Project Update #2

Unfortunately, not much has happened since our last update. But that’s no reason not to keep reading!

In fact, quite the opposite…

Blockade 

The recent ratification of the new Nepali constitution sparked a political chain reaction which has led to more civil unrest, but, more importantly, also an unofficial blockade at the Nepal-India border.

Landlocked Nepal relies heavily on India for importing essentials, specifically petroleum. Although the blockade by Indian border stations is not officially sanctioned by the Indian government, the Nepali political class, and most people, are angry at a perceived slight from the Indian people.

The Indian government has recently rendered their disappointment with the circumstances in which the new Nepali constitution was ratified, and is worth noting that whilst the trade blockade is not officially sanctioned, the Indian government seem indifferent at best.

Problems

Since Nepal is a poor landlocked country with only two borders, this severely limits our ability to bring in items from India. The Northern border crossings with China, already damaged heavily by the earthquakes this year, are too far from us to allow for easy shipment of goods.

Several key components of the system, including net pots and a 5000L fish tank, are currently ‘not available’ and ‘on the way’ respectively, due to the political situation. The fish tank has at various stages been ‘on the way’, ‘halfway’, ‘two days away’, and ‘almost here’ since we paid for it over two weeks ago.

As we were already struggling with the unavailability of items, the holiday season approaching, and (to a lesser extent) the pace of the Nepali way of life, these are definite obstacles to deal with.

The volunteers have been very helpful and understanding, and we have been assured that patience will be rewarded, and that this is actually a normal situation.

Progress

Fortunately for us, there has been movement in other areas. The arrival of Luke, a BlinkNow Sustainability Fellow and resident construction expert has coincided with steady progress in the greenhouse construction.

There have been many discussions and visions and revisions in the past week, but we have settled on a system and a size which suits all parties and construction is well under way. Work should be finished (and pictures forthcoming) within a week or so.

We have also started work on a system of compost barrels. These, along with dense potato barrels, will be housed in the aquaponics greenhouse and will compliment the system perfectly. Details on how these are made, and how they will be incorporated into the system will be posted soon.

Future

In the meantime we are working on the educational side of the project, and working to establish good relationships with the home and school staff.

We have been met with nothing but genuine interest and enthusiasm, and everyday it becomes clearer that this is a perfect community with which to build and develop sustainable plans for the future.

On another note, Robert and Jenessa have now left Surkhet to pursue separate interests. Jenessa is currently hiking base camp (one of her dreams), and Robert is starting a new job in Korea. We wish them both the best of luck and we will miss them very much.

The next update should be within the next week. Thank you for reading!

Namaste.

Project Update #1

We are now 21 days into our stay in Nepal and felt like this would be the perfect time for a project update. We have been in Birendranagar and working at the new land and school for two weeks now, and things are moving (if slowly).

Jenessa and Robert will be getting ready to leave by the time this update is posted, and we want to wish them the best of luck and safe travels getting home. Robert will be heading back to South Korea to start his new teaching job, and Jenessa will be going home to Canada after three years of teaching and traveling.

More updates will follow this one, and Carla is working on a detailed overview of the project, and a comprehensive guide on how we are building it, including prices, measurements, and difficulties.

Greenhouse

Most of the productive work we have been able to do is centred on the external greenhouse structure which will house the main aquaponics system. We spent a week clearing the land of weeds, digging the holes for the fish tank, sump tank, and structural foundations, and preparing for the welder.

We had initially decided that bamboo would be a sustainable and environmentally friendly building material, but after conversations with Jamie (one of the BlinkNow Sustainability Fellows, and the person we are working most closely with) and the Uncles (a group of wonderful Nepali man who live and work in the Kopila Valley Childrens’ Home), we settled on metal poles. This would mean greater structural stability, easier repairs, and would mean that we could comfortably increase the size of the greenhouse if needed.

As you read this the structure should have been completed. We are currently suffering because of our timing, with post-earthquake relief, the civilian unrest, and the holiday season in Nepal all contributing to slow us down. The entire month of October is a religious holiday in Nepal, and the difficulty in getting things done during this time means that we are desperate to finish the majority of things as soon as possible.

We have also purchased UV tarp for the roof of the structure (sloped to prevent water collection) and blue tarp for the floor, which will be drained and covered in gravel. The side panels will be covered by a mixture of UV tarp, to maximise sunlight in the winter months; and green mesh, to allow air flow for cooling during the intense summer months.

