This is a quick update to record that the materials for pilot projects (ie the demonstration & train the trainer component of the project) have been ordered.
Pilots projects are about to commence in both Cruz del Palmar & Vivienda de Arriba on Monday 22nd March.
In both cases the 1st cisterns are being constructed at the Primary schools.
The materials were ordered for Cruz on Wednesday, & delivered Friday.
For Vivienda de Arriba, they were delivered Saturday morning & are to be delivered Monday 22nd.
Rafael Cruz is overseeing/training in Cruz del Palmar, & Juan & Guillermo Alvarado are overseeing/training at Vivienda de Arriba.
They have been co-ordinating directly with the primary contacts in each community, & have pulled the pilots forward.
Let's see who turns up for training on Monday!!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
6th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 2
6th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Where: Montecillo de Nieto Kindergarten
When: 17 March 2010 12-1.30
Who: Elena & Laura (Rotary), Hector & Leon &(woman teacher) primary school teachers, +21 community members.
Purpose: Review the Pilot project, & plan the next phase – ie individual cisterns per families.
Chela was sick today, Elena & I decided it was to crucial to postpone, so we had the assembly without her.
We arrived at 12 & most of the women were still at the Primary school, there were inoculations going on today, kids & dogs!!
We gathered back at the kinder & began the assembly approx 12.20.
We asked if they had the book to take the roll, & Margarita had left it at home, so went home to get it, while we waited we chatted.
• They finished the cistern on the 21st January.
• The next week it rained & ¾ filled the cistern!
• Kids are drinking water from the cistern already
• The kids know how precious the water is, & they don´t touch the tap. The teacher fills a garafon.
• The teachers from the primary school came to the kinder meeting too – although they have an ecology dept. model rainwater collection system, it doesn´t work & they want one of our cisterns.
• We have 26 cisterns avail, 1 constructed, a list of 24 families, so one spare for the school potentially.
Margarita was voted co-ordinator of the meeting. & Enedina as record taker, it turned out that Margarita did both…
We called for agenda items:
• Attendance
• Review of what has been done to date
• When will the materials for the next phase arrive?
• Which houses will receive the materials first (planning next phase)
• How many cisterns can be being built simultaneously?
• Unity & communication in the community
• Program the next meeting date.
Item 1. Roll was called.
Item 2. Review of pilot project
Everyone was very happy with how the cistern turned out & the timing, ie just before it rained.
The kids are drinking the water, & everyone is very keen to have their own cisterns now (especially before the rains in June).
A comment about volunteers was “some came because they had to volunteer, others came because they wanted to learn”
There was one person who didn´t attend & 1 person who is not on the list who did attend the training days.
The person not attending has been removed & the new person invited to join the list (as per the meeting consensus).
Item 3. Materials/Planning for the next steps
I explained the next steps,
1. They needed to measure the tubes & elbows etc needed at their specific location. – they have done this, & have a list per family, per group.
2. They need to co-ordinate a time for the community & Rafael Cruz (who will be technical co-ordinator on this job – from the Los Torres team of Experts)… to come to check the measurements house by house. He suggested 5th April is soonest. They have his phone number & will co-ordinate direct.
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
6th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
3. When he goes to do the measurement he will also need to determine with the community where & when they wish to have the materials delivered.
4. Rafa will need to collate the order, 24 x the standard materials list, + each list of variable materials per family into one bulk order for the variables.
5. Suggest – 1 big order of the variable materials is delivered to 1 spot, & each family comes with their list & collects what they need.
6. The Standard materials (ie cement, mesh, wire etc) is delivered 2 cisterns per group at a time, until the cisterns are built & then order then next lot.
7. Rafa will need to place the order with the supplier. (NB we still need to sign the supplier contract, & negotiate best option)
There was some discussion re how to best build all the cisterns for each group. Gaston said he feels it´s better to do one cistern at a time, not 2 concurrently. Since there are only 6 families in each group this is probably a good idea.
Item 4. Unity & Communication
Elena talked about how important it is to communicate with eachother, for example the woman teacher from the primary across the road had not visited to see the cistern at the kinder…
Item 5 26th Cistern to be for the primary school
I asked the teachers why since they already have a 30,000 ltr tank supplied by Ecology, they want an additional cistern (they have 65 kids in the school). They explained it does not work, & to make it function properly more money has to be spent & the Eco. Dept wants to excavate & have a below ground tank. This project cost approx US$11k, I explained the big project providing 26 cisterns cost not much more than that.
The teachers agreed they did not want to spend more money on this other project, & really do want one of our cisterns.
The people in the meeting agreed since their kids all go to the school that the 26th cistern should go to the school. All groups will participate in the constr6ction, & only once all of the cisterns are built.
They will have keys to allow Rafa access to decide the best place to put the cistern at the school.
Item 6 important dates
Traspatio workshop at Los Torres 7th April (1st Wednesday each month)
Proposed check measurements date with Rafa 5th April
Proposed collation of order by Rafa 6th April,
Proposed place order by Rafa – to supplier – 7th April
Proposed 1st delivery of materials to community 8th April
Next Assembly in Montecillo de Nieto 21 April 12pm at Kinder
6th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Where: Montecillo de Nieto Kindergarten
When: 17 March 2010 12-1.30
Who: Elena & Laura (Rotary), Hector & Leon &(woman teacher) primary school teachers, +21 community members.
Purpose: Review the Pilot project, & plan the next phase – ie individual cisterns per families.
Chela was sick today, Elena & I decided it was to crucial to postpone, so we had the assembly without her.
We arrived at 12 & most of the women were still at the Primary school, there were inoculations going on today, kids & dogs!!
We gathered back at the kinder & began the assembly approx 12.20.
We asked if they had the book to take the roll, & Margarita had left it at home, so went home to get it, while we waited we chatted.
• They finished the cistern on the 21st January.
• The next week it rained & ¾ filled the cistern!
• Kids are drinking water from the cistern already
• The kids know how precious the water is, & they don´t touch the tap. The teacher fills a garafon.
• The teachers from the primary school came to the kinder meeting too – although they have an ecology dept. model rainwater collection system, it doesn´t work & they want one of our cisterns.
• We have 26 cisterns avail, 1 constructed, a list of 24 families, so one spare for the school potentially.
Margarita was voted co-ordinator of the meeting. & Enedina as record taker, it turned out that Margarita did both…
We called for agenda items:
• Attendance
• Review of what has been done to date
• When will the materials for the next phase arrive?
• Which houses will receive the materials first (planning next phase)
• How many cisterns can be being built simultaneously?
• Unity & communication in the community
• Program the next meeting date.
Item 1. Roll was called.
Item 2. Review of pilot project
Everyone was very happy with how the cistern turned out & the timing, ie just before it rained.
The kids are drinking the water, & everyone is very keen to have their own cisterns now (especially before the rains in June).
A comment about volunteers was “some came because they had to volunteer, others came because they wanted to learn”
There was one person who didn´t attend & 1 person who is not on the list who did attend the training days.
The person not attending has been removed & the new person invited to join the list (as per the meeting consensus).
