Record of Event pg 1 of 5
8h Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, at the church & Angelika’s lot
When: Saturday 13.02.10 (scheduled for 5pm start, started 5.40pm)
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Benigno (Cedesa), + 8 women & 1 man from the community (7 kids, 1 dog) 1more man arrived 10 mins before the meeting ended.
Purpose: To define the exact list of participants in the project, (last chance), & to begin planning of the next stages of this project. The demonstration build, & creation of work groups.
We arrived on time at 5pm, & since so few people were there, we decided to wait longer. During this time Benigno, Enrique & I discussed our strategy moving forward.
We discussed our commitment to the core few that come to each meeting (approx 4 people), but also that it is a waste to have the resources for this project tied up for just a few families when there are so many other communities wanting to be the next project site.
We discussed the possibility of using partial funds here & diverting the balance of the funding to the communities who are ready & waiting now for the project. Since it is the same mission, there should be no issue to use the funds in neighbouring communities.
If the few early adopters do manage to convince others of the benefits of this project, once the cisterns are constructed, we could do a phase II in Lomas at a later date, with alternative funding.
We started the meeting at 5.40 as no more people were showing up.
We carried some rocks over to allow seating in a circle, as opposed to some seating & some standing, as in previous meetings.
Item 1. Introductions
We all introduced ourselves again & explained why we were there.
Item 2. Random discussion
Since there were so few we did not appoint co-ordinator or record taker, Angelika had the records from previous meetings & these were updated with attendance at the end of the meeting.
One of the older women, who has been regularly attending but does not want a cistern (she is representing her son in law who “probably” wants a cistern), said that she & her son Emilio had been to visit Los Torres in June 2009 & so knows about the cisterns & likes the idea, she is also keen to be involved in organisation, although is very old, she is a regular attendee of the meetings.
Benigno described (again) the construction process, the need to work in groups, & that most of the work is able to be done by women, but there is a need for at least 2 abaniles (proficient builders/concrete workers). In the other communities husbands & sons have been there for this.
The final process of plastering with concrete is more specialist.
They raised the possibility of paying an abanile to assist them – since there are none in the group attending.
Record of Event pg 2 of 5
Enrique & Angelika had discussed that the situation in Lomas is different from the Rancho communities, here there are no real roots or sense of community, & they need to create that, that is the challenge.
They discussed some more the possibility of paying for assistance, & would have to work out how many hours was needed, & who could afford to contribute or not, & how they would all co-operate in some way, either by food or work, or money, or all three.
One woman at the meeting said she had a cistern already but was there to get a dry toilet!
There was discussion rethe small turnout yet again, & apology from 1 person that could not make it even though they knew it was last chance.
They have a new list with 16 people on it, supposedly definite but they are not here today so can not really say they are definite.
The man attending said he has no space to build a cistern but was here to help. He also said if he has more proof that it works he might consider taking out some of his nopal plants to build a cistern in that space. He hadn’t been to Enrique’s place to see a cistern (had only seen one in the booklet I take to each meeting to pass around), Enrique extended the invite again to all, they are welcome to visit his property any time to see the cistern in reality.
Some of the people there were still doubtful about the cistern, & not sure if they had space.
Item 3 firm list of participants
Since we had said at the 2 previous meetings they were the last chance to get on the list, we decided we needed to stick to our word this time, & make this the last chance.
We got to the nitty gritty & took down the names of those at the meeting that were definite. They were still reluctant to commit but when pressed these are the names we have
1. Antonia Lopez Pina
2. Ansencion Rosales Ortiz
3. Teresa Bustamente Arana
4. Maria de la Luz Espinosa Alvarez
5. Angelika Ramirez Huerta (teacher)
6. Fidel Pina (not attending, but the son in law of the old woman, she thinks he wants one) ???
7. Juan Manuel Lopez Rodriguez (this man turned up just 10 mins before the meeting was ending, & added his name after looking at the booklet – this was his first time to a meeting) ???
8. Cristina Martinez Aguilar (has attended at least 4 meetings, but is still doubtful, she said she needs to check with her husband) ???
9. Jesus Martinez Aguilar (father of Cristina, he has doubts, not sure if he wants to remove his nopal/cactus to make space for a cistern)???
10. Ignacio ??? (Nacho is the english speaking guy at earlier meetings, he has not attended any meetings since June, Angelika looked embarrassed & said she had not informed him of the meetings, but thinks he is interested)???
Record of Event pg 3of 5
Item 4 decide 1st pilot build site
Benigno explained they needed to decide a site for construction of the 1st cistern. This construction would take place over 4 days (probably 5 since it is such a small group & not enough hands to finish in 4), & would be their training, & from there they would be expected to build their own family cisterns by groups.
There was discussion re the site, & we pointed out the church was not an option since it does not have a roof & all had a laugh about that!
Enrique suggested it could be at the school all their kids attend, the school is in a neighbouring community, there was no agreement on this, since they thought it would be hard to get others to help & better to help a family in Lomas. Perhaps the biggest family.
It was decided that Angelika’s should be the first, since she has been working hard to organize this & also her property is most central. We agreed to go there after the meeting to decide on the location & measure up for piping.
Item 5 all must attend the demo build
We reiterated all must attend the demo build as this is where the experts will learn.
These experts can then potentially be paid in other communities, but first must prove themselves in their own community.
All must help & attend the demonstration build, if they are physically unable to help they can at least learn the process & provide food & refreshments as their contribution.
Item 6 Dates for demo build ?
Benigno explained it is normally 4 days consecutively, since cement needs to dry in between stages.
Since the group is so small, they will more likely need at least 5 days.
Anscencion suggested Wed, Th, Fr, Sat,Sun .
What hours? Benigno said 9-5, at this there was some surprise at such long days.
He explained it was necessary to complete the tasks & get ready for the next day.
Dates were set – Wed 24th Feb, Th 25th feb, Fri 26th Feb, Sat 27th Feb & Sun 28th Feb.
Enrique called Juan at Los Torres to confirm these dates (& also the length of pipes needed for Angelika’s cistern after we visited her location – see below).
