Overview

This was the first trip to MdL taken by the ECOS students.  The trip was very laid back and informal.  There was no class involved therefore no set project meeting time.  The students met on their own time when they deemed it necessary.  We were fortunate enough to get 100 boxes of delicious Girl Scout cookies donated to the orphange.  They were a HUGE hit.  

Since we were the first trip, we were the guinea pigs.  We accomplished all we set out to do and spent a good deal of the time doing more manual labor than engineering work.  We painted walls, inside and outside, as well as reconstructed the pigpen and part of the perimeter wall.

Our trip coincided with "Santa Semana" (Holy Week)--the week before Easter--and we ran into a bit of trouble getting all of our necessary supplies in the capitol because many of the businesses close during this week.  During our off-day we visited the nearby town of Yuscaran.  In town we were able to be a part of the Good Friday celebration which included a parade around the town and straight into the church.  After the parade we toured a nearby cave/mining tunnel and accompanying mining museum.  On the way to and from Yuscaran we witnessed our first of many "controlled" fire used to harvest sugar cane.  It rained ash from the sky and the air was thick and hard to breath.  

Project Teams