Mid-test Check on Phase 3

Wednesday 4th September

Before we left Khulna, I managed to get a photo of perhaps my new favourite roundabout...

Shrimp Farming is a major activity in this area.

Boy towing a barrel - there is something poignant about this.  

 On the way up to Faridpur evidence of the jute harvest was everywhere.  The jute stalks are held underwtaer for 5-6 days to rot, and then the fibrous inner is removed and draped over bamboo sticks to dry, and the remaining stalks bunched up in conical 'hats'.  The fibres are sold to jute factories to weave into jute fabric, and the stalks are used to make partition walls in huts among other things.  Roadsides are apparently great places to dry the jute out, so the road was pretty much lined with this kind of scene all the way to Faridpur (2-3hrs away).

Jute drying

Jute going to market.

 Anyway, finally we arrived back on site, and look! Its drying!
(this is 6 days after delivery of very liquid slop, and it has been raining heavily at least once every day)

Bed A - Raked

Bed B - Not Raked

Bed C - Raked

 A close up of the sludge in each bed:

Bed A - Crusty clumps, a bit 'pastey' at the bottom

Bed B - Very dry crust on top (~1cm) and pastey underneath

Bed C - As with A, crusty lumps and a bit pastey underneath

 There was a little condensation on the inside of the roofs, but it was quite minimal.

View of interior - you can see the temperature sensor we are using - about the size of a watch battery, mounted on a plastic keyfob.

Interestingly, as soon as we zipped it up (we were a day overdue on the 'cooking' phase) condensation immediately appeared, and the temperature shot up - sneaking your hand in, you could tell it was getting really hot in there.

We stopped for a little photoshoot before departing:

Myself and Suman (WA) with the Practical Action Team

Suman (WA), Mamun (PA) and myself

The seedlings are already making a great effort in the mini-garden.  The empty quadrant really is empty - no seeds were planted there, and the two green patches are different plants so the visual density is mis-leading.

The team had some interesting questions about using these plants once they are grown... "can we eat the leaves? will the pathogens from the sludge get into them?"  This indicates there is still some education to be done around use of compost.

I reassured them that if sludge is mixed with the soil, there is no way the pathogens could get into the leaves, but they may get onto them, through dirt/ leaves touching the soil, however given that the sludge has been both solar dried and composted, and will then have been exposed to the sun directly for a month or three on the top of the soil, then it is highly unlikely that any will still be viable.

We left the site all zipped up and cooking in the midday sun.

 Oh and I couldn't help but notice the fame-board developing in the Practical Action office - there are copies of all the newspaper articles about the project, and a myriad of photos of myself and colleagues from WaterAid on the walls...

Must remember to think about what I look like more...!