Action: Enrique will need to organize the delivery & payment of the materials (from Materiales Rivera) to the location. Juan knows what to order. Enrique to co-ordinate, & materials must be there (& securely/dryly) stored before the 24th Feb.
Item 7 Tools required
Benigno listed the tools required & asked who could bring any.
No one had any tools, not even a wheelbarrow, or shovel.
Benigno asked if we could buy them as part of the project, we explained that in other communities, they had borrowed them from neighbours, or had them themselves, we do not have a budget or facilities to store & look after tools for each of the projects.
We suggested they ask their husbands, neighbours, friends, family & borrow what they need.
Angelika took a list of what was needed.
Record of Event pg 4 of 5
Item 8 visits to each house
The Los Torres crew will need to visit each of the houses to determine the best place for each of the cisterns. The date for this day will be set during the demonstration build.
Action: Enrique, co-ordinate the date for the site visits for Los Torres. All the visits on one day.
The meeting concluded in the dark at 6.30, Benigno, Enrique, Angelika & I then went to Angelika’s location. (first via the tienda where she offered us something to drink).
Item 9 Location of the pilot/demo build
We met at Angelika’s family tienda & then went across the road to her “house”. This space is very centrally located.
Her husband is currently in the USA. She is living with her parents in the tienda across the road. At the cistern site is a metal workshop with a makeshift roof, & 2 rooms, one being used as the workshop storage, the other for her Grandmother to sleep in.
At the back of the property, there are foundations dug, with mounds of gravel & sand, as work is “in progress”, there is a makeshift toilet structure, & at the back there is more excavation, a tree, & a huge square pit dug, measuring approx 3 mtrs by 3 mtrs by 1.5 mtrs. We asked what this was for, & she said they were planning to build a cistern at some stage.
Construction in this situation is only completed when enough money is saved up from her husband’s efforts working in USA. She is a teacher so her salary is probably feeding the family of 4 kids & her, & relatives she is living with.
We asked where the cistern could go, the most ideal place could not be used as the are planning to build a room there one day, instead another spot was decided, in the middle of the excavation space.
It will need to be leveled out & lots of gravel etc removed before the demo build can begin.
There is no room to roll out the wire netting to begin the process but the road in front of the “lot” is wide enough to allow cars & work on the mesh.
I was doubtful of this location & asked lots of questions, I thought the better option would be where a family is currently living, & not where they might one day (with enough money) be living. They are living in the tienda, & there is no backyard space, the building takes up the whole lot.
I asked how they intend to use the water in the meantime, she said they would collect it from the cistern & carry it across the road to where they are currently living to use.
Enrique & I agreed this was not the ideal situation but possibly needed to compromise on this location as it is central, & had been decided upon. Angelika is a hard working mother of 4 & it would be very difficult to tell her she can’t have a cistern after all this planning & expectation.
Record of Event pg 5 of 5
Conclusion:
All projects are different
As we know, all projects & communities are different & have their own sets of challenges. Assumptions made in some communities can not be made in others. For example we never thought for a minute people would sign up if they didn’t have a) a house with a roof, or b)space to put a cistern, we now know we need to specify this in advance!
This community has the same issues (& more) as the rural communities we are working with, & would ultimately benefit as much or more from our assistance & guidance with organization. The question is - do we have the resources, ie time, money & energy to engage to this extent? Or is it better spent where we can get more leverage, momentum & flow?
Comparison water projects, we have experience now…
The other Water Project sites we are working with (at this point) appear to be prime candidates for not just Projects, but also Process, ie developing into much more than just the completion of individual water cisterns project, they are creating community, organization, mobilization, & connection/unity/bridges between communities.
In Los Torres & Montecillo de Nieto for example, we have been able to devote time during the scheduled assemblies to teach those gathered, about the environment, the watershed, health issues, benefits of self determination/organization & much more, at the same time as organize & plan for the specific project, here in Lomas it is purely project planning (albeit on a much smaller scale).
Budgetary considerations
The other issue is the financial budget, for example we have now had 3 visits from Benigno at a cost of $550 pesos each, he is well worth this money & we need his expertise, even to have gotten this far. The budget includes an assumption that we will be achieving certain things with each visit, & in this case it took visits to achieve what we expected to achieve (based on previous experience) in his first visit. Likewise, we may have to extend to 5 days, for the demo build (budget 4 days) & Benigno will need to attend 2 of those days, hence 2 more unbudgeted visits.
We believe we have achieved a cheaper materials price (see action below) so will likely still be within overall budget, but we need to factor the extra costs involved with the extra challenge of this community.
Action Enrique & Laura
We are currently in negotiation re prices of materials at Materiales Rivera.
There are many items that still need to be discounted to match even the single purchase of materials at Hierro Comercial in Dolores Hidalgo (previous supplier). Ie we are buying in bulk for the 3 projects so the prices should be significantly less than the cost of materials for just 1 cistern at Hierro Comercial.
We have had prelim discussions with the owner of Materiales Rivera, the prices need to be confirmed in agreement before we begin the project deliveries.
Next event:
Demonstration/pilot build 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th, February at Angelika’s house (across from the tienda)
9-5pm each day, for demonstration build of the cisterns.
(2 people from Los Torres will attend as tech instructors, & Benigno will come on Wednesday & Saturday).
(Event finished 7pm)
Showing posts with label lomas de san jose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lomas de san jose. Show all posts
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
7th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 3
7th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, at the church
When: Friday 29.01.10 (scheduled for 4pm start, started 4.35pm)
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Benigno (Cedesa), 3 men & 12 women from the community attended (along with 6 kids & 2dogs!)
(the 3 men left during the meeting, with no interest)
Purpose: to begin planning of the next stages of this project. The demonstration build, & creation of work groups.
We arrived on time at 4pm, & a few people were there, we decided to wait longer.
A few more people arrived including 3 new faces, people who were passing & called to join in.
At 4.35pm, despite the small numbers, we decided to begin.
Item 1. Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & explained why we were there.
We met the 3 new men attending, 1 had a come as he was interested to see what it was about, he had a cistern already, so didn’t stay, one has no space for a cistern.
