SEALNet Cambodia Summer 2009

Day 56: Kiensvay and Filter Alteration

2009-08-29T23:55:00.001-07:00

Chanveasna and I at the Phase I filters

I spoke with Dr. Davin Uy about my suggestion, whose detail I will reveal upon my return. Simply, the filter has been having two issues. First, it cannot output more than 40 liters of water per day. Any volume more than that results in poor removal of arsenic. The SONO filter, which is similar to many arsenic filters, does better in these situations. Its design differs in that the sand is on the very top and the iron core, which replaces the iron nails, is below that. On the other hand, the Kanshan filter has the placement of sand and iron reversed. Thus, I suggested the following experiment:

First, have 3 conditions, A: pour water into Filter 1 without nails and pour the fluent into filter 2 with iron nails. B: pour water into Filter 3 with nails and pour the fluent into filter 4 with iron nails. C: pour water into filter 5 twice. D. pour water into filter 6 just once.

In this experiment, we will test the hypothesis that having the water run through the filter twice help reduce arsenic much more than just once. In addition, have the water run through two different filters should be no different from running it through the same filter twice. However and most importantly, having no iron nails should give rise to the similar performance as the previous conditions because the sand alone in the first filter should remove all the coating elements, namely PO4-, that prevents the nails from removing arsenic. One thing to keep in mind is that Fe in water helps remove nearly 60% of the arsenic while the nails only works to remove 30% of the arsenic claimed. While the collateral damage is that this initial filtration would also remove Fe2+ and Fe(OH)2, arsenic is already trapped here at the first stage along with Fe. The iron nails should work just well as before. The additional layer of sand provides additional assurance that nearly all of arsenic is removed and that the filter will not need to cleaned as often as previously thought.

Dr. Davin Uy and I
So I went to Dr. Davin Uy. He first thought that due to the initial removal of iron, the filter would lose half of its functionality. It was rather dramatic when I told him what exactly I had in mind. He thought it was a good idea and will not just the pilot and will instead go the whole way by building a filter I suggested with a sand-nail-sand design from scratch! The whole filter will probably cost nearly $100. He said it is no problem and he will keep me updated on these designs. As of now, the Kanshan needs something like this as it would need to be replaced every half year since it will not produce any less than 50 ppb after 6 months. I am so anxious for this and its results!

Day 54: Kampong Chnnang

2009-08-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

Going for a coconut!
Children that benefit from the Biosand filter

Day 53: Kampong Chnnang

2009-08-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

The village chief
The promotional meeting
Milking a cow

Day 52: Orphange and Stung Mean Chey

2009-08-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

We taught these children at the Lighthouse.
After going to the orphanages, I decided to go visit Stung Mean Chey, a garbage dump knee deep. I climbed through giant mounds of rubbish for tin cans, plastic bags and other recyclable goods. While others say it is one of the saddest sights in Phnom Penh, a sprawling 100-acre garbage dump where trash fires burn and plumes of black smoke choke the air with toxic gases, I found some happy faces once they were offered some candy and clothes.
The waste is soggy. No many locals have ever visited this place.

Day 50: Orphanage

2009-08-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

One of my goals was to teach and to enable high school and undergraduate students to pursue their own service project. After exploring several options, including pushing a campaign with the government, purchasing trash for areas where there is trash burning and helping cleaning trash at Riverside, we decided that we would begin by going to orphanages to teach about sanitation and hygiene.

Cambodian Light Children's Association
Students going for answers

Day 48: Around Phnom Penh

2009-08-20T02:24:00.000-07:00

Streets near Independent Monument
Viriya and Olaf at the new Hagar office
We talked about the next steps. Viriya is skeptical that the sanitation/hygiene information are not disseminated as some of the villagers claim. He showed some of the flowcharts that are meant to be used at all construction sites, which seemed to contain all the necessary information. I am worried that it may not be used everywhere. He and Dr. Ray Cantwell will question my findings. The first step in verifying these results is to determine whether Jomroeun has accurately translated what was said. Following that, they will go back to the staff and try to find where the gap is.

