Environmental
Eco-Construction & Natural Building – Back to basics.
Our staff housing consists of nine huts constructed in traditional Maasai manner, using a mixture of mud and cow manure packed around a wooden frame. The roofing is made of makuti, a thatching made from palm fronds. The huts were built in Summer 2008 by American and Tanzanian OHS volunteers and originally served as volunteer housing. Choosing this natural construction option allowed us to use locally available and abundant materials, creating minimal environmental impact.
What's Next
Having completed construction of the OHS Children´s Home in January 2009, our next big project will be the construction of the (Mateves Community Health Center) in 2010. The body of the building will be constructed using earthbricks compressed using a Hydraform machine. This innovative machine compresses a 90% soil-10% cement mixture into earthbricks that are “dry-stacking”, meaning they do not require mortar to interlock. As you can imagine, this is one of the most sustainable building options currently available in the world due to: reduction in materials consumed, reduction in transport of materials, reduced overall building costs, and greatly increased construction efficiency. We are still fundraising to purchase this expensive but important machine, and it is number one on our wish list. See www.hydraform.com for more info on this amazing new technology.
Energy – Your dollar is your vote.
In a place with lots of sun and no electrical infrastructure, the OHS site is powered entirely by photovoltaic solar panels. Hot water for the children’s home is provided by a solar-powered water heater. This independence from fossil fuel electricity generation reduces our carbon footprint, while simultaneously encouraging our kids to think about where their electricity comes from and understand the many options that their country has in choosing a path of economic development.
Our food is cooked over stoves burning BioBrik fuel briquettes, which are made of recycled, compressed organic materials like coconut shells and corn cobs.
What's Next
Solar power is a step in the right direction, but still generates a considerable amount of waste because of the large amount of panels needed to produce a small amount of electricity, all of which must be stored in batteries. OHS hopes to switch to an entirely wind-powered electrical system within the next two years. The power generated by a single 150 foot windmill could also provide free electricity to the OHS site and surrounding homes in our village with little environmental impact. Click here to see who inspires us.
Water – Is life.
Our site is located in an arid environment, and drought and water conservation are of the utmost importance here. But when it rains, it pours. In August 2009, volunteers began digging out the reservoir for an 80,000 Litre rainwater collection system. Trenches will funnel the annual floodwaters into the collection system, also preventing them from decimating the (natural buildings) on site. This water will allow us to support our organic gardens, trees, and crops in summer without drawing an unfair amount of water from the village water supply. The soil excavated for this project will all be used to make (earthbricks) for the construction of the (medical center).
All staff and volunteers living on site are required to use castile or another biodegradable soap when washing. This prevents an unnatural balance of chemicals from developing in the soil, thus ensuring the fertility of our gardens and the health of the food that we all eat. We look forward to developing a complete greywater recycling system within the next year.
Clean water is essential to everyone’s health, but is unfortunately in short supply. OHS uses a triple-filter water purification system that eliminates sediments, bacteria, and other pathogens from water. All drinkable water on site comes from this filter, which prevents a huge amount of plastic waste from entering the environment due to bottled water use. We currently have one filter on site – please help us buy another so that we can provide 100% sanitary drinking water to all members of our community by summer 2010!
Organic Foods – Life seeds we sow.
During Spring and Summer (September to March), our food supplies are supplemented by our main garden, which contains onions, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, carrots, watermelon, corn, and lettuce. The kids love to garden and each of the older children has their own patch with all of these crops and more (Ebenezer and Juma are having a competition to see who can grow the most). We take this part of our children’s education as seriously as any other and encourage them to “feel life in the soil”, as Dr. Wangari Maathai wisely said.
We currently have two cows on our site who provide fresh, nutritious milk. These cows graze on grass around site, weeds pulled from the gardens, corn stalks and husks leftover after harvest, and food waste left over from cooking. They are a vital part of the circle in which we can all thrive together. We also have a rapidly increasing number of chickens roaming freely on our site and we gather fresh eggs from their coop. Any remaining manures, plant matter, or food waste is composted and tilled into our gardens to support the next crop of vegetables. Returning to these natural, organic processes of food production allows us to eat healthy food, save money, and move towards independence from the market.
Volunteers in our 2009 Summer 2 Program planted mango, avocado, and papaya trees, as well as passion fruit vines and banana plants. These will provide the kids and surrounding community with fresh fruits in the near future, and are also a testament to past volunteers who put their energy into sowing seeds of life..
What's Next
Tanzania grows some of the world’s largest sunflowers, and OHS aspires to establish an organic sunflower farm within the next three years. Our goal will be to provide healthy and affordable sunflower oil to the people, rather than the less healthy corn oil that is currently used. The waste from the oil extraction process (remnants of kernel and husk) can be compressed into cakes and fed to livestock.
