March 28, 2016 COCIRA DIRECTOR’S MEETING CIENEGA DE JUANA RUIZ

10:00 am CIENEGA DE JUANA RUIZ

Today Lee Carter, Rotary, traveled to meet with the Directors of COCIRA & talk about the newly approved Global Grant (GG1524911) for 319 more cisterns in San Miguel, Dolores Hidalgo & San Diego Union. 

The grant is for US$199,400 (approx. MXN3,500,000).

There were approx 29 people present incl. Meche from CEDESA. After everyone presented themselves, we had a moment of reflection before beginning the meeting. A meeting leader was elected as well as the Secretary of the Day. Following that the agenda & a time schedule for finishing the meeting by 2:30 was established.

Meche emphasized the importance of COCIRA to continue to develop its independence & to look at CEDESA & Rotary as resources while they made their own decisions in things that affected the organization.

Lee Carter announced that the next grant for 319+ cisterns had been approved & explained that the Rotary Foundation would like to have a MOU with COCIRA and UCCANG in addition to CEDESA. This is important as it formalizes all of the responsibilities that COCIRA has been taking on over the course of the last water project. Lee presented the list of responsibilities that he recommended for the MOU & after discussing them in detail, COCIRA was in favor of all.

COCIRA for its part is asking Rotary to provide them with the didactic materials developed for the new grant so that they can use these as they continue to evaluate all of the cisterns built since 2008. COCIRA is committed to completing their role in the whole water harvesting process. As we have budgeted printing hundreds of extra copies of didactic materials in the next grant, I believe that we can provide them with what they need without having to increase our printing budget or seeking additional funding outside of the grant.

COCIRA further discussed the “rules & guidelines” that they would like to place on beneficiary families including a simple contract between COCIRA & the beneficiary that they would complete their obligations & work. Other rules were suggested that would ensure that beneficiaries completed their obligations in both the education program & in the construction process.

It is a great pleasure seeing COCIRA carrying out their role with such vigor & enthusiasm to ensure that this next project will be a great success.

Lee Carter

Rotary San Miguel Midday

Report of Inauguration of Sapasma II Project in Cienega

Where: Community of Cienega Juana Ruiz

When: 10 Feb 2012 11.30am-2.45pm

Who Enrique, Laura (Rotary) (+guest of Enrique’s Maria – briefly), Chela, Holly (Cedesa), Camilo, Waldo, Francisco, Alba & 4 Sapasma promoters, & approx. 70 community representatives, from Cienega & also many of the Consejo communities.

Purpose: To celebrate the completion of the 2nd Sapasma Project in this community.

First phase was 26 family + 1 pilot, this phase was for 18 family cisterns. Therefore bringing the total number of cisterns in this community to 45.

There had been unseasonal rain this last week & so the access road was particularly muddy but this did not dampen anyone’s spirits, a Tarpaulin had been stretched out to provide shade/shelter to the many people gathered to celebrate this event.

There were many speeches, Camilo from Sapasma spoke first, he thanked the partners of this project, Rotary, Cedesa & the community. Chela spoke, also thanking the team & explaining a little of the history of this project. Enrique also spoke as did Francisco & the delegado of the community.

We all proceeded on procession fashion, to the first of the cisterns to have a ribbon cutting, & then to 2 more cisterns. One of the cisterns was already ½ full thanks to the unseasonal rain that arrived just as the cisterns were completed!

The trip also included a visit to the Sapasma Pozo, which was put in place more than 3 years ago, including all of the piping, but still has not been operating to provide them domestic use water (their well has high levels of fluoride, ie will not be suitable for drinking), when they eventually do get the problem with water supply resolved. This has been unresolved for many years now, the pipes installed new 3 yrs ago are in some cases now damaged & already needing replacement (despite never having piped water!). The Consejo continues to support Cienega to attempt to resolve this issue with Sapasma – we all hope it is “sorted” soon.

We all proceeded back to the original meeting place & were treated to a banquet feast of red rice, carnitas, nopal salad, salsa & of course delicious tortillas!

