2300 liters of awesome
Water is life. I’ve known this for some time. I’ve also been nursing a water addiction for about a decade. I love the stuff like a fish loves…water. I need it, I crave it at almost all times, and I drink many, many liters each day. I knew that traveling in Kenya would be difficult for my water intake. We’d be at the same altitude as Denver, so I would have to keep my levels high, but the groundwater was considered off-limits due to unfamiliar flora and bacteria. To avoid becoming a macho-man and still getting sick, I decided to bring along some iodine tablets. While other team members were scrounging for half-full bottles from the previous day’s adventure, I would calmly fill my Kleen Kanteen from the tap and drop in my tabs. I did share them, by the way.
On my first day out and about in Donholm, a suburb of Nairobi, I was astounded to see a plethora of “water carts,” often nothing more than some iron slats on an old car axle, being pulled by men on the street. The carts held about a dozen (depending on size) yellow plastic jerrycans which each hold about 20 liters. Now for some math:
1 yellow plastic jerrycan full of 20 liters of water @ 2.2 pounds (1 kg)/liter = 44 pounds
12 (give or take) jerrycans @ 44 pounds/jerrycan = 528 pounds
Estimated weight of tires, axle, and accompanying wood/metal = 150 pounds (minimum)
During our walk that first day, we stepped past one such cart attempting to roll over a very large bump in the road. I turned back and recruited two other strapping young men from our team to help pull the cart. It took a number of 1, 2, 3, HEAVES! to get the thing up and over. The cart-puller nodded his thanks and ran on down the road to deliver his goods. That cart was heavy – at least 700 pounds – but those guys run them along the streets. With a municipal water system that lacks in about a few dimensions, delivery is the only option.
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