Item 3. Materials/Planning for the next steps
I explained the next steps,
1. They needed to measure the tubes & elbows etc needed at their specific location. – they have done this, & have a list per family, per group.
2. They need to co-ordinate a time for the community & Rafael Cruz (who will be technical co-ordinator on this job – from the Los Torres team of Experts)… to come to check the measurements house by house. He suggested 5th April is soonest. They have his phone number & will co-ordinate direct.
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
6th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
3. When he goes to do the measurement he will also need to determine with the community where & when they wish to have the materials delivered.
4. Rafa will need to collate the order, 24 x the standard materials list, + each list of variable materials per family into one bulk order for the variables.
5. Suggest – 1 big order of the variable materials is delivered to 1 spot, & each family comes with their list & collects what they need.
6. The Standard materials (ie cement, mesh, wire etc) is delivered 2 cisterns per group at a time, until the cisterns are built & then order then next lot.
7. Rafa will need to place the order with the supplier. (NB we still need to sign the supplier contract, & negotiate best option)
There was some discussion re how to best build all the cisterns for each group. Gaston said he feels it´s better to do one cistern at a time, not 2 concurrently. Since there are only 6 families in each group this is probably a good idea.
Item 4. Unity & Communication
Elena talked about how important it is to communicate with eachother, for example the woman teacher from the primary across the road had not visited to see the cistern at the kinder…
Item 5 26th Cistern to be for the primary school
I asked the teachers why since they already have a 30,000 ltr tank supplied by Ecology, they want an additional cistern (they have 65 kids in the school). They explained it does not work, & to make it function properly more money has to be spent & the Eco. Dept wants to excavate & have a below ground tank. This project cost approx US$11k, I explained the big project providing 26 cisterns cost not much more than that.
The teachers agreed they did not want to spend more money on this other project, & really do want one of our cisterns.
The people in the meeting agreed since their kids all go to the school that the 26th cistern should go to the school. All groups will participate in the constr6ction, & only once all of the cisterns are built.
They will have keys to allow Rafa access to decide the best place to put the cistern at the school.
Item 6 important dates
Traspatio workshop at Los Torres 7th April (1st Wednesday each month)
Proposed check measurements date with Rafa 5th April
Proposed collation of order by Rafa 6th April,
Proposed place order by Rafa – to supplier – 7th April
Proposed 1st delivery of materials to community 8th April
Next Assembly in Montecillo de Nieto 21 April 12pm at Kinder
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Report 2 on Vivienda de Arriba assembly, March 10, 2010
Report 2 on Vivienda de Arriba assembly, March 10, 2010
Report kindly written by Holly Yasui in Laura's absence.
We arrived at Vivienda de Arriba a Little before 3 p.m., and there was a small group of people from Tierra Blanca waiting outside the chapel, including Juana Granados and her son Fernando who attended the Water Day activities in Los Torres on March 5. They told us it was a 20-minute walk from Tierra Blanca to Vivienda de Arriba.
Ana Maria Torres, who has been our main contact in Vivienda de Arriba, arrived right on the dot at 3 p.m., saw that the gate was locked and went off to get a key. We entered the churchyard, and because it was very windy, decided to meet in a small room on the side of the chapel so that Chela could use the rotofolio without the pages flying around.
Holly passed her notebook around for a list of persons attending, and at 3:30 there were 14 people from Vivienda and 10 from Tierra Blanca. More arrived in the course of the meeting, see below the two groups formed for the training. Two weeks ago, Ana had asked us at the last Los Torres assembly if we could limit the number of people from Tierra Blanca at “their” (Vivienda’s) assemblies, and she made sure that the notebook that I passed around was signed first by people from Vivienda de Arriba, then the people from Tierra Blanca. (Note: after the meeting, in the privacy of her mother-in-law’s house, Ana told us that she felt that the people from Tierra Blanca were “troublesome” or “belligerent” - the word in Spanish is “conflictiva” - because at their water committee meetings, held in Tierra Blanca where the well is located, the Tierrablancans always steamroll over everyone else. As Chela and Holly were driving back to La Cieneguita, Chela explained that there is often conflict between large and small communities, especially as regards water for “newcomers” since the water committee is always a political football.)
Chela started the assembly off by asking the newcomers why they had come to this meeting, and then asking those who had attended the last assembly to explain the project. As in Cruz del Palmar in the morning, she discussed the difference between the government programs (only “Piso Firme” and “Oportunidades” have been promulgated in Vivienda de A) that owe the people attention, and nonprofit organizations like CEDESA and Rotary, which work with communities in solidarity. She emphasized that communities need to organize themselves in order to get the government to help them to solve their problems.
Chela also engaged the people at the meeting in a discussion of the contamination of water – whether or not it is contaminated, and why; also what they should use the water from rain-harvesting for (drinking and cooking only, not washing). She explained that there are three players in the rain-harvesting project: the community provides labor in mutual-aid groups (what they provide is: work, cooperation and participation in meetings and training), CEDESA helps the community to organize, and Rotary provides materials for the construction, and pays the trainers, who are men from Los Torres who learned how to make the cisterns during their initial project. She asked Holly to explain the training and construction process, which she did, starting with the weaving together of the two meshes, the raising of the frame, the application of cement, placing the spigot and water-level indicator tube, the door and connecting the pipes from the roof. Holly also mentioned the need for space next to their roofs for the cistern, and the number of days required to build them (4), as Laura had expressed concern that the people understand this clearly from the outset, since this was a problem at Lomas de San Josè.
Chela then focused on the people from Vivienda because, as she put it, a delegation from Vivienda has been attending the meetings at Los Torres since last October, so they have been waiting a long time for their project to begin whereas the people from Tierra Blanca have just begun the process.
The people from Vivienda decided to do their pilot project at the primary school (only 19 students there, but the kinder has only 6! It is a very small community), and split up into two groups as follows (names followed by asterisks are the team leaders):
GROUP 1
Ana Maria Torres*
Agripina Ramírez*
Lorena Vazquéz
Valentin (represented by his mother, Marcelina who lives in Cruz del Palmar)
Aurelia
Gloria*
Lorena Ramírez
Ana Isabel Ramírez
María de la Luz Ramírez
Alfredo Granados
GROUP 2
Ángela
Julia/Patricio Torres*
Maricela Granados*
Teresa Alvarado
Cristina Morales*
Irene López
Cirila Ramírez
María de Jesús
Natividad
Tomasa
The training will take place the week of April 5, concurrent with the training at Cruz del Palmar, if the Los Torres Consulting Team (equipo de asesoria) can do it then. Holly called Miguel Cruz in Los Torres to ask him to coordinate that with the other three on the team, and will call back on Friday, March 12 to confirm.
Next Assembly April 14th 3pm.
Report kindly written by Holly Yasui in Laura's absence.
We arrived at Vivienda de Arriba a Little before 3 p.m., and there was a small group of people from Tierra Blanca waiting outside the chapel, including Juana Granados and her son Fernando who attended the Water Day activities in Los Torres on March 5. They told us it was a 20-minute walk from Tierra Blanca to Vivienda de Arriba.
