Friday, July 26, 2013

Rotary Club of Ann Arbor Visited Los Torres & Fred tells the story..

LOS TORRES BLOG CONTRIBUTION
Shortly after the completion of the first Project in Los Torres, we—my wife Sue and I—visited the Project, this was back on 13th November 2009.

What would motivate the two of us, who had no previous contact with the Project,  to go to Los Torres?

We belong to the Rotary Club of Ann Arbor, one of whose members, Tom Conlin, spent several months in San Miguel de Allende.

While there he attended meetings of the Rotary Club, and became interested in the Water Project. When he returned, he persuaded our Club to join in support with other Rotary Clubs.

We came to San Miguel for a National Geographic Photo Workshop, & contacted Laura Stewart, whom we knew had worked hard to accomplish the goals of the Water Project.

She kindly consented to show us how the Project had worked in Los Torres. On our part, we were eager to see the results of the Project, and were delighted that Laura would take her valuable time to take us.

Laura drove us out for an hour over roads that barely existed; they were as bad as those we’ve seen anywhere (including Belize, Kenya, etc.).


When we arrived, we saw a substantial community,  (in two parts), and (o our great pleasure), many of the cisterns designed to harvest the rain water.

We were especially pleased to see the cisterns at the kindergarten &and elementary schools. That told us that harvesting rain water had become a community project. The community had evidently organized itself
around the project, and  the idea of working together as a community was in itself new to them.

We also visited a family who had installed their own cistern.





Old water collection method, wait for the water truck
to come & deliver water, then collect it by wheel barrow
& cart it home.






 

The new method to collect water - family's own cistern.    







Despite the language barrier, we could sense the love the family had for one another. I tried to depict this in my photography, and in the image Sisters I think I succeeded.

After this inspiring visit, Laura drove us back to
San Miguel over the  same roads as before.
Again I worried that the suspension would break,
and that getting back to San Miguel would be long postponed.
But that didn’t happen, and we returned knowing that our Club
had invested its dollars well in helping others to enhance their own lives
 in a significant and permanent way                                                            


Sisters...


.

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Tere Martínez of CEDESA, 1947-2013: An Exemplary Life

It began as a dream, fueled by the indomitable will and energy of a group of young campesinos, led by Father Guillermo Dávalos (Padre Memo) in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato.

They took on the greatest challenges that face humankind: poverty, ignorance and injustice. They created a place called CEDESA, the Center for Agricultural Development, where they lived and worked and brought others to share experiences, teach and learn. They planted crops and trees in the dry scrub-land, and ideas in fertile minds– about dignity, development and autonomy.

Among the many who contributed to this effort, the three “muchachas” as they were affectionately known in the communities where they worked – Lucha Rivera, Tere and Chela Martínez – decided to dedicate their lives to CEDESA.

In 2006, Lucha died of kidney failure, leaving Tere and Chela to carry on the work of CEDESA. A week ago on April 17, Tere died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage, leaving her younger sister Chela, the fourth pillar of CEDESA, standing alone – but not entirely.

At an emotional meeting a few days after Tere’s death, the CEDESA team of outreach workers, consultants and directors reaffirmed their commitment to the dream and spirit of Padre Memo, Lucha and Tere.

Teresa Martínez Delgado was born on May 19, 1947 in the village of La Grulla, municipality of Dolores Hidalgo. At that time, no schools existed in the countryside, so Tere’s parents sent her to the city to live with her grandmother and attend primary school. Thus she became one of the few campesinas in the region who knew how to read and write. At the age of 12, she began to work as a literacy teacher and participated in courses given by Padre Memo on organizing, agriculture and handcrafts.














Tere with Padre Memo and Lucha Rivera in the late 1960s.

1968 was the year in which repression of liberation and social movements reached its apogee throughout the world; in Mexico, with the slaughter of hundreds, perhaps thousands of students in the in infamous massacre of Tlateloco.

In northern Guanajuato, large landowners of the region, allied with conservative clergy & worked together to eliminate the campesino movement. Taking up the banner of anti-communism, they expelled several progressive priests from the diocese, including Padre Memo.

In 1970, Tere joined the board of directors of CEDESA, and in spite of powerful opposition, stood firm as the youngest director of CEDESA, continuing to organize in the communities, and she helped to develop collective projects such as corn-grinding mills and beekeeping.

