2: Interview with Cal Poly student on project

Q: What is life in the community like?

A: The main method of transportation is a fishing boat

Tropical, shrubs, some trees, not super dense, dense grasses and shrubs

To get from village to village, the community members clear out dense vegetation

The chiefs house is the only actual house in the village

Other houses are huts. They have no running water. Most have a dirt floor and clay structure, thatched roofs. Most people use wood and coal stoves. There is no electricity except some huts have small solar panels used for phone charging. The nicest building in the village is the church.

The community is right on the lake.

The chief's daughter said the quality of life would improve because of the solar ice project. Now they are able to have ice and don’t they have to dry fish. They mostly eat fish because it is a fishing village. Women would usually have to walk a quarter-mile to a lake by bringing heavy containers in their head 2-3 times a day in the morning and evening

Q: What were the community members like?

A: Grace though they were very receptive. She thinks they had prior contact with white people, such as Nate. The children were super eager to help for the building and construction. Some people would sit and watch and not help with the construction.

Most people had flip phones

Friendly, all receptive, welcoming, laugh a lot at the project members

Everyone was interested in what the project members were doing.

No one in the village disliked the community center.

Citizens don’t speak the main Guinean language. They speak Ewe. To communicate, the chief and daughter translate.

Q: What was the project like?

A: Chief spent most of the time with the construction workers.

Contractors were hired from the city.

The kids helped with trenching but she was not sure if the adults helped. She said that the adults usually sat and watched.

The community members listed things off for the project group to buy them to help. They were not ashamed to ask for things in money.

They like the handouts, like when white people give them things.

Chiefs daughter seemed happy they were building these things.

The project group did not do any teachings about how to use the solar refrigeration.

She thought that the water tank would make clean running water accessible.

Nothing was up by the time grace left. She said that no one knows if it is working.

She said to reach out to Ester, the chief's daughter.

Tips- Holding educational information center about how it works how to fix it