My suggestion is that there to be multimedia education on how to clean the safe storage container and the filter spout. Currently, the sanitation education is loosely constructed and I would suggest that it becomes standardized and streamlined.

Day 45: Key Takeaway Recommendations for Hagar

2009-08-20T01:50:00.000-07:00

When looking at our results, nearly all users are satisfied with the Biosand filter, for it saves time by removing boiling and acquiring firewood as necessary procedures. Interestingly, a large proportion of the users desired more structured hygiene and sanitation teachings from Hagar. The in-depth interview provides an exploratory perspective that should be further tested. Because the pool of interviewee is small, these following recommendations should only be considered following a well-designed survey with a larger sample size.

1. The villagers will benefit from using soap to wash their storage containers at all times. To achieve this, they must receive additional information from Hagar. Currently, families interviewed are concerned about residual soap in their drinking water. A sizable portion of the families do not feel that they have good grasp of cleaning themselves. Hagar should educate these families about the difference soap makes and, how often to clean the storage filters.. In addition, these families can even be introduced to using bleach in cleaning the storage container. While it may be a tall task to change behavior, with visual illustrations, numerical facts, and personal accounts, it is possible to offer these families detailed step-by-step instruction about cleaning the storage in a brochure.

2. Villagers using the Biosand filter will also benefit from using a transparent filter that gives clear indication for algae growth. With an exception to the concern that the container might be more fragile by subject 2, all of families interviewed expressed positive opinion to its adoption.

3. We believe that villagers can benefit from more active participation in the learning program before filter installation. This active participation comes from both villagers and Hagar. Villagers must engage more family members to show up, as they will distribute the work load to their families eventually. On the other hand, Hagar conducts a group activity with its volunteers . Similarly, Hagar may offer such problem-based learning to her users.

4. Villagers will benefit from learning about when and how to clean the spout. Currently, it is unclear to users whether one should use soap for this particular safe practice. While most claim that it is cleaned almost as often as the storage container, it is clear that it is not the case. Thus, we recommend incorporating step-by-step instructions on cleaning the removable spout as well.

5. Villagers will benefit from a more concrete, comprehensive, multimedia instruction of cleaning the storage container and spout. Currently, Hagar’s multimedia education focuses on Hagar’s presence and the advantages the Biosand filter provides. However, all information about cleaning the storage container and spout are provided at the time of installation. Nearly half of the users do not believe that they have a firm grasp on cleaning the filter and the storage container. For example, the fact that the spout is removable remains elusive and this can be clarified so that users can easily clean them.

6. Villagers will lastly benefit from multimedia instructions on hygiene. Currently, the promotional video does not contain such information. Most of the hygiene information is given at the promotional meeting, after the multimedia video by Hagar staff. If safe hygiene practice, such as when to wash their hand, is given by multimedia instead, Hagar can better demonstrate its significance. We suggest 6 and 7 to be done in a second meeting after the filters are installed.

7. It is implausible to not have the task of cleaning the storage container and spout be assigned to another family member different from the one that participated in the promotional meeting. Therefore, we believe that it may be beneficial to assess rather than demonstrate safe cleaning practices and hygiene at follow-up meetings. We recommend researching the applicability of approaches like having Hagar staff observe and correct user practice if necessary and offering information on acquiring soap.

8. Hagar may facilitate its learning program by partnering with organizations that specialize in health education and utilizing volunteers from such sources. It seems from our interviews that World Vision has provided regular hygiene education to selected families. Cooperation with such organization may help result in more effective education material for users.

9. It may be a boon for Hagar to include incentives so that the staff can make sure that users return for an optional second meeting and understand the washing and cleaning the filter completely. A measure could be to charging $1 more upfront and returning that upon successful completion of the program.

10. Lastly, we recommend testing whether an inexpensive water quality intervention can be adopted here. When family subjects use sodium hypochorite in a Zambian study, 69% of water samples had no detectable growth of E. coli. CDC and Pan American Health Organization have developed a simple, inexpensive, and easy-to-disseminate intervention to improve drinking water quality and hygiene in developing countries. These interventions include 1) point of use water disinfection with a sodium hypochlorite solution produced locally using appropriate technology, 2) durable, plastic storage, and 3) community education about diarrhea and proper use of the intervention. While resistance behavioral change is an initial concern, subjects in their field trial showed high compliance (89.2%). A majority interviewees in our study have said they are open to this idea. Less cleaning work and improved education on the above may encourage them to adopt this practice. However, the willingness of the target population to pay for these elements and to change their lifestyle should be assessed further.

