Another leg of the trench for electrical lines was made today, pass all the way through the road in the back of the monastery terminating with a box that will be ready to receive incoming power from a future solar installation on the northwest end of the property.

Pradeep is part engineer, part heavy equipment operation, part artist. He trained the team to day in the craft of heating these long PVC pipes to enable manual curvature. As always his work is amazingly precise.

Here we are in front of the machine and wood working shops both of which have equipment that can draw a lot of electricity. Now, when we turn on the combination saw, instead of breakers tripping and lights going dim, they will power up with no sign of overload.

After filling in the trench with dirt, it is important to recompact so that it does not settle over time and we do not leave empty spaces underground that will fill up with water. Pradee is training our team on the use of the “thumper.”

This machine weighs more than you do and has a mind of it’s own. have to learn out to let him bounce and move and gently guide the direction and force being applied on the earth below. If you run it too fast on soft earth it will bury itself and you are in big trouble. It’s an interesting process. Unlike most machines where you have a lot of control, with this one you have to “become one with the thumper…don’t fight him… guide with gentle shifts of your weight and direction.”