STATISTICS UPDATE DECEMBER 2015

WHAT WE'VE ACHIEVED TO DATE (December 2015)

Since the successful collaboration in Los Torres (3 phases), we have completed projects in Montecillo de Nieto , Cruz del Palmar, Vivienda de Arriba, Capaderillo, Palencia , Vivienda Urbana, Tierra Blanca, Juan Gonzalez, Cinco Senores, Villa de Guadalupe, Cienega & San Lorenzo, Presita de Santa Rosa, La Tinaja,Guerrero,3 Esquinas (near Palencia),Cruz del Palmar phase II,Corralejo,Vivienda de Arriba phase II,Tierra Blanca phase II...

New Water project team have to date completed projects &/or pilots in Los Magueyes, La Palma, Viviendilla, Exhacienda Peña Blanca , Exhacienda de Jesus(San Caytano & Adjuntas de San Jose, as well as La Banda

Presa Allende, Lindero & Alonso Yanez, plus in  Juan Gonzalez Phase II,  XH Peña Blanca Phase II, Vivienda de Abajo Phase II & San Lorenzo Phase II, Montecillo de Nieto Phase II & the work continues!!!

MASSIVE THANKS to the women, men & 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 often under incredible hardship.

***Please see further gratitude extended at the end of this post

Numbers:

751 Cisterns 

29 Communities 

39 projects (this is counting each “mini project” also multiple phase communities)

Ie 4800+ family members (+ other school & kinder children) 

TOTAL FUNDING SUMMARISED:

Rotary US$317,588    (including direct grant private donations)

SMCF US$10614

Sapasma mxn$953353 (ie approx. US$73334)
Fondo Verde mxn$150,000(ie approx. US$11,500) + US$21,850
Lotus Foundation mxn$93530

Other donations to date US$1000
+ $750 in memory of Merle Howard 2015
+ $800 in memory of Gordon Logan 2015

+ $5000 donation from Walla Walla Rotary 2015.

(total approx. US$449,630)

IN THE PIPELINE:

Pending grant for $199,400 ie 314 more cisterns planned.

Participating: TRF + 10 Rotary Clubs, from 8 Rotary Districts + 3 Foundations

November 2015 – A new  Global Grant application was submitted to TRF for 314 cisterns at a cost of US$199,431. 

Ten percent of the budget is to fund a new educational component. Partners are TRF, Lotus Foundation, Simi Sunrise Rotary, Middletown Rotary, Grand Cayman-Sunrise, Nanaimo Rotary, Harlingen Sunburst, Titusville, Somerville, Grass Valley South, Districts 5240, 4160, 6930, 6600, 6940, 7980, 5190 and 3720 (Korea). Also San Miguel Community Foundation and Fondation Coup de Coeur (Canada).

Additional New Team Projects since last update Aug 2014 

Sept 2014 – start of new Global grant for $78,000 to fund 110 cisterns (we have actually stretched that to 124 so far as at Dec 2015) Partners are Lotus Foundation, Rotary Foundations, Eau Gallie Rotary Club and District 6930

The 124 cisterns completed as part of this global grant to date are:

October 2014 - Juan Gonzalez phase II – 16

January 2015 - Banda and Montecillo de Nieto phase II – 17

March 2015 - Vivienda Urbano (Abajo) Phase II – 10

April 2015 - Alonso Yanez and Lindero – 38

June 2015 - Presa Allende – 22

August 2015 - San Lorenzo Phase II 2

August 2015 - ExHacienda de Pena Blanca Phase II 19

2nd New Team Project - Completed July 2014 19 + 2 Cisterns from here included in Update Aug. 2014.

Summary of Funding
ExHacienda Pena Blanca 19 Cisterns

Lotus Foundation Mxn$72056 

(nb this amount was under budget & the balance will be counted in the next project planned - global grant)
Sapasma Materials Donation value mxn$82,954.69

Planned for ExHacienda de Jesus - which became San Cayetano 1, Adjuntas de San Jose 1 (*municipality of San Diego Union)

Lotus Foundation Managed by RSMM

mxn 15077


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)


FURTHER GRATITUDE IN THE FORM OF A VERY BIG THANK YOU IS EXTENDED TO:

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
Eau Gallie RC USA
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)
(not including pending project)

HUGE THANK YOU’s to:

Cedesa, (especially Beatrice, Abel, Holly, Chela, Saul – The TEAM!!), & our family members who put up with long, late hours…

Sapasma (Previous Administration - Camilo, Waldo, Alva, Juan Jose & the other promoters & the new administration)

Fondo Verde

Alberta Govt’s Community Initiative Program (BC Canada)
The Lotus Foundation (private donor)

The many other 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 Alejandro, Denis & Alex, &  for the new Projects
Gary Reid for continuing to take excellent photos for us.