Ana Maria Torres, who has been our main contact in Vivienda de Arriba, arrived right on the dot at 3 p.m., saw that the gate was locked and went off to get a key. We entered the churchyard, and because it was very windy, decided to meet in a small room on the side of the chapel so that Chela could use the rotofolio without the pages flying around.
Holly passed her notebook around for a list of persons attending, and at 3:30 there were 14 people from Vivienda and 10 from Tierra Blanca. More arrived in the course of the meeting, see below the two groups formed for the training. Two weeks ago, Ana had asked us at the last Los Torres assembly if we could limit the number of people from Tierra Blanca at “their” (Vivienda’s) assemblies, and she made sure that the notebook that I passed around was signed first by people from Vivienda de Arriba, then the people from Tierra Blanca. (Note: after the meeting, in the privacy of her mother-in-law’s house, Ana told us that she felt that the people from Tierra Blanca were “troublesome” or “belligerent” - the word in Spanish is “conflictiva” - because at their water committee meetings, held in Tierra Blanca where the well is located, the Tierrablancans always steamroll over everyone else. As Chela and Holly were driving back to La Cieneguita, Chela explained that there is often conflict between large and small communities, especially as regards water for “newcomers” since the water committee is always a political football.)
Chela started the assembly off by asking the newcomers why they had come to this meeting, and then asking those who had attended the last assembly to explain the project. As in Cruz del Palmar in the morning, she discussed the difference between the government programs (only “Piso Firme” and “Oportunidades” have been promulgated in Vivienda de A) that owe the people attention, and nonprofit organizations like CEDESA and Rotary, which work with communities in solidarity. She emphasized that communities need to organize themselves in order to get the government to help them to solve their problems.
Chela also engaged the people at the meeting in a discussion of the contamination of water – whether or not it is contaminated, and why; also what they should use the water from rain-harvesting for (drinking and cooking only, not washing). She explained that there are three players in the rain-harvesting project: the community provides labor in mutual-aid groups (what they provide is: work, cooperation and participation in meetings and training), CEDESA helps the community to organize, and Rotary provides materials for the construction, and pays the trainers, who are men from Los Torres who learned how to make the cisterns during their initial project. She asked Holly to explain the training and construction process, which she did, starting with the weaving together of the two meshes, the raising of the frame, the application of cement, placing the spigot and water-level indicator tube, the door and connecting the pipes from the roof. Holly also mentioned the need for space next to their roofs for the cistern, and the number of days required to build them (4), as Laura had expressed concern that the people understand this clearly from the outset, since this was a problem at Lomas de San Josè.
Chela then focused on the people from Vivienda because, as she put it, a delegation from Vivienda has been attending the meetings at Los Torres since last October, so they have been waiting a long time for their project to begin whereas the people from Tierra Blanca have just begun the process.
The people from Vivienda decided to do their pilot project at the primary school (only 19 students there, but the kinder has only 6! It is a very small community), and split up into two groups as follows (names followed by asterisks are the team leaders):
GROUP 1
Ana Maria Torres*
Agripina Ramírez*
Lorena Vazquéz
Valentin (represented by his mother, Marcelina who lives in Cruz del Palmar)
Aurelia
Gloria*
Lorena Ramírez
Ana Isabel Ramírez
María de la Luz Ramírez
Alfredo Granados
GROUP 2
Ángela
Julia/Patricio Torres*
Maricela Granados*
Teresa Alvarado
Cristina Morales*
Irene López
Cirila Ramírez
María de Jesús
Natividad
Tomasa
The training will take place the week of April 5, concurrent with the training at Cruz del Palmar, if the Los Torres Consulting Team (equipo de asesoria) can do it then. Holly called Miguel Cruz in Los Torres to ask him to coordinate that with the other three on the team, and will call back on Friday, March 12 to confirm.
Next Assembly April 14th 3pm.
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar potential water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 4
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar potential water Project
Where: Cruz del Palmar Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Wed 10th March 11am – 1.30pm
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Holly Yasui & Chela Martinez (for Cedesa) 32 adults (incl. 2 men), + 15 kids.
Purpose: Planning for the next stage of the water project
Update: As a result of the change of Scope of the MG received for the community of Lomas de San Jose, (who recently declined our project for lack of numbers). we now have immediate funding for this community,
With this MG we have sufficient funding for 19 cisterns, 1 pilot & 18 individual family cisterns. Vivienda de Arriba (neighbouring community) will receive the other 19 cisterns.
Record of Event
We managed to arrive on time this time, after getting lost last time!
When we arrived Yolande had already created a circular seating arrangement out of planks & bricks.
The people slowly filtered in, & we began the assembly at 11.30.
Item 1 – Welcome
Chela welcomed everyone & asked how long they thought the meeting should be – everyone looked a bit blank, so Holly responded – ideally 1 hour.
Chela explained it’s important to meet & get to know eachother & to relate, & in the process of relating establish a relationship of trust between “you & us”...
Everyone was asked to introduce themselves – first names only to make it easier. There was some giggling as people are embarrassed to speak, one young woman introduced her mother instead, until we insisted she say her own name.
Chela invited everyone to call her Chela, not Senorita, she said she’s over that, & asked them to feel confident to speak.
They were asked for a show of hands as to who was here today, but not the previous meeting. (approx 10 people).
Chela said she would co-ordinate the meeting this time, but in future meetings they will will elect a co-ordinator & record taker each time.
Item 2 – explanation & background
Chela “why are you here today?”
Responses –
I have come to hear what the program is about,
To hear about the cisternas, I’m interested because we need water.
I live in the top part of CdP & we have a lot of problems with water, we suffer a lot.
I want to know if I’m on the list, if I’m not I’ll leave the meeting, I want to know more about it.
I live here & I went to Los Torres to ask what they have & how they got it, & to see “what you gave to them”...
Record of Event pg 2 of 4
I’m attending to get more info, 3rd hand is not so good, you have to find out for yourself, that’s why I’m here.
Chela “what is the objective of this meeting/reunion?”
Chela invited Laura (through Holly) to talk a little about our history working with Cedesa in Los Torres. (I gave a brief history).
Chela talked about Cedesa, it’s not a program, it’s a school to train people on organising. Chela also explained that Rotary was a large organisation with more than 30,000 clubs worldwide, a service organisation, voluntary. Without everyone on the team we can’t resolve this, we’re a team, with integral development being the goal or objective.
Rotary can not resolve all the issues, but with Cedesa training you can take control of your own issues & resolve them, by finding necessary resources.
We wish to collaborate with people in the region to resolve the issue of lack of safe drinking water.
Chela “what water problems do you have?”
- Contaminated water
- Can’t drink the water
- Often water is not there when we turn on the taps
- Water from the taps (if it is there) is not drinkable.
We are offering to assist with the construction of cisterns to catch water for drinking & cooking.
Chela “If you buy water, who get’s the $$$?”
- Santorini, Ciel, Bonafont, & these are owned by Coca Cola & Pepsi & Nestle – foreign ownership.
“how much do you spend on water weekly?”
- 80pesos, $100 pesos, $120 pesos (depending on family sizes)
A garafon is 20 litres so each litre is 1 peso.
52 wks x 80pesos = 4140 pesos per year, money they don’t have!