Environment

The unique regional environment of Surkhet has factored heavily in our planning and has presented us with some unique difficulties. Our original fears that the winter would be too cold had been dispelled, as a trip to the local government office revealed that a drop to 3 degrees Celsius (37 Fahrenheit) is rare, and in fact it is the oppressive summer heat which will pose the biggest problems. Temperatures during April, May, and June can exceed 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), which is above the maximum survival temperature for the local fish.

Our visit to a local fish farm had revealed that indeed the biggest problem facing fish farmers in the region is high summer temperatures, which can often lead to huge losses. Our response to this was to submerge the sump tank completely below ground, and pump the water from the sump tank directly to the fish tank. This will both cool the water leading to the fish tank in summer, and heat it in winter. The fish tank will also be partially buried in an Earth mound for similar reasons.

Our design now features vertical towers for leafy greens, grow-beds for fruiting plants (mostly tomatoes), and now separate barrel systems which will be used to grow potatoes and produce compost.

Careful planning has allowed us to create a schedule which involves growing leafy greens, potatoes, and fruit all year round. Due to sustainability concerns surrounding importing fish, we have decided that grass carp, common carp, and possibly catfish (all of which can be purchased locally and even caught in the Bheri River nearby) are the most suitable fish for the system.

Problems

We are still having difficulties in sourcing several essential items. Our biggest problems so far are (surprisingly) finding water pumps, sourcing net pots, and finding suitable media. The size of our system, and the fact that aquaponics is still widely unknown in Nepal, has meant that we have so far been unable to find appropriate pumps in Surkhet. We are currently pursuing several available options both in Nepal and internationally, however the Earthquake damage on the border with China, the violence on the border with India, and Nepal’s poor trade links mean that having material delivered is often very difficult.

We are being helped by some very generous individuals, and are confident that we will find a way to overcome these roadblocks by the time of our next update.

Namaste.

Arrival in Birendranagar

We awoke in Hotel Panchakoshi and decided that the first thing we should do was find a hotel to take up long term residence in. Robert and Jenessa would be staying for 20 days more, but Carla and Cal would be staying for 80 days (maybe more).

After an interesting nights sleep in Panchakoshi, which was welcoming enough but certainly not clean or well maintained, we decided to check out the Shani Resort, which was the local equivalent of the Ritz.

Hotel Hunting

After an hour or so of walking, we arrived at the Shani Resort, which looked like a grand European villa. The open courtyard was surrounded by trees and a large gate, replete with a 24 hour manned guard-post.

The air conditioned lobby was clean and stocked with the day’s newspapers in both Nepali and English, and the staff were dressed in pristine matching shirts and trousers. The manager showed us to a beautiful room with a TV, air conditioning, crisp white linen sheets, a bathtub, and views overlooking the free pool.

Some magic from Robert managed to lower the asking price (for a different, less impressive room in the staff quarters) to $11 per night, which would work out at just under $3 each. We were very happy with this piece of business and set out trying to find a slightly better deal somewhere else.

Realising that the hotel we had stayed in the night before, Hotel Panchakoshi, was by far the cheapest in the area we decided to see how low we could push their prices. Some intense (but smiley) discussion led to a final offer of $4 per night for an air conditioned twin bed room with a TV and lounge area. That’s $1 each per night. We couldn’t turn this down and checked in immediately.

The air conditioning wouldn’t work for several days and long discussion with the staff, but was eventually fixed. The power, wifi, and water all fail several times per day for variable periods of time (but this is true of the majority of Nepal). We noticed that the food portions were getting smaller, and the prices larger every day, but we were happy in our new home nontheless.

Work

We set to work immediately trying to locate the equipment we would need. This was difficult considering our lack of Nepali and the fact we didn’t know the town, but we did what we could.

We located several hardware stores, and aquarium shop, and most importantly the Kopila Valley School where we would be meeting the volunteers the next day. We knew that the help of the volunteers, house ‘Uncles’, and school children would be indispensable to us in completing our project, and we were very excited to meet them.

We retired to our hotel for the day and began to make plans and drawings. This was the first time we had all settled down to really discuss business since our time in Korea, and the time flew by. We had an extremely productive session before retiring for the night.

Play

The next day we headed to the Kopila Valley School to meet everybody. We were taken by a lovely volunteer and Head of Operations, Patty, to the dance competition. Every Friday is a half day with some sort of celebration or student activity, and we were lucky enough to witness such a culturally interesting one on our very first day.