Day 43: Baktouk High School

2009-08-12T03:06:00.000-07:00

This is the fifth day teaching. Last week, I taught about cholera as a specific case study and water on Monday and Wednesday, respectively.

This week I taught water chemistry, physiology and diseases. The kids are really great. One thing that is different here is people are perhaps too receptive by a Western perspective. They are used to taking assignments and finishing them. So when I ask them to initiate a creative project, I had to push them further to come up with unmet needs in their community.

GI Track and Digestion

Day 40: Qualitative Research Analysis

2009-08-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

To explore the question of how the Biosand filters were used and to better understand what drives or hinders sound hygiene behavior, we performed 10 ethnographic interviews, where we observed subjects using the Biosand Filter at their home. Subjects were Hagar-trained users that have been using the filters for at least 3 months in the province of Kampong Chhnang. We believe that Hagar can make significant improvements to the maintenance, extra work and behavior that will allow users to more easily navigate the filter, understand it, and ultimately lead to healthier lives.

Results are based on a series of 10 interviews. The purpose was to understand user behavior and departure from sound maintenance and consequently, health. We chose interviewees from those who have used the filters for at least 3 months and have been trained formally by Hagar. To answer some of the interview questions, at times the subject asked their family members for opinions.

Ethnographic interviews were picked versus other techniques because of the richness of the methods. We were fortunate to conduct these one-on-one interviews to best understand the experience of actual users. The ethnographic interviews included some questions about their experience before we had the interview and had the interviewee perform the stop from pouring water into the Biosand filter. Before the interviewees completed demonstrating the pouring, filtering, and cleaning process, we explained the nature of the project, our involvement as third-party collecting consumer experience and had the interviewees give us additional insights and feelings regarding ease of use and experience with specific features. Interviewees were asked to commit 1-1.5 hours in their homes given its convenience. Interviews had varied perspectives, yet key themes emerged, which after further exploration, could significantly enhance user experience for the Hagar Biosand filter.

Based on our interviews it appeared that there are three common dimensions that Hagar should focus on: brochure keeping, the means and contents for additional education on existing filter features, improving user experience with the storage container and encouraging more perfect user practice with washing hands and cleaning the filter.

First, Hagar’s Biosand filter creates a sense in our interviewees that it is easy to use. Almost all users commented that it was easy to use. In general, our interviewees found that the brochures were self explanatory and use the filter with basically sound practice, such as using a 2-3 bucket system. Furthermore, interviewees liked the “diagrams” on the brochures which summarized different parts of the cleaning procedure. However, half of the subject 1, 3, 6, 9 and 10 have misplaced the brochure. To circumvent that, users typically recite from memory or watch someone who has been trained (subject 3). The information is critical, as evidenced by some of subjects wishing to getting another copy. Hagar should add incentives to encourage users to keep their brochures in well care. We may verify these by posing a question in the ensuing survey.

We suggest making small improvements for the education material. We found that users often had questions about various parts of the water acquirement procedure. For example, many believe that the spout is difficult to clean because they did not know it was removable. Hence, to better prepare users for long term safe usage, we recommend making an additional visit and brochure available. While some users like subject 1 wanted more information on hygiene and maintenance, subject 9 desired information on filter maintenance, hygiene and sanitation. We would like to explore user desires on a larger scale by introducing this concept in a survey.

