bakes with it, and so on. He doesn’t exactly take rigorous notes, but tried to be as helpful as we could be. The most solid fact I got was that the bakery works at maximum capacity only one day per week: market day. He showed me the bundle of wood that he bought to fuel the oven for market day alone, and told me that it cost 2500 Francs CFA (1€=650 CFA). Satisfied, I left him to his work.

Gerard and Mariane invited us to take a tour of the gardens, where the women grow spices, tomatoes, potatoes, and a number of medicinal plants. Amounting to around 2 hectares, the women practice composting, natural pest barriers, crop rotation, evaporation reduction techniques and other aspects of eco-agriculture. The association had, in the past, been the recipient of some grants, the benefits of which can be seen in this photo:

Note the aqueduct. Also note the woman carrying a bucket alongside it. The women painstakingly haul buckets of water up 10 meters from the well, and they’re not about to let it evaporate while sitting in the aqueduct, which it would take her all day to fill to an effective level. The aqueduct now just gets in the way. I found it a poignant illustration of the importance of involving aid recipients in the decision making process, so as to minimize the risk of misspending.

After being treated to a night of African dance and drums, we set out at dawn for Bamako, where the intensity and awesomeness of the happenings still escapes my capacity to transcribe it (not for long).

Reunion!

Everyone has made it safe and sound to Nouakchott more or less on schedule, which is no small miracle.

Between administrative difficulties (Karim's visa was refused at the Morroccan border and he was forced to go to Madrid and fly directly to Nouakchott) and health issues (RV came down with a sickness, but it's not really a big surprise since the man had been working 18 hour days for the past month to leave his mountain farm and yurt business in good enough condition for him to take the winter off) they arrived today in good spirits.

Here's a picture of all of us, save the mysterious Yannick who I have yet to meet. Clockwise from the left we've got Pierre, Roxanne, Lucie, Christine, Karim, Solange and RV.

We're all staying 'chez Olivier' at the Auberge Menatat, which is a great place to stay. Friendly staff, lots of flexibility and it is always full of really interesting people. There was a Japanese computer technician who had taken the year off to bike from Spain to South Africa, motorcyclists on a transcontinental adventure, a camelherder from the northern deserts, a historical journalist investigating the legacy of the Portuguese empire and plenty of people from all walks of life brought together by the spirit of adventure... it makes for great late night conversations!

Most interesting, is that 2 weeks ago I got sent a scan of an article from Canada describing a project started by some British guys. The idea was to roll from England to Timbuktu on biodiesel derived from waste chocolate. Since we were both in the area, maybe we'd meet up. I didn't really expect it to happen, but last night these three tired and more than slightly frustrated brits rolled in an impressive convoy covered in "carbon aided" stickers and bearing a website title: www.biotruck.co.uk !! Sure enough, it was they, and they've really got a cool project going on. Ecotec is a company which produces a production unit that converts waste chocolate from factories (which otherwise would end up in a landfill) and converts into a fuel which can be used in any diesel engine! They're a cool bunch and have big plans for promoting some other enviro friendly fuels in the future.

In the slightly less good news category, if not the downright bad news category, our yellow chariot has blown it's gearbox. Pierre and the girls were rolling back from Chingetti (I stuck around Nouakchott to spend some strategy time with Karim) when mechanical chaos broke loose and a cacaphony of grinding sounds started coming from the motor. They were only rolling in 2 wheel mode, so Pierre was able to switch to 4x4 and limp home. He took it to a mechanic today and disengaged the front wheels, and it seems to be rolling better, but we're not sure we'll make it to Bamako under our own power.

Luckily, our new friends on the Biotruck will be rolling behind us and say it shouldn't be a problem for them to tow us if we break down!

As such, tomorrow morning we hit the road and have about 3 or 4 solid days (and not so solid roads) to go before we hit Bamako, the capital of Mali.

When possible I will blog about the man who is making this trip possible, Karim Sanogo, a political refugee from the Ivory Coast who lived for 5 years in Mali working with associations and schools. His is an amazing story, you'll see it soon enough.

Until then,
Peace

Nouakchott, Mauritania

I'm in Nouakchott right now.

We're waiting for the second van to join us before we continue on to Mali. They should be arriving later on today and we will hang around until Saturday before starting off. Once they arrive I'll take some pictures and I'll introduce them.

For now, I've had good access to the net and so have been able to work on the Project admin as well as make this blog. Below I've posted some pictures of the trip and some sights we've seen... enjoy.