As a founding member of the Beekeepers Union of Northern Guanajuato (ASANG), Tere remained an avid advocate for natural bee products all her life. While still in her 20s, Tere also took charge of coordinating the construction of the CEDESA facilities on the 50-hectare tract that Padre Memo had purchased for the training center.

At that time, the young CEDESA team lived in rooms they had constructed in the “El Socorrito” church in Dolores, and took turns working in the communities and working on the CEDESA land, applying agricultural techniques they had learned: terracing, creation of windbreaks, and soil conservation.

In the mid 1970s, the primary supporter of CEDESA, the Misereor Foundation, stopped payment of the construction grant they had been providing because of accusations that the young CEDESA workers were “a nest of communists, embezzlers of funds … and invaders of temples.”

After four years of extensive auditing, the charges were found groundless. Construction resumed and the CEDESA offices, meeting rooms, kitchen, dining room and dormitories were finally completed in 1979.

The CEDESA team, in front of their newly completed facilities.

Tere is in the first row, second from the right (her younger sister Chela stands behind her, in a white blouse and Lucha next to Chela, in a blue shirt and skirt.

This hard-won accomplishment, according to the book that Lucha, Tere and Chela wrote, CEDESA, the Social Struggle against Poverty in Northern Guanajuato, was seminal to the work and spirit of the grass-roots organization they had created.


“Thus we were finally able to experience the freedom to live in our own space. From that moment on, the project was entirely in our hands … we felt we had finally won the independence to be the creators of our own development, as individuals and as communities. We finally reached the end of the tunnel that had limited our possibilities for growing … and we took on the risks of our own choices.”

During the tumultuous 1980s, CEDESA, with Tere, Lucha and Chela at the forefront, helped campesinos defend their rights to land and water though the regional Union of Campesino Communities of Northern Guanajuato (UCCANG) that they helped to form.

They marched on the capital, demanded the release of compañeros who had been jailed, won titles to land for communities against large landowners, and drinking water systems for more than 50 communities in the municipalities of San Miguel de Allende, Dolores Hidalgo, San Felipe, San Diego de la Unión, and San Luis de la Paz.

In the video On the Road toward a Dignified and Sustainable Life: CEDESA Tere says:
“This period was important, a time of transition, of radical change. Instead of each individual working in his community, the communities all started working together."

In 1993, CEDESA undertook an internal evaluation in order to plan for the future. In response to the pervasive problem of immigration and abandonment of the countryside, UCCANG and ASANG prioritized strengthening the family economy – not just financially but also revalorizing the contributions of all members, including domestic and community work – as a way to enable campesinos to stay on the land and draw sustenance physically and spiritually.

Tere helped define and implement the “Sustainable Campesino Home” project, encouraging families to root themselves in their land by producing their own food (using eco-technologies such as rainwater-harvesting cisterns, gray-water recycling, dry toilets, and wood-saving stoves) and surplus to trade or sell. Tere was passionate about this campesino self-sufficiency project, especially the fair trade and solidarity economy aspects.

In 1999, she was elected president of the Mexican Network of Community Commerce. She was the driving force behind the Feria Nacional de Productores y Consumidores held annually in Dolores Hidalgo, offering a wide variety of organic products and handcrafts, and promoting barter and social coin as well as environmental consciousness and alternative health. She also helped organize various local community markets, including barter fairs in Dolores Hidalgo and the Tiangüis Orgánico de San Miguel de Allende (TOSMA).

Tere travelled extensively promoting and participating in community commerce /fair trade and solidarity economy conferences and meetings, including frequent visits to Mexico City and Guadalajara, and international trips to South and Central America.

At the same time, she was in charge of all the programming of workshops and courses at CEDESA, including short workshops on diverse topics such as cooking with soy which she herself taught, composting and bio-intensive gardening, construction with adobe, quilt-making, cultivation of organic nopal and a large variety of products (jams, pickles, sweets, liquors, capsules,etc.), building solar water heaters and distillers, and the use of medicinal plants; and months-long diploma courses on groundwater; apitherapy (use of bee stings and bee products for alternative health treatments), and rural tourism. Tere’s interests and capacities were amazing.