I sat next to Francisco of Sapasma & was very pleasantly surprised to find he is a Rugby Fan & knew all about not only the game but the Allblacks!! Who would have thought?

A good day had by all…

Cienega Phase II Pilot

On Monday 28th the Pilot in Cienega Juana Ruiz began.

This is phase II in this community funded by Sapasma Project II.

The pilot was being conducted at a private house & 17 other individual cisterns will be constructed in this phase, adding to the 26 cisterns completed in the first phase.

Total number of cisterns in this community will then be 42.

Saul conducted the training with assistance by Fili & on the 29th Saul's 2nd baby - Emiliano was born.

The families of Cienega are currently constructing the remaining 17 cisterns & are due to complete around the middle of January.

Happy Update...Sapasma Project II

Work with the Consejo (citizen's council) continues, they meet around 6wkly & continue to provide priority for water projects, dry toilet projects & other issues. As a result of their continued hard work, we have now been successful in achieving funding for 2 more major projects. One with Sapasma (detailed in this post) & the 2nd with another Rotary Global Grant (see separate post)

Sapasma (our local water authority) have agreed to fund another project for 59 cisterns mxn$439,399 pesos. This project will be carried out in 3 communities with an additional 3 solo cisterns to be provided in 2 more communities.
Los Torres will carry out phase III & construct 18 cisterns.
Presita de Santa Rosa will carry out phase I & construct 20 cisterns - with an additional cistern being funded by a private donation - thank you Chris - & thank you Holly for arranging this.
Cienega will carry out phase II & construct 18 cisterns.
Cinco Senores will work with University de Leon & receive a single cistern.
Rancho Bonito will receive 2 single cisterns...

Paperwork is currently being completed & funding is expected to be received this week, with 1st Pilot in LT scheduled to kick off on 7th Nov.

It will be a punishingly tough rollout, with every effort to get things underway before Christmas!!

Mini Regional Consejo Meeting 13.10.11

Who: Saul, Holly (Cedesa), Waldo, Alva (Sapasma)
Absent (Laura, Chela)
Communities represented:......

A mini Regional meeting was held at Cienegita on Thurs 13th Oct. to determine the priority for the receipt of resources for water cisterns.

It was decided Cienega would receive the 19 cisterns available from the Sapasma Funding Grant II...

****The next priorities are Juan Gonzales, La Palmita II and Correlejos.****

Communities of Cinco Señores, Villa de Guadalupe didn't show up at today's meeting, (nor La Tinaja, but Saul didn't advise them - they are difficult to reach since there is no cel phone signal there).

June & July Regional Activities, report by Holly Yasui

June-July 2011 newsletter

First of all, apologies for the lateness of this newsletter. We had our biggest event of the year, the 12th Annual National Fair “Lucha Rivera” (for a dignified and sustainable life, and for fair trade and solidarity marketing) on August 5-7, with nearly 700 producers coming from 18 states. I was been extremely busy with preparations for that event, about which I will report in the next bi-monthly newsletter, and then catching up with projects and meetings postponed during the preparations.

A second apology: during the month of June, I was recovering from hip surgery and so I did not attend any meetings for the first half of the month and only a few during the second half, though I did receive reports from the my team members, which I will summarize.

Without further ado, notes on our activities in the months of June and July, 2011 follow.

Wednesday, June 1 –Community Assemblies at La Tinaja and Palmita II. These two communities are located on the west side of the highway to Guanajuato, in mountainous terrain (as opposed to the other communities where we have worked, which have been mostly riverside communities). Both La Tinaja and Palmita II are interested in dry toilets, and we hope to include La TInaja in the next International Rotary grant for rain-harvesting cisterns.

Wednesday, June 8 – Inauguration of the Tierra Blanca cisterns. The 40 families of Tierra Blanca completed their rain-harvesting systems in time for the rains expected this month (note: we did have good rains the last week of June, which filled many of the Tierra Blanca cisterns nearly to half-full, but July was an unusually dry month with only occasional light showers). Thank you Laura Stewart for the great photos!


