Another camp essential that gets set up in the first day is the "bathroom" (burlap-wrapped wood stakes around a long drop with a toilet seat of sorts) --
-- and the "shower stall": another burlap-wrapped stall with a solar shower, a big (usually black on one side, clear on the other) plastic bag full of water that gets heated by the sun all day as it lies black side up on the ground.
And speaking of solar things, a key component of camp is our "solar system". We use solar panels to capture solar energy, which we feed into a special battery (like a car battery), which we attach a plug strip to, and voila! Power. Power for computer batteries, portable printers, and charging our Kenyan cell phones. Within the last 2 years, one of the two cell phone companies in Kenya put a tower up at the top of the rift fairly close to our camp (within a 45 min drive or so), and now we get cell phone coverage in camp. It's been really helpful for communication and logistics.
I like living "off the grid", in my big canvas tent, for a few weeks to months a year. We generate all of our own power, we eat a lot of fresh food, and minimize our water consumption. All our water comes from a nearby well. After dark, the only light comes from these kerosene lamps --
-- flashlights (many of us now have lights for our tents that charge from their own small solar panels), and the moon. It's never a bad day that ends here.
Maybe I'm especially aware of it because I'm reading 'Omnivore's Dilemma' right now, but I've always enjoyed this periodic minimal existence. It also makes every hot, running water shower I take back in 'civilization' that much more enjoyable!
-- and the "shower stall": another burlap-wrapped stall with a solar shower, a big (usually black on one side, clear on the other) plastic bag full of water that gets heated by the sun all day as it lies black side up on the ground.
And speaking of solar things, a key component of camp is our "solar system". We use solar panels to capture solar energy, which we feed into a special battery (like a car battery), which we attach a plug strip to, and voila! Power. Power for computer batteries, portable printers, and charging our Kenyan cell phones. Within the last 2 years, one of the two cell phone companies in Kenya put a tower up at the top of the rift fairly close to our camp (within a 45 min drive or so), and now we get cell phone coverage in camp. It's been really helpful for communication and logistics.
I like living "off the grid", in my big canvas tent, for a few weeks to months a year. We generate all of our own power, we eat a lot of fresh food, and minimize our water consumption. All our water comes from a nearby well. After dark, the only light comes from these kerosene lamps --
-- flashlights (many of us now have lights for our tents that charge from their own small solar panels), and the moon. It's never a bad day that ends here.
Maybe I'm especially aware of it because I'm reading 'Omnivore's Dilemma' right now, but I've always enjoyed this periodic minimal existence. It also makes every hot, running water shower I take back in 'civilization' that much more enjoyable!
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