Dry Season Made Wet! etc...

Craig featured a picture of me on the most recent (March 8, 2010) Palawan Project Foundation (PPF). See it here. Check it out.

On Mar 26th Dea and I will be heading to Palawan with Craig and Margaret. It will be Dea's first trip there so looking forward to that. She will be there for the duration of her Easter break and I will stay on with Craig for about two more weeks. That will make it my longest stay. Hoping not to get an infection this time.



I am also preparing to speak to the four Brent School Manila third grade classes about the BioSand Filter Invention. For this I have installed a real live operational BSF in the school atrium adjacent to the fish pond. I have been preparing the BSF for this event in which I will drink water from the fish pond which I will pour through the filter. Since I survived the strep/staph infection in my leg I'm going to try something else. No I don't have a death wish. Rather I trust the BSF invention and will demonstrate it's effectiveness in this way.


The Deputy Headmaster has offered to have an ambulance on sight and ready to go. Instead or along with that I requested the presence of President Gloria, TV live coverage, and our neighbor - world boxing champ Manny Pacquaio to participate (just kidding on requesting all of that - but it was a thought).

Manny Pacquaio

Brooke's point Palawan and water projects

With lots of helping hands the Ram Pump installation has been improved to boost the water delivery to Baliun's needy farm from a barely useful trickle to 720 gallons per day then another adjustment Thursday jumped that up to over 3500 gallons. He was able to get his thirsty corn watered and even got baths for the kids. All kinds of progress. Thursday as we were leaving for the day he turned to me and said a very touching 'Thank You - Mission Accomplished'. That was really the icing on the cake. Something I've taken for granted all of my life is so needed and appreciated.

I'll be here for another week and I do believe it will continue to be busy. Tomorrow (Sat) we will add a line to the pump output to share some of Baliuns 3500 gallons per day with his daughters in-laws across the river. He was excited about that. We will pick up three 100 meter rolls of PVC and some fittings and valves to accomplish that.

Then Sunday morning early Craig and I will set off for the south west side of Palawan and look at the suitability of another Ram Pump installation. Now that we've done one we think we can do anything. I certainly have learned a lot. Before Christmas I don't think I could even spell Ram Pump. Now look!

Water - whether its for drinking or watering the farm to feed the family and earn a living it is life giving.

I'll try to add some pictures in the near future.

Thanks for reading this and thinking of me in this endeavor. It is appreciated.

Palawan again and other thoughts

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted but time and noteworthy events and just 'who cares anyway' type of excuses make it easy to say I'll do it later.

The most eminent noteworthy event is that I (Bill) leave for Palawan an a few hours. I leave with Craig Sutherland to help again with the Palawan Drinking Water Project. I traveled there the first time the end of Sept 2009 to help install some BioSand Filters (BSF) and that led to me traveling to Calgary for a Nov 2009 CAWST workshop (very productive) to learn more and also have the privelege to have dinner with the inventor of the filter. Dr. Manz's website provides oodles of first rate information upon which I refer to often

There is also another idea in the pipeline (pun intended) in which I hope to lend technical expertise - Hydraulic Ram Pump. Lots of info on this mature technology on the web so click on that link if you want to learn more. Basically it is a water pump that allows lifting water from its source to over 100 meters higher yet uses no source of power other than that from the source water itself. The hope at this stage is to determine the suitability of using a ram pump to move water up the mountain for farming. This would be a great boost to crop production for these mountain people. And into the future I also have a three week trip to Palawan with Craig in March and April. Dea may go with us on that trip as it is her Easter Holiday break.

I will try to post when I can from the internet cafe in Brookes Point Palawan as I get time.

Hope it will not be so long this time. Stay tuned.