“Las Muchachas” - Chela, Lucha and Tere 

Former editor of the Atención San Miguel newspaper, Suzanne Ludekins says: “It was a privilege and honor to collaborate with Tere Martínez. Tere's love and respect for the land and its people was an inspiration.... Tere's commitment to educating, empowering and helping the people of the campo she loved so much showed me the true ethics of a social activist.”

Teresa Martinez Delgado: a woman who dedicated herself heart and soul to a dream that she helped to make real, whose exemplary life is a light for those who follow

(written by Holly Yasui - Cedesa  - & irreplaceable member of the Water Project team !)

Friday, April 19, 2013

Inaugural Celebration at Las Magueyes and La Palma 19.4.13





It was a beautiful day out in the country today. With the completion of 16 water harvesting systems, we gathered to celebrate the success and hard work of the community work teams that made this happen. There were 38 persons in attendance plus some extra children coming and going. Octavo Perez, the Secretary of the Board of Directors of Sapasma attended and spoke briefly and eloquently about the importance of bringing water to those communities without water or, worse, water contaminated with harmful chemicals that cannot o be filtered out. Octavio emphasized that Sapasma (local semi-governmental water agency) needs to be a player in bringing safe and potable drinking water to all those living in rural San Miguel. Octavio, we are going to hold you to that promise! Although we completed two previous water projects with the previous directors of Sapasma, we are hoping to be able to do a Sapasma funded cistern project with the new administration soon in the community of Juan Gonzalez.

Also we were pleased to be joined by Mauricio Sanchez, Presidente de la Red de Comunicación y Cultura del Agua del Noreste de Guanajuato (President of the Northeast Guanajuato Network for Water Culture and Comunication) y Vice Presidente de Educación y Comunicación del Observatorio Ciudadano de Agua y Saneamiento (VP for Education and Communication for the Citizens Monitoring Group on Water and Sanitation). It is good that we are beginning to form more formal partnerships as we work to resolve water and sanitation issues in the San Miguel villages.

Fellow Rotarians Layla, Ivar, Denis, Alejandro and I went to enjoy the day and the completion of this project that will provide safe, clean and potable drinking water to 120 people protecting them from the harmful effects of excessive fluoride in the water. We had visitors, Pat, Fran and Kelly from La Joya, California that were also interested in these projects and who we hope will join forces with us in a future project. Pat is the president elect of the La Joya Rotary Club. Adriana Felix, a new comer to San Miguel joined us to learn more about the rainwater collection systems. We were also joined by David Burton of the United Universalist Church (The UUs). He came to see a water project and decide whether they want to join with us in another project down the road.

First, we all piled into all of the available vehicles and went to visit three of the cisterns built in La Palma. Ivar Schacke, President of Rotary San Miguel Midday cut the ribbon to officially mark the successful completion of the La Palma part of the project. After returning to Las Magueyes, Lilia guided a short meeting where everyone had an opportunity to introduce themselves. Holly and Saul of Cedesa spoke briefly about the importance of these projects and the importance of participating in the Regional Water Council (Cocira).

It is a bittersweet day for all of us involved with Cedesa. Only two days ago, we suddenly lost Maria de Teresa Martinez Delgado, a founder of Cedesa. Tere labored for more than 50 years in helping develop the communities surrounding San Miguel and Dolores Hidalgo. We will Tere miss terribly. She worked with great passion and dedication in helping the communities and the people living there. Today, in addition to celebrating the completion of this project, I choose to think that we also celebrated the life of Tere and the incredible things that she and her sister, Chela, have accomplished over the previous 50 years. Vaya con dios, Tere.





Next, after a quick tour of the Las Magueyes cisterns and the final ribbon cutting ceremony, we arrived in the best part of the day: lunch prepared by the 16 families to welcome us and thank us for the resources we provided in this great team project. We are grateful to have been able to serve in this way. Finally, we know that we are only a part of the wheel. Real work is also done by the family work teams, by our partner Cedesa, and by the work of the Regional Citizen's Council (COCIRA). I believe that the families in Las Magueyes will continue to conduct community meetings and seek solutions to other problems that they identify in their community. I know they will continue as members of Cocira. They see now that the work invested brought them such a great return; a permanent and sustainable water source free of the injurious chemicals arsenic and fluoride.