Wednesday, June 15 – Full Council Assembly at Vivienda de Arriba. At this meeting, representatives of all 17 communities of the Citizen’s Council attended, plus two persons from a new community, Los Magueyes were introduced (Los Magueyes is a small community of about 20 families, located near the Atotonilco turnoff on the highway between San Miguel and Dolores Hidalgo).

It was decided that the next communities within the SMA Citizen’s Council to embark on cistern projects will be Presita de Santa Rosa (Rotary), Guerrero (SAPASMA), Cruz del Palmar II (Rotary), Los Torres III (SAPASMA), and La Tinaja (Rotary).

Saul reported on the application for dry toilets referred to the Department of Social Development by the mayor. Social Development proposed 125 dry toilets to be “given” to the “most needy”, financed by the federal SEDESOL program, at a cost of $25,000 per toilet, with a 15% cash contribution by the beneficiaries. Some comments: these types of programs benefit the laziest people and outside contractors (as opposed to our participatory methodology of having the families provide labor rather than cash, and employing local workers), and have no social context or follow-up. All agreed that we want to continue with our application which includes using local construction workers assisted by the families receiving the materials, training and follow-up technical assistance by CEDESA. The council rejected the SEDESOL proposal and voted to send a committee to the Department of Social Development to insist upon our proposal, and if unsuccessful, to the Mayor’s office.

Holly reported on a research project sponsored by CEDESA on medicinal plants – an internationally renowned expert on healing with herbs, Dr. Rosita Arvigo, is gathering information from local healers on plants of Guanajuato for a book in order to preserve knowledge that has traditionally been passed down from generation to generation orally. With the advent of “modern” medicine, this knowledge is in danger of being lost since many people now prefer to go to doctors and buy medicines made in laboratories. Revalorizing traditional knowledge of healing herbs can help families spend less and cure simple ailments in a more natural way with fewer side-effects. Representatives from several communities in the San Miguel Rural Citizen’s Council volunteered to contact their local traditional healers for interviews.

illustration for plant book

Ana of Vivienda de Arriba reported on her meeting with the Cruz del Palmar Ejido Commission regarding donation of land in that community for a meeting room and eco-technology demonstration center for the Citizen’s Council. The Council decided to request a plot next to the Vivienda de Arriba kindergarten, off the main road, rather than a more distant plot next to the football field. Irene of Capaderillo offered a piece of land in her community, but it does not have road access. Emelia of Cienega mentioned that the Cienega Ejido is selling land in the wedge between the old and new Guanajuato roads. For the moment, it was decided to pursue the donation first, and if that does not come through, to consider the purchase possibilities.


Monday, June 20 – Meeting with SAPASMA to review the progress of the cistern-building projects in Villa de Guadalupe and Cienega de Juana Ruiz. Both projects are proceeding on schedule in spite of problems of delivering water during several weeks of construction.


Friday, June 24 – Tierra Blanca: meeting with Dr. Ortega, who reported on the results from the water tests taken at and around Tierra Blanca, and discussed the symptoms of fluorosis (fluoride poisoning). The 80+ people attending were very attentive and expressed interest in knowing more about the quality of all the sources of water in the region. Results from Dr. Ortega’s fluoride tests:
1. Well – Cruz del Palmar: 1.99 mg/L
2. Well – Cruz del Palmar: 0.40 mg/L
3. Spring – Artesano: 2.56 mg/L
4. Well – Presita Santa Rosa: 2.67 mg/L
5. Well – Tierra Blanca de Abajo: 0.86 mg/L
6. Spring – Tierra Blanca d Abajo: 2.72 mg/L
7. Spring – Tierra Blanca de Abajo: 2.40 mg/L
8. Spring – Tierra Blanca de Abajo: 2.36 mg/L
9. River – Tierra Blanca de Abajo: 0.74 mg/L
10. Well – Rancho Nuevo de Banda: 3.47 mg/L
11. Spring – Los Torres: 0.70 mg/L


Wednesday, June 29 – Inauguration of cisterns at Juan Gonzales. The 21 families of this community celebrated the completion of their rain-harvesting systems at the old primary school – literally the day before the heavy rains at the end of June, which half-filled most of the cisterns.