Crossing the Strait of Gibraltar: it cost us 60€ for the four of us an our camping van to take a boat from Algerciras to Ceuta. We weren't allowed on Deck, so I had to settle for photos through grimy windows...

Tomato/tomahto: you say efficient garbage disposal system, I say foolishness.

The pristine beaches North of El Jadida

The Beautiful landscapes of Safi

Smokestacks in paradise

A mountain picnic East of Agadir: Some compare the mountain ranges around Jebel Toubkal to the Peruvian Altiplano. A humbling majesty that my pictures could not capture exists there.

I find this pic really illustrates the role that plants play in fighting soil erosion. See how around each plant there's a little mound of sand? That's because the root systems holds the sand, keeping it in place as the winds sweep away loose particles. The roots have the same effect when water is concerned. When the root system dies the soil is washed away, resulting in soil erosion (check out the link to the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment on the right for more info on soil degradation). This is what is going on in Mali right now, all the forests are being chopped for fuel and the desert is quickly advancing. By using solar energy in a big way to decrease wood consumption it might be possible to reverse the trend.

Dakhla: Kiteboarding capital of Morocco. All year long a solid +30kph wind blows through this floodplain, providing ideal conditions for kiteboarding. The kiters have set up a permanent village on the seaside called l'auberge des nomades. Google that and check out their site if it interests you. I went swimming with my camera (a waterproof, shockproof Olympus) and took some videos and pictures of them zipping by the setting sun... it was 'nickel' as the young French say.

Enter the desert.

Enter the deforestation.

Enter the practice of using seashells instead of gravel when making cement. I never would have guessed, but it makes perfect sense (and pretty roads).


Karim, charcoal merchant of Nouakchott. Charcoal costs 200 Ouguiya/kg (355oug/1€). It is used almost exclusively by the poor, since gas is relatively plentiful (but still more expensive).

Stay tuned, tomorrow I'll introduce the rest of the people from the associations I'll be working with and outline some of our plans.

Update en route

Notice: windmills in the background ("We care about the environment!") and streetlights on during the day ("uh... ahem").

Stay tuned for a post where I'll introduce the cast and characters!

Travelling companions

Allow me to introduce my friends, colleagues and traveling companions:

First up is Pierre, a Frenchman from Auvergne who runs his own solar waterheater and solar panel installation company. Pierre has made the trip before and has traveled a number of times to Morocco, Mali and elsewhere in West Africa.

We'll be rolling in Pierre's Renault Tracker 4x4:
It's a beast of a machine. Notice the solar panel on the roofrack, which has been modified into a pop tent.

Introducing Pierre's daughter, Lucie:and Roxanne, Lucie's friend:
We'll be traveling together until at least Bamako, Mali, where I'll gather information about the feasibility of implementing Solar Fire technologies, and based on my findings I will or will not then promote Solar Fire (call me presumptuous, but I have a feeling there'll be enough interest to warrant my sticking around).

The plan is to meet the rest of the crew at Nouakchott, Mauritania around the 14th of December before making the last push across the desert into Mali and Bamako.

Soon enough I'll post some pictures of the sights we've seen along the way... there have been some spectacular ones.

Peace and light

The Solar Fire Project is officially launched!

The past month has been wild and busy, but after many sleepless nights and the launch of www.solarfireproject.com the SFP is now official. I am now confident that I can head to Mali and the project will have a stable platform from which to operate. "Leave to Mali??" you say?

Yes. After a long, convoluted and awesome series of events and adventures, I came into contact with a French NGO called SOS Enfants d'Afrique who plan to convoy their way to Mali to bring medicine, books, hospital beds and solar box cookers to Bamako, Mali. When I presented them with Solar Fire they were impressed and invited me to join them.

What could I say? For years I've been dreaming of going to Africa with my grandfather's invention to see what kind of impact it might have in areas suffering from dirty water, deforestation and energy scarcity. The reason I resisted is I have no experience, contacts or logistical capacities there. The people I've met who are taking part in this mission have all changed that.

When we get to Mali there will be NGOs, local organizations and government officials waiting for us. I'll present the case for Solar Fire with the hopes of initiating a shift to solar energy. In Mali, where fuelwood as a percentage of energy consumption is over 90%, and desertification is running wild, I think we'll have a warm reception.

I also think it's going to be a hell of a ride. I've created this blog to give the SFP a human element, and keep the situation reports current. The sitreps might be few and far between, but they should be intense.

Planned departure is 27Nov 07, but there is a lot of work to do before then. Stay tuned for a post introducing my fellow travelers.

peace love hope