Item 2 Difference between an assembly & a meeting
This is the usual beginning of the meeting, reiteration of difference between a meeting & an assembly, as an incentive to organise bigger attendance.
Item 3 appointment of a co-ordinator & a records taker
Benigno reiterated these 2 roles & Carmen was appointed co-ordinator, & Cristina Record taker (Angelika had bought the notes from previous meetings as well as the “list” of people interested in participating.
Item 4 Description of the process & of working in groups
For the new people, Benigno described how the construction of the cisterns would take place, that working in groups was essential, & that there was 39 on original list & that groups of 8 had been decided back in June.
Item 5 revised list of participants
At the previous meeting it had been raised that there were people on the list that didn’t even have a building on their land, & who had gone on the list thinking they might be able to get a cistern in future, when their building was complete.
The attendees of the previous meeting had been tasked with visiting the families on the list & revising the list to be actual families with space & a building in place already, whose roof could be used to catch water for the cistern.
Angelika said there were now 30 people on the list.
The role was called, & there were several people at today’s meeting that were not on the list, & many more not attending today’s meeting, despite being told that attendance of the meetings was compulsory if they wished to be included in the project.
Item 6 How to proceed, with lack of participation
Enrique, Benigno & Laura discussed how to proceed in this situation, ie with an obvious lack of interest or motivation in this community. There are many factors to be considered
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
1. There is only a core few regularly attending the meetings, approx 4 have been at all meetings, others are coming & going, & new people showing up & not coming again.
2. We have a commitment to the four who regularly attend
3. It takes as many resources (financial/time & energy) to organise for a few families as it does for 30.
4. We have many communities in need of this project, who are demonstrating their willingness (at least at the early stages) should we split this project?
5. Is it too early for this community, do they need more time to organise themselves? Are they actually capable of organising themselves?
6. This is a semi urban community, without unity, it will take a lot of work to first create unity & some sense of “community” here, they are essentially a cluster of houses living in close proximity rather than a community with roots & history in the area (like the other project sites)
7. We came to this community offering the project, they did not come to us seeking it, we have other communities that have come to us.
8. Normally the bi product of these projects is to assist communities to become organised, & to build community spirit it will pose an additional challenge here.
Item 7 – insufficient numbers to define the project yet.
We explained the issues we discussed, & although this meeting was to be the definitive list of people to be involved in the project, there were still insufficient to set a date for demonstration demo build days, & to begin to seriously plan & organise the next steps.
We asked if they needed more time to speak with their neighbours & the people on the list to get a bigger group together & agreed to meet again in 2 wks. We told them the next assembly was the LAST chance.
We asked again if there was a better time for people to meet, more discussion on this topic again, this time it was decided that Saturday is a better day, & after much back and forth, about day, time & location was ultimately agreed
Funny things that happened...
The men (all 3 of them) slowly sloped off, one by one, when they thought we weren’t watching.
Carmen – the woman that was appointed co-ordinator, suddenly ran off mid sentence, I turned to see her climbing on the bus & driving away. It took a while for people to realise the co-ordinator had gone, & it turned out her husband was getting paid, & if she wasn’t there at the time, she would not see any of the money & he would head off to the cantina!
There was the usual pre-requisite dog fight, dispersed with a shower of stones!
Item 8 – visit to Enrique’s house
Enrique invited the remaining women at the meeting to see the cistern he has built on his property, & also to see a demonstration of a solar oven his employee’s daughter has created as part of a project Enrique has been working on.
We all piled into cars & headed to Enrique’s property.
I had to leave before they tasted the food cooking in the solar oven & then rang to apologise & to give them a laugh, told Enrique to tell them I had to go as I had the same situation as Carmen. (I really just had to pick up my kids!)
I left at 6.05pm
Next Lomas Assembly Saturday 13th Feb at 5pm in front of the Church
7th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, at the church
When: Friday 29.01.10 (scheduled for 4pm start, started 4.35pm)
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Benigno (Cedesa), 3 men & 12 women from the community attended (along with 6 kids & 2dogs!)
(the 3 men left during the meeting, with no interest)
Purpose: to begin planning of the next stages of this project. The demonstration build, & creation of work groups.
We arrived on time at 4pm, & a few people were there, we decided to wait longer.
A few more people arrived including 3 new faces, people who were passing & called to join in.
At 4.35pm, despite the small numbers, we decided to begin.
Item 1. Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & explained why we were there.
We met the 3 new men attending, 1 had a come as he was interested to see what it was about, he had a cistern already, so didn’t stay, one has no space for a cistern.
Item 2 Difference between an assembly & a meeting
This is the usual beginning of the meeting, reiteration of difference between a meeting & an assembly, as an incentive to organise bigger attendance.
Item 3 appointment of a co-ordinator & a records taker
Benigno reiterated these 2 roles & Carmen was appointed co-ordinator, & Cristina Record taker (Angelika had bought the notes from previous meetings as well as the “list” of people interested in participating.
Item 4 Description of the process & of working in groups
For the new people, Benigno described how the construction of the cisterns would take place, that working in groups was essential, & that there was 39 on original list & that groups of 8 had been decided back in June.
Item 5 revised list of participants
At the previous meeting it had been raised that there were people on the list that didn’t even have a building on their land, & who had gone on the list thinking they might be able to get a cistern in future, when their building was complete.
The attendees of the previous meeting had been tasked with visiting the families on the list & revising the list to be actual families with space & a building in place already, whose roof could be used to catch water for the cistern.
Angelika said there were now 30 people on the list.
The role was called, & there were several people at today’s meeting that were not on the list, & many more not attending today’s meeting, despite being told that attendance of the meetings was compulsory if they wished to be included in the project.
Item 6 How to proceed, with lack of participation
Enrique, Benigno & Laura discussed how to proceed in this situation, ie with an obvious lack of interest or motivation in this community. There are many factors to be considered
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
1. There is only a core few regularly attending the meetings, approx 4 have been at all meetings, others are coming & going, & new people showing up & not coming again.