Saturday, July 2 – Founders Day Gathering at CEDESA. From the municipality of San Miguel, representatives from 14 communities attended: Capaderillo, Los Magueyes, VIvienda Urbana, Guerrero, Presita Santa Rosa, Cruz del Palmar, Juan Gonzales, Cinco Señores, Correlejos, San Lorenzo, La Palmita II, Villa de Guadalupe, Cienega de Juana Ruiz, Tierra Blanca. The event included talks, displays and workshops on this year’s theme of natural health as well as activities for children.

Tuesday, July 5 – Meeting at Fondo Verde – a commission of six representatives from the Citizens Council visited the Department of Ecology and agreed that the $200,000 pesos that we turned down for another cistern project should be applied to a dry toilet project – pilots in the 15 communities that have requested them.
The written application was submitted on Tuesday, July 12 for fifteen dry toilets.

Thursday, July 7 – Assembly at Tierra Blanca to explain the protocol written by Dr. Georgina Mejia (SMA rep of State Health Dept) for an epidemiological study of the high incidence of cancer in that community. The assembly agreed to send a small committee to the Mayor’s office on July 20 to seek support for the study to be done by the Instituto Biomedico of UNAM .
Monday, July 11 - Visit to Cienega de Juana Ruiz to interview healers for the medicinal plant book. Holly took Dr. Rosita Arvigo to this community in order to interview Emelia, Socorro and Juana about the medicinal plants that they use. Their kids helped out by gathering wild plants.



Saturday, July 16 – Inauguration of cisterns at Cinco Señores. The 11 families of Cinco Señores celebrated the completion of their rainwater-harvesting systems. The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at Josefina´s and Esther’s homes, a double-barreled system with two cisterns connected to one roof since the roof of Josefina’s house is higher and larger than Esther’s.



Wednesday, July 20 – Meeting with the Mayor. The Council met with Mayor Lucy Nuñez to discuss the application for dry toilets. Lucy supported the Council’s participatory project (over the SEDESOL outside-contractor project) and committed $4 million pesos to the Council project.
On this same day, we had a Community Assembly in Guerrero primarily to discuss the cistern project that we are proposing with SAPASMA.

Monday, July 25 – Visit to La TInaja and Espejo (next to Tierra Blanca). Holly took Dr. Rosita Arvigo to these communities to interview traditional healers about the plants they use.



Thursday, July 28 – Full Council Assembly at Cienega. Approximately 70 people from all the communities except Vivienda de Arriba and Vivienda Urbana attended. The meeting was initiated by Chela with a reflection on the phrase: “Today our Mother Earth is wounded, and the future of humankind is in danger.”

The rest of the meeting mainly dealt with the dry toilet application with the municipality. New clusters were established, and one community within each designated as the site for dry toilet construction training (marked with asterisk below).
Cluster 1 – Capaderillo*, Guerrero, Vivienda Urbana de Abajo, Presita Santa Rosa
Cluster 2 – Cruz del Palmar, Los Torres*, Montecillo de Nieto, Los Magueyes
Cluster 3 – Tierra Blanca, Vivienda de Arriba, Juan Gonzales*, Cinco Señores, Correlejos
Cluster 4 – Cienega de Juana Ruiz, Palmita II*, La Tinaja, Villa de Guadalupe, San Lorenzo

The Council was invited to participate in a panel at the National Fair in Dolores Hidalgo on August 5-7, to discuss the environmental problems of the region and the projects taking place or being proposed to resolve them (rain-harvesting cisterns and dry toilets)

On that same day, the four families of San Lorenzo celebrated the inauguration of their cisterns.

article in atencion 3rd June 2011

Hi all
Please check this link to see the article in Atencion re the Sapasma/Rotary/Cedesa joint project in Cienega & Villa de Guadalupe...

