Our economy was built on a pineapple crop that was hit or miss. When we missed we did not eat. The biggest issue on the pineapple crop besides rain was fertile ground. If we could afford to buy elephant dung for the fertilizer we would have a great crop otherwise nothing.
In the last year we have installed 2 compost toilets, we were able to do this thanks in a large part to Chephart Yosh’s financial donation. These compost toilets have now helped us reduce our dependence on elephant dung for fertilizer as well as reduced the raw sewage in our village.
We built a wind generator / water pump with the help of my friend Ray Mathis of Tutto Metal Design We now have more predictable electric power and also fresh running water.
With all that said we have met our needs, but we have controlled our wants. Sure it would be easy as we build our treasury to install a toilet in every hut, but do we need that or just want that?
Right now our electric usage is dedicated to my poker play, a small refrigerator for medicine, and some lights, again meeting our needs, but maybe not our wants.
One thing we have neglected is the kids, not in any physical way, and sure they have benefited from not having to carry the water from the river, but we thought we should teach them some skills that would benefit them in the future.
I invited my friend Ray Mathis for Tutto Metal Design over to help us with this project. Ray is a very talented metal worker. Ray brought his nephew Sam. Ray thought, is if he is going to teach kids how to make toys it would be easier if he had a kid with him.
As village life continues to evolve and we mix the old with the new the village elders have agreed to work hard to clearly define a "NEED" from a "WANT" and to stay focused on needs only. As we become more developed I am sure it will get harder and harder.
These are tough questions that we have to resolve and really there is no right or wrong answer, time will tell if we do things right.
Cheers,
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