Improved cookstove design

Because so much time is spent in the cook-house, stove designs are a leverage point we can focus on improving to create multiple benefits:

• Better air quality means better health
• Faster cook times
• Less fuel required
• More time to spend on other activities

By controlling only two factors - airflow and thermal mass - we can improve stove design to optimize heat efficiency and transfer. 

How a Rocket Stove works:

A rocket stove achieves efficient combustion of the fuel at a high temperature by ensuring a good air draft into the fire, controlled use of fuel, complete combustion of volatiles, and efficient use of the resultant heat.

As the fuel burns within the combustion chamber, convection draws new air into the combustion chamber from below, ensuring that any smoke from smoldering wood near the fire is also drawn into the fire and up the chimney. The chimney can be insulated to maximize the temperature and improve combustion; according to studies this will increase efficiency by up to two percent more.

For cooking purposes, the design keeps the cooking vessel in contact with the fire over the largest possible surface area. A pot skirt can be used to create a narrow channel that forces hot air and gas to flow along the bottom and sides of the cooking vessel.

Optional baffles guide hot air and flame up the sides of the pot. For space heating purposes, the heat is transferred to a heat store which can, in some cases, be part of the structure of the house itself. The exhaust gasses then pass out of the building via the chimney.

The design of the rocket stove allows it to operate on about half as much fuel as a traditional open fire and can use smaller diameter wood. If the stove is insulated and raised from the floor, the danger of children burning themselves is reduced. Some more recently designed rocket stoves are self-feeding, using gravity to add fuel to the fire as required.

 - Wikipedia, 09/04/12 -

 

Existing stoves observed in all 3 communities look like this:

Photos: Typical cookstove in Vanuatu, built on the ground with little or no insulation or airflow control, resulting in a smokey fire (indicating an incomplete & inefficient burn); Soot on the ceiling of cookhouse indicates how much particulate matter is released into the air with an inefficient burn

Our favorite Village Crazyman had already come up with improvements to his stove design:

Photo: Sawi's improved stove design.

A class brainstorm was conducted to explore ways we could improve Sawi's design:

Photo: Class brainstorm on improved stove design.

Not surprisingly, Sawi had created another improved stove design:

Photo:  Although this design focused primarily on improving the thermal mass, it still halved the typical cooking time for a suckling pig to just an hour; it was left to the class to further improve the design by harnessing airflow.

Here are some other variations on rocket stove from our friends at Permies.com:

A_whole_lot_of_rocket_cook_stoves_(wood_burning_stoves_forum_at_permies).pdf Download this file

Appropriate Design & Knowledge Transfer

Appropriate Design.
Google 'Appropriate Design' and the first few results you get are a handful of Green Design Firms  Self-Sufficiently Sustaining their Sustainability through 'appropriate design'.

As a kid growing up, the word 'inappropriate' was often used to describe my behavior - so what exactly is appropriate design, and who or what exactly are we being 'appropriate' to or for?

 

"Local relevance and local needs are often considered key to appropriateness. A technology or practice is considered "appropriate" if its costs and benefits are appropriate to the locality in which it is used. "  - Appropedia.org wiki -

 

Local relevance.
Traditional Cultures have co-evolved closely with the place a peoples have descended from, shaping both people and place.

For example, the extensive taro cultivation of Ancient Hawaiians evolved to as a response to the peoples' efforts first to survive, and then to thrive within the ecological limits of the islands; in turn, the terraced lo'i (taro paddies) and kauhale (family housing clusters) in the ahapua'a of Ancient Hawaii forever altered the wild tropical rainforests that Ancestral Hawaiians would have encountered upon their first arrival by voyaging canoe.

Similarly (though in a radically different part of the world), the nomadic herding culture of the Mongols evolved as their people's response to first survive, and then to thrive in the extreme conditions of their place. 

Animal herds are the peoples' primary energy storage (food supply) which can survive -40C winters; animal dungs provide fuel for fires, and provide fertility for the grasslands in the delicate balance that is life on the steppe.   Over the millennia, the Mongolian landscape has co-evolved with the movement of animals & people across its rambling, arid highland plains.

The notion that 'lands belong to people' is a symptom of disconnect between people and land in modern culture - all traditional cultures that are still intact today have a shared notion of 'belonging to their land' - in other words, a universal recognition that their ability to thrive as people is nested within the ability of the landscape around them to thrive:

We take care of the land, and the land takes care of us.