Click here


Also: Scroll down to view the video re this project.

2nd Mtg Cienega Juana Ruiz

Record of Event

Where: Salon de Lectura Cienega Juana Ruiz
When: Wed 4.5.11 5pm (we were late coming from our planning meeting) – 8pm
Who: Saul, Chela, Holly + (Cedesa), Laura, (Rotary), 3 Sapasma Promoters + 30 adults (incl 4 men) from Community of Cienega.

Purpose: 2nd planning meeting for the Water Cistern project, funded as part of the US$35k Sapasma grant. This project (along with the one in Villa de Guadalupe) will be considered a training program for Sapasma promoters to learn the Cedesa method & overall operations of the water projects. It will be to provide 26 family cisterns in Cienega + 1 pilot will be funded by the Bellingham Rotary Club direct grant.

Sapasma will be attending all planning meetings as well as training pilot & various individual family work sessions, to learn the process from beginning to end.

Chela explained why we were late, we had had 3 meetings prior to this one.

A co-ordinator was elected – Adriana & secretary (?)

Introductions by Sapasma, & the Roll was called. Chela asked who else was attended (other than those on the list) & why they were here – they responded they were interested in getting water.

One person who is on the list does not have space for the cistern so is donating her place. Chela asked who agreed & who want3ed to comment. Amelia (consejo rep) explained that it was a decision for the whole group to discuss & make.

Chela wanted to clarify that the project is not a normal program/handout but an involved process. She asked if anyone wanted to talk about the water situation in general to know more.
The discussion then covered the topics of contaminants, bacterial v chemical/mineral. The contaminant fluoride was discussed, along with the symptoms. & the method of killing bacteria with the Sodis (www.sodis.ch) was briefly explained.

Chela asked why Sapasma was there – the crowd responded to learn the process along side us & to provide resources, & also to talk about the pozo issue.

Chela “so you have your resources organized already?” si, but we need to organize the work groups, & plan the project, we have done that already, for our homework! We have 5 groups organized…
We then had a discussion as we had only budgeted on 4 work groups (ie each work group needs their own set of plywood & water truck deliveries – in this case). So we needed to reorganize the work groups into just 4 groups.

There was discussion about the water situation, as there is none in this community (only irrigation wells from which they have to “borrow” water, or dry river beds where they excavate approx. 1mtr to collect the water from the muddy puddle), we need to organize with Sapasma to have pipas (water trucks), & these cost money – so a solicitude needs to be made (with Sapasma’s promoters assistance) to the municipality to cover the cost of these water truck deliveries, which are essential for the construction of the cisterns.

Holly spent many hours working on the solution, she estimated the qty of water for each cistern to be approx. 2400 cisterns, ie 12 tambos (big buckets), each truck can be 5000 or 10,000 ltrs so need to arrange for deliveries sufficient for 2400 per family per group. A schedule has been drawn up to ensure the construction of the cisterns is not held up for lack of water deliveries.

Chela asked who at Sapasma is responsible for ensuring the water deliveries, & the promoters responded Waldo.


The groups were then formed - 4 groups (formatting lost in this blog!)

Luis Gonz
Ricardo Guerrero ©
Soccorro Soria ©
Adriana Ramirez
Veronica Torres
Abelina Soria
Emelia Gonz (CC)/A
Audencia
Marina Ramz.
Elisa Martinez©
Jose Soria
Victoria Vargas
Rosalia Vargas ©
Rutilia Ramz
Luisa Guerrero
Calina Vasquez (a)
Javier Guerrero ©
Carmela Guerrero©
Estela Monton
Sanjuana Torres
Almadelia ©
Paulina (a)
Juana Vazquez
Imelda Martinez ©
Victoria Vazquez
Consuelo Juarez


There was a discussion about the need for a minimum of 1-2 abaniles per each group, if they are not available on afternoons or weekends even, they will need, as a group to contribute to pay someone. Emelia pointed out that many people can be abaniles, they don’t need a degree in it she asked Sergio “have you got a degree?” everyone laughed.

