Keeping your clothes dry

It might seem a basic thing, but trust me, I have seen many of my co-workers getting their sleeping bags and clothing totally or partially wet while staying in a camp during the emergency operations after the Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines.
During the rainy season, it is actually raining all the time! Even though the weather might seem sunny, it can quickly change and a huge waterfall can come from the sky at any time.

After the second time my things got a bit wet due to rain coming inside the tent, I looked for a big trash bag and put everything inside. It is not even necessary to close it very tight, as it will never be submerged (we hope)
This kept my clothes and electronics clean and dry during 6 weeks living in a tent during rainy season.

a big trash bag is light, cheap and easy to acquire

Not only in tropical weather a plastic bag is useful. While camping out in the sudanese desert for the first time I got fine sand (dust like) all over my things, including inside my sleeping bag and even inside my backpack. After that I always carry a big trash bag. It's a simple solution that simply works.

How to remove a leech

Few years ago I got myself a leech having lunch on my foot while walking through the Malaysian forest.
Unfortunately I hadn't read much about leeches, but I knew that salt, cigarettes or soap could make the thing vomit and possibly create an infection. It took me some time to figure out how to remove the animal without killing it.

The thinner end is the oral sucker of the leech

So here are some pictures I took of the whole operation in case I didn't survive.

I also added the correct recommendations on how to remove a leech safely.

You can wait until it finishes feeding. That can take from 20min to 2 hours and is perfectly safe.
If you don't want to wait, take your pocket knife or use a long fingernail.

the leech quickly looks for another surface to suck on

Identify the oral sucker (mouth). It should be the thinner end of the leech. You can pull it very gently to identify the right end.

Than take your flat and blunt object and gently break the seal of the sucker. Insert the tip of your knife between the mouth and your skin and it will loose it's sucking power. (you may test that operation at home with any plastic suction cup)

Then quickly do the same operation for the other sucker (the posterior end) which should be on the thicker side of the beast.

2 hours after, still bleeding

The wound will bleed for a long time due to an anticoagulant named hirudin.

Don't mind about the bleeding, you have enough blood. After washing it with soap and water, apply some pressure on the wound and let it dry well before covering it.

The bite doesn't hurt at all.


In tropical climates be very careful to keep the wound dry and clean. It can get infected very easily and take weeks to close.

It is possible to get diseases if the leech bit an infected person before (HIV, Hep B), but very uncommon.

Six Scenarios in Which You Will Need Food Storage

Six Scenarios in Which You Will Need Food Storage

Dynamo flashlights

"I need a flashlight, quick! Oh $%&, the batteries are dead!! what now??"

Wouldn't it be great to be able to charge the batteries on the spot, almost instantly?...

Well, that is possible right now!
Today's technology allows to build efficient dynamo flashlights, which do not consume high energy due to LED's

There are 3 kinds of dynamo battery flashlights:
Shake, crank, winding.

I tried all three. They have a small rechargeable battery, which you must charge on the spot.
The first one works on the concept of changing magnetic field creating an electric field, the other two on motor-generator.

Shaking

 The shaking concept is interesting, but it is very tiring. Apparently it hasn't got as much efficiency as the other 2. Additionally, the movement has a high wearout of the materials, since we are moving a weight

back and forth inside the flashlight. The stoppers will wear-out.
Also the magnet inside is very powerful - NeoDyme - which have negative influence on electric and electronic equipment.
One of the commercial problems which occurred with these flashlight is the price: too high. "Made in China" products showed the consequences: instead of a rechargeable battery + a powerful magnet, many flashlights came with normal non-rechargeable batteries, and only an iron clump! Total rip-off - but only when you most needed it!

Wind-up

Wind-up is my favorite system. I have one in my suitcase, one next to the fuse box at home, another in the car..
Using LED technology, some also have some flashing integrated for emergency signalling or for cycling on road.
The one I have in my car has also a cable that allows you to charge your mobile phone.
I tested it with my Nokia and it works, although it might take over an hour to get some charge.

Cranking

It uses the same concept as wind-up.
The main disadvantage of cranking is that you get quickly tired of pressing with your hand.

The market already chose the favorite one: winding!


Beside the ecological concept that you will not abuse on mother nature, I like them primarily because they are always ready for action!
You can leave them anywhere, and forget about them. When you need them, just wind up for a minute, and you will have light for some minutes.

Never spent money on batteries for flashlights again!

Packing for Philippines mission

Just got informed that I will be flying over to the Philippines to integrate an emergency support mission.
I have 48 hours to pack my bags.
Most of my stuff is already organized in small pouches.
Here is a short video of the gear I will take with me for 6 weeks in a post natural disaster scenario.
(I will try to describe each of the pouches in detail when I get some time)

Wood gas stoves

You might have read my first failed plan to cook outdoors in the Sudanese desert.. (check my previous post)
Apparently the most common way around here it's simply to get some charcoal and cook on an open fire. No worries about wildfires, because it's the desert :-)

Recently I found this amazing stove on the Internet.

BioLite CampStove

Watched several YouTube videos and reviewers are posting great feedback.
It uses wood and forced air to produce a steady heat and also generates electricity! Not a lot, but enough to recharge its internal battery for the fan and to charge a smartphone or led lamp via USB!!

I might get one in the future.
In the meantime, if I find some time, I will build one myself, following youtube instructions - just look for wood gas stove!

Did you try one of this stoves?

Stay tuned for further posts on this!

Spirit alcohol stoves

Travelling with gas canisters (or any type of fuel) is not possible, so before moving to Sudan I got this alcohol stove for my camping adventures:

This mini Trangia stove came with a complete cooking set. You can see more detail on Trangia's website
The whole set is quite small and fits in any backpack. If you don't use all the fuel after cooking, you can simply close the lid and the remaining alcohol won't evaporate. (I didn't try it in a 45º C environment though)

I was thinking it would be easy to get ethanol in a pharmacy or supermarket like in Europe... I couldn't be more wrong, no one even knows  what that is around here..
So my idea for a globally available fuel stove went down the drain. I should have suspected that in countries where alcohol is banned, it wouldn't be available in pharmacies either.

Hand disinfectant is 85% ethanol, but didn't try that yet in my stove...

Anyway I still find the idea of a spirit alcohol stove quite good, assuming that the fuel is easier to find than Coleman compatible gas canisters.

If you can buy ethanol in your country, you might want to try to build you own a spirit alcohol stove! Read this Wikipedia article or watch this video

You can also find tons of information and comparisons about alcohol camping stoves in Art Simon's webpage