'Local relevance' takes us back to this idea of designing solutions which utilize locally available resources to solve the specific challenges presented by a locale's landscape, and the culture which has co-evolved within it; in other words, solutions which are appropriate to place and culture.

Knowledge Transfer.
Gardening techniques & tricks that have been developed for a seasonal agriculture may not be appropriate for a culture that has developed a perennial agricultural system in response to its landscape.

At first glance in Vanuatu, it may appear that there are no garden beds (that we may recognize) within the village, a shift in our perception reveals a complex & diverse agroforestry system of edible & useful species planted within the village and extending into the surrounding lands.

The fastest-growing traditional crop here is likely sweet potato, which is ready for first harvest in around 3 months; compare that to the Mongolian growing season of 90 days.

So, when working in foreign lands & cultures, we must work to match our design solutions to place & people. 

Photo: Knowledge replicating out into community as one of our student's next door neighboor is now feeding her banana patches w/ organic matter instead of burning it.

For example, in the shallow topsoils of the tropics much of the nutrient is held in the biomass of the plants growing there.  The practice of burning any & all organic matter (in the interests of maintaining tidiness) breaks this cycle, turning valuable nutrients into char & smoke.

Once a foundational understanding of permaculture principles is established (in this case, the principle of 'cycling energy'), students can begin to relate these into locally appropriate action & practice.

 

 

Chop-n-Drop Raised Gardenbeds

Here's a simple technique we discovered being used effectively on Oahu's North Shore, which is choked with tall-growing California grass in many areas...

Image: California grass covered almost the entire property - you can see where it has been harvested for the gardenbeds in foreground.

...if you've ever had to clear a patch of this stuff to make way for growing edibles, you know what hard work it is to hack it back, and then dig up its tough root clump to ensure it does not just spring back even more vigourously.

You may have also noticed the soil life thriving in the root zones of these clumps, especially when compared to bare soil immediately adjacent - this 'weed' is performing a valuable function, building soil & creating a habitat for soil biology, and mining nutrients in its biomass... which makes it a potentially valuable resource.

Here's how the Chop-n-Drop Raised Bed technique works:

1. After cutting back an area of California grass
3. The compost heap is topped with a thick layer of mature compost & mulch, which can then be planted directly into:
   
4. 4 months later, the raised beds will have shrunk by about 2/3 or so, and the plant roots can extend into all that goodness below (check out the size of this raddish!):

Simple, and highly effective.  Makes wonderful use of existing resources, and beautifully demonstrates the Permaculture Principle:

• "The Problem is The Solution."

Banana leaf sheet mulch!

Photo: Banana leaf sheet mulch deployed in raised bed garden.  Hana, Maui.

Banana leaves have many uses in the Islands (and in all traditional cultures where banana plants grow), though here's one you may not yet have considered:  a natural, locally & readily available, biodegradable weed barrier for sheet mulching.

In urban and suburban Honolulu, cardboard is a readily available waste product that can easily be upcycled as a biodegradable weed barrier for sheet mulch gardenbeds and paths, though in remote Hana there is nowhere near the amount of waste cardboard available for us permaculturists!

There is, however, and abundance of banana plants (which love the chocolatey-volcanic soils and moisture), and therefore an abundance of banana leaves...

...which brings us to the point of this post:

Appropriate Design.
(an excerpt from Rick Coleman's essay 'The Role of Permaculture in Sustainable Aid')

If you are going to introduce a new technology / technique / tool, these are some things to consider:

• Can you use materials that are inexpnsive or free, that are easily accessible and safe?
• Will it have a tangible positive effect on the community (as well as the aid organization)?
• Most importantly is it able to be repeated (if you build a grand-darble-dooble-funky and leave it, can anyone build a new one?)..
• How can the technology be integrated to solve other problems or be connected to other elements (in the system) and therefore become more productive?

... which, of course, now leaves us with the question:

• What else could we use banana leaves for?

While we ponder that one, here's another example of a locally appropriate material being deployed for use in a sheet mulch garden being built in the drylands of Mexico:

 

 

Banana leaf sheet mulch!

Photo: Banana leaf sheet mulch deployed in raised bed garden.  Hana, Maui.

Banana leaves have many uses in the Islands (and in all traditional cultures where banana plants grow), though here's one you may not yet have considered:  a natural, locally & readily available, biodegradable weed barrier for sheet mulching.