Sapasma asked if they can take photos to record the process, Emelia began preening herself & again everyone cracked up laughing.

The co-ordinator role for the groups was explained, ie they are the go-to people for deliveries, short deliveries, issues etc, 2 co-ordinators were appointed for each group.

Emelia was appointed as community co-ordinator (ie overall co-ordinator).

Saul explained that the abanile involvement is very important, it is essential to make the best possible cistern so it does not fail you…

Emelia mentioned how much she is enjoying the thought of working together in groups, this community have worked together before & have achieved a lot, they have facilities we have not seen in other communities, eg a community kitchen, a health clinic, a library, & even a small bull ring… they enjoy working together, Emelia “it is one thing to be talking about work, but it really lifts your spirits when you work together & slap on the cement!”

Saul reiterated – it really is a joy to work in teams on these projects – developing harmony.

Saul mentioned the chain of command re the group work, re errors or issues, try to resolve them amongst your group, then with your group co-ordinators, then with the community co-ordinator & as a last resort call him.

Hours of work re the Pilot
The pilot is to begin in Cienega on the 9th May. There was discussion about starting time for the day’s work. Some wanted to start at 7am, others 8am & others 9am. 8 am was the consensus.

When deliveries are ready they call Saul, & Saul will all the leaders of the project to meet the trucks to tell them where to go.

Attendance at the pilot is ideal for all members all days, ie to learn the process fully. Those that really can not attend need to send representatives, &/or provide food & drink.

PVC limit 2.5 tramos per family
Saul mentioned there is a limit to the qty of PVC piping that will be supplied by the project, many people want to have their cisterns way away from the house & this costs more in piping. The new method is to build the cistern as close as poss. Or where they desire, then measure the piping requirements once the cistern is in place, this is a more precise method.

The location of the cistern is important & needs to take into account the overall plan for the whole backyard, including gardens, rubbish, compost, animals, fruit trees, etc.

Some people paint pictures or decorate their cisterns, in Vivienda Urbana someone has drawn a picture of jesus on the cross, in Vivienda Arriba they have elephants on the side & stampeding up the top! The cistern is there for your whole life so it’s important to accommodate it in the best possible spot.
It is 2.5 mtrs high + .7 more for the peak.

No throwaway cups & plates – the volume of rubbish created during the communal meetings is immense & everyone is encouraged to bring re-usable plates & cups to cut down waste.

Tools – the tools required for the first day were listed, including ladders, wheelbarrows, big buckets, wire cutters, grinder, sieves

End of planning session for the Water Project

Pozo…
Discussion/plans were made re the situation with the Pozo.
Piping was put in place approx. 3 yrs ago, after working on the issue for 7 yrs, but now the pipes are in a state of disrepair & they are still not hooked up to the well.

There is an issue re the concession holder for the well, he went to the USA, they have been working on changing the ownership of the concession.

Sapasma asked if they had a water committee, the delegado said yes they have been appointed but have never received training, Sapasma explained they may have been missed, they have trained 83 communities in the region but must have missed this one.

A phone number was exchanged so the delegado can co=ordinate a training session for the water committee.

The Delegado mentioned they have been working for many years on the issue of provision of water with Sapasma, but have not got anywhere.

Chela said there are many responsible, not just Sapasma, that the whole community needs to take responsibility to push this forward. (I missed the end of the meeting as had to take a phone call)

Meeting finished at 7.20pm & a big feast was provided!
Next meeting 9/5/11 – pilot construction at Casa de Salud begins 8am.

1st Mtg Cienega Juana Ruiz

Record of Event pg 1 of 2

Where: Salon de Lectura
When: Wed 13.4.11 3.40pm (we were late) – 5pm
Who: Saul, Chela, Holly + Audelia (Cedesa), Laura, (Rotary), + 20 adults (incl 2 men) from Community of Cienega.

