When my family and I arrived in Honduras for "six months, maybe a little longer" we had every intention of returning home to pick up life where we had left off. Over six years later we are still here!
Not having planned on staying, we did not then, nor have we since, asked for financial support, but instead have supported ourselves since the day we arrived through our own savings and through business.
Starting with our language school, the Spanish Institute of Honduras, we have now grown to five separate businesses. Inversiones Wolfe Honduras began as a distributorship of Sawyer water filters and now encompasses a whole range of water filters, well drilling products, water pumps, and more. Our retail store will be opening soon in Siguatepeque with Grundfos Pumps being our main product line.
In October of 2015 we received a loan through the Camino Foundation using funds donated by a wealthy Texas businessman to purchase a Bucyrus Erie 22W cable tool rig. With the purchase of that rig, Pozos para Todos was created and is the well drilling arm of our clean water for Honduras initiative.
The BE22W has been an excellent rig for us to start with. It uses a drilling method developed by the Chinese that dates back to the 3rd century. Basically, a heavy drill string is lifted and dropped repeatedly in the bore hole breaking up the rock and soils as it drives deeper and deeper. The cable tool rig has drilled millions of wells around the world and the BE22W was the rig to have until the rotary rig became popular in the 1960s.
As with all improvements and inventions, the rotary rig was developed to overcome several of the disadvantages the cable tool rig has. Speed of drilling was a major improvement. Wells that took 6 days to drill, can now be done in a day and a half. Mud drilling using a Bentonite clay and water mixture keeps the bore hole open even in unconsolidated materials, and when drilling in hard rock, the air driven, down the hole hammer (DTH) makes drilling through granite and basalt rock fast and easy.
As we have grown and expanded, it's has become very clear to us that in order to drill in every area of Honduras, and in all types of geological formations, we must upgrade to a top head rotary drill rig with mud and air capabilities. I have located one in the USA that I believe will meet our criteria, and most importantly - our budget. After my inspection and purchase of the rig, the sellers have generously agreed to come to Honduras to drill a couple of wells with us in order to educate us on the rig's functions.
Our budget for the purchase of the rig, including transportation from it's location in the northern USA to Honduras, import taxes, extra drilling rod, extra bits and miscellaneous equipment is $85,000 USD.
In order to purchase the rig, we are looking to borrow the amount needed through a structured, interest bearing loan. The loan could come through one individual, or through many people lending smaller amounts.
One of the things I am learning here in Honduras is to depend on others to help accomplish the work we are doing. Back in Maine I would just walk into the bank and take out an equipment loan like I have done many, many times before. It's not that simple now. Banking in Honduras is complicated. However, by seeking investors to fund our projects, we have made new alliances and friendships. We recently hosted an investor from Canada. In a whirlwind visit we showed him what we are accomplishing through business and through donations that fund some of our social/missions projects. He was impressed enough to commit half of what we need to purchase the rig, or to be used somewhere else as needed.
With the new drill rig, our goal is to enlarge our on-going water filtration program in the public schools to include drilling wells. There are so many schools in Honduras where the children have no access to clean water. In addition, we have also been working with several donors, municipalities and NGOs to help communities that have no water. Both of these types of projects are very close to our hearts as we work to make a difference in Honduras.
Then there is the strictly commercial side of the business that pays the bills and supports us that is continuing to grow. Water is a growing need in Honduras and with rivers tapped out or badly contaminated, new wells are the obvious source to meet the growing demand. Whether it is for a municipality, a business or private residence, or a missions compound, water wells are in high demand as a dependable source of clean water.
If you or someone you know is interested in helping us fund this much needed drill rig, please contact me by email at mwolfe.ent@gmail.com I will be happy to provide more details on our projects, projections and loan terms. Please feel free to share this post.
Thanks to each of you who has followed my blog over these past years and has made this journey with us!
Not having planned on staying, we did not then, nor have we since, asked for financial support, but instead have supported ourselves since the day we arrived through our own savings and through business.
Starting with our language school, the Spanish Institute of Honduras, we have now grown to five separate businesses. Inversiones Wolfe Honduras began as a distributorship of Sawyer water filters and now encompasses a whole range of water filters, well drilling products, water pumps, and more. Our retail store will be opening soon in Siguatepeque with Grundfos Pumps being our main product line.
In October of 2015 we received a loan through the Camino Foundation using funds donated by a wealthy Texas businessman to purchase a Bucyrus Erie 22W cable tool rig. With the purchase of that rig, Pozos para Todos was created and is the well drilling arm of our clean water for Honduras initiative.
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| Our rig drilling near Belen, Honduras |
The BE22W has been an excellent rig for us to start with. It uses a drilling method developed by the Chinese that dates back to the 3rd century. Basically, a heavy drill string is lifted and dropped repeatedly in the bore hole breaking up the rock and soils as it drives deeper and deeper. The cable tool rig has drilled millions of wells around the world and the BE22W was the rig to have until the rotary rig became popular in the 1960s.
Our BE22W at work.
As we have grown and expanded, it's has become very clear to us that in order to drill in every area of Honduras, and in all types of geological formations, we must upgrade to a top head rotary drill rig with mud and air capabilities. I have located one in the USA that I believe will meet our criteria, and most importantly - our budget. After my inspection and purchase of the rig, the sellers have generously agreed to come to Honduras to drill a couple of wells with us in order to educate us on the rig's functions.
Our budget for the purchase of the rig, including transportation from it's location in the northern USA to Honduras, import taxes, extra drilling rod, extra bits and miscellaneous equipment is $85,000 USD.
In order to purchase the rig, we are looking to borrow the amount needed through a structured, interest bearing loan. The loan could come through one individual, or through many people lending smaller amounts.
One of the things I am learning here in Honduras is to depend on others to help accomplish the work we are doing. Back in Maine I would just walk into the bank and take out an equipment loan like I have done many, many times before. It's not that simple now. Banking in Honduras is complicated. However, by seeking investors to fund our projects, we have made new alliances and friendships. We recently hosted an investor from Canada. In a whirlwind visit we showed him what we are accomplishing through business and through donations that fund some of our social/missions projects. He was impressed enough to commit half of what we need to purchase the rig, or to be used somewhere else as needed.
With the new drill rig, our goal is to enlarge our on-going water filtration program in the public schools to include drilling wells. There are so many schools in Honduras where the children have no access to clean water. In addition, we have also been working with several donors, municipalities and NGOs to help communities that have no water. Both of these types of projects are very close to our hearts as we work to make a difference in Honduras.
Then there is the strictly commercial side of the business that pays the bills and supports us that is continuing to grow. Water is a growing need in Honduras and with rivers tapped out or badly contaminated, new wells are the obvious source to meet the growing demand. Whether it is for a municipality, a business or private residence, or a missions compound, water wells are in high demand as a dependable source of clean water.
If you or someone you know is interested in helping us fund this much needed drill rig, please contact me by email at mwolfe.ent@gmail.com I will be happy to provide more details on our projects, projections and loan terms. Please feel free to share this post.
Thanks to each of you who has followed my blog over these past years and has made this journey with us!
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