It has been a while since my last
post and a lot has happened. We got the
grant money, bought the materials, hired a crew and built the Mabira Forest
Canopy Super Skyway in the past 5 months.
It was a little rocky at first, but it didn’t take too long to get the
hang of building the platforms. My very
good friend, construction manager and now, Sky Commander Kabugo Gregory was
absolutely essential in finding a crew and many of the materials. One of the huge challenges we faced was
finding workers crazy enough to climb these massive trees. Everyone wanted to work for the white guy
until they saw how big the trees are. So
Gregory found some guys that had worked on some power lines and smoke stacks
and we finally got the crew we needed. With a little consultation from various sources, we managed to get 4
platforms and 3 zip-lines up and realized that we hadn’t even used half the
grant yet, so we decided to add 2 more platforms and have the last wire cross
the River Musamya (the really polluted river that feeds Griffin Falls). So we now have 6 platforms and 5 zip-lines totaling
220 yards of zipping. The addition of
the last 2 platforms really adds a lot to the experience. The final zip-line is 200ft long and passes between
two 115ft trees. Then we repel you back
down to the forest floor and we hike over Griffin Falls and back to camp. The month of February has been strictly for
training my workers to be “Sky Captains.”
It worked out really well because I was able to hire most of my
construction crew to be the Skyway operators.
Since they built it, they have a sense of ownership and comradery which
results in them showing up on time and being happy to work. I posted a message to all Uganda PCVs that
they could come and do the Skyway for at a discount during this month to give
my guys some practice and the response was excellent. I also met a couple Israeli folks that went up and have since sent me 3 other groups.
We’ve got the insurance thing taken care of and we are planning a grand opening in
March. After that, I’m hoping to kind of
phase myself out of the Skyway equation.
I was a little worried at first about these village fellas using such
technical equipment but they picked it up in no time, and I now have no doubts
about the safety and awesomeness of this attraction.
I also wrote a grant to The
Pollination Project, which is an awesome group who give $1,000 every day to
help seed small, personal projects. I
used the money to have a mural painted in our reception depicting all the cool
animals of Mabira Forest and also to have huge stones put in the sugar cane
fields at intersections to direct people through the labyrinth of roads to
Griffin Falls Camp. There was all kinds
of drama getting the mural painted with our artist taking a bunch of money and
disappearing, but we ended up harassing him enough to finally come back and
finish it and it looks really great.
So those are the big things I’ve
been working on and they are all coming to a close as I start to think about
what comes next for Tata Django (what some people have started calling me,
meaning father of Django). I’ve danced
around with so many possible things to do with my life that I realized that I
just have to pick something and stick with it.
And I think that something is going to be getting a Masters in
Mechanical Engineering. Building the
Skyway made me realize that I really enjoy that kind of creative problem solving and I think I have a mind for it. I still have no idea what I will end up doing with it, but it feels good to know which field I want to get into. It will also give me mad post-apocalyptic
value.
Also, my awesome parents sent me a harness for Django.
It’s crazy to look back and see how
much this experience has changed me. I’m
going to be SO WEIRD when I get back to America! Overall, I think the changes are
positive. Just knowing that I am able to
pack up and move to a completely foreign place and make a life for myself
really makes me feel like I can do anything.
I never would have dreamed of getting into engineering for my undergrad,
but now I have no doubt that I can do it.
Still got 5 months to go though…
One of the hardest parts of this
whole experience is meeting amazing people who are traveling or doing other
awesome work here and then realizing that you are here WAY longer than any of
them. So they all leave. It’s great to keep in touch and to know
people living all over the world, but it’s still hard to see them go again and again. I can’t express how important my fellow Peace
Corps Volunteers are to me. Especially
now that I’m in the oldest group, so I know I’m leaving before ANY of
them! And so the emotional roller coaster
rolls on.
