Manabi Ecuador – Feb. 2013
One often encounters unique ideas and solutions when living off the grid. Since I ‘don’t know nothin’ about electricity, I stand way back while others do their work!
This past week when my friends prepared for a night-time harvest of the nearby shrimp pond, I checked on the progress every hour or so. (The gates to the discharge pipes are opened during low tide, and about twelve hours later, the harvest begins!)
How they string their work lights provided quite a surprise for me! Who needs expensive electricians when one can improvise with little?
Cesar chuckled when I called these items, “Safety pins.”
Hmmm. The ‘light bulb’ concept was beginning to click in my mind!
These guys had obviously done this before!
All in a day’s work!
Clever!… But will this work?
They ran an eclectic line of extension cords and wire from the house to the site!
Discharge water blows through pipe. (Note round net, which holds back any ‘escapes.’)
The system worked well, don’t you think? More on the harvest soon!
Z
The saying – necessity is the mother of invention – comes to mind. How creative and resourceful of them.
yes, they have that one figured out for sure! thanks for your comment! z
As you say – there’s much to learn. Those who have to fix it out there – they fix it!
they really are resourceful! i would be scared to touch that system once it’s connected to power!
Very cool. Thanks for sharing.
thanks! yes, they surprised me with their cleverness!
I would stand back too. Way back!
ha! when it rains, they put a plastic lunch plate over the top of each one and keep working!
OMG!
I know just enough about electricity that I would stand back, too! And have the number for the fire department (or whatever serves for it where you are) ready to go, as stringing together extension cords and sticking “safety pins” through the insulation are fire hazards.
we actually have a fire department, though i’ve never seen the trucks out unless for a parade!
yes, i stand way back when they are using that system of lighting!
z
Fascinating – thank you for sharing this great story of creativity and innovation.
thanks! i’m glad you enjoyed seeing their unique system! z
wow..thats a first..never seen safety pins used here to hold and conduct (?) electricity through the wires…amazing..glad it worked for the shrimpers
hmmm; i’m surprised that you’ve not seen this system. though it’s for temporary projects, so maybe they’re not often used?
thanks!
z
Fantastic. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
thanks! yes, latinos are amazing with their resourceful ways!
Good move, stepping back and letting the experts do their thing
thanks, gemma! yes, step WAY back!
yikes! I can see how it would work, but I wouldn’t be the one making it work. I stay away from any thing electrical. You’ve got to give them credit for being resourceful though.
yes, they are quite resourceful. i’m sure you see other novel approaches there in panama.
That’s a new one for me, too. Apart from the safety pins, I keep thinking about the water part of the equation. Water and electricity – not good!
You may not have heard the news out of Mississippi – Hattiesburg got slammed with a huge wedge tornado tonight. The campus took a real hit – here’s a pic of the Alumni House . Here’s another pic. No word yet on injuries, but the damage is terrible.
The tornados still were on the ground, heading toward Alabama. Bad night – I hope you don’t have people in their path.
i’ve seen them using this system in the rain; they take plastic plates and poke a little hole in the middle, then use them as ‘sombrero/shades’ to keep the rain from hitting the light bulbs!
no; i’d not heard about the tornado/tornadoes. i noted that natchez had a red ‘star’ on my ‘weather at a glance’ charts on my homepage. i’ll never forget when downtown natchez was hit by a bad storm – and a month later almost an identical storm hit again! the authorities said, ‘straight-line winds,’ and wow, what damage they made!
thanks so much for the info and photos.
z
Oh my! Do you think that safety pin manufacturers will be taking up this idea for their next ad campaign?
hey! that’s a great suggestion! i’m sure this method would be approved worldwide for better lighting in difficult to reach areas!
That is amazing so inventive. I bet you don’t have the “health and safety” officers calling round very often. That is if they have such a department over there…
Do you get to sample any of the catch?
many times i am amused at the lack of attention regarding safety. the scaffolding and ladders are often so horrid yet eclectic, that i stand and watch with childlike attention!
sometimes i ask for a sample of shrimp, but with so many workers, it always seems a bit ‘elite’ for me to request that without being part of the team. each worker receives shrimp as (part of?) their payment. the other night, they were also fed a beautiful chicken dinner! the harvest ended around 1:30 in the morning, though some of them worked at least another hour.
What a fascinating world you live in. Are the shrimps sold locally or imported?
the people who help with the harvest are paid with shrimp, so they can sell them in town! most of the shrimp are sold for export – many are used for frozen microwave dinners, i am told. many are shipped to europe. this particular batch was sold locally – the size of the shrimp was larger than norm, and the harvest was in time for the carnival weekend. they surely did well on this harvest!
When is the carnival weekend? That sounds like a blog in the making???
i chuckle; i dodged carnival, which ended yesterday. i think half of the people who live in the andes were at the beach this past week! two of my friends made posts about carnival at their little beach… i plan to lob those two into a little post…
Good I will look forward to it…
Back where I’m from we call that GHETTO RIGGED!!
ha! well these farm folks have surely earned an A+ in that subject! thanks, amiga! z
You have to!!! You have to know a bit about EVERYTHING !!!
Ingenious! But don’t you dare touch those safety pins!
your wise advice made me chuckle! yes SIR! i promise to follow your advice!
How clever! They knew what they were doing!
yes, they really do know what they’re doing! thanks!
he is clever!
thanks! they do many things that amaze me!
And you’re clever for taking such clear pictures of the process, including the closeups that instruct us how, should we ever want to…well, probably not.
ha ha! re: “well, probably not.” -
yes, we might be tempted, but then we have intelligence so had best not test our luck!
They should paint electricity before it leaves the power saurce. It is shocking the way electricity works. I liked the story and the pictures, but I hope only people that know what voltage they are playing with tries the unsafety pin trick.
you are so right, and i suspect that you could teach those young guys a lot!
My husband the electrician is still talking about all the hazards, besides electrocution, in between laughter and saying “it could work…” But I did learn a new term, the string of lights is called “festoon lighting”
hey, thanks for your feedback! tell your husband that he could make a lot of money most anywhere in latin america! it’s very hard to find a competent electrician!
i am going to look for a friend’s post and will be back and lob that in your direction for another laugh!
http://johnandmarylivingitupinecuador.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/electrical-wiring-in-portoviejo/
show this to your husband when he needs a really good laugh.. and if you two should decide to have a change of latitude, i can probably line up work to keep him busy forever!
Thanks for the post from your friends, Lisa. Several “wows” a few religious invocations, a reminder of what NYC looked like in 1890′s with 25 electric companies all stringing their own wires, and finally “better make sure there aren’t any holes in your leather gloves!”
thanks; john and mary are most likely offline for a while due to the death of a kind, gentle and very good man who lived in that little petite community. i was told that he died last night; wayne will be sorely missed. z
Ah, may their friend travel well as those of us far away yet near take note of his passing.
thanks, z
That’s crazy!! I would think they would be in danger of being electrocuted!!
i snicker. yes, you are so right – and it was funny when he chuckled about the name ‘safety pin’
Those guys must be among the most resourceful electricians I have ever seen. And of course it works. Fantastic. As are the pictures. They tell a very special and amusing story. And by the way; what a sunset!
thanks! yes, the sunsets have been really special lately, a bonus from the rainy season!
there’s another one in progress now; i’ve been building a table on the deck and just brought it inside! ah, i’m lucky to have such a great work environment!
z
Son tomas muy bellas!!
hey! thanks for stopping by, and i’m glad you liked the post! z
Its Okay! Ur really good (:
An amazing piece of electrical work! Doing a bit of much needed catch up!
hey! i totally understand about catch-up work! enjoy your sunday! z