In urban and suburban Honolulu, cardboard is a readily available waste product that can easily be upcycled as a biodegradable weed barrier for sheet mulch gardenbeds and paths, though in remote Hana there is nowhere near the amount of waste cardboard available for us permaculturists!

There is, however, and abundance of banana plants (which love the chocolatey-volcanic soils and moisture), and therefore an abundance of banana leaves...

...which brings us to the point of this post:

Appropriate Design.
(an excerpt from Rick Coleman's essay 'The Role of Permaculture in Sustainable Aid')

If you are going to introduce a new technology / technique / tool, these are some things to consider:

• Can you use materials that are inexpnsive or free, that are easily accessible and safe?
• Will it have a tangible positive effect on the community (as well as the aid organization)?
• Most importantly is it able to be repeated (if you build a grand-darble-dooble-funky and leave it, can anyone build a new one?)..
• How can the technology be integrated to solve other problems or be connected to other elements (in the system) and therefore become more productive?

... which, of course, now leaves us with the question:

• What else could we use banana leaves for?

While we ponder that one, here's another example of a locally appropriate material being deployed for use in a sheet mulch garden being built in the drylands of Mexico:

 

 

Solar Dryer extends harvest and creates microenterprise opportunity

Elyse Peterson is an experienced food scientist in the dairy, seafood, meat, and soft drink industries, Elyse served two terms in the Peace Corps helping promote sustainable food security solutions. As part of her work in the Peace Corps, she helped to develop a Solar Food Dryer which became the catalyst for a community-based food security and economic development project in in Antigua.

We talked to Elyse about this technology, which is highly appropriate for many tropical areas, and may have application into other climate zones:

Photo: Mangoes drying in the sun.

 

TBG: How does Solar Food Drying work?
Solar drying is a low cost method of drying food.  It is important to understand moisture in food and the properties of the air around us.

All food contains moisture which comes in three forms: liquid, solid & gas.  This moisture is what microorganisms need to live and thrive, so in order to stop microorganism growth you may reduce this moisture to a safe level to preserve and extend the shelf-life of your harvest.

The design of the Solar Dryer harnesses the power of the sun's rays to raise temperatures within the unit to between 110 - 130 degrees Farenheit. 

This heat lowers relative humidity while increasing absolute humidity, so that the air inside the unit attempts to reach the absolute humidity of the climate outside the unit by taking moisture from the food.

Coupled with proper air circulation, this is what makes the solar dryer work.

Photo: Solar dryer built with locally available materials in Antigua, 2007.

TGB: What kind of Solar Dryer Designs have you developed?

There are three basic designs of solar dryers that you may follow when building your own solar dryer: direct absorption, indirect heating, and mixed mode. In this project a direct absorption solar dryer was designed because it was found to be the most sustainable for Hawaii’s needs.

In these designs the food is placed inside a cabinet or “hot box” which allows the rays of the sun to heat up food and air around it. A compartment with a transparent roof and insulated walls is used, but if designed properly all the walls can be transparent. These may also use reflectors at the bottom of the compartment to increase light (metal or foil).

Ventilation holes are required to promote proper air circulation. Indirect heating dryers dry the food with heated air collected by a “solar panel”. The food is placed in an insulated heating chamber with proper air circulation.

These models are effective but cost a lot of money. Mixed Mode dryers are a combination of the other two designs. Food is heated directly by the sun but additional heat is collected with the “solar panel”. These can cost about $1300EC to build, effective but expensive.

Businesses attempting to expand and produce higher quality products should look into building one of these models (for the purposes of this project and the situation in Hawaii the direct absorption model is the best fit). When constructing your dryer be sure to follow the design carefully, because the angles achieved are vital for efficient processing.

Photo: Mangoes selected for drying are peeled and cut.

TGB: How do we select produce to dry?
When selecting food to process in the solar dryer it is important to remember that drying will not improve the quality of the produce. Only produce that you would consume fresh should be dried.

Produce with cuts, bruises, or other evidence of contamination should not be used. Select fruit that is ripe yet firm. Using over-ripe fruit can cause the final product to come out brown and sticky. Ripeness is about 2/3 ripe.

Photo: Mango is prepared for dehydration in the Solar Dryer.

TGB: How do we prepare produce for drying?
Produce shall be soaked in a bleach solution to remove microbial contamination (1 tsp bleach in 1 gallon water). Peel fruits and cut into appropriate sized pieces. The smaller the size piece the faster the drying time. As the size of the piece increases the time for drying grows exponentially.