2. We have a commitment to the four who regularly attend
3. It takes as many resources (financial/time & energy) to organise for a few families as it does for 30.
4. We have many communities in need of this project, who are demonstrating their willingness (at least at the early stages) should we split this project?
5. Is it too early for this community, do they need more time to organise themselves? Are they actually capable of organising themselves?
6. This is a semi urban community, without unity, it will take a lot of work to first create unity & some sense of “community” here, they are essentially a cluster of houses living in close proximity rather than a community with roots & history in the area (like the other project sites)
7. We came to this community offering the project, they did not come to us seeking it, we have other communities that have come to us.
8. Normally the bi product of these projects is to assist communities to become organised, & to build community spirit it will pose an additional challenge here.
Item 7 – insufficient numbers to define the project yet.
We explained the issues we discussed, & although this meeting was to be the definitive list of people to be involved in the project, there were still insufficient to set a date for demonstration demo build days, & to begin to seriously plan & organise the next steps.
We asked if they needed more time to speak with their neighbours & the people on the list to get a bigger group together & agreed to meet again in 2 wks. We told them the next assembly was the LAST chance.
We asked again if there was a better time for people to meet, more discussion on this topic again, this time it was decided that Saturday is a better day, & after much back and forth, about day, time & location was ultimately agreed
Funny things that happened...
The men (all 3 of them) slowly sloped off, one by one, when they thought we weren’t watching.
Carmen – the woman that was appointed co-ordinator, suddenly ran off mid sentence, I turned to see her climbing on the bus & driving away. It took a while for people to realise the co-ordinator had gone, & it turned out her husband was getting paid, & if she wasn’t there at the time, she would not see any of the money & he would head off to the cantina!
There was the usual pre-requisite dog fight, dispersed with a shower of stones!
Item 8 – visit to Enrique’s house
Enrique invited the remaining women at the meeting to see the cistern he has built on his property, & also to see a demonstration of a solar oven his employee’s daughter has created as part of a project Enrique has been working on.
We all piled into cars & headed to Enrique’s property.
I had to leave before they tasted the food cooking in the solar oven & then rang to apologise & to give them a laugh, told Enrique to tell them I had to go as I had the same situation as Carmen. (I really just had to pick up my kids!)
I left at 6.05pm
Next Lomas Assembly Saturday 13th Feb at 5pm in front of the Church
Saturday, January 23, 2010
6th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 3
6th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, opposite Candelaria on the Road to Dolores.
When: 23.01.10 (scheduled for 4pm start, started 5pm)
Who: Enrique Orvañanos , Elena Padilla & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Benigno (Cedesa), Juan, Guillermo & Jose Miguel (Tech Expert team from Los Torres),
5 men & 8 women from the community attended (along with 4 kids & 4 dogs!)
Purpose: to begin planning of the next stages of this project. The demonstration build, & creation of work groups & to introduce the Tech team & Benigno from Cedesa who will be working with them for the remainder of this project.
We arrived on time at 4pm, but the community had not gathered yet, we took the time while they were slowly arriving to discuss plans for who & how this project would be technically & organisationally supported. Ie what role the LT team would play v how Benigno from Cedesa would be involved.
Benigno was not aware that we wanted Cedesa to help with the organisational side, I think this confusion has arisen because Enrique & Laura did the early meetings with the community without involving Cedesa as funding had not been approved, so we unable to pay for their services at that point. It should be noted that Cedesa do not ask for payment for their services, but since they come all the way from Dolores Hidalgo, & have no prior connection with this community we think it is only fair.
At 5pm, despite the small numbers, we decided to begin.
Item 1. Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & explained why we were there.
Item 2 Difference between an assembly & a meeting
As part of the organisational training Benigno explained the difference between a community assembly & a meeting, & the ability of the community to make decisions for the entire community if it qualifies as an assembly (ie over half the community present).
He stressed it is better to have assemblies than just meetings as more important decisions can be made, & at meetings only possible to have discussions & plan actions for the people attending.
He described the process of a meeting & explained the following:
• the roles of Co-ordinator & record keeper,
• essential they are appointed at each meeting
• the co-ordinator “gives the word” to people to allow them to speak in turn & keep order
• the co-ordinator & record taker will be different at each meeting so everyone learns what’s involved
• the record keeper/secretary, needs to record the events of the meetings & actions decided, & should keep all the info in one book
• the process of creating an agenda
• people should raise their hands if they wish to speak
Ali was voted Co-ordinator & Angelika record taker.
Record of Event pg 2 of 3
There were giggles as Ali took on her role & gave people their turn to speak when they raised their hands.
Item 3 – number of people on list v number of people attending
Angelika explained there were 44 families with their names on the list – ie wishing to be involved in the project to build cisterns, she has some apologies for people, but others have just not shown up.
We asked which day suited best for a majority attendance, they decided Friday at 4pm is best for the women, Saturday is foodshopping & fiesta day so no good.
Item 4 – purpose of today’s meeting
Benigno asked why are we here today,
“people are interested in receiving help to build cisterns”
“to get water/cisterns”
“ We only have 3 or 4 big water containers & after the truck delivery the water soon runs out”
Benigno asked who was aware of the project or knew what a cistern was, & 3 people had visited Los Torres & knew the cisterns already.
Benigno explained cisterns & the purpose of collecting rainwater, ie in 1 m2 of surface area with an average rainfall of 500mm in this area, you can collect 1500 litres of water. We can all catch that water & store it in a ferro cement cistern.
The cistern is very simple to construct, women & children can easily participate in the construction process.
Each one of you needs to help to construct these cisterns so you need to learn the steps of construction.
When there is a majority we can decide on the dates of training/demo build days.
The process is 1st to build the cistern as a pilot so everyone learns the steps.
You will need to decide where the 1st one is built, they suggested maybe the church & they would speak to Jesus Rodriguez who is the president of the church.
You will need to work on the groups.
