Choluteca

Choluteca

Prompted by the high number of leaks found in the filter we installed in El Capulin we decided to take a trip to the Choluteca filter workshop to learn from their successes. Marvin, the owner of the Santa Barbara workshop, his daughter Ingrid, Nineth and Rolf drove down to Choluteca to talk with Carlos (Choluteca Agua Pura supervisor) and his crew for an afternoon and a morning. Carlos and the crew were a great help. They showed us their whole operation, washed sand for us, mixed and poured filters for us and discussed their installation process. They mentioned that all the staff including the concrete and sand guy have a filter at home. So they can honestly tell people the filter works and base their talk on their own experience.

Marvin was interested in everything he saw, and is enthusiastic about filter building. He asked lots of questions. Ingrid took pictures and notes in a notebook. On the way home they started discussing how to change things in the workshop. Marvin and his wife Melanie came out for a full day of filter and supplies delivery, so she could understand what happens in the field.

We are now conducting a number of sand washing experiments to see if we can come up with a more consistent product. It seems that river sand is inconsistent to begin with, so with the same washing process you will get different flow rates, depending on which part of the sand pile you use. We may get a quote from the Choluteca sand supplier, to see about getting sand shipped from there, as the Choluteca sand washes easily with only two washes and is consistent. It may be cost effective to go that route.