Hagar could also benefit from further improving user experience with the storage container. Amongst subjects, subject 6 and subject 10 both expressed desire for more storage containers. In addition, subject 9 claims the storage spout is easy broken. The storage container is a vital component to the success of Hagar as it is the closest instrument to the mouth. Interestingly, some users (subjects 2, 4 and 10) avoid using soap because they are afraid of having soap in their drinking water. This is a key point of the education that needs to be addressed focally. In addition to cleaning, Hagar should make sure that that there is a systemic cleaning chain of responsibility. For example, both the mother and the son clean the filter while the mother is the only one trained by Hagar in family 1. In family 7, the boy cleans the filter had training, whereas the girl that cleans learned by reading the brochure. Hence, it is evident that the responsibility of cleaning the filter is not taken by any designated individual. In addition, those are trained such as the mother in family 10, feels as though they do not clean as well as the daughter, who was not trained. To making cleaning easier, we suggested using a transparent container so that algae growth can be observed conveniently. With an exception to the concern that the container might be more fragile by subject 2, all families expressed positive opinion to its adoption. We recommend testing the practicality of having designated members for cleaning the filter and the storage container, respectively. In addition, we might assess the need for additional storage containers for sale, methods to encourage washing with soap.

Regarding elements that contribute to sound cleaning practice, subjects overwhelmingly named desire to be healthy as the motivation behind cleaning. On the other hand, subjects 2, 3, 4, 7, 9 and 10 all claimed that they have a busy schedule with very little expendable time even with help from their children. Additional reason for not cleaning their hands well enough include children’s tendency to forget and not having a habit in keeping good hygiene (family 2, 9 and 10). Only subject 4 claims not having access to soap at home. Notably, subjects 2, 3, 4, and 9 all admitted not having the best grasp on cleaning the filter and the storage container. We recommend researching the applicability of approaches like having Hagar staff observe and correct user practice if necessary and offering information on acquiring soap.

Based on the above analysis of these interviews, we realize that we have received a wide range of perspectives from our interviewees. Some common themes emerged regarding how Hagar could improve its product. Furthermore, some parts of the education could be further improved, such as an optional lesson for hygiene, which is absent in Hagar’s program. Such program, currently offered by World Vision, may greatly improve some user experiences and lead to healthier life styles. We will design a survey to learn more about the issues resulting from the qualitative research. We will generate survey question to determine usage behavior, additional questions such as feature specification, types of new information that users desire, what users prefer to see in the Biosand filter and the perception of the filter. After we construct these surveys, we will distribute it across multiple regions reached by Hagar. Remarkably, health benefits can hardly be observed here. More than half (family 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10) of the families saw nearly no improvement. Overall, the general feeling about the Biosand filter is very positive. However, as Hagar continues to explore ways to perfect its product it will have to be aware of current user experience.

Day 30: Turns 24

2009-08-09T11:31:00.001-07:00

Frizz Restaurant! I had Banh Chiao, which is the Khmer version of the Vietnamese Bánh xèo.

Day 29: Kampong Chnnang

2009-08-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

A lush valley!

Day 28: Kampong Chnnang

2009-08-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here we are again!
We are here to conduct 10 interviews that should last 1-1.5 hours each.

Chamroeun at Hagar
Beautiful locale
Local sweets!
Ladder without an end?

Day 18: Interview Questionaire Draft

2009-07-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

A very beautiful home

User Behavioral Research for Hagar Project

Interview Guide

Purpose: To better understand how users of Hagar Biosand Water Filters make decisions to clean their filters and accessories and adopt sound hygiene behavior. Specifically, we will interview participants within Hagar’s BSF user community to 1) determine the process which takes place when users obtain, treat and drink water, 2) to evaluate existing elements from Hagar that help to drive/prevent good user behavior, 3) to assess user experience with the BSF, and 4) to seek new ideas and priorities important for improvement.

Premise: These interviews will be conducted with 6-10 BSF users . We will use the topic outline below to understand the usage process and the features of education, learning materials, filter accessory and the BSF itself that are important to the user.

Topics to discuss:

Usage Process

· Please demonstrate how you obtain water and pour.

· What, if any, problems have you experienced when using the filter?

· Do you wash hands after defecation? If not, what would promote it and what prevents you from washing your hands more often?

· Do you feel you wash your hands enough?

· Do people in the household do that too?

· How often do you wash the spout and storage container? Can you demonstrate that?

· Do you think you do that well enough?

· Who cleans the filter, the spout and the storage container?

· Were they also trained by Hagar?