We were introduced to several of the staff members, and to Manjila and Asmita, two 9 Class students who love science and would be our helpers and guides. We watched the traditional Nepali dances which were executed beautifully by the students, and talked to some of the older students before eating a Thali lunch.

After lunch, our new friends amongst the teachers Jagat (the science teacher), Bhim, and Dilip graciously took us to the new land, the future site of the high school and vocational centre where our aquaponics greenhouse would be located. The walk took about 40 minutes from the school, and passed through some stunning countryside views. The trees, people, traditional houses and vibrant ubiquitous greens were almost overwhelming.

We toured the new land and enjoyed some fresh spring water before heading back into town. Our new friend Dilip took us for momo at the Shani Resort restaurant. Momo is basically a dumpling (mandu to any Koreans or Waygookin out there), and is sold almost everywhere. Delicious. The food was definitely one of the best things about our trip to Nepal so far. The curries, paneer, momo, naan, roti, chia (Nepali chai), and dahl were all universally good, and we had even eaten ox tongue and various other animal organs. We hadn’t been brave enough to try Nepali pizza yet however.

Patty, Anjali, Kristen, and Roshna (volunteers) met us at the Shani Resort ‘Rock Bar’ for a welcoming dinner and drinks. We were certainly made to feel very welcome, and had nothing but praise for the atmosphere of the school and home, and the attitude of all of the teachers, volunteers, and students.

We were only two days in, but Birendranagar felt like a wonderful place to spend three months setting up a project.

Namaste.

Kathmandu to Surkhet

Our time preparing for Nepal had been heavily focused on climate. The heat, temperature, rainfall, monsoons, and even the political climate.

The Nepali government had been focused on implementing the first constitution in the history of democratic Nepal. This had been a priority since the ending of the civil war in 2006, but the earthquake had made this an even more pressing issue in Kathmandu.

Part of the constitution was focused on dividing Nepal into seven administrative regions- similar to states- based on a variety of factors. Nepal is a very diverse country, with descendants of many different tribes and ethnic groups still concentrated in some areas, and even wandering nomadic tribes in some areas.

The nature of Nepal’s topography and geography means that there is a big difference in culture between the Northern Nepali attitude, culture, and beliefs, on the mountainous Chinese border when compared with the people living in the Terai (or lowland) region bordering India.

It is in this Terai region of Nepal where violence and protests- lightly covered in Western media- had taken place. Several different groups of people had taken issue with several different elements of the new constitution, and as a result several riots ensues, resulting in many casualties and the deaths of more than 50 people in three months.

Kathmandu to Surkhet

Unfortunately, our bus ride from Kathmandu was due to travel through several of the affected areas. We had been glued to English language newspapers and scouring the internet for up to date news, trying to pick the most opportune moment to travel. We asked every local we could about what they thought of the situation, but received every answer from “There is no problem, you can go anytime,” to “Do not take the bus. It is too dangerous,” and everything in between.

At the bus station when we were finally buying our tickets, we asked the salesmen how long the overnight bus would take. We had been told that certain areas were under curfew, and some of the major roads would be closed during the night. They took a significant glance at each other, before the more talkative of the two gentlemen smiled and said “16 hours” with confidence.

Fast forward to 16 hours into our bus ride. We were stuck behind our third major road closure of the trip. The sun was now up and blazing brightly, and the driver of the air conditioned bus we paid for had decided that loud Nepali music videos were much more conducive to keeping morale than cool air, and we sat and watched the same music videos on repeat for the majority of the journey.

Arrival

With road blocks, military checkpoints, congestion, and breaks, the ride took a total of 27 hours from start to finish. We had watched every single Nepali music video ever produced, and one and a half Bollywood movies.

Character building experiences aside, we arrived in Surkhet safe and sound. The views from the mountains coming out of Kathmandu had been spectacular, and were almost matched by the vistas of endless green farmland and colourful houses towards the end of our journey.

We had made some friends along the way, including a local man who worked in Qatar and was home to visit his wife, an English teacher at a nearby military school, and a nice man from Surkhet who insisted we come on to his bus and drink Mountain Dew with him at one of the road blocks.

It was now 10:00pm. Our military school friend helped us find a hotel, and after checking several and finding that a women’s conference in town meant that most hotels were full, we googled our way to Hotel Panchakoshi, who gave us their two spare rooms at $6 each per night. We ate, slept, and got ready to explore the town.