Example: A slice or piece two times larger with take four times longer to dry. Experiment with your dryer to see what size piece is the best.

TGB: Doesn't that mean we will be eating bleach? 

There are alternative methods for sanitation, but bleach is the most available and inexpensive. One must remember that bleach is highly volatile. It evaporates into the air, so there is essentially no bleach on the product by the time we eat it. This is a standard practice in the food industry that many of us don't know about but owe our safety to.

 

Photo: Uncle Clay's House of Pure Aloha utilizes the Solar Dryer.

TGB: Does it work in the rain? How long does it take?
No.  The dryer should only be used on days with consistent powerful sun as to reduce the time required for drying. Depending on the results you may find it necessary to rotate the trays throughout the day so every tray gets equal amounts of direct sun exposure.

Drying should take about 12 hours of full sun power (possibly one day with good sun). Optimal temperature for solid drying is 110-120°F but 130°F will be the most effective temperature. Putting a thermometer in the dryer during processing is a  safe way of monitoring the efficiency of your dryer.

Keep a close eye on the produce towards the end of drying because drying happens at a faster rate just before it’s reached 10% moisture. To test for doneness you should see that vegetables at about 10% moisture will be brittle and easily can be broken apart.

Fruits should be soft and chewy, but test the moisture content to verify 5-8% moisture (refer to Principles of Solar Drying). There are a few quality issues that need to be considered when solar drying produce.

________________________________________________

For more information and detailed instructions on how to build your own Solar Food Dryerin Hawaii, download the Solar Dryer Manual here:

solar-dryer-manual-hawaii.pdf Download this file

Permablitz comes to Hawaii: parking lot is transformed into edible landscape

PermablitzHI#1:

PermablitzHI is a grassroots movement restoring Hawaii's food security one backyard at a time.

Before.

Photo: Backyard paring lot behind Sweet Home Waimanalo Cafe.

After.

Photo: In one day, the parking lot is transformed into an edible landscape.

 Hawaii's first Permablitz transformed the parking lot behind Sweet Home Waimanalo cafe into an edible landscape featuring a mandala kitchen garden, banana circle, living fence, worm farm, and an experimental sweet potato stack (for starters):

See the full gallery on Posterous

Plans for a mini-fruit-orchard, shipping-pallet-seating-area, and other goodies are in the works.

Permablitzes are entirely volunteer-based, and are based on permaculture design principles, reciprocity (the more you give the more you gain), and sharing resources. 

Stay tuned to the PermablitzHI website for PermablitzHI #s 2, 3, and 4, coming soon.

To keep informed of upcoming blitzes and workshops, join in the Join Hawaii's Edible Garden Revolution by clicking here.

Special thanks to:

Island Foodscaping, Sweet Home Waimanalo, Sustain Hawaii, Yogarden, Kaleo, Mikey and da Mililani Crew, Chop Chop Media, and our team of volunteer blitzers for your creativity, collaboration, and contributions.  Let the Edible Garden Revolution begin!

Making fuel briquettes from waste materials

We came across this innovative little piece of appropriate technology developed by Beaverton Rotary during our research prior to the consultancy trip this March which is has been used successfully in other developing nations to start microenterprises:

The device uses a car tire jack to compress locally available organic waste material (such as rice or coffee husks, shredded paper, dried grass or leaves, etc) into a high-density, slower-and-cleaner-burning fuel briquettes.  

This could be adapted to Mongolian conditions, although adjustments would need to be made:

• Briquettes can only be made during warmer months, when rivers are flowing and the briquettes can dry out.
• Water squeezed from the press during the manufacturing process should be caught and used on crops, as this water will contain 'pulp' organic matter that will break down and help build soils. 
• Suitable organic matter needs to be found: paper waste is plentiful in urban areas, and once trees and/or crop systems are established, the plants may drop enough organic waste matter to be used for briquettes.  

Populus laurifoila grow prolifically on the floodplain we crossed en route to Altaitsudz soum.

Once again, we can see how valuable tree-cropping systems can be for creating food security and economic opportunity.  Appropriately selected species of trees can provide:

• Renewable sources of winter fuels (coppiced woodlots).
• Emergency animal fodder (Ulmus and some Salix species).
• Human nutrition (fruit & nut trees).
• Construction materials (Larch and Spruce).
• Bimoass (all of the above species + more), which can be used to protect & build soils (mulches, green manures & biochar) and create an additional fuel supply through biogas (fermentation process).

