We'll also be taking a look at a solar dryer that they are building to dry their peanuts. MFK buys all of its peanuts from local farmers (supplementing their economy!) at coops or from individuals. They get the peanuts at about 30% moisture content and have to dry them down to 10% immediately so that they don't mold. Right now they're looking at plans from ECHO! I've seen the dehydrator at ECHO that the plans are based off of. It's really neat to see things connect together like that.
After we get back, we'll work on redesigning the dryer, build a prototype, and test it here. We'll alter it as needed and send the plans back to the factory in Cap Haitien. If we can, we'll go back and help them build it.
I am one of the leads for this project, and I've been super busy putting all of this together. Two weeks ago, the trip was up in the air, but now it's pretty definite that we'll be going. After an insane week, we selected the team members and bought tickets to Cap Haitien yesterday.
This project has been a lot of work. This past week, especially, has felt a lot like the night before science fair--putting together my board and results late late into the night. The only difference is that where the science fair scramble lasts maybe 10 hours, I've been in scramble mode for the past five days straight! It is definitely worth it, though. This is such a great project and a great learning experience for me. It's been a whirlwind lesson in leadership for me--keeping a schedule, keeping the "big picture" in mind, being diplomatic when working with other people, keeping in touch, figuring out how to get information, holding meetings, you name it! So far, I've figured out some things that work and many more that don't...
I'm really excited about this project. Still, I'm hoping that things will quiet down a bit--I'd really like to spend some time on my beloved 2D spaceship game...