Historical info re Needs Analysis executed + proof of concept with Tierra Blanca Erionite Issue

We were recently asked to describe our needs analysis process & the ongoing needs analysis...

Since our original  needs analysis report was verbal & first hand experiential -  I comiited this to the record so as to describe what went on before the water projects began...

The needs analysis exercise was essentially led by Bob Leonard - an expert in community development, having worked for American Aid among others & myself.

We identified that to be successful with a project of any sort in the marginalised communities of our Region, we needed to partner with an NGO that had experience & demonstrated success, in community development

We identified the main NGO's working in our region & after meeting with them it became blatantly obvious that water was the major issue, either a scarcity of it or contamination & that an alternative & healthy water supply was dire for many people in the communities in our region.

We talked & visted with several NGO's in the field of community development - 

FAI - Save the Children

CASA

Patronatos Pro Ninos

Cedesa

& govt organisations

municipal govt.

Sapasma,

Ecology

We all know water is an essential element for life, there can be no life without it, & contamination of it is the cause of many sicknesses, disease & death worldwide. This has readily been acknowledged by Rotary along with many Aid Agencies globally & is a top priority of them all.

We had been given a copy of the Ecosciences report showing the level of contamination of Fluoride in the area.

We researched further & through Cedesa,  met with Dr Ortega - a renowned scientist at UNAM (the biggest university in Latin America), & his colleagues who were running an 8 mth workshop on water & aquifer in this area with representatives from 120 communities, at Cedesa. To raise awareness of the issues with the indigenous & marginalised people of the region. 

Dr Ortega's studies & research highlighted further the fluoride & scarcity issue, & the fact that despite often heavy rains the recharge rate was only 1 mtr per year, with many water levels being 180mtrs or lower.

We did more research on the effects of fluoride at the levels of contamination in our region.

It became further obvious to us that the effects of fluorosis - based on Deans Index - 

H.T. Dean's fluorosis index was developed in 1942 and is currently the most universally accepted classification system. An individual's fluorosis score is based on the most severe form of fluorosis found on two or more teeth.[5].

Using this index we found many in the "severe" range. 

We spoke with the govt to determine what - if anything - they were doing to resolve this issue & to raise awareness of this issue in the communities exposed to contamination. We found they were doing a resounding nothing! 

We visited several affected communities with several of the NGO's & found the level of awareness of fluoride to be zero, they had no idea what caused their teeth to be brown pointy stubs! We saw fluorosis even in the mouths of 2 yr old babies, who were still largely breastfed, their first teeth were crumbled, mottled misformed clumps.

Only 2 of the NGO's we worked with demonstrated the principles of excellent community development (the others were working more as charity organisations, hand out versus hand up).

Of the 2 NGO's, one stated they had found it difficult to get any traction with communities in San Miguel. They had found them closed & resistant to working to resolve their issues. They believed it came about re the history of this area, that many had worked on Haciendas & were not accustomed to resolving things, but rather being told what to do.

Cedesa on the other hand had been working successfully with more than 120 communities in their region (nthrn Gto) for over 40 years, they had been successful in continuing the good work a Priest had begun to empower the indigenous people in their marginalised & remote communities. They also, co-incidentally, had been looking to extend their reach & work with new communities further south - they were very keen to work in San Miguel, as they identified that although the centre of San Miguel was prosperous & wealthy, just outside of SMA were over 500 communities exactly the opposite.

Since Cedesa already knew the issues of fluoride & one of the appropriate technologies they demonstrated at their workshops was water collection, namely cisterns we had our perfect match!

As to the ongoing needs analysis - well the issue has not gone away, it worsens each year, as more & more water is pulled - without govt controls - out of the aquifer & the remaining 40% of water left behind is concentrated more & more. 

Sapasma have done additional testing of the wells in our region but have not shared this info with us - we believe this maybe for political reasons as they have committed only to provide water to communities without access to water, & continue to not publicly recognise the fluoride issue. (Mexican politics are complicated).

This problem can not resolve itself, it will only worsen. The contamination is continuing to affect the lives of many in our region. As Rotary has the power to do something about it, & as the method is in place & proven, along with a robust selection criteria - based onneed & demonstrated participation. 

As an aside, this project continues to provide benefit, positive outcomes & goodwill, way beyond the essential provision of water.

Just yesterday I was at a community meeting in Tierra Blanca, one of the water project communities. The community told us at the first meeting there in 2010 that ahead of water their top prioirty was they wanted our help to resolve an issue of high incidence of cancer in their community. 

We continued to work on this with them  (aside from the water projects which were successfully completed). 4 years after that initial meeting, we now know the cause of the cancer is Erionite. This has been confirmed by a world Erionite /Mesothelioma expert in Hawaii, & yesterday many govt officials were there to learn more about the issues (the erionite issue as well as other community priorities)  - these multi departmental govt. officials have committed to regular contact with this community to work together to resolve them. 