Purpose: 1st planning meeting for the Water Cistern project, funded as part of the US$35k Sapasma grant. This project (along with the one in Villa de Guadalupe) will be considered a training program for Sapasma promoters to learn the Cedesa method & overall operations of the water projects. It will be to provide 26 family cisterns in Cienega + 1 pilot will be funded by the Bellingham Rotary Club direct grant.

Sapasma will be attending all planning meetings as well as training pilot & various individual family work sessions, to learn the process from beginning to end.

The attendance roll was read out.
Chela explained that representatives of this community had been regularly attending assemblies in other communities to ask for assistance in receiving materials & training to build cisterns, as they have no safe drinking water here.

Chela asked everyone in the circle to introduce themselves.

She then gave a little of the history of the projects to date, Saul explained that today’s meeting was as a result of the Consejo deciding that Cienega were to be next in line to receive resources, hence they were receiving resources from Sapasma for 26 cisterns in this community, as well as $$ from Bellingham Rotary club to pay for the pilot training cistern.

Chela said so we’re here today to begin planning but also to get to know eachother better.

It is very important for the sake of future projects that this project be successful, as it is essentially a pilot project for Sapasma, to learn how to do more of these in other communities, they will be treating this as a model & also learning in Villa de Guadalupe.

The community mentioned they had 5 or 6 meetings on the topic of water already, “we were very united while we had the project to build this building (the salon we were sitting in) & we are keen to unite to achieve safe drinking water for our community as the next project”

We proposed that the pilot be 9/5 – community agreed this would be a good time as later they would have to be working planting in the fields as the rains are the only way to water their crops & they need to plant in readiness.

Saul asked if everyone is aware of the work process of this project.
Saul asked someone to describe what working in groups meant, one of the older guys responded that that’s how they built their corrals, we work together, & each family provides food. This community has also been working together for years to grow medicinal herbs which they sell in various locations including the market in SMA.

Amelia (the delegada’s wife) explained that it is not her responsibility to advise people about the meeting times, if people are interested they need to come to her, or write it down from the last meeting.

Saul responded – for us this is good, if you are organized & harmonious it’s good for us & also very good for Sapasma, since this is a pilot project, & will encourage more projects of this type in the future. So, if you are harmonious congratulations! & it will be much easier for all of us.

Saul began to describe the process: we begin in a public location that will benefit everyone, & build a pilot cistern there, during the construction of that cistern – approx. 4.5 days, everyone will learn the process of building a cistern & connecting it to your roof, so you can build your own in family groups.

Current water situation
The question of contamination arose - & the community informed they have damaged teeth, they dig shallow wells by the river to get their water, but at the end of the dry season hard to find.
Re the big Pozo (well), there is still a problem with the concession of this well, the concession holder has gone to the States & needs to sign over paperwork to someone else to be able to connect & use the pozo. There were pipes laid years ago, but it has not been resolved since then & therefore these pipes are now in a state of dis-repair. The community paid for these pipes, by individual family contribution.

They have been working approx. 7 years on this, & by their admission worked a bit backwards, ie they put in the piping first & still have not had it connected so they need to spend more money on repairs & need to work out how & who to charge for this… it is 3 yrs since they put in the pipes.

Position for pilot cistern
Apparently they already have a cistern at the kinder so decided to build the pilot a the health clinic instead.

Pilot start date 9/5.
Laura to have materials paid & delivered by 6/5 in readiness for 9/5.

Next meeting (Sapasma also invited) 4/5/11 at 4pm at the Salon de Lectura

Meeting adjourned & we were taken to the Community kitchen, & offered tostadas with lettuce & soya “meat”, tomato, avocado & cilantro…

While we were there we noticed they had a number of treadle sewing machines, apparently it was part of a govt. program, but the training was too condensed & no-one remembers, Laura undertook to see if she could find some “sewing experts” to give lessons.