This is an especially touching project for me as Lilia, the community representative, came to our English speaking Rotary Club two years ago after she heard on the radio that the Midday Rotary was helping construct cisterns in our communities in San Miguel. After sitting patiently through our meeting, she made her plea for help to several of us. We advised her to contact Cedesa and begin to organize her community. Soon thereafter they were actively participating in Cocira. They earned they way up the waiting list, and now, two years later, her community has its completed their phase project. The finish the full circle, Lilia will be speaking on the radio next week to inform the public about the rainwater harvesting program that Rotary has been supporting since Laura Stewart undertook the first project in November of 2007. I take off my hat to you, Lilia!

It has been lovely working with these two communities. Perhaps I may not be visiting soon on Rotarian business, but I know that I will go there shortly as a friend, and particularly, to enjoy Dona Beatriz’ gorditas and updates from the wonderful Lilia.









Submitted by Lee Carter 










Sunday, April 14, 2013

Los Magueyes & La Palma Sunday, April 14, 2013


Today I went to visit the 16 completed cisterns and document their completion via photographs. 

Lilia and her husband, Antonio, took me from house to house and it was a pleasure to spend the morning with them.

I was surprised to find several cisterns had been specially decorated to recognize the important role of Rotary, Cedesa (our community development partner) and Cocira (the regional citizen's council that has been formed by the 22 communities that now have rainwater harvesting projects + 2 other communities). 

This project has been very enjoyable thus far, but to have an opportunity to talk with each individual family about the process and their experience, really drove home to me the way these projects can change lives and change communities. 

Every family was rightfully proud of the work they had done and there were many jokes about which of the three work teams was the best. On Friday, April 19, many members of our club and their guests will attend the community sponsored inaugural celebration.

Here is one of the cleverest “thank you” designs I encountered painted on a cistern yesterday:

Submitted by Lee Carter

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Assembly in Viviendilla Wednesday, April 10, 2013 9 am


15 people attended a pre-construction meeting in Viviendilla this morning. 

Saul Juarez (Cedesa) led the meeting. The two teachers from the school were in attendance. 

Of those in attendance only Eric and Deyenira were aware of the fluoride problems with the community’s water supply. It is surprising to find people who are not aware of this after having completed rainwater catchment projects in adjacent villages. 

In addition to this problem, the people wanted to talk about the other problems in the area which included sanitation issues and dumping raw sewage in the Rio Laja that passes beside this village. 

There was also a discussion about an illegal well recently drilled across the river in La Cieneguita … the well was drilled using a permit from the town of Acambaro more than two hours south of San Miguel. This illegal well is causing the spring in the Cieneguita to dry up. 

This spring has played a role in the Otomi (?) ceremonies for several centuries. This is representative of the illegal activities that are draining our aquifer and exacerbating the problems of fluoride and arsenic in our water.

After a discussion of all of these issues and the futility of individuals trying to stop this destruction of their water sources, Saul discussed Cocira, the regional Citizen's council. Everyone understood how working together there would be a better chance, through a strong single voice, to petition for the rights of all of the Communities belonging to Cocira. 

I hope that this community will join Cocira and attend the next meetings.

It was decided that materials would be delivered to a home adjacent to the school on Saturday, April 13. All parents in attendance will report on Monday morning at 9 am to begin work. Saul will come also to explain the construction process and get the cistern off to a good start. 

There is some sand and gravel left at the school from previous construction. If we can use that to reduce that expense, we may be able to pay Saul to go to the school once or twice to make presentations about water and sanitation issues to the students and, of equal importance, the teachers.

A list of tools needed for Monday morning was made and each individual made a promise to bring specific items. Deyenira Ramirez agreed to make the Monday lunch for everyone. With everyone is agreement the meeting was adjourned at 10:30 am.
Lee Carter San Miguel Midday Rotary

Monday, April 1, 2013

Statistics Update as at 1st April 2013


A BIG THANK YOU to all the hardworking men & women belonging to the Rotary Clubs & Districts & the Foundation who have been part of this solution:

Ann Arbor RC USA
Baton Rouge Capital City RC USA
Bellingham RC USA
Calgary RC Canada
Middletown RC USA
New Braumfels RC USA
Paso Robles RC USA
Port Lavaca RC USA
Richmond RC TX USA
Sechelt BC RC Canada
Tallahassee RC USA
Trail BC RC Canada
Tyron RC USA
West U RC TX USA
San Miguel Midday RC Mexico
Districts 4160, 6060, 6200, 6940, 7670, 7980
& THE ROTARY FOUNDATION (Ashley & Lauren)