Yesterday's meeting would never have come about had we not carried out a water project there. 

Firstly the cancer deaths would not have been recognised as an issue - Tierra Blanca had been asking for help for this for years & the govt had dismissed it saying the cause was genetic.

Secondly they would not have managed to reach perhaps, the one scientist in Mexico who would continue to work until he discovered the answer - Dr Ortega.

Thirdly the community would not have been organised enough to invite the govt officials & co-ordinate the meeting, with community representatives speaking on the issues & the diagnosis & potential solutions.

What I was privileged to witness yesterday - indigenous women standing in front of a crowd & without hesitation, eloquently descibing their issue, the affect it has had on their lives, the incidious latency then horrid & rapid onset symptoms of the cancer, the number of people in their family who have died from it & their empassioned plea to the govt. officials to work with them to resolve this life threatening issue, for their future generations - was I have to say it - simply amazing!!!

This is a direct result of the community of Tierra Blanca having been involved in an excellent community development project, which not only resolved a major issue but also taught them the skills to identify & resolve other issues in future.

To sum up, as a result of the very thorough needs analysis we carried out  -.what we discovered, ie the need for safe drinking water, was blindingly obvious, & continues to be. What we hoped for - was to work with the communities to provide an alternative to the toxic water they have been consuming for generations, we also hoped that in the process they would find their strength & voice & common ground as a community. 

What has resulted  - these communties have been positively affected in ways we are sometimes lucky enough to witness (like yesterday's meeting). What they have learned - organisation skills & that they have basic human rights, & a voice & there is strength in unitiy - will allow them to continue to improve their lives for future generations. Each time they exercise these many skills (gained during the projects) they become even stronger. I am very proud that through our efforts - Rotary could have been a part of this.

12th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

Record of Meeting pg 1 of 2

12th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

Where: CEDESA Dolores (approx 1 hr from SMA)

When: Friday 7th November 8am – 4pm

Who: Laura (Rotary), Judy & Bill (Patronato Pro Ninos) Maria Jesus, Maria de la Concepcion, Maria Leova (& son), Cecilia (& son), Hilaria, (Community leaders Los Torres), Chela & Tere Martinez, Holly Yasui, Benigno & partner, & 1 other woman (from CEDESA).

Project Purpose - SMA Rotary has tasked Bob & Laura with defining the “needs” & determining the best proposal, for a major water Project involving the writing of a competitive grant for approx. US$100K.

Rationale: As part of the process of defining the “need” we will meet with as many people as possible that are directly involved in the provision of, or are aware of the need for the provision of, safe drinking water solutions to marginal communities.

Visit Purpose:

For the women of Los Torres to be introduced to the people of CEDESA, what they do & what they can offer. Ultimately for the people of Los Torres to decide if they need assistance to “mobilise” the community & run the water project.

Summary of Visit

The Fishers & I each drove out to Los Torres (Holly waited at the highway for us), & collected the women & children, to drive them to CEDESA in Dolores (a nearby town).

We arrived at CEDESA & met with the CEDESA team, introductions all round. We sat in a semi circle & watched another DVD, this one on the topic of water & conservation.
The discussion was then about what CEDESA does & has done by way of assisting communities to take their own issues & solutions in their own hands. Chela impressed upon the women that they have the skills & ability to be responsible for their own wellbeing & that they need not be reliant on govt. & outside organisations but better work with them towards solving issues & improving the prospects of the community.
There was a lot of discussion (all in Spanish – with Holly translating for me if I missed something). The focus was water & what the women believed the issues were: Scarcity, contamination of fluoride (see important points below), Sapasma & proposed well, river that dries part way through the dry season, cost to buy water, sporadic delivery by municipal trucks.
We had a bite to eat & a cup of tea.

Chela then organised discussion on solutions, she said that each person/family needs to be responsible for their own health, access to water etc. That they need to discuss problems & solutions & work together to solve it, & that the answers were in their hands.

The problem of water can help organise the community!



Record of Meeting pg 2 of 2

12th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

The women said they knew the issues but were unsure how to solve them & asked for help with this.
They decided an assembly was necessary & agreed that on 22nd November CEDESA would travel to Los Torres & help facilitate an assembly with the major discussion being on water issues & solutions.

We were given a tour of CEDESA viewing all of the sustainable technologies they have implemented & provide training on - dry toilets, grey water recycling, backyard gardens, water collection tanks, with discussion about the beehives & fields for crop production.

The women of Los Torres indicated they would be very interested in learning more about natural health methods, & backyard gardens (with the aim to improve the family economy) & also beekeeping.

We then drove them home to Los Torres.
Important points

In previous visits to Los Torres, we (Rotary) had been reluctant to raise the topic of fluoride contamination. The people in the community – although most were showing an obvious symptom of fluorosis – bad teeth – did not have an awareness of the issue. We were unsure how to “break the news”, considering we had no cure or solution to offer.

