7th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar Water Project

Record of Event pg 1 of 4

7th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar Water Project


Where: Cruz del Palmar Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Wed June 09.06.10 11.40 – 2pm
Who: Chela, (Cedesa), Elena & Laura (Rotary), 27 adults incl 7 men, + 11kids, 1 dog,

Purpose: Review construction of individual cisterns

There were some new people here today so we introduced ourselves.

Chela called for proposed Co-ordinator for the day.
Analaura was proposed.
Analaura called the roll.

The 4 new people at today’s meeting are
Catalina (was at 1st meeting)
Hermelinda Ramirez
Maria Dolores
Theresa Salazar
(2 are from the other side of the river & 2 in Centro)
1 woman attended first meeting but then had to go to GTO, she is interested though.)

Elena said a few words in personal prayer before we began, about protecting the environment & being open to receive good words…

Chela asked why are you involved?
They all said they were interested in this project.
Chela reiterated that participation in meetings is compulsory to plan the process, discuss issues eg, not letting cats onto the roofs to keep them clean.

The problem of cats on roofs was discussed, apparently it is common for neighbours cats to go on roofs & poo. I suggested a slingshot, or a water bottle with vinegar in! They all laughed.

Elena suggested a sandbox, & educating them to use it.
They all agreed Amigos de los Animales would be welcome to neuter the animals.
Elena knows the organisation & mentioned getting in touch with them.

This is an important item to discuss as keeping the roofs clean is a very important part of the maintenance of the system. If you have a plague of cats & dogs maybe you need to take control & responsibility for this, they can not be allowed to breed randomly. Dog & cat faeces are very polluting & contaminating.

Action: Elena asked for the name & contact of Imelda Ramirez Ignatio Allende #70, ph 415 119 4016, as her dog has a problem with “sarne” (mange) & Elena offered to contact her vet to see what can be done.

There is no vet available near Cruz del Palmar – a mobile vet clinic could be a good idea!

“often no Doctor here, let alone a vet!”





Record of Event pg 2 of 4

Review of Project
The first 12 cisterns are all completed.
Materials for the rest of the cisterns have been received (as of yesterday – cement delivered).
All the wires are woven & cylinders have been created, so only cement needs to be applied.

There was a discussion about piping/pvc, they are missing
Codos 45 3” x 2 (from first delivery)
Tees 3” x 21 (2nd delivery)
Codos 45 3” x 10 (2nd delivery)
Tapones incercion 3” x 8 (2nd delivery)

Laura checked invoices & discovered that although the correct amount was ordered, for some reason the invoice was for less than was ordered. An additional order was since paid & will be collected on 15th June.

Some of the cisterns are “crooked”
There was a discussion as some of the cisterns are not perfectly straight. This is because they did not adhere to the training exactly.

After much discussion, & because it is only aesthetic it was decided it is not a problem, & to call them “rustic” or “organic” examples.

Co-incidentally Jose Miguel Cruz (one of the Los Torres team of experts) was visiting the clinic across the road so Elena went to see him to ask him to come & chat with the meeting.

5 cisterns are slightly crooked. It was decided the groups would benefit from an additional 2 day’s training/consultation by Rafa, 1 to visit the extra 7 people in group 4, & 1 for any other doubts.

Ana from Group 4 will call Rafa & co-ordinate with the other groups.

Chela explained it is important for them to do their best on construction as these examples are seen by the rest of the community(s).

Jose Miguel arrived with Chucha & explained the process required to ensure the cisterns are straight & not on a lean.
Including
• Place the top on carefully
• Measure the distance from the centre to the edge with a piece of string & make sure it is the same all round (this will centre it)
• Don’t bend or lean on the wire form because it is bendable, & you don’t want this.
Everyone was asked if they are clear on what they need to do now, & all agreed.

Question – will it affect the water – no – it’s purely aesthetic.

Miguel gave Ana Rafa’s contact details for the extra 2 days work agreed.







Record of Event pg 3 of 4

Group co-operation
There was discussion about working in groups, many are not co-operating. Chela talked about Montecillo de Nieto, & how well they were working in harmony.