HUGE THANK YOU’s to:
Cedesa, (especially Holly, Chela, Saul – The TEAM!!), & our family members who put up with long, late hours…
Sapasma (Camilo, Waldo, Alva, Juan Jose & the other promoters)
Fondo Verde
Alberta Govt’s Community Initiative Program (BC Canada)
The many private donors/supporters
Our Suppliers, especially Raul from Hierro Comercial Dolores Hidalgo, Eric our Herreria & his boys, Jesus our sand guy, Madera Providencia, Cemex, Talego, Don Pedro,
Our Banks: Frost Bank, Bancomer, Monex, Intercam, CI banco,
Our accountant (wish we had her in the early days) : Liliana
Our publicity: Atencion!,
Members & Board of San Miguel Midday, for continuing support, attending Inaugurations, making speeches on behalf of the project, attending meetings with govt, fundraising!
Lee Carter: answering all the tricky finance questions in the past & leading the new team Denis & Alex for the new Projects.


 &

MASSIVE THANKS to the men, women & children in all of the participating communities – for showing us your strength, courage & commitment to improving the lives of yourselves & future generations - living with such dignity under incredible hardship.


Numbers:

605 Cisterns
21 Communities
Ie 4000+ family members (+ other school & kinder children)

Total Funding Summarised
Rotary US$239,588    (including direct grant private donations)
SMCF US$10614
Sapasma mxn$870399 (ie approx. US$67000)
Fondo Verde mxn$150,000(ie approx. US$11,500) + US$21,850
Other donations US$1000

(total approx. US$351,552)

1st New Team Project - Completed May 2013 18 Cisterns
Summary of Funding
Chinook Rotary Direct Grant $5000 , 
Rotary of Middletown Direct Grant $3021  
District 7980 District simplified Grant  $2320
Rotary San Miguel Midday $200 
(total USD$10,541)

Los Magueyes 8 cisterns
La Palma 8 cisterns
Viviendilla 2 Cisterns (1 at school, 1 demonstration cistern at factory)

Completed May-Jun 2012 11 Cisterns

Summary of Funding
San Miguel Community Fund $5911

Tierra Blanca 11 cisterns

Completed Jan-May 2012 169 cisterns in 8 Communities

Summary of Funding
Global Grant Rotary $65,300
Direct grants & donations $21,147 breakdown as follows:

Tallahassee US$10k club & $2.5k private donation
Port Lavaca  US$6k
Peggy Purcel US$462.45
Pancake breakfast fundraiser $14950pesos
Excess funds from Port Lavaca/New braumfels proj. $11420pesos
Excess funds from Cap II proj. $487pesos
Excess funds from Bellingham water proj. $1163.5 pesos
private donation $250pesos

La Tinaja 22 cisterns
Cruz del Palmar 41 Cisterns
Guerrero 20 Cisterns
Tres Esquinas 24 Cisterns
Tierra Blanca 23 Cisterns
Corralejos 15 Cisterns
Vivienda de Arriba 10 Cisterns
Los Torres 14 Cisterns

Completed Nov 2011-Jan2012 60 cisterns in 5 communities

Summary of Funding
Sapasma mxn$435399
Chris Hosford private donor US$500

Los Torres 18 cisterns (Phase IV in this community)
Presita de Santa Rosa 21 Cisterns (Pilot paid for by private donation - thankyou Chris Hosford, 20 cisterns funded by Sapasma)
Cienega Juana Ruiz 18 Cisterns (Phase II in this community)
Lomas de Cocina 2 Cisterns
Cinco Senores 1 Cistern 
(**)

Completed March – Jun 2011 134 cisterns in 6 communities

Summary of funding
Rotary $44,000
Fondo Verde mxn$150,000
Sapasma mxn$435,000

Tierra Blanca 28
Juan Gonzalez 22
funded by Global Grant from Baton Rouge Capitol City RC & District 6200 US$33,500
(completed June 2011)

Tierra Blanca 14 - direct grant donation from New Braumfels RC $2k, & Port Lavaca RC $7k
(completed June 2011)

San Lorenzo 4
Cinco Senores 11 (incl pilot in JG)
Fondo Verde Mxn$150k
(Completed June 2011)