Is it possible to visit all the 38? Families to find out
1. who has room for the cistern
2. some have just land & no home, they need to be removed from the list
There was a question from one of the women “why are there small animals in the rain water they catch from their roofs in buckets?” it was explained that these “animals” – basically mosquito larvae, enter the water after the rain is collected because there is no lid on the container, that the water from the rain is pure, but precautions must be taken to prevent contamination by insects, dust or bacteria, & that’s why the cisterns are completely closed, & have a “sieve” to prevent things entering the cistern.
Record of Event pg 3 of 3
There was a little more explanation of the process, & it was reiterated how essential it is that people attend the 4 training days so they can become experts like the Los Torres
crew, & then there’s the possibility they can become technicians & paid to assist in other communities.
The group building concept was explained, ie each group builds all the cisterns for that group.
Juan & Guillermo & Jose Miguel (the Los Torres guys), all spoke about their experience with the Project, the benefits, & encouraged involvement, reduced doubts, they explained “some people work harder than others don’t, you guys are the hard workers”
They said “we have bad roads, trouble with electricity & no services, you guys have more & are lucky to get this, there are so many communities that want this, & it is really going to depend on your community, involvement & motivation”
“Many communities are interested & they come to all our assemblies, they need help & if you don’t want it – they should have it, resources are limited, this is a great opportunity, don’t lose it, or the offer to help the communities may stop.”
The Los Torres crew were very motivational, firm but kind in their approach, & were speaking peer to peer, there was great pride in what they have achieved, & they were very inspirational.
Item 5 – importance of attendance of next meeting
Because of the lack of numbers at today’s meeting no important dates were able to be set for beginning the work. It was stressed that the next meeting MUST be well attended, we need to see they are truly interested & motivated to be involved in this project.
We have had several meetings before this at which they had lists of 39 or more people interested, we have committed a lot of effort to achieve funding of this project & we need to see commitment from the community if we are to continue.
We reiterated there are many communities in the same situation, ie without drinking water, & if they are not ready & willing we will go to a community that is ready & willing.
All agreed they will spread the word & attend the next meeting scheduled
Next Lomas Assembly Friday 4pm 29.01.10 at the Church
The meeting finished at 6.15 pm. The Rotary team & Benigno headed up to the church to see whether it was a good prospect for the demonstration build.
When we arrived we discovered it is a church in construction, has only the walls & no roof! We had a good giggle, & agreed it would be difficult to collect water on a church without a roof, & maybe the community thought we would build the roof for them…To be continued…
We all agreed there needs to be a lot more participation & crossed our fingers the community would come together like they had in previous meetings.
6th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, opposite Candelaria on the Road to Dolores.
When: 23.01.10 (scheduled for 4pm start, started 5pm)
Who: Enrique Orvañanos , Elena Padilla & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Benigno (Cedesa), Juan, Guillermo & Jose Miguel (Tech Expert team from Los Torres),
5 men & 8 women from the community attended (along with 4 kids & 4 dogs!)
Purpose: to begin planning of the next stages of this project. The demonstration build, & creation of work groups & to introduce the Tech team & Benigno from Cedesa who will be working with them for the remainder of this project.
We arrived on time at 4pm, but the community had not gathered yet, we took the time while they were slowly arriving to discuss plans for who & how this project would be technically & organisationally supported. Ie what role the LT team would play v how Benigno from Cedesa would be involved.
Benigno was not aware that we wanted Cedesa to help with the organisational side, I think this confusion has arisen because Enrique & Laura did the early meetings with the community without involving Cedesa as funding had not been approved, so we unable to pay for their services at that point. It should be noted that Cedesa do not ask for payment for their services, but since they come all the way from Dolores Hidalgo, & have no prior connection with this community we think it is only fair.
At 5pm, despite the small numbers, we decided to begin.
Item 1. Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & explained why we were there.
Item 2 Difference between an assembly & a meeting
As part of the organisational training Benigno explained the difference between a community assembly & a meeting, & the ability of the community to make decisions for the entire community if it qualifies as an assembly (ie over half the community present).
He stressed it is better to have assemblies than just meetings as more important decisions can be made, & at meetings only possible to have discussions & plan actions for the people attending.
He described the process of a meeting & explained the following:
• the roles of Co-ordinator & record keeper,
• essential they are appointed at each meeting
• the co-ordinator “gives the word” to people to allow them to speak in turn & keep order
• the co-ordinator & record taker will be different at each meeting so everyone learns what’s involved
• the record keeper/secretary, needs to record the events of the meetings & actions decided, & should keep all the info in one book
• the process of creating an agenda
• people should raise their hands if they wish to speak
Ali was voted Co-ordinator & Angelika record taker.
Record of Event pg 2 of 3
There were giggles as Ali took on her role & gave people their turn to speak when they raised their hands.
Item 3 – number of people on list v number of people attending
Angelika explained there were 44 families with their names on the list – ie wishing to be involved in the project to build cisterns, she has some apologies for people, but others have just not shown up.
We asked which day suited best for a majority attendance, they decided Friday at 4pm is best for the women, Saturday is foodshopping & fiesta day so no good.
Item 4 – purpose of today’s meeting
Benigno asked why are we here today,
“people are interested in receiving help to build cisterns”
“to get water/cisterns”
“ We only have 3 or 4 big water containers & after the truck delivery the water soon runs out”
Benigno asked who was aware of the project or knew what a cistern was, & 3 people had visited Los Torres & knew the cisterns already.
Benigno explained cisterns & the purpose of collecting rainwater, ie in 1 m2 of surface area with an average rainfall of 500mm in this area, you can collect 1500 litres of water. We can all catch that water & store it in a ferro cement cistern.
The cistern is very simple to construct, women & children can easily participate in the construction process.
Each one of you needs to help to construct these cisterns so you need to learn the steps of construction.
When there is a majority we can decide on the dates of training/demo build days.
The process is 1st to build the cistern as a pilot so everyone learns the steps.
You will need to decide where the 1st one is built, they suggested maybe the church & they would speak to Jesus Rodriguez who is the president of the church.
You will need to work on the groups.