For more information about the Peterson Press, download this information brochure:

How_to_Make_Fuel_Briquettes_-_web.pdf Download this file

 

Mongolian Permaculture: Day 36 - Dalanzargalan, Sainchand, and the Governor of Zamin Yyl

WELCOME TO THE GOBI

The sand-blasting wind which greeted us late last night did not let up.

On his first visit to the Gobi Dessert, Rick boldy predicts rain today [upon arrival, and after midnight] ...and the co-operative members who came out to greet us at the railway station shake their heads ‘No’ in amusement.

‘Don’t be silly; we’re in the Gobi…’

…this morning, however, the wind dies down as breakfast is brought in, the first drops of rain spattering against the window as the co-operative members who thought Rick was crazy last night are wondering if perhaps this strange man with the bright yellow shirt and loud red hat has brought rain to the Gobi.

THERE'S 3 MORE OF US IN THIS CAR!

We cram ourselves into the back of a tiny sedan and bounce out to the vegge plot, wedged into the back seat so tightly that dips which otherwise would have sent us crashing into the ceiling are rendered mere bumps along the way.

Jackets and beanies today against the cold and wet, sandy soil sticking in clumps to our boots due to the higher clay content here.

LOOK CLOSELY AND SEE IF YOU CAN PICK OUT ANY GEMSTONES...

The ground is also littered with rocks: quartz and ironstone and an outcrop of shale or perhaps slate and something that looks like amethyst, and something else that might be flourite.

RICK AND KAT WALK THE SITE

The co-operative plot is located in the middle of a windy, open desert plain, and the crops are windblasted throughout.

A Chinese mine can be seen in the near distance, their closest neighbour, though because our translator still has not arrived, we are unable to determine exactly what they are mining… if it is coal, than we may have access to coal dust, a waste product of the mining operation that could be used as a slow release mineral fertilizer for the cropping fields.

UTILIZING BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES

Three year old seabuckthorn trees are healthily established but stunted, and Rick plucks out a woody shrub growing nearby, walks over to the perimeter fence, and weaves it into the wires to demonstrate how to form a windbreak.

1. UNSHELTERED BEETROOT PLOT

2. WIND-SHELTERED BEETROOT PLOT

The beetroot plots are sparse, except for a patch nestled in a corner formed by the solar panels’ battery house and the water tank, forming an unintentional windbreak which demonstrates what a dramatic difference the simple adjustment of keeping the wind off can make.

DESERT WEED SUITABLE FOR 'LIVING MULCH' GROUND COVER;
WINDBLASTED AND STUNTED SEABUCKTHORN SAPLINGS CAN BE SEEN BEHIND RICK

The desert weeds spring up pretty quickly once fences are up to keep the grazers off, and we identify one groundcover desert species that is thriving in the harsh conditions [now that the animals are unable to munch on it] that would make a great living mulch.

THE GOOD NEWS :
WORD TRAVELS FAST -
ONE WEEK AFTER LEARNING ABOUT MULCH IN TOSONTSENGEL,
THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE IS TRANSFERRED AND REPLICATED
THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY IN THE GOBI DESERT

Kat is scribbling notes and I am snapping pictures furiously to keep up with Rick’s running commentary and analysis of the site so that we can fire questions at our translator when [and if] he arrives.

WIND DAMAGE VISIBLE TO FRAME ON RIGHT [WINDWARD SIDE] OF TOMATO GREENHOUSE

The greenhouse crops are doing well here, with the first red tomatoes we have seen on the vines all trip, just now ripening. However, the steel frame of the tomato greenhouse is visibly buckling from the stresses on its winward side and the plastic is beginning to rip in the corners; there is room for further improvement here.

SUCCESSFUL CUCUMBER CROP IN DOUBLE-GLAZED, SUBTERRANEAN GREENHOUSE

The cucumber greenhouse has been built into the ground, has an insulative double-layer of plastic sheeting, and a cage rock wall on the south-facing side of the north wall for thermal mass. The co-operative leader plucks a couple large cucumbers from the vines and offers them up for us to munch on as we continue the site visit.

MELON CROP LOOKING DISMAL

Spray irrigation is being used in the melon field, which exacerbates salination in the salty soils, and maximizes water loss to evaporation in the desert conditions. Indeed, the melon crop is looking dismal and will not yield any notable crops.