Surkhet

Surkhet is a region in South West Nepal, just North of the Terai region. It had experienced some of the worst protests and violence in August, and had spent a week under a 6pm armed curfew as a result. The violence had died down recently however, and there were no safety concerns upon our arrival.

We would be staying in the main town and capital of the region, Birendranagar. This sits near the Bheri River, and is even serviced by it’s own domestic airport, the Surkhet Airport. The region is mainly agricultural, and much poorer and less well serviced than Kathmandu or Pokhara, despite proximity to the Indian border.

We will certainly consider flying next time we visit.

Namaste.

On the Road

Arrival 

After months of not seeing each other, of messages, emails, broken Skype calls and the rest we finally came back together at the airport in Kathmandu. After some bare essentials such as local sim cards and money exchange we headed out to meet Ramjee- our first host- in Gokarna, our taxi breaking down twice along the way.

Gokarna

Ramjee and his family were extremely welcoming, and their home was in a beautiful valley surrounded by mountains, along a famous river used for cremation rituals. He is a man with fingers in many pies, but is mainly concerned with sustainable development in Nepal, which led to some engaging discussions during our stay.

The mornings were spent walking with Ramjee at 5:30am past a stunning local temple populated by monkeys (mostly on Saturdays, apparently even the monkeys go to temple on their day off), to play badminton with his friends by the river. Jenessa joined in and even managed to win a game by the time we left.

Ramjee took us to see some interesting sites. As well as a huge Krishna festival near the heart of Kathmandu at the largest Krishna temple, we danced with the local Nepalis at their temple, walked through the stunning scenery, and ate dinner with his whole family at his brother’s house. We were sad to leave.

Shankar

Next we moved slightly closer to the city, and stayed with Shankar, a wonderful tour guide and former mountaineer. His home was near Manamaiju, close to the Gongabu New Bus Park which serves not only the whole city but the whole country.

We were treated like royalty whilst staying with Shankar, the food was incredible and the room was bigger and nicer than the majority of hotel rooms we have stayed in. His family were great to be around, and all spoke excellent English (except for Anju, his wife, who we were all in love with by the time we left).

Despite the beauty of the view from Shankar’s house, which overlooked the town on one side and the national park and Monkey Temple on the other, most of our time there was business. We had messages to send, phone-calls to make, and even our trips into Kathmandu were to search for and haggle over tools and materials.

Although we didn’t expect it, we were even sadder to leave Shankar’s than we had been to leave Ramjee’s. But we knew we had to get to Surkhet and start laying the groundwork for the project.

Namaste.

Thank You!

All of us in The Life Aquaponic team would like to say a huge thank you to everybody who donated, shared, read, or even just listened and nodded their head when we were talking about our Nepal project.

Thanks to you we were able to meet our goal on Kickstarter and will be able to bring sustainable food and education to a beautiful community in the remote Surkhet region of Nepal. We couldn’t be more excited.

We apologise for not being able to post more updates but we have been so busy organising this project and traveling around that we just have not been able to. Now that we’re more settled we’ll be blogging, posting pictures, and updating social media as often as we can so that you can follow our journey from start to finish.

For those of you who donated to the Kickstarter we will be contacting you sometime around December, when we will be starting to prepare and deliver the amazing rewards we promised. For those of you that have expressed concerns about your named fish, yes they will be eaten (or sold). But that’s a good thing. That’s why we’re here.

So thank you again and keep your eyes peeled. We can’t promise daily updates but that is certainly what we are aiming for.

Namaste.

Aquaponics in Kopila

Hello! Do you like having enough food to eat? Do you like people? Do you want to help people? You’ve come to the right place.

We, The Life Aquaponic, are bringing aquaponics to the rural Kopila Valley community; along with the BlinkNow Foundation. We want you on board too.

History of Aquaponics

As aquaponics is a reflection of the relationship between plants and animals in nature, it might seem strange to read about a distinct ‘history’ of aquaponics. But aquaponics as a human agricultural discipline is a very compelling topic.

Aquaponics Explained

In this post we hope to answer some of the simplest questions you may have about aquaponics.

Aquaponics in Korea

Korea is a very gracious and hospitable country, full of wonderful people. But sometimes, things can be a struggle.

If you live in South Korea, then setting up your own aquaponics system can be very daunting. Aside from the unfamiliar materials, speaking to people and being able to identify and locate what you might need are by far the biggest challenges.

But never fear. You can build your own system in Korea, whether you’re a beginner or an expert, and whether you’re a fluent Korean speaker or can barely say ‘annyeong’.