In the last 2 wks a dental health van- provided by Patronato Pro Ninos, in conjunction with the dept of health - has visited Los Torres & treated the children. During this time the subject of fluoride contamination has been raised & the community now has an awareness of this issue.

They are currently at a loss as to how to solve this, especially since the only source of water they can rely on, comes from contaminated wells.

Action

The Los Torres women will organise an assembly to be held at the school in Los Torres on 22nd Nov at 12midday. They will first publicise it at the forthcoming Health Fair (PPN & Health dept), on the 15th Nov & then will go door to door to explain the purpose & illicit support.
It was suggested they write the pertinent points on a piece of paper & use that as a reference when they talk to each household, in order to cover all points.

Thank you

11th exploratory meeting for water project

This report is in the form of an email from Judy Fisher who made the initial introduction to the Los Torres community for us, for which we are very grateful - who knew then, how it would develop!!

Hi Holly,

As I mentioned on our conversation by cell phone, the visit with Los Torres went very well today. The attendees at the meeting were the Delegado and 3 of the Group Leaders. We introduced the discussion with the topic of water because that is the theme that has been prevalent in our last meetings. They discussed what they perceive as their water issues and brought up the following:
1) No water well in the upper village; need to walk 2 hours 3 times a week for water
2) Wells in lower village sometime are dry in very dry season; and, these wells they understand are causing the dark teeth that the women have. The Patronato Dental Van has been at the village for the last week and the Dentist has been informing them of the problems of fluoride for the teeth.
3) 2 Tinacos from Patronato and large "botes" for the families in the upper community, but insufficient water trucks from the city to keep them filled
4) Contamination of private "botes"
5) Can't keep the level of cleanliness they wish to have in the home because of scarce water.

Next, we read to them the invitation from CEDESA and asked their opinion about going to a meeting to discuss water issues with other community leaders who have or have had water issues. They were in agreement that it would be beneficial to understand more since they are in the process of discussions with SAPASMA (drilling a well) and the Rotary Club (installing water catchments systems.)

Then, we showed them the DVD. At the conclusion, the Delegado said she was very interested in meeting with CEDSESA as she felt she could get help on other issues, not the least of which is cooperation from the Community for a variety of projects. We left the DVD and the Booklet for them to review again before next Friday and asked them to go over both to be prepared for the meeting.

I am attaching 2 files, one the census of Los Torres by family and the second a list of the contacts that I have for Los Torres--people in the community and contacts who are involved with helping the community.

For the meeting on Friday, November 4, we can expect 6 from Los Torres (the Delegado, the 4 Group Leaders and one 4 year old boy), from the Rotary 1 (Laura Stewart) and from PPN 2 (Bill and Judy Fisher). The community leaders did request that the meeting be limited to 10 am to 2 pm as it will take another hour to return to the community.

Laura and I discussed that she would send to you her outline of all of the facts on water in the Community so that CEDESA would have a though understanding before the meeting on Friday, Nov 7.

Should there be any further changes as to attendees, Laura and I will communicate to you very early next week.

Saludos,
Judy Fisher

9th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project

Record of Meeting pg 1 of 2

9th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

Where: Los Torres (via Salida Dolores)

When: Monday 29th Sept 2008, 9.15-2pm

Who: Bill & Judy Fisher, Patronato Pro Ninos, Maria de Jesus (Los Torres delegada) Jose Miguel (delegada’s husband), Gary, Gordon, Bob, David & Laura (Rotary),
Purpose - SMA Rotary has tasked Bob & Laura with defining the “needs” & determining the best proposal, for a major water Project involving the writing of a competitive grant for approx. US$100K.

Rationale: As part of the process of defining the “need” we will meet with as many people as possible that are directly involved in the provision of, or are aware of the need for the provision of, safe drinking water solutions to marginal communities.

Patronato Pro Ninos: are a local non profit organisation. They work closely with the department of health to provide medical & dental services to the communities in need. They have a relationship with the people of Los Torres, they have been providing them with vitamin supplements to add to their tortillas. An interesting point they made is in future they would do more work before providing the supplements, to educate & inform. The take-up time would be faster then. There had been some resistance from the people that were unaware of the benefits, but the word is now spreading & the mothers are now keen to keep adding the supplements.
We met at the Fabrica Aurora & drove out the road to Dolores. We turned at the turnoff for Casa de Aves continued towards Casa de Aves & then took the right fork (with Casa de Aves to the left). We carried on a dirt road for some time with a few muddy patches to negotiate. (drive is approx 45mins from La Aurora).
2nd Meeting with the delegada.