POTATO CROPS IN TOSONTSENGEL WERE ALMOST TWICE THIS SIZE,
AND ALREADY FLOWERING

Similarly, the potato fields are looking pretty sparse for this late in the season, and these are being flood irrigated instead. This also has the effect of exacerbating salination; as surface water evaporates, a salty film is left behind which compunds each time the trenches are flooded. Over time, the salt will build to unsustainable levels for cropping.

Trenching and mounding could also be done more efficiently here – mound, mound, trench instead of mound, trench, mound – to reduce labour inputs, and increase productivity.

THIS IS NOT A ZUCCHINNI!
[C'EST NE PAS UN MUSHROOM]

We are shown a fairly healthy zucchini crop that makes a sound like knocking on wood when we rap our knuckles on it; it turns out to actually be a variety of winter squash ...could be good for storing, some squash varieties will keep for up to six months.

WEAVING A WINDBREAK INTO PERIMETER FENCING
USING WILD DESERT SHRUBS GROWING IN FENCED AREAS

Then we all huddle into the solar panels’ battery room to get out of the rain and warm our hands and bodies with a nice warm cup of tea; time for a quick training...

DALANZARGALAN CO-OPERATIVE

…except that our translator is still missing…

…frustrated and full of unanswered questions, we pile into the back of a hand-cranked tractor and are taken back to the hotel to catch our 4pm train to Sainchand.

TRACTOR RIDE IN THE GOBI DESERT ...PRICELESS.

Sainshand is the largest aiymag [rural center] we have been to outside of Ulaanbaatar, with a population of approximately 37,000.

Its large train station is on the edge of town, and is a hive of activity, while the wind continues to whip us even as we shuffle towards the taxi stand in search of a ride to town.

As the muted light fades from the overcast twilight shy, our hotel lobby welcomes us in darkness as we stumble up the steps into the double doors.

There is a tense moment of uncomfortable silence as the startled receptionist tries to renegotiate the room rates - to double the price - when she sees our foreign western faces walk in the door.

We turn on our heels and march back out into the wind, and a staff member hurries after us to bring us back at the original rate – 20,000MNT [approx $20AUS] /night.

When the electricity is finally turned on [after eating the first half of dinner by LED flshlight], we find ourselves in the swankiest accomodation we've experienced yet. The hotel restaurant is decorated like a rich ger, hung with paintings of Mongol horsemen, archers, scenes of nomadic life, the obligatory portrait of Chinggis, and exotic portraits of half-nude Mongolian women lounging seductively in the royal ger.

Since we are no longer on official Aid Agency business, we try to order a cold beer, and find out that it just so happens that today is a ‘no alcohol’ day in this particular aiymag center. It seems that each time we try to go out for a cold beer, we time it so that it co-incides with a TOTAL BAN day…

…the first night in Ulaanbaatar, before we began the consultancy, we tried to sample the Chinngis beer on tap, only to be told that alcohol wasn’t served on Thursdays in Mongolia. Then, thirty days later, when we try to have a celebratory cold one for a job well done at the conclusion of the consultancy, we just so happen to go out, again, on a TOTAL BAN night:

"But it’s not Thursday,” we protest, and find out that, actually, every 1st of the month is a TOTAL BAN day in Ulaanbaatar.

Now, 4 days later, we find out that we have wandered into Sainchand Aiymag Center on the 4th of the month, which, of course, just so happens to be a TOTAL BAN day. Some Aussies have all the luck.

Rick wanders over to one of the exotic portraits in the corner of the restaurant to appreciate it from a better angle, and an important-looking gentleman in dark glasses glances up from his beer with a look that says, ‘What the hell do you want, mister?’

To which Rick smiles and says, ‘Sain Bain O! [Hello!]’

The important-looking man drinking the only beer in town on a TOTAL BAN night looks over his dark glasses, pauses for a few moments, then laughs heartily and waves us over to join him.

A couple cold Chinggis Drafts later, it turns out that we have made friends with the Governor of Zaimin Yyl, a soum located another three-hour train ride south from Sainshand to the Chinese border. He graciously invites us to visit his soum on our day off, promising camel rides and horse rides and good times, in exchange for a visit to his local vegetable-growing plot.

"Why not?", we shrug to each other, and it is settled, on Saturday we will go to visit our new friend.

It's easy to make new friends in Mongolia!