Impression of existing elements

· Have you found the removable spout easy to use?

· Have you found the safe storage container useful?

· Do they help you make decisions about drinking water?

· What information would help you washing your container more often?

· What factors prevent you from doing so? Animal feeding, day to day work, fatigue from carrying the water? Is it because you can’t see inside?

· What information would help you washing your spout more often?

· What keeps you from cleaning the spout more often?

User experience

· How easy is it to use the filter?

· Have you observed a benefit to your health after using the filter?

· Are the brochures all self-explanatory?

· Do you wish there were more information? What?

New ideas

· What suggestions for improving the experience with the filter do you have?

· Which aspect of the education should Hagar focus on for improvement?

· Have you desired to add features to the filter to make the process easier?

· What about a storage container that does not require you to clean?

· What about a storage container that allows you see through so you know something is growing inside?

Demographic information:

· Gender

· Age

o <35

o 35-44

o 45-54

o 55-64

o 65+

· Highest education in family

Here is another view to a home. Here is where they keep their bulls.

Day 17: Meeting with Volunteers

2009-07-19T18:21:00.000-07:00

This is a simple game locals play, called "bowling".
In the afternoon, Saoun et al. conducted a once-in-every-6-months meeting with the volunteers for each community. The volunteers make sure that villagers are using the filters properly.

Day 16: Follow-up families

2009-07-19T18:07:00.000-07:00

This is the very turbid well water you get sometimes.

A girl gets water from the large storage container.
Some filters have bugs in them for the cool environment. It does not affect the water.
As we were completing the interview, people walk their bulls by. They do this all during the day.

Day 15: Building Filters Part II

2009-07-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Cement is the first ingredient.
Then the cement is poured on top of the mold, which already has the PVC pipe installed, and is dried.
Once it is dry, just pour sand and gravel on top and it is basically done with the addition of a diffusion plate and developing the biolayer.

Day 14: Building Filters Part I

2009-07-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

We started at 9AM at the construction site right next to the river. There were about 13 of them. When we arrived, there were some cement filters already finished.

Children nearby the site.
Those villagers that are participating today are all here to put in their work.Sand collection for the filter.

Day 13: Leaving for Kampong Chhnang

2009-07-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

I met with Viriya and Heng today at 7AM. I forgot my bag of clothes in the moto taxi, then went all the way back to Toul Kork on another moto taxi ($1 round trip). And then fortunately found the same driver who gave back my clothes and electric tooth brush. Anyway, I got back to Hagar and met Saoun, the manager for Kampong Chnnang. We got on a bus taxi to Kampong Chnang that took 3 hours.

Day 9: More with Hagar

2009-07-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

I proposed the following to Hagar.

Our very personal goals are learning about water treatment and helping with volunteering in underserved communities. The more families that we help and the more youth (other leg of the project) that we empower to take part in volunteerism and giving back to the less fortunate parts of the community, the more personal satisfaction we will get for this project. These personal endeavors can be measured by our personal growth and student participation.

These questions were brainstormed and will be revised with Viriya and Olaf. For example, during the meeting today, Olaf mentioned that even though the filter is capable, families for unknown reasons still do not drink enough water. To explore the question of how users drink water and to better understand what drives or hinders adoption of sound behavior, we would focus on qualitative research on ethnographic interviews. While we would follow this in order of procedure (starting from when a villager retrieve ground or well water and then all the way until they drink the water), it is important that we also ask questions that aren't anticipated but are important in gaining keen insights into behavior. We would then be able to derive some common themes that Hagar should focus on as it may choose to reconsider its training in order to allow users to more easily navigate the filter, understand the process and ultimately be closer to wellness.

We should conduct these interviews with villagers that take responsibility for the filter in the family. 1:1 interviews are picked versus other techniques because of the richness of the method and include questions about their experience with water before we have the interviewee "pretend" like he/she is getting water at the beginning of the day. In the end, we would have the interviewer return to the pre and post filter processes to give us additional infromation regarding ease of use and experiences with specific features. The purpose of these interviews are to 1) determine their experience and how it has compared to without filter, 2) to ascertain the efficiencies of the current teaching campaign 3) to find aspects of the training that can be improved. The interviewees would be asked to commit 1-1.5 hours in their home given its convenience.