Cisterna is 12,000 litres & costs approx $8000 pesos, once, & then water is free from then on.
In 2 years you could have bought your own cistern!
This is the significance of water & cost in your household. Water is life, the subterranean water does not represent life for you guys, since it is contaminated in this region, rain water is life.
Chela”how is this affecting your family economy?”
Response – with giggles – we’re getting poorer & the companies are getting richer.
We – Cedesa & Rotary, come out of solidarity, the govt has a responsibility to respond to your issue. The govt. Administers $$$ but where do those $$$ come from? “us, Taxes”
They have a responsibility to help you with resources to resolve your drinking water issue – yes or no? “YES”.
Record of Event pg 3 of 4
Item 3 – planning phase
How many families are there in CdP? – 300
We can’t help 300 families but we can train people, & have an impact. We can train one group & they can train others & after you can ask Govt. For help with financial resources to purchase materials.
The first phase is training for you:
33 families on the list.
Community provides participation, labour to build.
Cedesa provides the training
Rotary provides $$$ for the materials.
The list needs to be divided into groups to learn the full process of construction.
If you can’t help with construction, you can contribute by bringing food & drink to the workers.
The training phase consists of a pilot of 4 days to build the cistern. The work involves
1. Crochet the wire
2. Mix concrete
3. Apply concrete
All things most people can do easily. The final application of the concrete is a little more specialist but there are people in your community who do this easily.
Whoever participates in the training will be the list of the people to receive their cisterns first.
Item 4 Pilot project plans
Where would you like to build the first cistern?
Primary 200 kids
Secondaria 900 kids
Kinder 50 kids
They decided the primary school, since they provide breakfast at school & it has the longest school day. They use 2 garafons of water per meal. One cistern will not be sufficient water for drinking for all the kids, but will help with the meal preparation.
The smallest kids are the most prone to health issues.
In CdP all the schools buy water, they ask the parents for donations for this.
There are 33 people here today, we need to work in groups, it was decided to have 3 groups of 11. Those in bold are the chosen leaders.
Record of Event pg 4 of 4
Group 1.
Lucia
Sonia
Maria
Teresa
Imelda
Jose Luis
Ester Maya
Juana
Irene
Marta
Martin
Group 2
Laura
Yola
Diana
Celia
Julia
Soledad
Elizabeth
Leticia
Olivia
Estela
Wencilada Group 3
Cristina
Nicolasa
Benita
Marcelina
Eva
Leticia N
Esther
Herminia
Maricela
Luisa
Domitilia
All the leaders need to take info re their groups, & ensure they all have sufficient space (2.5m) for the cistern.
The head of the PTA (Sonia) will check with the Teachers (since confirmed yes).
We arranged materials will be delivered on the 5th April, but since then Rafael (from Los Torres) who will be doing the training, went to visit & co-ordinate directly with the community & changed the date until 22nd March. (Materials to be delivered before then – Laura placed the order on the 17th March & made payment).
Proposed demo days are now 22, 23,24,25th March. 10am to 5pm.
Leaders are responsible for co-ordinating their groups, ie attendance, food & drink
They will need to bring tools
Wheel barrow, wire cutters, ganchos/hooks, trowels, shovels, ladder, buckets.
More than 2 people from each group will need to learn the entire process, ideally 4. So that for the individual cistern construction there are more experts.
The next assembly is planned for 14th April at 11am –
The community thanked us & departed, & Yolande invited us in for some lunch.
Delicious, beans with chorizo, nopal & tomato, torillas, beans & a guava drink.
We headed out full & happy at 2pm, Laura headed back to town to attend her son’s birthday dinner, & Chela & Holly went on to the 2nd assembly in Vivienda de Arriba.
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar potential water Project
Where: Cruz del Palmar Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Wed 10th March 11am – 1.30pm
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Holly Yasui & Chela Martinez (for Cedesa) 32 adults (incl. 2 men), + 15 kids.
Purpose: Planning for the next stage of the water project
Update: As a result of the change of Scope of the MG received for the community of Lomas de San Jose, (who recently declined our project for lack of numbers). we now have immediate funding for this community,
With this MG we have sufficient funding for 19 cisterns, 1 pilot & 18 individual family cisterns. Vivienda de Arriba (neighbouring community) will receive the other 19 cisterns.
Record of Event
We managed to arrive on time this time, after getting lost last time!
When we arrived Yolande had already created a circular seating arrangement out of planks & bricks.
The people slowly filtered in, & we began the assembly at 11.30.
Item 1 – Welcome
Chela welcomed everyone & asked how long they thought the meeting should be – everyone looked a bit blank, so Holly responded – ideally 1 hour.
Chela explained it’s important to meet & get to know eachother & to relate, & in the process of relating establish a relationship of trust between “you & us”...
Everyone was asked to introduce themselves – first names only to make it easier. There was some giggling as people are embarrassed to speak, one young woman introduced her mother instead, until we insisted she say her own name.
Chela invited everyone to call her Chela, not Senorita, she said she’s over that, & asked them to feel confident to speak.
They were asked for a show of hands as to who was here today, but not the previous meeting. (approx 10 people).
Chela said she would co-ordinate the meeting this time, but in future meetings they will will elect a co-ordinator & record taker each time.
Item 2 – explanation & background
Chela “why are you here today?”
Responses –
I have come to hear what the program is about,
To hear about the cisternas, I’m interested because we need water.
I live in the top part of CdP & we have a lot of problems with water, we suffer a lot.
I want to know if I’m on the list, if I’m not I’ll leave the meeting, I want to know more about it.
I live here & I went to Los Torres to ask what they have & how they got it, & to see “what you gave to them”...
Record of Event pg 2 of 4
I’m attending to get more info, 3rd hand is not so good, you have to find out for yourself, that’s why I’m here.
Chela “what is the objective of this meeting/reunion?”
Chela invited Laura (through Holly) to talk a little about our history working with Cedesa in Los Torres. (I gave a brief history).
Chela talked about Cedesa, it’s not a program, it’s a school to train people on organising. Chela also explained that Rotary was a large organisation with more than 30,000 clubs worldwide, a service organisation, voluntary. Without everyone on the team we can’t resolve this, we’re a team, with integral development being the goal or objective.
Rotary can not resolve all the issues, but with Cedesa training you can take control of your own issues & resolve them, by finding necessary resources.
We wish to collaborate with people in the region to resolve the issue of lack of safe drinking water.
Chela “what water problems do you have?”
- Contaminated water
- Can’t drink the water
- Often water is not there when we turn on the taps
- Water from the taps (if it is there) is not drinkable.
We are offering to assist with the construction of cisterns to catch water for drinking & cooking.
Chela “If you buy water, who get’s the $$$?”
- Santorini, Ciel, Bonafont, & these are owned by Coca Cola & Pepsi & Nestle – foreign ownership.
“how much do you spend on water weekly?”
- 80pesos, $100 pesos, $120 pesos (depending on family sizes)
A garafon is 20 litres so each litre is 1 peso.
52 wks x 80pesos = 4140 pesos per year, money they don’t have!
Cisterna is 12,000 litres & costs approx $8000 pesos, once, & then water is free from then on.
In 2 years you could have bought your own cistern!
