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After evaluating the
houses around the floating lake and seeing the current design, we headed back
to Phnom Penh with many thoughts on our mind. Do we need to continue working on
the current design? It seems like a very good design already. If not, what other
designs will we focus on? Perhaps work on design solutions for stilted houses?
Upon arriving in WetlandWorks' headquarter, we asked Taber what he would like
us to work on. He stated we should work on a solution for stilted houses. So we
decided to create a new design for stilted houses and finalize the current
design for the floating houses by cutting down cost and minimizing unneeded
components. Instead of using Solidworks, the 3D CAD software, like we did for
engineering courses in Davis, the NGO uses a program called Sketchup. So we had
to familiarize ourselves with this new program to redesign and mock up a 3D
model. It was difficult at first, but after a few sessions of messing up and
nearly cursing at the program, we finally got the hang of it. Eventually, we
mocked up 4 different designs; 2 for the floating houses and 2 for the stilted
houses. For the purpose of testing out designs, we decided to prototype the
stilted designs because there are already prototypes installed for the floating
houses.
In the next few days
before going to Phat Sanday, the floating village, to implement our designs, we
went around Phnom Penh markets and gathered materials. We also gathered
information about cost of materials for future cost evaluations and estimates.
It was impolite to go into a store and ask for the prices without buying
anything, but the store owners were nice and welcoming enough to understand
what we were doing. If not for our Cambodian peers that went material gathering
with us, we would not have been able to translate the purpose and the
importance of this project to the shop owners. We were glad we could work hand
in hand with the locals.
After gathering
materials, it was time to plan for our trip to the floating village. In this
trip, there were Yao (me), Joanne (teammate), Rachel (teammate), Chandy
(translator), and Virak (Wetlandswork employee). Unlike the first trip there,
which was only for 2 days, this time was for 4 days. The car ride took at least
3 hours and the boat ride took at least 20 minutes. During the car ride,
everyone just slept because we were tired from waking up super early (7 am)
that morning hoping it would allow us a full day's time to start working. By
the time we arrived at the floating village, it was already 1 pm. This is the
time where locals took afternoon naps because it is around the hottest time of
the day, where no one had the energy to work under the blazing sun. But because
we're UC students, we wanted to "hit the ground running."
Upon arriving at the
floating house where we stayed for 4 days, we quickly unpacked. Then we held a
meeting to debrief what we will do for the next few days. Because there was
little time left until the sun sets, we decided to buy the remainder of the
materials today and start construction on the next day. The floating houses
around the lake uses solar panels for electricity, which means light is limited
when after sunset. This limited us from working in the evening. As such, we
quickly mocked up an estimate to how many more and what other materials we
need. We then headed onto the boat and went off to gather more materials. In
this material gathering trip, there were: me, Virak, and Hakley (host and field
assistant). We went to two different lumber yards.
The first lumber yard we
went to was the most memorable because as we were examining the dimensions of
the wood, a rain storm flew by and trapped us there for 1 hour. As it slowly
began to rain, we made haste to a tiny hut for shelter. There, we talked to locals
and exchanged cultural practices. We joked about finding one of the local woman
a husband and we sang our own version of "Rain rain go away." At that
point, I realized that we weren't so different after all. After the rain storm
had died down, we went out and picked our wood pieces. What happened next was
what amazed me. The locals used nothing but their hands, eyes and a table saw
to split the wood evenly in half. Holding the wood by two ends, they would
simply feed it through the table saw and it would come out with proper
dimensions. Keep in mind that these were 4 meter long wood logs. The
time it took for each cut was as fast as saying abracadabra. Even though with
the lack of measuring tools to properly dimension every cut, the speed and
precision from muscle memory was simply amazing.
The second lumber yard
was where I learned how to be independent and make reasonable choices. Because
the first lumber yard didn't have flat wooden planks for our second design, we
had to go to a different lumber yard. Even though we hoped to find the correct
dimension wooden planks in the second lumber yard, they only had smaller ones.
I was given two options: buy the smaller pieces and combine them to make larger
pieces, or look for a completely different material such as cutting up HDPE
tanks for their plastic. My teammates were not there with me so I was hesitant
to make this decision. Being pressed on time as the sun is setting, I had to
make the right decision quick. In my mind, I was telling myself to man up and
make the best decision available and then take whatever responsibility that
comes after. This was the first time I had to make an independent decision that
represents a group consensus. Especially being in a foreign country, this
scenario challenged my ability to be independent. Eventually, I made the
decision to purchase the smaller wood.
When
we got back to the floating house, I informed my teammates about the bad news.
Turns out they also had the same thought; that the lumber yards might not have
the sizing we need. I told them my decision and the reason behind it and they
ensured me that it was what they would've done too. From this experience, I
learned to be independent and was able to step up into a leader role to make
the best decision for the success of the project. Afterwards, we concluded the
day with dinner and a welcome party.
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