Villa de Guadalupe 27
Cienega Juana Ruiz 26
Sapasma mxn$435k
(completed June 2011)

Villa Pilot x1
Cienega Pilot x 1 
Bellingham RC US$1500
(completed June 2011)

Completed Jan 2011 – March 2011 25 cisterns
Summary Funding
DSG Tallahassee $3800,Tallahassee RC$6000,Walla Walla $7000
Vivienda Urbana (Cap II) 25 cisterns


Completed Jan 2009 – Jan 2011 Total 188 cisterns in 6 communities.
Summary Funding
Rotary$81,800
SMCF$4,703
Fondo Verde$21,850
Skymed $500
total funding = USD $108,853
Palencia 21 Cisterns $7k (+ balance of excess from other projects)
Capaderillo 40 Cisterns FV US$21850
Cruz del Palmar 28 Cisterns combined $24700
Vivienda de Arriba 17 Cisterns
Montecillo de Nieto 30 Cisterns $16700
Los Torres 52 Cisterns (27+4+17+1+3) Including $21,700 + 12,200+smcf US$2468+ smcf 2 U$2235  
= 188 cisterns (& 4 rotoplas tanks)

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Middletown goes to Magueyes


Our visit started at the home of Senora Lilia, whose initiative led to the current project at Los Magueyes and La Palma. 

Our group consisted of Rotarians from San Miguel and Connecticut in the US, as well as Unitarian-Universalists from San Miguel.  We were warmly greeted, in spite of the fact that we were interrupting an active phase of the cistern construction at Senora Lilia’s house.  

One work group was busy putting concrete on the inner and outer walls of the cistern there, while another group was doing the same around the corner.  Nearby we saw a cistern which was completed except for the final sealing with a mixture of lime and nopal extract, an extremely effective and low cost method we learned.

Saul and Holly from CEDESA, along with Senora Lilia, gave us a very comprehensive summary of the process of a water harvesting project, from the initial community meetings to the maintenance carried out by the families in the years following construction.  

We were very impressed by the central role played by the local residents themselves, who are responsible for every key decision along the way, for the construction itself, and for the ongoing maintenance.  

The pride of ownership and the certainty of sustainability were very evident. 

What was also evident was that this was likely to be just one step in a much larger process of this community working together to better itself.  

The first part of our visit ended with a delicious meal prepared by Senora Lilia and her helpers, and enjoyed by everybody, including those of us visiting and the adults and children of the families involved in this incredibly worthwhile project.

After lunch we crossed the highway to visit the completed pilot cistern at the home of Dona Beatriz.  There we learned a lot more about the water problems in the state of Guanajuato, where the depletion of the aquifer has led to increased concentrations of fluoride and other harmful chemicals.  We learned about the potential health effects of these chemical concentrations, especially for children, and we saw in Senora Lilia how increased awareness is being translated into community action.  

The cistern at Dona Beatriz’s house was ready to be filled by the summer rains, which we learned will support a family of 14 until the next rainy season.  

As we left we could not help but to be amazed by how much good will come from such a modest level of financial support.
Howard Reid, Rotary Club of Middletown CT. Saturday, March 16, 2013



Howard  & Melanie (Middletown Rotary), Senora Lilia & Lee (SMA Midday Rotary)


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Pilot Cistern – Los Magueyes – Day 3



We arrived around 8:30 this morning and I was surprised by how much work had been accomplished in just a few days. 

Yesterday, the first layer of concrete was put on the "wall" of the cistern. 

Today about 15 persons arrived sharply at 9 am, the technical representative from Cedesa and 14 workers, most women. 

watched as they sift sand and start dumping wheelbarrows of sand on the ground. Next they carried over 5 bags of cement and dumped that on top of the sand. That was mixed up and formed into a small volcano. Buckets of water started arriving & were poured into the volcano. 

We were mystified to know how they knew just when the right amount of water was deposited. They, (about four women with shovels), mixed it up and they were exactly right … no extra water had to be added.

Meanwhile the plywood sheets were removed from the inside of the cistern cylinder … concrete was passed over the top to the workers inside and then began a flurry of activity both inside and out. 

Final result: two new layers of concrete and a finished cylinder. Tomorrow the cone shaped roof will go on and the pilot cistern is on schedule and will be finished on Friday.