Chela - You need to decide on the hours that will work for all of you & then stick to that commitment. You need to respect this & it’s in your hands to decide between yourselves. It affects you all, when you don’t want to work in groups it wont work, it’s a principal point of this project, to learn to work co-operatively in groups & respect arrangements/agreements.

Chela – from my perspective if you can’t respect agreements we don’t or can’t continue to work in CdP.

There is a lack of respect & you need to work on this.

Group 4 in particular needs to get together to get things organised, if you agree an hour to begin, then be there.

In some groups they are each house that they work on is providing food & drink for the ones working, so they are all naturally taking turns at catering.

Doubts & questions
One of the women mentioned that Los Torres cisterns get called “balls” but a woman asked her the other day
“what are all those Monos blancos (white monkeys!) popping up in Cruz del Palmar!)
Everyone thought this was pretty funny.

What is the next time for a visit, & what will we cover?
Next visit will be 14th July, covering maintenance & function of the cisterns when the rains arrive.

There was a brief discussion re the water alternatives eg, solar distillation, for example this would be useful on years when it is dry & there is no rainwater. Chela explained that Cedesa has workshops on these & it would be worthwhile for a few to attend.

Brief discussion re toilets, some have septic systems.

Discussion about possibility of Phase II in Cruz del Palmar
It is interesting to note that there are waves of interest in a community, we have now worked in enough to see a pattern.
1st lots of interest in case they miss out, then fewer return when they realise they have to do the work & are not receiving a hand out, then there is a bit of a delay while the project gets underway & construction begins, & then once the first few are finished, a new wave of interest is created as the later adopters finally “get it” & see what we were talking about!

There are 4 extra people today but Chela invited them to start a list of 2nd Phase people, knowing that money will take a while & they need to work to achieve this.
There are a couple of newly weds interested, but they thought they had to have a family first before they qualified, we explained no, just willing to do the work & participate.






Record of Event pg 4 of 4

Chela – Cisterns are not a “fashion item” they are a resolution to a grave problem…

There was more discussion about people wanting them but not being prepared to work for them, one woman pointed out to these people that it is well worth it, since it is there for the future for their family, “yes it’s a lot of work & commitment & effort, but then the solution is in place from then on…”

With this safe drinking water the health of your family will improve & there will be fewer visits to the clinic, & health will be back in your hands.

“If people have problem attending the meetings then they’re going to have more problems to construct their cistern”

Chela - really it’s a small investment of time compared with the solution it provides, investment in the cistern, but also investment in your community to grow together, valuable learning time, as well as the cistern/water solution for life.

Chela – we came here today because we know the issue & wish to resolve it, we are here to help, a few days of your life in return for healthy drinking water for future generations! It’s a bargain!

Some people have been working from 6pm to Midnight, it’s cooler then – we joked that this might be why some are crooked, they’ve been falling asleep while they work…

People were invited to attend the next assembly if they are interested in phase II.

Next Assembly Cruz del Palmar July 14 at 11am

PS Forgot to add at the end of the Cruz assembly we were approached by a young woman with a daughter of about 5 needing medical check up of a skull operation she had had, we contacted Patro Nato Pro Ninos (the medical NGO here) & made the referral.

We were also asked for assistance for uniforms for a girls soccer team, Yolande's daughters are in a team.

Elena caught up with some others from the team in Los Torres, & asked them to get pricing for us... we intend to add this to the list for our mini-committee of hands on/more immediate projects.

We then left & went to the house of Jesus, (one of the group of 7 extra cisterns) he had invited us to stay for Comida.
His house was amazing, full of inherited furniture from his grandmother & we were treated to a very elegant lunch (he used to be a caterer), spaghetti alfredo, chicken with capsicum cheese & mushrooms with fresh fruit desert, we then were toured his animals, horse, turkeys, about 7 million chickens, 1 peacock, 2 pheasants, & a blue bird I didn’t recognise, we also got to see the feathers off the chicken we had just eaten for lunch as proof of the freshness!! Ahhh Mexico – full of surprises.

Then we headed off with full bellies to Capaderillo for the next assembly!

Report respectfully submitted by Laura Stewart