Day 6 - Friday Part 1

Let the Sun Shine

We started the week with a goal of fabricating two mounting assemblies, install them on the roof of one of the Casa buildings, and finally mount 5 solar panels to each of the assemblies. We can say that most of the goal was achieved.

If we look at just the raw math, there are now 6 panels in place which would be 60 percent of the goal, or just above the average of most high proficiency exams. While that does not sound very close to the goal, the bulk of the time and energy for the week was spent designing and fabricating the assemblies to provide the perfect 15 degree tilt toward the south and to compensate for the 3.5 degree cross slope of the roof.

Finally, the assemblies had to be disassembled, transported to the upper end of the property, an elevation change seemingly on order of scaling Mount Fuji but which when measured was only 100 feet, then piecewise carried along a narrow goat trail and crossing the Gulch of Death* to provide access to the roof where they would ultimately be reassembled and mounted before the panels installed.

Of course, there were delays with getting additional material and tools, scheduling of other events within Village of Hope, and yes, the re-fabricating of a frame when it was realized that it had been started correctly and then purposefully changed only to find out after finish welds were done that the haze of sleep deprived nights that had absolutely nothing to do with the neighboring dog pound took its toll and allowed the assembly to be fabricated not as its benevolent original design but rather as the evil mirror twin that had to be cut apart with tools not intended for the task so it could be reassembled correctly. All that griping is solely to make the case that while only 6 out of ten panels were actually installed, the work completed accounted for no less than 40 man-hours while the work remaining to mount the final four panels should only take one man-hour. Using this much more advantageous and self-gratifying math yields that we accomplished over 98 percent of the goals.

Unfortunately, were not able to get Village of Hope to sign a change-order for the scope change so our usual project bonuses were not realized. In the very competitive arena of volunteer work in far away countries in uncomfortable surroundings, Village of Hope will have another team coming in the next week to take over the project and who will start by finishing our two percent remaining. Still, all said, there were great views from the Casa building roof but Gordon and Andy will not miss rolling around on a hot tin roof.

We are grateful to be part of the start of what we hope will be many more solar panels for Village of Hope. Todd’s shared that his ultimate goal is something on the order of 80 panels to reduce the expensive electrical bill. This man thinks big! Tired and satisfied, we say Let the Sun Shine! - Gordon and Andy

* [Editor’s note: The “Gulch of Death” is a narrow chasm with an estimated 18-ft vertical drop next to the Casa. It is wise to avoid stepping into it.]