This is the significance of water & cost in your household. Water is life, the subterranean water does not represent life for you guys, since it is contaminated in this region, rain water is life.
Chela”how is this affecting your family economy?”
Response – with giggles – we’re getting poorer & the companies are getting richer.
We – Cedesa & Rotary, come out of solidarity, the govt has a responsibility to respond to your issue. The govt. Administers $$$ but where do those $$$ come from? “us, Taxes”
They have a responsibility to help you with resources to resolve your drinking water issue – yes or no? “YES”.
Record of Event pg 3 of 4
Item 3 – planning phase
How many families are there in CdP? – 300
We can’t help 300 families but we can train people, & have an impact. We can train one group & they can train others & after you can ask Govt. For help with financial resources to purchase materials.
The first phase is training for you:
33 families on the list.
Community provides participation, labour to build.
Cedesa provides the training
Rotary provides $$$ for the materials.
The list needs to be divided into groups to learn the full process of construction.
If you can’t help with construction, you can contribute by bringing food & drink to the workers.
The training phase consists of a pilot of 4 days to build the cistern. The work involves
1. Crochet the wire
2. Mix concrete
3. Apply concrete
All things most people can do easily. The final application of the concrete is a little more specialist but there are people in your community who do this easily.
Whoever participates in the training will be the list of the people to receive their cisterns first.
Item 4 Pilot project plans
Where would you like to build the first cistern?
Primary 200 kids
Secondaria 900 kids
Kinder 50 kids
They decided the primary school, since they provide breakfast at school & it has the longest school day. They use 2 garafons of water per meal. One cistern will not be sufficient water for drinking for all the kids, but will help with the meal preparation.
The smallest kids are the most prone to health issues.
In CdP all the schools buy water, they ask the parents for donations for this.
There are 33 people here today, we need to work in groups, it was decided to have 3 groups of 11. Those in bold are the chosen leaders.
Record of Event pg 4 of 4
Group 1.
Lucia
Sonia
Maria
Teresa
Imelda
Jose Luis
Ester Maya
Juana
Irene
Marta
Martin
Group 2
Laura
Yola
Diana
Celia
Julia
Soledad
Elizabeth
Leticia
Olivia
Estela
Wencilada Group 3
Cristina
Nicolasa
Benita
Marcelina
Eva
Leticia N
Esther
Herminia
Maricela
Luisa
Domitilia
All the leaders need to take info re their groups, & ensure they all have sufficient space (2.5m) for the cistern.
The head of the PTA (Sonia) will check with the Teachers (since confirmed yes).
We arranged materials will be delivered on the 5th April, but since then Rafael (from Los Torres) who will be doing the training, went to visit & co-ordinate directly with the community & changed the date until 22nd March. (Materials to be delivered before then – Laura placed the order on the 17th March & made payment).
Proposed demo days are now 22, 23,24,25th March. 10am to 5pm.
Leaders are responsible for co-ordinating their groups, ie attendance, food & drink
They will need to bring tools
Wheel barrow, wire cutters, ganchos/hooks, trowels, shovels, ladder, buckets.
More than 2 people from each group will need to learn the entire process, ideally 4. So that for the individual cistern construction there are more experts.
The next assembly is planned for 14th April at 11am –
The community thanked us & departed, & Yolande invited us in for some lunch.
Delicious, beans with chorizo, nopal & tomato, torillas, beans & a guava drink.
We headed out full & happy at 2pm, Laura headed back to town to attend her son’s birthday dinner, & Chela & Holly went on to the 2nd assembly in Vivienda de Arriba.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Water Info Day 36th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Record of Event pg 1 of 2
36th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: Los Torres Primary School – Water Information Day
When: 5th March 11-2pm
Who: Chela, Holly, Gerardo (Holly’s partner) + Jesus (Cedesa), Laura (San Miguel Midday), Laura, Tony & Caroline, representing SMA Midday Rotary, Jonathan Murray (visiting Rotarian from Nova Scotia), Jim Grant – representing San Miguel Community Foundation (SMCF) & later Julio, from Ecology Department.
Purpose/ Objective:
To inform the kids at Los Torres Primary of the issues re water in their region, at home & at school, & make them responsible guardians of the water in the cisterns at their school.
Many of the children have parents involved in the water project, & have already been educated by their parents as to the importance of water conservation, turning taps off tightly etc.
Jesus has been working with Cedesa & has put a plan together for the Water Info day. He provided me with a very comprehensive planning paper in Spanish. (I have this on file).
Description of the day:
Laura & the visitors met at the Fabrica Aurora car park & drove in 2 vehicles to Los Torres.
We arrived in Los Torres about 10.50 & found a hive of action. People were already at their “stations”, tables were set up with women ready to serve food (later), & Jesus was buzzing around making sure people knew the plan & their roles in it.
The visitors were immediately put to work assembling the bracelets (mentioned below), they joked about being qualified or not, since we had lawyers, a teacher & a surgeon amongst us!
Gerardo was at the ready with water bottles to hand out to the kids. The water bottles served as both prizes for attending & participating, but also as a method to conserve water. The kids did not previously use water bottles at school, when they were thirsty they went to the tap & slurped the water as it gushed past! By giving them all bottles, we hope they fill them (without waste) & drink more water as a result.
The groups had been created, 7 x 12, & each group came out of the classroom, lined up & received their water bottles.
Marker pens were passed around & the kids wrote their names on their bottles...
Each group went to each of the 7 stations to begin the “rally”.
At each of the stations was a small team of adults, a devil, an angel & a leader. The leader talked about the topic of the station, eg the hydrolic cycle, or salt water v fresh water on Earth, or methods of conserving water, or sources of water in their community...
The kids had to answer the questions correctly & receive a “bead”, the devil was their to tempt them with the wrong answers & the angel the opposite!
After each of the groups had visited all 7 tables, their beads were tallied up & the winning team were rewarded with the position of Guardian of Water (with a bracelet to signify their position), others were also given the opportunity to volunteer for the role of Guardian, & were voted by their peers, the top 6 contenders also joined the Guardian team... About 10 kids volunteered for the role!
While all this was going on, the kinder kids arrived & joined in, & there were many young kids & babies also running around, these guys were all very happy to receive a water bottle too, & within minutes were rushing to fill them from the cisterns, I hovered at the cisterns for a while to see how they did, & they were all very specific about turning the tap on & off & not wasting a drop!
I noticed they have also put small containers under the taps to catch any drips, & then use these to water the plants (their idea!).
One of the Teachers at the school participated, & the others watched with smiling faces.
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
At the conclusion of the rally, once the winners were awarded their bracelets, Concha & Saul, showed a big poster they had created to describe the water situation in Los Torres historically, Concha spoke loudly & well & involved all the kids, who yelled answers back to her questions... I congratulated her later & she admitted that 4 of the women had stayed up til midnight the night before to finish the poster, & that she’d had lots of practice yelling in her life, which was why she was so good at speaking loudly to the crowd of kids!
I couldn’t believe how involved these kids were in the day, at school events in my past, I’ve seen kids running around like mad things just to be outside, these guys were very quiet, & interested & took the whole process very seriously, but at the same time had a lot of laughs with Jesus playing the clown...
