Day 65: The beauty of mundane

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Now that I have seen what is done with the filters once they are completed, today was learning how to prepare them. Trailblazers has 4 concrete filter molds. Everyday they remove the 4 filters set from the previous day, clean, oil and reassemble the mold and pour new concrete into them. Our job today was first sifting the small pebbles (the middle layer of the bio-sand filter). This layer is responsible for preventing the sand from getting to the gravel layer and plugging the copper tube which brings the water out the spiket. When the wheelbarrow is filled of small pebbles, we take it to the washing station where it is washed and cycled in the wheelbarrow until the water is no longer murky. After I fill a washbin and grab another strainer (this time it has little holes in it) and take 1.5 cups of pebbles at a time and wash the pebbles again while sifting out the pebbles that are too small. This takes 2 people about 3 hours and 12 washbins apiece to get through the wheelbarrow. I literally shimmied for 3 hours trying to engage my core and playing with one and two legged squats. It was mindfulness on steroids. For DBT skills, they always talk about being fully present and give washing dishes as the example: stay in the moment, feel the water and soap, be in that moment. This was three hours to practice being fully present and blank towards the future and past. Once the second wash is complete, there are two more wash and strains in the washbin. NOW the pebble is ready to be bagged. There is a half gallon pail that you fill 8 times and put into a sack. This is enough for 7 filters (one day of deliveries). The reason the washing is so important is all the dirt needs to be out to prevent the tube from getting plugged and to create an environment that can store nutrients and oxygen for the biofilm to live off of in the sand. Needless to say, the behind the scenes work is not the glamorous life saving moments, but it is a real effort to benefit a household with cleanwater. It was a lesson in slowness and diligence can create good change.

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