Each work group intends to immediately begin on the fifteen more cisterns. Materials are expected to be delivered to each family’s home on Friday.

Lee Carter

Monday, February 18, 2013

Los Magueyes Pilot day 1


“A lot of enthusiasm on the first day. The wire was unrolled and the foreman Miguel quickly had the volunteers stitching the layers together. I was impressed at how many men turned up. While the large group composed of men and women worked on the wire, 3 men dug out the space for the cement slab. The gravel was delivered for the base as well as the sand for the concrete. Next a truck arrived and transferred sufficient water for mixing the concrete. Three women busied themselves in Beatrizes house getting lunch ready and preparing cool drinks for the workers. I would say they are all very enthusiastic and committed. If the 3ply arrives...today as promised, it will have been a very successful first day on the pilot cistern.... Harvesting water is fun and very rewarding..“ Denis Beaudry, Rotary San Miguel Midday.18 February 2013


Photo 1 The Materials arriving on the Pilot Site, home of Dona Beatriz



 Photo2 The Devil is in the details … stitching together the chicken wire and structural wire


Photo3 Things go fast with so many helpers


Photo 4Preparing the pad – 12,000 liters weighs a lot
Photo 5 Step One: tie the chicken wire together
 Photo 6 Jesus Rico has delivered the sand and gravel

Thursday, February 14, 2013

2nd Los Magueyes Community Mtg - We are Funded


We are funded! Thank you to Middletown Rotary Club and District 7980 who provided matching funds. Thank you to Chinook Rotary Club of Calgary, Canada.
On Valentine’s Day (February 14, 2013), the pre-construction organizational meeting was held at Las Magueyes. In attendance were 17 women, 7 men and 2 children of the Las Magueyes and La Palma communities. The hard work of community development continued. Saul and Holly of CEDESA were there and Saul began the meeting by greeting all and recognizing San Miguel Midday Rotary members who were in attendance. Steve and Jim, members of the Walla Walla, Washington Rotary Club came with Denis and me. They have already made a down payment to be contributing members of our next water harvesting project.
The first order of business in developing a community is to guide the community members in learning how to run a meeting. Saul teaches this brilliantly and with much patience. To begin, a meeting leader and secretary were elected. The community leader then began to develop the agenda for the day and reviewing the meeting notes from the last meeting.  Each member of the community participated by proposing a list of things to be discussed and decided before the next step, building the pilot cistern, begins. Early in the meeting it was determined that three families who had indicated a desire to have a cistern had not attended pre-construction meetings and they had not shown the necessary intent required to earn a cistern. After discussion amongst all of the community members, they decided that only the 16 families that had done the work to deserve a cistern would be included in the project. Alas, the project is now cut back to 16 cisterns. We are overfunded!
It is an appropriate decision to decide to only do 16 of the potential 19 cisterns in this case. Persons/Families truly must earn their cisterns through attending meetings and demonstrating responsibility and willingness to do the work. There is significant time required for construction and teams must believe that all participants will be there to do the work, not only for their own cistern but also for the cisterns for every other family represented on their work teams. I will now discuss what to do with our international partners. I hope they will agree to apply the excess funds to the next project. We already have a list of other communities with dire need for safe and potable drinking water.
Rotary as a mechanism to bring water to poorer marginalized communities has become recognized by the rural communities of the San Miguel Municipality. At this meeting, five persons representing the community of Ex-Hacienda de Pena Blanca came to request that we help them. This is one of the poorest communities in our region and they have no water whatsoever. For many months of the year, they have to take burros miles away to collect water and return it to their community. The representatives of Pena Blanca appealed to us to come visit them and see for ourselves the difficulties they are facing. We will do that and we will support their efforts to obtain a constant water source by encouraging them to become active participants in COCIRA and earning their position in our list of those who have the gravest needs. Their story was a heart wrenching one.
The Meeting Leader of the day (with the soft coaching from Saul) formed three work teams to work together to complete their cisterns. They decided to build a pilot cistern next week at the home of Dona Beatriz. Members from all of the work teams will be there Monday to Friday to build this cistern under the technical guidance of a CEDESA promoter. Rotary will be visiting each day to document the progress and observe the process. Once the pilot cistern is finished, the work groups will build the final fifteen cisterns to complete this project.
It was greatly gratifying to see the process take place and watch as life changing resources are being brought to these communities through Rotary.