We were very lucky to be taken to the community with Bill, Judy as they already have a relationship with the community delegada (community organiser) Maria de Jesus.
This was the 2nd meeting with the delegada on this topic. It included a bigger team to gather more information & for more of the team to see what the Los Torres scenario would involve.

Judy facilitated a Q&A session between the delegada & her husband & our team.
Points of interest

The previous meeting in Los Torres yielded a lot of information. This report covers just the additional points/information raised.

The lower community have 10 pozos (wells), family owned, some families share the water with others that don’t have a well.
The pozos are very shallow (by comparison with other communities) only 10-15 mtrs deep.
The wells were only 3 mtrs deep 20 years ago, they have to be dug deeper each year (i.e. 1988 3 mtrs deep, 2008 15 mtrs deep)
At the end of the dry season the wells are almost dried up.

Record of Meeting pg 2 of 2

9th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee
The wells are used for household & gardens but not agriculture.
Approx. 6 wks ago Sapasma visited the village to see whether it was feasible to drill a well (in the top community)
Sapasma said the well would need to be 80 mtrs deep.
The community had to pay for the feasibility study – US$3000
If Sapasma digs the well it is supposed to service 3 communities, Los Torres, Cruz del Palmar & Montecillo de ?
The other 2 communities were not asked to pay for the feasibility study (according to the delegada’s husband).
Sapasma would apparently pipe the water to the other 2 communities, from Los Torres.
Sapasma is to return in October, with a proposal. Each family will be expected to contribute to the cost of the drilling of the well (nb in another community that community was charged US$300 per family).
It is not known if the other 2 communities – to benefit from the well – will be asked to contribute.
As mentioned in previous notes, the Los Torres mothers already meet on Friday’s at 3pm to discuss Health Department topics (from Health dept supplied Topic Cards), approx ¾ of the mums meet at 3 on Friday, the other ¼ meet on Saturday. The sessions are led by Maria Concepcion.

The delegada & her family put on a large lunch for us all including freshly made tortillas, chicheron, beans, rice & the contribution of baking goods we bought.
The team ate a scrumptious lunch, then viewed the gardens & looked at the roofs of the houses. Then we drove to the upper community to look at the school & water facilities there.

Action:

Contact Sapasma to determine their plans for Los Torres (Bob will ask Enrique to email Ernesto Lopez (the chief engineer) to ask our questions.

8th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project

Record of Meeting pg 1 of 3

8th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

Where: Los Torres (via Salida Dolores)

When: Thurs Sept 11th 2008, 9.15-12.30

Who: Bill & Judy Fisher, Kitty (?) Patronato Pro Ninos, Maria de Jesus (Los Torres delegada), Laura Stewart (Rotary),

Purpose - SMA Rotary has tasked Bob, Enrique & Laura with defining the “needs” & determining the best proposal, for a major water Project involving the writing of a competitive grant for approx. US$100K.

Rationale: As part of the process of defining the “need” we will meet with as many people as possible that are directly involved in the provision of, or are aware of the need for the provision of, safe drinking water solutions to marginal communities.

Patronato Pro Ninos: are a local non profit organisation. They work closely with the department of health to provide medical & dental services to the communities in need. They have a relationship with the people of Los Torres, they have been providing them with vitamin supplements to add to their tortillas. An interesting point they made is in future they would do more work before providing the supplements, to educate & inform. The take-up time would be faster then. There had been some resistance from the people that were unaware of the benefits, but the word is now spreading & the mothers are now keen to keep adding the supplements.
We met at the Aurora & drove out the road to Dolores. We turned at the turnoff for Casa de Aves continued towards Casa de Aves & then took the right fork (with Casa de Aves to the left). We carried on a dirt road for some time with a few muddy patches to negotiate. (drive is approx 45mins from Aurora).
Meeting with the delegada.

I was very lucky to be taken to the community with Bill, Judy & Kitty as they already had a relationship with the community delegada (community organiser) Maria de Jesus.
I immediately noted that Maria’s teeth were badly fluoride damaged & she was self conscious of them (covering them with her hand when she laughed). The other women we saw also all had damaged teeth.

These are the points I discovered with discussion & Q&A with Maria (luckily Judy & Kitty were fluent Spanish speakers).

Points of interest

A percentage of the men are in the United States

Most of the other men work in SMA Mon-fri & only return for weekends

There are 2 distinct geographical regions of Los Torres – the upper (ariba) & the lower (abajo).