Is it possible to visit all the 38? Families to find out
1. who has room for the cistern
2. some have just land & no home, they need to be removed from the list
There was a question from one of the women “why are there small animals in the rain water they catch from their roofs in buckets?” it was explained that these “animals” – basically mosquito larvae, enter the water after the rain is collected because there is no lid on the container, that the water from the rain is pure, but precautions must be taken to prevent contamination by insects, dust or bacteria, & that’s why the cisterns are completely closed, & have a “sieve” to prevent things entering the cistern.
Record of Event pg 3 of 3
There was a little more explanation of the process, & it was reiterated how essential it is that people attend the 4 training days so they can become experts like the Los Torres
crew, & then there’s the possibility they can become technicians & paid to assist in other communities.
The group building concept was explained, ie each group builds all the cisterns for that group.
Juan & Guillermo & Jose Miguel (the Los Torres guys), all spoke about their experience with the Project, the benefits, & encouraged involvement, reduced doubts, they explained “some people work harder than others don’t, you guys are the hard workers”
They said “we have bad roads, trouble with electricity & no services, you guys have more & are lucky to get this, there are so many communities that want this, & it is really going to depend on your community, involvement & motivation”
“Many communities are interested & they come to all our assemblies, they need help & if you don’t want it – they should have it, resources are limited, this is a great opportunity, don’t lose it, or the offer to help the communities may stop.”
The Los Torres crew were very motivational, firm but kind in their approach, & were speaking peer to peer, there was great pride in what they have achieved, & they were very inspirational.
Item 5 – importance of attendance of next meeting
Because of the lack of numbers at today’s meeting no important dates were able to be set for beginning the work. It was stressed that the next meeting MUST be well attended, we need to see they are truly interested & motivated to be involved in this project.
We have had several meetings before this at which they had lists of 39 or more people interested, we have committed a lot of effort to achieve funding of this project & we need to see commitment from the community if we are to continue.
We reiterated there are many communities in the same situation, ie without drinking water, & if they are not ready & willing we will go to a community that is ready & willing.
All agreed they will spread the word & attend the next meeting scheduled
Next Lomas Assembly Friday 4pm 29.01.10 at the Church
The meeting finished at 6.15 pm. The Rotary team & Benigno headed up to the church to see whether it was a good prospect for the demonstration build.
When we arrived we discovered it is a church in construction, has only the walls & no roof! We had a good giggle, & agreed it would be difficult to collect water on a church without a roof, & maybe the community thought we would build the roof for them…To be continued…
We all agreed there needs to be a lot more participation & crossed our fingers the community would come together like they had in previous meetings.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
5th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 1
5th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community,
When: 2009 (???)
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Lee Carter
Purpose: An informal visit by Lee & Enrique, so Lee can see the project site, & to keep in touch with the community while we are waiting for the Matching Grant process to take place with Rotary International & Partners.
Next contact ?? commitment by Enrique??
Please note, I was not able to write up this report as I was not present. Enrique has had no time to fill in more details.
See report 6…
5th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community,
When: 2009 (???)
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Lee Carter
Purpose: An informal visit by Lee & Enrique, so Lee can see the project site, & to keep in touch with the community while we are waiting for the Matching Grant process to take place with Rotary International & Partners.
Next contact ?? commitment by Enrique??
Please note, I was not able to write up this report as I was not present. Enrique has had no time to fill in more details.
See report 6…
Thursday, June 25, 2009
4th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 1
4th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, visiting Los Torres Community
When: 25th June 2009
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & ???
Purpose: For the people of Lomas who are interested in seeing the project at Los Torres.
History
A plan was made to take 3 or 4 Lomas community members to visit Los Torres during the next Los Torres community assembly on Thurs 25th June, to see the assembly process, meet with the LT community & learn from their experience & also view the completed water collection systems (including roof piping, & cistern)
Enrique will pick up the Lomas people at 10am on the 25th June, & drive them to LT & back.
Anjelika expressed her regret in not being able to make it, as she is a teacher & will be at school at that time of day.
The people are now aware of the time, & the process & are ready when we are!
Next contact ?? commitment by Enrique??
Visit to Los Torres community was done as planned on Jun 25th. 3 people (2 ladies & 1 man) from Lomas de San Jose community came with me and we walk around and observe how LT meeting was starting.
They were glad to be able to see the progress and will coment to their neighbors what they saw.
I (Enrique) decided to build one water cistern on my land, so to be able to have it as a sample and train one person in the community to build it. This was done with Enrique`s own resources during July.
Please note, I was not able to write up this report as I was not present. Enrique has had no time to fill in more details.
Also, is it possible that you could write up report 4 (the 25th June to Los Torres visit), & report 5, (the informal visit by you & Lee),
so we can keep a full history for our partners.
Lee & Enrique went to drive through Lomas de San Jose, to see the size of the community (Colonia). They observed that the size of lots were smaller than at the campo & the poverty of the people.
So the conclusion was to analyze with more detail each of the houses were we are planing to install the rain water cisterns.
4th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, visiting Los Torres Community
When: 25th June 2009
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & ???
Purpose: For the people of Lomas who are interested in seeing the project at Los Torres.
History
A plan was made to take 3 or 4 Lomas community members to visit Los Torres during the next Los Torres community assembly on Thurs 25th June, to see the assembly process, meet with the LT community & learn from their experience & also view the completed water collection systems (including roof piping, & cistern)
Enrique will pick up the Lomas people at 10am on the 25th June, & drive them to LT & back.
Anjelika expressed her regret in not being able to make it, as she is a teacher & will be at school at that time of day.
The people are now aware of the time, & the process & are ready when we are!
Next contact ?? commitment by Enrique??
Visit to Los Torres community was done as planned on Jun 25th. 3 people (2 ladies & 1 man) from Lomas de San Jose community came with me and we walk around and observe how LT meeting was starting.
They were glad to be able to see the progress and will coment to their neighbors what they saw.
I (Enrique) decided to build one water cistern on my land, so to be able to have it as a sample and train one person in the community to build it. This was done with Enrique`s own resources during July.
Please note, I was not able to write up this report as I was not present. Enrique has had no time to fill in more details.
Also, is it possible that you could write up report 4 (the 25th June to Los Torres visit), & report 5, (the informal visit by you & Lee),
so we can keep a full history for our partners.