When it was all finished, the mums set up food stations & handed out delicious nutritious food to everyone, tostadas with refried beans & lettuce & cheese, tacos with soya, tomato, cilantro & onion, & other yummy snacks. We all ate lots!
Tony was called into duty to help remove a flat tyre Julio discovered when he went to leave. He met Rafael (one of the Los Torres cistern expert team) & between 4 guys managed to get the tyre replaced... Something about oxidised nuts making the process harder!
This day far exceeded my expectations – it was very professionally executed, the kids learnt a lot, & proved how much they already knew! All ages participated, even the littlies knew more than the big ones in some cases... & most importantly they all had fun!
It was great to see the kids leaving sipping on water from their new bottles, instead of the usual soda’s or plastic bags filled with cordial...
Everyone headed home tired & full, a good day was had by all!
Next event 24th March – Los Torres Assembly.
See photos at this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/WaterProjectLTWaterInfoDay2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCOTh-J_ytbaHyAE&feat=directlink
36th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: Los Torres Primary School – Water Information Day
When: 5th March 11-2pm
Who: Chela, Holly, Gerardo (Holly’s partner) + Jesus (Cedesa), Laura (San Miguel Midday), Laura, Tony & Caroline, representing SMA Midday Rotary, Jonathan Murray (visiting Rotarian from Nova Scotia), Jim Grant – representing San Miguel Community Foundation (SMCF) & later Julio, from Ecology Department.
Purpose/ Objective:
To inform the kids at Los Torres Primary of the issues re water in their region, at home & at school, & make them responsible guardians of the water in the cisterns at their school.
Many of the children have parents involved in the water project, & have already been educated by their parents as to the importance of water conservation, turning taps off tightly etc.
Jesus has been working with Cedesa & has put a plan together for the Water Info day. He provided me with a very comprehensive planning paper in Spanish. (I have this on file).
Description of the day:
Laura & the visitors met at the Fabrica Aurora car park & drove in 2 vehicles to Los Torres.
We arrived in Los Torres about 10.50 & found a hive of action. People were already at their “stations”, tables were set up with women ready to serve food (later), & Jesus was buzzing around making sure people knew the plan & their roles in it.
The visitors were immediately put to work assembling the bracelets (mentioned below), they joked about being qualified or not, since we had lawyers, a teacher & a surgeon amongst us!
Gerardo was at the ready with water bottles to hand out to the kids. The water bottles served as both prizes for attending & participating, but also as a method to conserve water. The kids did not previously use water bottles at school, when they were thirsty they went to the tap & slurped the water as it gushed past! By giving them all bottles, we hope they fill them (without waste) & drink more water as a result.
The groups had been created, 7 x 12, & each group came out of the classroom, lined up & received their water bottles.
Marker pens were passed around & the kids wrote their names on their bottles...
Each group went to each of the 7 stations to begin the “rally”.
At each of the stations was a small team of adults, a devil, an angel & a leader. The leader talked about the topic of the station, eg the hydrolic cycle, or salt water v fresh water on Earth, or methods of conserving water, or sources of water in their community...
The kids had to answer the questions correctly & receive a “bead”, the devil was their to tempt them with the wrong answers & the angel the opposite!
After each of the groups had visited all 7 tables, their beads were tallied up & the winning team were rewarded with the position of Guardian of Water (with a bracelet to signify their position), others were also given the opportunity to volunteer for the role of Guardian, & were voted by their peers, the top 6 contenders also joined the Guardian team... About 10 kids volunteered for the role!
While all this was going on, the kinder kids arrived & joined in, & there were many young kids & babies also running around, these guys were all very happy to receive a water bottle too, & within minutes were rushing to fill them from the cisterns, I hovered at the cisterns for a while to see how they did, & they were all very specific about turning the tap on & off & not wasting a drop!
I noticed they have also put small containers under the taps to catch any drips, & then use these to water the plants (their idea!).
One of the Teachers at the school participated, & the others watched with smiling faces.
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
At the conclusion of the rally, once the winners were awarded their bracelets, Concha & Saul, showed a big poster they had created to describe the water situation in Los Torres historically, Concha spoke loudly & well & involved all the kids, who yelled answers back to her questions... I congratulated her later & she admitted that 4 of the women had stayed up til midnight the night before to finish the poster, & that she’d had lots of practice yelling in her life, which was why she was so good at speaking loudly to the crowd of kids!
I couldn’t believe how involved these kids were in the day, at school events in my past, I’ve seen kids running around like mad things just to be outside, these guys were very quiet, & interested & took the whole process very seriously, but at the same time had a lot of laughs with Jesus playing the clown...
When it was all finished, the mums set up food stations & handed out delicious nutritious food to everyone, tostadas with refried beans & lettuce & cheese, tacos with soya, tomato, cilantro & onion, & other yummy snacks. We all ate lots!
Tony was called into duty to help remove a flat tyre Julio discovered when he went to leave. He met Rafael (one of the Los Torres cistern expert team) & between 4 guys managed to get the tyre replaced... Something about oxidised nuts making the process harder!
This day far exceeded my expectations – it was very professionally executed, the kids learnt a lot, & proved how much they already knew! All ages participated, even the littlies knew more than the big ones in some cases... & most importantly they all had fun!
It was great to see the kids leaving sipping on water from their new bottles, instead of the usual soda’s or plastic bags filled with cordial...
Everyone headed home tired & full, a good day was had by all!
Next event 24th March – Los Torres Assembly.
See photos at this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/WaterProjectLTWaterInfoDay2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCOTh-J_ytbaHyAE&feat=directlink
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Capaderillo potential water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 4
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Capaderillo potential water Project
Where: Capaderillo Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Wed 3rd March 12pm
Who: Elena Padilla & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Holly Yasui & Chela Martinez (for Cedesa) + 33 adults (including 6 men) & 10 kids.
Purpose: Preliminary Assembly re potential future water project in this community
History: Capaderillo is beside the Presa, on the road to Cruz del Palmar, approx 30mins by bike to Los Torres, the community we carried out the first water cistern project with.
Saul Juarez, a young man who lives in Capaderillo has attended several assemblies at Los Torres & CdP & VdA.
He is very keen to organise a project in his community & had done preliminary organising to inform the community, about the potential project & to attend the assembly. He has a list of names, but there are more people at today’s assembly so he will revise the list.
We arrived at 12pm, Saul was waiting & took us to the house at which the meeting was held. There were approx 15 people there when we arrived, many more arrived in the next 15 mins, we started the meeting as 12.15. Here are some discussion points before the meeting started.
Some facts:
• Capaderillo is ver close to Guerro & Vivienda de Abajo, school & kindergarten are almost neighbouring, yet they are in different communities.
• Capadarillo has approx 60 families.
• Some people are participating in a govt opportunities program & they will have a better census.
• A lot of the land here is Ejido (community co-op), approx 22-25 Ejiditarios.
• Majority do not have land rights, or land parcels.
• Parents have sold the land not realising the consequences, a comment was, “they think they can’t take it with them so may as well have the money to spend, rather than leave the land to their kids”...