Record of Meeting pg 2 of 3

8th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

The upper region – approx ½ of the community (& general community facts)

the closest community well is 1 hour walk away
they have a 5000 ltr tinaco supplied by Patronato pro nino
the municipality sends a truck to supply water every 8 days (this water is free)
the truck fills the tinaco & the people’s water containers (huge buckets with lids)
when the water runs out they have to walk to their well (1 hr each way) carting the water back with them, either by burro, wheel barrow or if they are lucky private truck.
If carting without a truck the maximum they can carry is 4 x 20ltr garrafons.
They estimated they make the trek to the well 2 to 3 times a week.(ie the tinaco water doesn’t last very long)
I don’t know the quality of the water from their well.
The tinaco has 2 big blue filters on it (not sure of their contents,) & they have colloidal silver tablet inside the tank. Patronato Pro Nino provided these & it is in their “charter” to maintain these (Judy said this was done 6mthly)
There are approx 3 dry toilets (Maria thought) in the upper region. Apart from those there are no other toilets, people just go on the ground.
There is no Comite de Agua in this community.
There are 3 mother’s groups that meet every Friday from 3-5pm, they meet to discuss topics on a set of cards provided by the Health Department, we met the woman that organises the groups (Ilaria), she estimated about 15 attend each meeting. Mostly the young mothers.
The majority of the households cook with wood stoves, most do not have flues or chimneys
They grow in their gardens, mostly maize,corn, beans, squash (& squash flowers)
There was a previous program (some time in the past) by DIF who provided them with seeds of other plants, they have run out & would like to have more. Onions would be good.
We were sitting beside a house made partly of adobe, it looked to be deteriorating on the outside (had been coated but the coating & parts of the bricks had washed away), this structure was 14yrs old.

Lower region (approx ½ of the community)

This part of the community has their own family wells.
The water has been tested & was very high in fluoride (2.4mg/l per the testing data from Ecologia).
They have only about 4 dry toilets, & otherwise go to the toilet anywhere.








Record of Meeting pg 2 of 3

8th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

We visited the school

It has a brand new toilet block with 6 flush toilets! They are not using them at the moment as there is a leak & they can’t fix it as the cisterns are in the wall (no access) I therefore couldn’t see what litre the cistern for each toilet was.
Flush toilets are a huge novelty to these children, the majority of them have no toilet at all at home, & just go on the ground wherever…
They had a bank of 3 hand basins, the water had been turned off by the teachers as the kids had blocked the pipes up when they first got it (a week ago). Water on tap is a novelty for these kids, they obviously thought it was fun to play with it.
Right beside the toilet block were 2 1500 ltr tinacos. These had taps at the bottom (although the tanks were slightly raised) the kids were drinking directly out of the spout from these tanks, the water shot straight out horizontally at force & they kids would put their mouths in the stream & try to suck up the water as it rushed past, I would say about 20% was drunk the rest was in a large puddle that they were tiptoe-ing in to take their drinks!
There is a cistern of approx 2.5x2.5x2.5 (approx 15,000 ltrs) & a pump which pumps the water to the tinaco on the roof to feed the toilets.
The waste is piped to 2 septic tanks with a grey water recycling system
It is supposed to be piped to water the nopal orchard but the teacher mentioned they are missing a tap at the moment so it’s not working.
The school has 80 children
They have 3 dry toilets
They have small nopal orchard
A large percentage of the children had obvious fluoride damage to their teeth
There is a DIF kitchen at the school, the food is supplied by them & the mothers (a team of 4 at a time) provide breakfast & lunch to the children
the school was central, large & well resourced (they have computers & overhead projectors in the classroom – ideal for training sessions)

Other observations –

it is a small community with not many houses “dotted” around
they have electricity
the usual pepsi signs were on the tienda (they have pepsi)
there is also a kinder (preschool)
there is no secondaria – the nearest telesecondaria (satellite secondary school) is approx 40mins walk (cross country) away.

Action

Laura to get in contact with Mary Caruth (on the board of PPN) she has a lot of stats & research on this community.
Laura to contact FAI/PEASMA to see what information they can provide about this community.

7th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project

Record of Meeting pg 1 of 2

7th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

Where: Sylvia’s house (From FAI)

When: Mon Aug 25th 2008, 6-7.20

Who: Bob Leonard, Laura Stewart (Rotary), Sylvia FAI

Purpose - SMA Rotary has tasked Bob, Enrique & Laura with defining the “needs” & determining the best proposal, for a major water Project involving the writing of a competitive grant for approx. US$100K.

Rationale: As part of the process of defining the “need” we will meet with as many people as possible that are directly involved in the provision of, or are aware of the need for the provision of, safe drinking water solutions to marginal communities.

FAI have been working in the area of conservation, environmental & ecological awareness for nearly 20 years. They have worked closely with marginal communities to improve their environs & living conditions. The world bank funds FAI in the areas of water, energy, food, health, education, crafts & nutrition.

Meeting discussion

We surmised with Sylvia the situation we had found in our visits to Tierra Blanca & the communities near Jalpa. All of the have access to household water, Sapasma has supplied wells (with the financial contribution of the community in many instances), & mostly pipes the water to a central holding tank & then to each of the households. The communities mostly buy their water in garrafons or boil water &/or add chlorine drops.

