Work Update and Past Weekend

The past week was one of tedious but necessary work. Along with the help of the local volunteers, we moved the stones excavated the week before, gathered wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of variously sized stones and gravel, and then painstakingly washed and sorted them. Luckily a bricklayer from the village came with some friends to help us build up the existing filter an additional foot and a half. Anyone not caught up in these tasks was down by the filters connecting the outflow and inflow pipe networks. Alongside all this, our search for usable sand was kicking into high gear, and some people were called away to join the search – one car even made the two hour trip to Polokwane for the day to meet suppliers. By the end of the week, we were exhausted. The sand search was long and frustrating, but things were looking up. A supplier in Louis Trichardt (one hour outside Thohoyandou) had what we needed, and our research into alternative materials had led us to a man 50 km away with a large supply of granulated rockwool he was trying to get rid of. All of our sources listed rockwool as a preferred substitute when sand was too expensive or hard to come by, but little detail is available regarding its use and maintenance. The choice between sand, rockwool, or some mixture of the two is the most important decision facing the group over the next couple days.

Monday we installed the drainage system in the filter and began to fill in large gravel in all three compartments. We laid down a layer of water-permeable, soil-retaining cloth in one compartment and then piled on some finer gravel. We filled this tank and the one next to it with water to test the flow rate we would get first with just large gravel and then second with cloth and finer gravel on top. This morning we arrived to find a couple leaks which needed some minor fix-ups, after which we performed our flow rate tests. Both went well with strong and nearly equal flows recorded in each case. Our celebration tonight will be short-lived, however. Tomorrow it’s back to the grind once the remaining gravel is delivered. Now we just need to make a decision on this sand.

On Saturday we decided to go see a soccer match between the Tottenham Hotspurs and the Kaiser Chiefs hoping to see our fellow American, Clint Dempsey, score a goal or two. It felt similar to an NFL game. People came dressed head to toe in Kaiser Chiefs regalia, waving flags and shaking signs. One man dressed as a prophet was giving out blessings to all who passed. There were food stands along the walkways selling food and beer.
Coming into the stadium, we were a little worried. People were running to get seats. When we got to the seats we had paid for, a group had already posted up in them and had no intentions of leaving. We noticed some fist fights breaking out over seats in our section, so we decided to concede the seats and head up to the nosebleeds. We found some open seats and immediately the mood lightened as we immersed into the Chiefs fanfare. The vuvuzelas created a constant roar throughout the stadium, surging with each Kaiser attack. We cheered and danced along with the rest of the crowd through the entire scoreless game. The stadium went wild as the Chiefs finally snuck a goal in past the Tottenham keeper in stoppage time.
We shuffled our way through the rambunctious masses heading for the exit, even getting some jeers from the British Tottenham fans. Once successfully back in the car, we joined the line for the slow crawl out to the road. People had opened up their cars to play music while others gathered to dance in celebration. We couldn’t sit in the car and just watch, so we decided to park and join. Everyone welcomed us, all running up to take pictures with the pale faced newcomers. A dance circle quickly formed in which we would all take turns showing off our moves. The sheer happiness of those thirty minutes was overwhelming. When we all got back into the car our adrenaline was pumping with the heat of the moment. Unable to believe the day we had experienced, each of us rode home doing our best to take in all of our memories.

Just to top all that off, we woke up early Sunday morning to meet Chief Lucas of Tshibvumo so he could lead us on a hike to see the top of the waterfall we wrote about a couple weeks ago. It’s looking like we’ll have to draw our water from up there, so we’ll call this a business trip with scenic benefits. The vertical climb up the mountain was harrowing, but once at the top, the view was spectacular. And just when we thought that was it, we walked a little further to find a long chain of waterfalls seeming going up forever. A childish wonder came over everyone as we began to climb any way we could higher and higher, one beautiful ledge to the next. If only pictures could do this weekend justice (n.b.- look below). Of course, now it’s back to work.