• Rice Peeling Machine
  
  E. Jones of Oregon who is working with a local cooperative, "El Despertar Campesino," (the awakening of the peasants), in northern Veraguas to acquire a rice peeler to improve productivity.
  
  The rice peeler will sit atop a 4x4 truck that will visit local communities on a regular basis, offering affordable rice pealing.
  This service will improve the quality of lives of local families, as well as providing an additional income stream to the cooperative.

• Turtle Conservation Hatchery
  A. Orthmeyer of Minnesota is working with the community of Los Pocitos on a turtle hatchery project.
  
  The hatchery is too small to safely hold the amount of nests recovered during a season. If sea turtle eggs are exposed to the eggshells of hatched sea turtles, they can become infected with fatal bacteria.
  
  Overcrowding and not moving the hatchery to a different location from year to year increases the risk of bacterial contamination. Constructing a larger, portable hatchery will decrease the risk of exposure to potentially fatal bacteria. Additional space will allow for more nests to be collected, thereby reducing the amount of poaching and predation to sea turtle nests that would otherwise remain vulnerable.
  
  Protection from land animals and birds will be achieved by using more sturdy materials, and installing a roof. A lock will protect against any possible human intruders to the hatchery.
  
  
• Pit Latrines - Cerro Brisa
  
  B. Trainor of New Jersey who is working on a pit latrine project in the "Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle" in the province of Chiriqui.
  
  The latrine and human-waste situation in Cerro Brisa is dire, and many latrines of this 8% are in various states of disrepair and barely usable while others, near full, have a maximum of 1-2 years of use time left before overflowing. The completion of this project will provide an alternative to this hazardous situation, providing 42% of the Cerro Brisa population a ready alternative to "using the jungle," and encouraging the increased sanitation of local water sources.
  
  Additionally, as the project was and continues to be driven by community initiative, it is expected that there should be no problem with the beneficiary population using their new latrines in a correct, effective manner.

By Valerie Whiting