• Saul has approx 40 people on the list at this point, after going door to door to explain the project.
• Kinder in Vivienda de Abajo has approx 50 kids
• Primary school in Capaerillo has approx 150 kids
• Telesecondaria in Vivienda De Abajo has approx 80 kids
• Women carry wáter to the schools from their own Wells.
Chela asked Elena to give an introduction, she talked about land is like children, we can’t really own it, but guide it & nurture it, & give it water & life.
Item 1: Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & gave a little background about our work together. Chela described the history of our relationship with Cedesa, starting with the diploma in water studies Cedesa gave for 8mths with UNAM. She described briefly the aquifer, & situation with contamination of fluoride in this area. She listed some of the health issues caused & this is why Cedesa & Rotary are working together with the communities to solve this.
Record of Event pg 2 of 4
Chela gave a history of the project in Los Torres & that’s where we met Saul Juarez. He has attended 2 assemblies in Los Torres & 1 in Vivienda de Arriba.
The community was then asked to introduce themselves.
Starting with Saul, who has been living in Capaderillo for 2 years, originally from Dolores Hidalgo. He saw & heard Chela & was interested in a water project for Capaderillo because of the extreme contamination in this area, not just affecting teeth, but also bones & brain & all major organs. He implored the community to show their interest & attend meetings.
Each person introduced themselves.
It was very funny as almost 90% of the people were either Ramirez, Ramirez Ramirez or Lopez Ramirez!
Item 2 What problems with water do you have here?
• They only have family wells, no other water (no truck deliveries, or bottled water)
• Everyone drinks well water, & the wells are contaminated at a level of approx 4mg/l (1.5mg p/l is maximum safe level).
• The clinic has told them the water is not safe to drink, they must boil it or add chlorine!
• The men were asked to comment, & they said they don’t know, they never go to the clinic.
• The wells are anywhere from 12 to 30 mtrs deep
• They have never analysed the water, they don’t know how or where
• Neighbouring Guerrero & Vivienda de Abajo are the same
• One woman (incidentally from Guerrero) comments, they need to analyse the water, they know there is a lot of fluoride in the region, the damage is obvious in the teeth, but she believes bones are also brittle, there have been cases of kids falling off burros & breaking bones easily
Chela explained some of the ill health affects of fluoride contamination, kidneys filter water, but fluoride builds up in the kidneys & escapes into the blood, which affects the brain & all the major organs. Every internal organ is affected, the kids are smaller & when they have problems concentrating or learning it can be attributed to fluoride poisoning.
We can’t solve the problem it has to be a collaboration. Have any authorities come to help or advise of this problem? “no!”
No-one from Sapasma, Ecology, the presidencia? “no”
Chela “I have lots of work at Cedesa & so does Rotary, & Holly, but we are motivated to assist you if you want assistance with this issue, you will need to raise the consciousness of the community regarding this issue. We are here to help resolve this, but one important point is organisation – Saul Juarez is very motivated to help organise – do you think this is a problem?”
Someone responded “ it’s a big problem, for us & for our kids when they drink the water!”
Chela then talked more about fluoride, where it comes from & what alternatives there are for removing it.
Record of Event pg 3 of 4
With demonstration & discussion about what happens to salt in the water, she explained that boiling actually worsens the problem. The good water evaporates into steam & you are left with even more concentrated fluoride in the boiled water. So boiling is not a good option.
Chlorine is a chemical & not good for humans, so not a good option either.
She explained the fluoride is naturally occurring & is in the water for many 1000’s of years, she talked about the rain cycle, & where the water comes from, & the rocks & gravel in this area contain fluoride.
The first deep well was drilled in 1958 & since then water usage from the aquifer has been extreme, for agribusiness, hence the aquifer is reducing at a much faster rate than it is being recharged by the rains. (only 1 mtr per year permeation).
Toilets also contaminate the water, & she talked about bacteria a little.
She called for suggestions of how they could solve their own water issue.
Alma suggested catching water in a hole in the ground, dug as a “dam”, or in big buckets.
There are 2 ways to have safe drinking water here.
1. Catching rain water from the roof & storing in Cisterns
2. Distilling water with a solar distiller. (ie catching the steam)
Saul described the cisterns Los Torres have built, including the process, ie Rotary supplying the materials, & the people building them with training from Cedesa.
Round cisterns are better than subterranean square ones, easier to build & easier to retrieve water from & keep clean.
The water caught during the rainy season will last the whole year for drinking & cooking for a family up to 14 people.
“it’s important to get organised – how can you generate resources?”
“from Rotary & Cedesa, but also from the local govt. & sapasma & Ecology dept”
It costs approx $8000 per cistern, how can you make this happen?
Do you have the $$$? “no!”
How can you help? “we have hands – we can work”.
Chela explained that with solidarity & collaboration with Rotary, we have been raising funds & resources but there are limits & time constraints.
They decided they would like to make an application to govt. & Laura has volunteered to help with this, since she is already meeting with Govt. on a monthly basis on the topic of water, she will ask for a meeting time for the community to meet & put their case.
Chela asked who is interested in this project – a resounding yes!
It’s voluntary & requires motivation & participation, & involvement. You are busy with the problem, you need to get busy with the solution!
Record of Event pg 4 of 4
The beginnings of organisation was described, creating an application explaining the issue, Saul has an idea of what’s needed, as they did on recently for the church. Another woman is working with a group currently to apply for dry toilets.
A mini commission was established
Saul, Juana, Elvia, Hermelinda, Marino & Reynalda.
They will split into 2 groups of 3 & door know the entire community spreading the word & taking names of interested families.
They will ask number of people in family, the list must be of people not just interested but “committed” & they will also look at the placement of the cistern during the visit.
Action Saul volunteered to have the list by Friday, he will be attending the water info. Day at Los Torres Primary school that we have planned, & he will present the list then.
Action Laura will take the list to the Sapasma meeting on the 11th March, & ask for a meeting time for the community.
Action Laura to add the number of cisterns required for Kinder, School & Telesecondaria to the individual families list.
Next meeting scheduled for 7th April same house, at 11am
(Guerrero woman is Salud Ramirez, & she is going to make preliminary enquiries in her community,)
(On 5th March, Saul came to the Water Info Day, & participated as planned, he also bought with him the list of 54 families interested in participating in a water project in their community)
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Capaderillo potential water Project
Where: Capaderillo Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Wed 3rd March 12pm
Who: Elena Padilla & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Holly Yasui & Chela Martinez (for Cedesa) + 33 adults (including 6 men) & 10 kids.
Purpose: Preliminary Assembly re potential future water project in this community
History: Capaderillo is beside the Presa, on the road to Cruz del Palmar, approx 30mins by bike to Los Torres, the community we carried out the first water cistern project with.
Saul Juarez, a young man who lives in Capaderillo has attended several assemblies at Los Torres & CdP & VdA.
He is very keen to organise a project in his community & had done preliminary organising to inform the community, about the potential project & to attend the assembly. He has a list of names, but there are more people at today’s assembly so he will revise the list.
We arrived at 12pm, Saul was waiting & took us to the house at which the meeting was held. There were approx 15 people there when we arrived, many more arrived in the next 15 mins, we started the meeting as 12.15. Here are some discussion points before the meeting started.