Benefit to Hagar:
Through this two-pronged research, we hope to reveal insights and recommend changes to enhance customer experience with the BSF, which we hope will drive them to adopt more desired habits. With 1;1 inteviews, we also hope to clearly delineate the current work flow of the filter user and help reveal other areas of inefficiencies that require future improvement.

Following these interviews, we should identify specific features that drive good behavior and vice versa. We may then design a survey to learn more about issues that results from the above qualitative research. Next, we can perform a factor analysis on a Likert Scale or cluster analysis in order to gauge overall user experience and to identify factors and subsequently make appropriate suggestions. In addition, we can also assess how potential tools such as safety storage containers would be helpful, what part of the education was remembered.

Ray should be meeting with us tomorrow.

The Silver Pagoda

July 9th, 2009

Day 8: Dr. Davin, Tommy Ngai and Hagar

2009-07-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

I submitted the following questions to be Hagar and Dr. Davin,

As for Hagar's end, they have been having issues with optimizing sand sifting techniques and producing sound user practices. After learning that, we have confimed the overarching goal of ours is produce novel solutions for unmet needs of the villagers using the filters. We think it would be helpful if ethnographic interviews can be conducted with the villagers that you are
working with to try to gauge their unmet needs. This would help everyone understand not only whether they are getting the quality water they desire, but also whether there are subtle but overwhelmingly uniform failure in the cleanin practice, water storage practice, dissatisfaction with volume output, etc. Once a defined need is identified, we would come up with solutions for them.

Topics to discuss:

Attitudes toward using water filter

What do you like best and least about using the water filter?
What may be hindering you from paying partly for a water filter?
Is the water quality that you are getting dissatifactory, no opinion, satisfactory?
Do you feel that you would use the filter if it has the same cost as bottled water?

Pre filtration behavior

How you involve family members to help with attaining pretreated water?
What information would help you adopt sound pretreatment behavior?

Post filtration behavior

How often do you clean the filters?
What causes you to not clean this as instructed?
How do you store your water?
What impact, if any, do health education have on your pre and post treament habits?

New ideas

What could a filter installation team feature in its product that could faciliate sound user practices?
Do you see value in video tutorials for product setup and importance of hygiene and cleaning?
What factors of the water filter prevent you from doing that?
What feautures of the current education about filters is useful and what is excessive?

Before the storm?

After presenting some leading questions, I discussed the possibility of doing ethnographic research with his subjects. Dr. Davin said the social aspects of filter usage is difficult to control while Hagar is fairly interested in getting answers to that question.

Day 7: High School Students

2009-07-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

Let's see, we met with Vuochlin, Vuochly, Lihoung at Café Sentiment on Monivong Blvd near Central Market. We talked to them about our project, the amount of involvement, etc. They are getting the following message and helping us recruit!

Here is the project description:

We are SEALNet Cambodia and we are here in Phnom Penh to improve water quality to underserved communities in Cambodia.

Cambodia has the highest infant and under-five mortality rates in Southeast Asia, 97 and 141 per 1,000 live births, respectively. Dirty, diseased water leads to a cycle of poverty, sickness and inability to develop. We hope that by empowering the youth here, we can together help to fill this gap.

What is the goal of the project? Our goal is to increase health awareness as widely as possible near Phnom Penh to create a new culture of creative sustainability. We believe if everyone contributed ideas in creative ways we can reduce the incidence of diarrhea.

Why should I participate in the project? By planting the seeds of giving, you are connecting with the rest of the Cambodian community that is less fortunate. You are giving people hope that young people in Phnom Penh want a sustainable future. You will learn to take initiatives in an effort to help the underserved, such as health advocacy campaigns and fundraising. You will learn about the basic sciences behind the current water filtration systems. The simple act of help a community make a small step toward wellness is a good beginning to learning the significance volunteerism makes.

I'm a student and want to introduce the project to my class. Students are encouraged to spread the word. We can provide some curriculum ideas to get you started. We also go into your classrooms to help you implement the project.