The problem is not (that we’ve discovered so far at least) lack of water. The possibilities for improvements to be made in the lives of the people of these communities is

To provide safe drinking water (& so they don’t have to buy or boil it, as it is expensive).
To provide an infrastructure to distribute “dam” water for food production
To provide the materials to build dry toilets (so as not to contaminate the ground or well water with faecal matter)

Safe drinking water can be provided by:

Purifying the water
Collecting rainwater

Both of these present challenges, to collect enough rainwater to really make a difference to a whole community requires a huge cistern & system of management & distribution.
Purifying the water can be complex because of the number of potential contaminants, bacterial, fluoride etc. There are issues involved in ensuring the project is sustainable, ie that the filters are able to be replaced when need be.
Sylvia suggested a community Juan Gonzalez. (This community was also identified by Ecologia as not having a well).

It has popn of approx 294 with a close neighbouring community of Los Ortega (12 people).
Record of Meeting pg 2 of 2

7th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

FAI have been working with this community (demonstrates co-operation), they already have 40 dry toilets, just need about 30 more to be completely sanitary.
They have shallow artesian wells for individual families but no main community well
Currently a lot of the families have to cart water up to where they live (in the higher areas).

Sylvia suggested that Rotary:

Join with Sapasma & provide a community well (the current family wells are shallow so it should not be too expensive – wont have to drill too deep)
Provide a central collection cistern & piping to the houses
Pump the water from the well to the cistern
Look at providing a water collection system as well to provide drinkable water
This way they will have – dry toilets, drinkable water & household water.
Use FAI to provide training re water conservation & the systems & drive/oversee the implementation of the project(s) estimated cost would be 1 person 2days per wk, approx US$450-500 per month, + travel expenses (bus fares) for 10mths ie around US$5000.


Action –

We need to enquire with Sapasma to see whether they have a pozo planned.

If Project is undertaken –

Work with Sapasma to draw up a contract to supply water (re comite de agua) ongoing regulations/management of water supply.
Look at less expensive method to build dry toilet (currently costs US$2000 per toilet to provide the entire structure )

6th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project

Record of Meeting pg 1 of 4

6th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

Where: Daytrip – Tierra Blanca

When: Fri Aug 15th 2008, 8.00pm – 3.30pm (including approx .75 hr Comida)

Who: Bob Leonard, Sue Leonard & Laura Stewart Rotary, Norma, Carlos, Luis FAI

Purpose - SMA Rotary has tasked Bob, Enrique & Laura with defining the “needs” & determining the best proposal, for a major water Project involving the writing of a competitive grant for approx. US$100K.

Rationale: As part of the process of defining the “need” we will meet with as many people as possible that are directly involved in the provision of, or are aware of the need for the provision of, safe drinking water solutions to marginal communities.

FAI have been working in the area of conservation, environmental & ecological awareness for nearly 20 years. They have worked closely with marginal communities to improve their environs & living conditions. The world bank funds FAI in the areas of water, energy, food, health, education, crafts & nutrition.

Detail of visit:

We went to the Municipality of Tierra Blanca – in the state of GTO.

We met at the FAI office on Hidalgo, then went to Norma’s house to pick up her car as there were too many of us to go in Carlos’ car. Bob paid $200pesos, Laura paid $100pesos for the gas contribution.

We stopped briefly on the way & met with Carlos’ family that have an Ecology Centre, they have water collection & a sweat lodge there, his family are involved in the teaching of the community in Tierra Blanca, on the subject of conservation, & organic fertilisation & pest control.

We met with Luis – that works with FAI. He explained FAI began working with 12 communities in the area for 16 years ago. Their aim was to re-establish the ecosystem in the area. When they arrived there, there was very little growing & a lot of erosion & no soil. They initially worked to establish a collection base for soil, by creating stone terraces on the hillsides. They left after 10 years & have just returned again 6 years on.
FAI are very heartened to see that the communities have carried on their good work in their absence & the improvement to the environment is huge. Where there was nothing but erosion & protruding rock face, there is now a thriving eco-system of small plants & moist areas. It slows the flow of the water enough that it also regenerates the aquifer.

They have also been constructing bordos (dams) & now are faced with the issue of how to manage & distribute the water from the dams to the areas they need to use the water in. IE backyard gardens (more on that later) for food production.
Torrecitas Community

Luis took us to visit a Nopal Orchard. This was a large green house structure that covers an orchard of Nopals (prickly pear cactus) for harvest. He explained the process of producing the nopals, they are reasonably fast growing, a paddle grows in a month, & each plant (once pruned correctly) can be growing multiple paddles each month at each juncture of the plant.

