WaterAndPowerUsage
Water and Power Usage
Although Naked Heart is a plush oasis in the desert, we are still in a desert and both power and water are precious resources.
Water: We pay to have our water delivered to us and we pay to have our grey water taken away. Added together, we pay about $2.00 for every gallon of water. That is significant and is one of the largest expenses for our camp. This is the reason that we do certain things in a very particular way. For example we could have faucets that dispense water just like in your home. Instead we have foot pumps. That way we have the opportunity to say "Thank You" each time we press the pump. It is a minor inconvenience compared to the life sustaining goodness we receive. Thank You.
We could have showers where we just open the tap and are doused in water. But some of us have very different relationships with water, especially if you live on the east coast where water is plentiful. Instead of requiring one of our camp mates to be the "water cop" we have a self regulating system where you fill a shower bag and get a tangible metric of how much water you are using.
Which brings us to the steam bath. The steam bath over at Camp Contact is open and available for our use. It is MUCH more water efficient than a shower and much more fun as well. You are permitted to use Dr. Bronner's soap in the steam bath and there is a pressure sprayer in there if the steam is not sufficient for removing the soap. If you have long hair and wish to rinse it in the steam bath, you may bring a gallon jug of water from our camp. Just be sure to bring the jug back with you others do not need to deal with it.
Power: We must generate all the electricity that we use in camp. It is provided by a 6500 watt generator. It is sufficient to handle all our power needs provided we don't use it for high wattage purposes. As a general rule, do not use it for anything which generates heat. Specifically, do not use:
- Space heaters
- Hair Driers
- Coffee Makers
- Hot Pots
- Rice Cookers
- Crock Pots
- Laminators
- RVs
- High wattage Incandescent lights (use LED instead)
We must also be careful with the time of day that we use things that are higher wattage. From the hours of noon to 4, the high temperatures require use of the A/C in the vegetable box, the fridges, fans in the chill dome, pressure pump for the mister, etc., etc. This may not be the best time to use the vacuum or plug in a Skil saw if you can wait until evening.
A power strip is provided in the solarium for community use. You are welcome to plug some very light loads into this strip.If you bring your own extension cord, you can even supply power to your tent. Please be VERY careful with this. It is intended primarily for charging electronic devices. It should not power anything in your tent that could cause a fire.