How long is the project? Student will be meet with us in a classroom setting for 2 hours per day from (Mon, Tues and Friday of the week) and for 2 full day on the weekends for 3 weeks.

What skills do I need for this project? You should be proficient in English and have a passion in helping underserved communities.

Tell us in a few sentences (less than 500 characters) are interested in this. Be creative!~~

Day 6: Ray Cantwell

2009-07-09T16:57:00.000-07:00

We met with Dr. Ray Cantwell, who has worked with water treatment before coming to Cambodia. He has been here for 2 years already with his wife.

Briefly, he first talked to us about water treatment. We asked specific questions about the BSF and what kinds of issues still exist. We arrived at a couple of interesting areas. While BSF achieves 30-40 liters of water output per day, improvement in health can hardly be measured. Having diarrhea may be caused by food sanitation, hygiene, and perhaps only 20-25% to clean water. That might be true and $20-25 of the $60 cost to build a filter is given to the staff to work and educate the villagers about these topics. Ray claims that it is possible to have more in-depth understanding of hygiene and safe storage practices as an objective.

Lastly, he also mentioned something Viriya also brought up: how could we possibly get more sand for the filters. Right now it's done by hiring 3 people for $3 per day rotating a sift all day, every day. This is a possible avenue as well.

Children on the bank across from Cafe Fresco, where we had coffee.

Chenla Restaurant, #13 Street 278, is a non-profit restaurant which employs poor students from the Phnom Penh area. Great Cambodian mains from US$2-3 and large fruit shakes for less than US$1. Go for a meal and enjoy the after dinner conversation with the enthusiastic servers who like to practice their english! The food wasn't great but it is for a good cause!

Day 5: Hagar Cambodia

2009-07-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

We met with Viriya and Olaf at Hagar, which is just north of the Japanese Bridge, about 10-15 minutes from our apartment in Toul Kauk.

This is the entrance to Hagar. Why a factory needs such armor beats me.
So we discussed a little bit about the filter, Kampong Chhnang, what problems we might encounter as new volunteers, etc. The meeting didn't last that long before we were compelled to meet with Dr. Cantwell from Samaritan's Purse Canada.

Day 4: Peam Ro, Prey Veng

2009-07-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

We are here at Peam Ro District, 1.5 hours away from Phnom Penh.
On the way, we had to crossed the Mekong River on ferry.

To assess water quality, the water filter needs to be filled in the morning. Peam Ro has water with low levels of Fe, which explains why the nails aren't so red in the pictures.

Pump well!

Allocating samples (raw vs. filtered) to be tested for Calcium,Phosphate.

Spec that measures phosphate and calcium levels before and after filtration
Arsenator? Like terminator, except it just measures down to ppb levels based on the Gutzeit method.
A fruit from a palm species that is similar to avocado..

Striking poses for me!

Day 1: Initiation

2009-07-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

We made contact with Dr. Davin Uy, who is the director of Research and Development at the Institute of Technology Cambodia. He has been working on the Kanchan Arsenic Filter, especially in the rural regions where thousands rely primarily on ground water for their drinking water needs.

We will go to the Prey Veng Province tomorrow (Saturaday, July 4th) to check water quality.

We also decided to stay close to ITC for convenience. It is a bit (30 min on tuk-tuks) away from downtown but we both think the apartment is nice and quiet. On a whole afternoon's worth of searching, I have basically toured the city.

View on a motorbike, which is one of the most common way of transportation in Phnom Penh. Hotel owner had her cousin to drive me around to find an apartment!

First of many panoramas that are yet to come, a view on top of a building near BKK.
I am new to this and I need some technical guide.

After much debate and tuk-tuk and free rides offered by the Lam the best hotel owner, we found our place 1/4 the way between Dr. Davin Uy and city center. Happy 4th of July!

Day 0: Arrival in Phnom Penh

2009-07-04T06:38:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Phnom Pehn at 7:30PM on July 2nd. Customs was the smallest I have ever seen with just 4 booths and the visa was quick and easy. Customs agent spoke Chinese. We left the airport on a tuk-tuk to finally arrive at the New Lapaillote Hotel near the city center.