Record of Meeting pg 2 of 4

6th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

Some of the facts Luis told us

The govt. (SAGARPA govt ministry for agriculture program) will subsidise these projects 50/50 but offer no training (FAI can provide training)
Sedesol (ministry for social development – Secretary desarollo de social) funds FAI training
The green house cost $200,000 pesos (US$20k) payback period is estimated to be 5 years.
Each plant costs 4-6 pesos (single paddle to plant)
16 plants per m2
Lead time between planting & harvest is 1.5mths before it produces enough to harvest
16 nopalitos per month
The nopalitos are harvested for both “seed” & sale
Market is in Qto (market is much larger than current supply level)
Plants are drip irrigated (fertiliser can be included in the water)
Irrigation costs approx 14,000 pesos (including tinacos – storage tanks)
They use cow dung as mulch (fertiliser & prevents evaporation)
They sell the nopalitos per kilo (approx 5 pesos)
Nopalitos are very high in vitamin c (especially if eaten raw), they are thought to prevent osteoporosis & are curative for diabetes
Nopolitos are “nutria-cetic” health giving plants
FAI is currently working with 450 families
Nopals wont start to grow a “baby” until it knows it has enough to completely grow it, ie if you see a baby growing, you can be sure it will grow to maturity.
Optimum temp for production is 25-33 degrees C (hence there is better rate of growth under a greenhouse than outside, but it can be grown outside – just at a slower rate)
They pump water from the river (at the bottom of the property) to the tinaco’s for storage & distribution by irrigation system
They have 3 months with no water Dec- Feb
They have created a collection pond – diverted from the river – that lasts almost the entire year.

Luis described FAI’s approach to training

Social Capital – to build a social structure, gives responsibilities & structure to the community, they form a “co-operative” working together on all of the identified responsibilities & also for bulk purchases etc.
technical know-how they teach them how to prune, fertilise, control disease etc
economical integration covers aspects such as “the market” how it works, product (definition) , production system, admin, monetary controls etc.
they also teach goals, planning, timelines & deadlines.

Observation
I noted that they had large tinacos that Luis explained they filled with water by pumping from the river. They also had a huge roof on what looked like a warehouse which had no guttering or water collection. I asked why the tinaco was not positioned to catch the water from the roof & so they could use rain water directly.
Record of Meeting pg 3 of 4

6th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

It is not in their thinking to do that, they figure in the rainy season there is plenty of water in the river so they just use that. I pointed out it would save using the river & also save using electricity to pump the water up.
It would be a simple matter to attach some guttering & down piping(spouting) to the huge roof, especially since they already had expensive tinaco storage.

Next we viewed some more rock terraces & an example of a dam they had constructed. It was surrounded by lush greenery. Luis explained it had all been achieved by the community. They have equivalent of “working bees” & then do the same on their own land.

They have also constructed many dry toilets in 3-5 of the communities, to prevent groundwater contamination & create a source of rich fertilizer.

Luis described FAI’s intention to demonstrate/implement back yard gardens, he took us to see 2 families that have begun to implement this garden.

Backyard Garden info

100m2 is enough to produce vegetables to feed a family of 8 for 1 year
By teaching them to grow their own variety of vegetables they are ensuring the family has a healthy diet (not just tortillas & beans), this helps prevent diabetes improves their nutrition generally.
Water required is 1 litre per m2, ie 100m2 requires 100 litres daily
First they plant wheat, then plough it in to provide nitrogen rich fertilizer (this takes 20days) wheat breaks down quickly
When purchasing seed they should check the catalogue numbers to ensure they are not genetically modified seeds
FAI have been training the communities to grow 14 different varieties of veges

Requirements

Many of the communities have dams that have been built in order to collect the water for food production. Currently they have no way to carry the water to the gardens. They would need tinacos at each family for storage, a pump at each dam & pipes to pipe the water to the tinacos. They would also need to make someone responsible for each dam & the distribution of water from it.
Rough costings/estimates of assistance to 70 families wanting to grow backyard gardens.

70 families

Approx 25 dams

Need approx 25 pumps (US$340 per pump) = $8500

70 Tinacos – 1500 ltr = $100 70x100 = $7000

Tubing/installation etc 70 x $50 = $3500

Total = $19,500

Question raised – Gary/David can you answer this?

What is the rotary definition of a building? Is a greenhouse a building or equipment?

Record of Meeting pg 4 of 4

6th Exploratory Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Committee

Conclusion

It was very encouraging to see what can be achieved with good guidance & structure (as provided by FAI).
These communities are good examples of what a difference training & involvement of the community in their own decisions & sustainable projects, can make.
The opportunity for assistance for Rotary in this areas are:

contribution to a water distribution infrastructure
contribution to water storage facilities (tinacos, cisterns, storage tanks)
water collection/harvesting units for drinkable water

These communities already have household water provided by Sapasma drilled pozos & reservoirs, they (like the 2 previous communities we have visited) buy their “drinkable” water in garrafons or boil the water & add chlorine drops.