Lee & Enrique went to drive through Lomas de San Jose, to see the size of the community (Colonia). They observed that the size of lots were smaller than at the campo & the poverty of the people.
So the conclusion was to analyze with more detail each of the houses were we are planing to install the rain water cisterns.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
3rd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 1
3rd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, opposite Candelaria on the Road to Dolores.
When: 13 June 2009
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Franciso Y Sigrid (friends of Enrique) & 23 adults
Purpose: General follow up meeting, to advise next steps.
1stly a welcome & re-introduction of ourselves & the purpose of Rotary.
During conversation, it was communicated Lomas de San Jose are an “irregular community” ie not officialised, which is why the govt. Has not extended services to this area.
We explained that funding application & receipt will take time,
In the meantime they should organise their groups of 5x 8 people, with leaders.
They mentioned they had already had meetings between themselves & are ready for more.
A plan was made to take 3 or 4 Lomas community members to visit Los Torres during the next Los Torres community assembly on Thurs 25th June, to see the assembly process, meet with the LT community & learn from their experience & also view the completed water collection systems (including roof piping, & cistern)
Enrique will pick up the Lomas people at 10am on the 25th June, & drive them to LT & back.
Anjelika expressed her regret in not being able to make it, as she is a teacher & will be at school at that time of day.
The people are now aware of the time, & the process & are ready when we are!
Next contact will be 25th June 2009 (Enrique).
3rd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, opposite Candelaria on the Road to Dolores.
When: 13 June 2009
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Franciso Y Sigrid (friends of Enrique) & 23 adults
Purpose: General follow up meeting, to advise next steps.
1stly a welcome & re-introduction of ourselves & the purpose of Rotary.
During conversation, it was communicated Lomas de San Jose are an “irregular community” ie not officialised, which is why the govt. Has not extended services to this area.
We explained that funding application & receipt will take time,
In the meantime they should organise their groups of 5x 8 people, with leaders.
They mentioned they had already had meetings between themselves & are ready for more.
A plan was made to take 3 or 4 Lomas community members to visit Los Torres during the next Los Torres community assembly on Thurs 25th June, to see the assembly process, meet with the LT community & learn from their experience & also view the completed water collection systems (including roof piping, & cistern)
Enrique will pick up the Lomas people at 10am on the 25th June, & drive them to LT & back.
Anjelika expressed her regret in not being able to make it, as she is a teacher & will be at school at that time of day.
The people are now aware of the time, & the process & are ready when we are!
Next contact will be 25th June 2009 (Enrique).
Sunday, June 7, 2009
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 2
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, opposite Candelaria on the Road to Dolores.
When: Sunday 070609 6pm – 7.40pm
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Laura Stewart (Rotary) & 25 adults & 6 kids
Purpose: Follow up re 1st meeting last week, to determine interest in participating in a water collection project to be co-ordinated by Rotary with Cedesa to provide training & operations expertise.
1stly a welcome & re-introduction of ourselves & the purpose of Rotary.
The members of the community were a little embarrassed at the smaller number of people attending today. We agreed that it was normal, & that Sunday is a difficult day, a lot of people are visiting family in other locations.
Angelika – a teacher – is one of the leaders, she volunteered at the last meeting to collect a mini-census of the families interested in participating. She has a list of 39 families.
Angelika is in the lower part of the community.
Another leader José Luis (the guy with the black glasses that works for Pepsi) is collecting info for the upper part of the community, he was not able to attend the meeting today, they believe he has approx 30 names on his list.
We discussed the next steps & we described the process as completed in Los Torres.
They decided to form 5 groups of 8 families (with one having 7 families) to make up the 39 families.
The first step is for the community to decide the leaders of these groups, & then for those leaders to form their groups & begin to organise.
This should be achieved by the next meeting date.
Enrique left at 6.55 (he had an important talk on the environment to attend) & Laura stayed behind to answer any questions, during that time Ignacio came forward as he spoke very good English & helped to translate questions & answers.
• The questions at the end of the session were largely on dimensions of the cistern, what to do if they don´t have space for a large cistern & dry toilets.
• It was agreed that the next highest priority besides water for this community is dry toilets
• They also asked for computers in their community, they do not have a school, their kids go to the neighbouring school, & that school does not have computers either.
Contact phone numbers are
Angelika Ramirez 110 2027
Ignacio 110 2028
Action: Enrique is confirming Greenfund commitment/laura confirm cedesa schedule
Next meeting is Saturday 13th June at 6pm
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, opposite Candelaria on the Road to Dolores.
When: Sunday 070609 6pm – 7.40pm
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Laura Stewart (Rotary) & 25 adults & 6 kids
Purpose: Follow up re 1st meeting last week, to determine interest in participating in a water collection project to be co-ordinated by Rotary with Cedesa to provide training & operations expertise.
1stly a welcome & re-introduction of ourselves & the purpose of Rotary.
The members of the community were a little embarrassed at the smaller number of people attending today. We agreed that it was normal, & that Sunday is a difficult day, a lot of people are visiting family in other locations.
Angelika – a teacher – is one of the leaders, she volunteered at the last meeting to collect a mini-census of the families interested in participating. She has a list of 39 families.
Angelika is in the lower part of the community.
Another leader José Luis (the guy with the black glasses that works for Pepsi) is collecting info for the upper part of the community, he was not able to attend the meeting today, they believe he has approx 30 names on his list.
We discussed the next steps & we described the process as completed in Los Torres.
They decided to form 5 groups of 8 families (with one having 7 families) to make up the 39 families.
The first step is for the community to decide the leaders of these groups, & then for those leaders to form their groups & begin to organise.
This should be achieved by the next meeting date.
Enrique left at 6.55 (he had an important talk on the environment to attend) & Laura stayed behind to answer any questions, during that time Ignacio came forward as he spoke very good English & helped to translate questions & answers.
• The questions at the end of the session were largely on dimensions of the cistern, what to do if they don´t have space for a large cistern & dry toilets.
• It was agreed that the next highest priority besides water for this community is dry toilets
• They also asked for computers in their community, they do not have a school, their kids go to the neighbouring school, & that school does not have computers either.
Contact phone numbers are
Angelika Ramirez 110 2027
Ignacio 110 2028
Action: Enrique is confirming Greenfund commitment/laura confirm cedesa schedule
Next meeting is Saturday 13th June at 6pm
Friday, May 29, 2009
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 2
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, opposite Candelaria on the Road to Dolores.
When: Friday 29.05.09 6pm – 7.40pm
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Laura Stewart (Rotary) & 65 adults & 25 kids from the community.
Purpose: Introduction meeting with members of the community potentially interested in participating in a water collection project.
Enriqué visited the tienda (the focal point) earlier in the week to ask if there was any interest in a community meeting to discuss the possibility of a solution to their water issues. He asked the tienda owners to inform the community.
At 6pm Enriqué & I arrived to find a large welcoming group gathered across from the Tienda.
We introduced ourselves & described Rotary & it´s purpose worldwide & told them of the pilot water collection project we completed in Los Torres, & phase II of that project currently in progress.
We took a whiteboard & drew pictures of the cistern & water collection system, & described how it was done. We also passed around the newspaper article published in the Atención that showed the LT kinder & community & the cistern.
We also explained the co-ordination & teaching was done by an organisation called Cedesa.
We asked where they get their water from currently:
• They receive it by pipa (municipality trucks)
• the deliveries are from 8-20 days apart
• sometimes during the rainy season the trucks can not get through to make the deliveries
• They receive 200 ltrs per family per delivery
• They often run out of water between deliveries.
• They do not drink the water, it often smells of chlorine & is a yellowish colour,
• They can not afford the fuel to boil the water so -
• They buy their drinking water
• There are no wells in the community (although a ranch nearby has a well)
We asked if there was any interest in participating in a project if we were to provide the materials & train the trainer, & they build the cisterns in groups for use by individual families. With a show of hands, almost 100% responded yes.
It is very interesting to note that this community was immediately animated & participating in 2 way discussion, other communities that I have visited have been very shy & did not volunteer to “tomar la palabra” (take the word, or speak…),
This community was happily the opposite! They immediately began asking questions & discussing plans amongst themselves.
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
They asked the next steps –
• since they did not know the size of their community, number of families etc. we asked for them to do a mini-census of those interested in participating in the project
• They were happy to do this in 1 wk
• We agreed to meet the following Sunday at 6pm
Interesting observations:
• Although this community is only 10 minutes from town, the living standards are as bad, if not worse than those of the more rural communities, the rural communities tend to have more space in which to have crops or backyard gardens, this community has smaller (less productive) lots.
• Many of the households are without fathers (working in the USA or absent)
• They have no delegado or community committee organised as they are in the municipality (ie under the Mayor)
• They have no school, the children must attend school in the neighbouring community (apparently a bone of contention)
After the meeting concluded, a number of the people remained milling around asking us questions,
• they would like help to build dry toilets,
• & 2 of the mothers bought forward an 8 year old boy (whose mum was not at the meeting), he does not attend school as his mother can not afford the fees or to buy a uniform, he said he would really like to go to school.
Next meeting Sunday 7 June 6pm – outside the Tienda.
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, opposite Candelaria on the Road to Dolores.
When: Friday 29.05.09 6pm – 7.40pm
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Laura Stewart (Rotary) & 65 adults & 25 kids from the community.
Purpose: Introduction meeting with members of the community potentially interested in participating in a water collection project.
Enriqué visited the tienda (the focal point) earlier in the week to ask if there was any interest in a community meeting to discuss the possibility of a solution to their water issues. He asked the tienda owners to inform the community.
At 6pm Enriqué & I arrived to find a large welcoming group gathered across from the Tienda.
We introduced ourselves & described Rotary & it´s purpose worldwide & told them of the pilot water collection project we completed in Los Torres, & phase II of that project currently in progress.
We took a whiteboard & drew pictures of the cistern & water collection system, & described how it was done. We also passed around the newspaper article published in the Atención that showed the LT kinder & community & the cistern.
We also explained the co-ordination & teaching was done by an organisation called Cedesa.
We asked where they get their water from currently:
• They receive it by pipa (municipality trucks)
• the deliveries are from 8-20 days apart
• sometimes during the rainy season the trucks can not get through to make the deliveries
• They receive 200 ltrs per family per delivery
• They often run out of water between deliveries.
• They do not drink the water, it often smells of chlorine & is a yellowish colour,
• They can not afford the fuel to boil the water so -
• They buy their drinking water
• There are no wells in the community (although a ranch nearby has a well)
We asked if there was any interest in participating in a project if we were to provide the materials & train the trainer, & they build the cisterns in groups for use by individual families. With a show of hands, almost 100% responded yes.
It is very interesting to note that this community was immediately animated & participating in 2 way discussion, other communities that I have visited have been very shy & did not volunteer to “tomar la palabra” (take the word, or speak…),
This community was happily the opposite! They immediately began asking questions & discussing plans amongst themselves.
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
They asked the next steps –
• since they did not know the size of their community, number of families etc. we asked for them to do a mini-census of those interested in participating in the project
• They were happy to do this in 1 wk
• We agreed to meet the following Sunday at 6pm
Interesting observations:
• Although this community is only 10 minutes from town, the living standards are as bad, if not worse than those of the more rural communities, the rural communities tend to have more space in which to have crops or backyard gardens, this community has smaller (less productive) lots.
• Many of the households are without fathers (working in the USA or absent)
• They have no delegado or community committee organised as they are in the municipality (ie under the Mayor)
• They have no school, the children must attend school in the neighbouring community (apparently a bone of contention)
After the meeting concluded, a number of the people remained milling around asking us questions,
• they would like help to build dry toilets,
• & 2 of the mothers bought forward an 8 year old boy (whose mum was not at the meeting), he does not attend school as his mother can not afford the fees or to buy a uniform, he said he would really like to go to school.
Next meeting Sunday 7 June 6pm – outside the Tienda.
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