Some facts:
• Capaderillo is ver close to Guerro & Vivienda de Abajo, school & kindergarten are almost neighbouring, yet they are in different communities.
• Capadarillo has approx 60 families.
• Some people are participating in a govt opportunities program & they will have a better census.
• A lot of the land here is Ejido (community co-op), approx 22-25 Ejiditarios.
• Majority do not have land rights, or land parcels.
• Parents have sold the land not realising the consequences, a comment was, “they think they can’t take it with them so may as well have the money to spend, rather than leave the land to their kids”...
• Saul has approx 40 people on the list at this point, after going door to door to explain the project.
• Kinder in Vivienda de Abajo has approx 50 kids
• Primary school in Capaerillo has approx 150 kids
• Telesecondaria in Vivienda De Abajo has approx 80 kids
• Women carry wáter to the schools from their own Wells.
Chela asked Elena to give an introduction, she talked about land is like children, we can’t really own it, but guide it & nurture it, & give it water & life.
Item 1: Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & gave a little background about our work together. Chela described the history of our relationship with Cedesa, starting with the diploma in water studies Cedesa gave for 8mths with UNAM. She described briefly the aquifer, & situation with contamination of fluoride in this area. She listed some of the health issues caused & this is why Cedesa & Rotary are working together with the communities to solve this.
Record of Event pg 2 of 4
Chela gave a history of the project in Los Torres & that’s where we met Saul Juarez. He has attended 2 assemblies in Los Torres & 1 in Vivienda de Arriba.
The community was then asked to introduce themselves.
Starting with Saul, who has been living in Capaderillo for 2 years, originally from Dolores Hidalgo. He saw & heard Chela & was interested in a water project for Capaderillo because of the extreme contamination in this area, not just affecting teeth, but also bones & brain & all major organs. He implored the community to show their interest & attend meetings.
Each person introduced themselves.
It was very funny as almost 90% of the people were either Ramirez, Ramirez Ramirez or Lopez Ramirez!
Item 2 What problems with water do you have here?
• They only have family wells, no other water (no truck deliveries, or bottled water)
• Everyone drinks well water, & the wells are contaminated at a level of approx 4mg/l (1.5mg p/l is maximum safe level).
• The clinic has told them the water is not safe to drink, they must boil it or add chlorine!
• The men were asked to comment, & they said they don’t know, they never go to the clinic.
• The wells are anywhere from 12 to 30 mtrs deep
• They have never analysed the water, they don’t know how or where
• Neighbouring Guerrero & Vivienda de Abajo are the same
• One woman (incidentally from Guerrero) comments, they need to analyse the water, they know there is a lot of fluoride in the region, the damage is obvious in the teeth, but she believes bones are also brittle, there have been cases of kids falling off burros & breaking bones easily
Chela explained some of the ill health affects of fluoride contamination, kidneys filter water, but fluoride builds up in the kidneys & escapes into the blood, which affects the brain & all the major organs. Every internal organ is affected, the kids are smaller & when they have problems concentrating or learning it can be attributed to fluoride poisoning.
We can’t solve the problem it has to be a collaboration. Have any authorities come to help or advise of this problem? “no!”
No-one from Sapasma, Ecology, the presidencia? “no”
Chela “I have lots of work at Cedesa & so does Rotary, & Holly, but we are motivated to assist you if you want assistance with this issue, you will need to raise the consciousness of the community regarding this issue. We are here to help resolve this, but one important point is organisation – Saul Juarez is very motivated to help organise – do you think this is a problem?”
Someone responded “ it’s a big problem, for us & for our kids when they drink the water!”
Chela then talked more about fluoride, where it comes from & what alternatives there are for removing it.
Record of Event pg 3 of 4
With demonstration & discussion about what happens to salt in the water, she explained that boiling actually worsens the problem. The good water evaporates into steam & you are left with even more concentrated fluoride in the boiled water. So boiling is not a good option.
Chlorine is a chemical & not good for humans, so not a good option either.
She explained the fluoride is naturally occurring & is in the water for many 1000’s of years, she talked about the rain cycle, & where the water comes from, & the rocks & gravel in this area contain fluoride.
The first deep well was drilled in 1958 & since then water usage from the aquifer has been extreme, for agribusiness, hence the aquifer is reducing at a much faster rate than it is being recharged by the rains. (only 1 mtr per year permeation).
Toilets also contaminate the water, & she talked about bacteria a little.
She called for suggestions of how they could solve their own water issue.
Alma suggested catching water in a hole in the ground, dug as a “dam”, or in big buckets.
There are 2 ways to have safe drinking water here.
1. Catching rain water from the roof & storing in Cisterns
2. Distilling water with a solar distiller. (ie catching the steam)
Saul described the cisterns Los Torres have built, including the process, ie Rotary supplying the materials, & the people building them with training from Cedesa.
Round cisterns are better than subterranean square ones, easier to build & easier to retrieve water from & keep clean.
The water caught during the rainy season will last the whole year for drinking & cooking for a family up to 14 people.
“it’s important to get organised – how can you generate resources?”
“from Rotary & Cedesa, but also from the local govt. & sapasma & Ecology dept”
It costs approx $8000 per cistern, how can you make this happen?
Do you have the $$$? “no!”
How can you help? “we have hands – we can work”.
Chela explained that with solidarity & collaboration with Rotary, we have been raising funds & resources but there are limits & time constraints.
They decided they would like to make an application to govt. & Laura has volunteered to help with this, since she is already meeting with Govt. on a monthly basis on the topic of water, she will ask for a meeting time for the community to meet & put their case.
Chela asked who is interested in this project – a resounding yes!
It’s voluntary & requires motivation & participation, & involvement. You are busy with the problem, you need to get busy with the solution!
Record of Event pg 4 of 4
The beginnings of organisation was described, creating an application explaining the issue, Saul has an idea of what’s needed, as they did on recently for the church. Another woman is working with a group currently to apply for dry toilets.
A mini commission was established
Saul, Juana, Elvia, Hermelinda, Marino & Reynalda.
They will split into 2 groups of 3 & door know the entire community spreading the word & taking names of interested families.
They will ask number of people in family, the list must be of people not just interested but “committed” & they will also look at the placement of the cistern during the visit.
Action Saul volunteered to have the list by Friday, he will be attending the water info. Day at Los Torres Primary school that we have planned, & he will present the list then.
Action Laura will take the list to the Sapasma meeting on the 11th March, & ask for a meeting time for the community.
Action Laura to add the number of cisterns required for Kinder, School & Telesecondaria to the individual families list.
Next meeting scheduled for 7th April same house, at 11am
(Guerrero woman is Salud Ramirez, & she is going to make preliminary enquiries in her community,)
(On 5th March, Saul came to the Water Info Day, & participated as planned, he also bought with him the list of 54 families interested in participating in a water project in their community)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
35th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Record of Event pg 1 of 5
35th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: Los Torres (Chucha´s house) & pre-meeting in El Cortijo & in the car on the way.
When: 24.2.10 10.30am – 3.35pm
Who: Chela & Holly + Jesus for planning of the water info day(Cedesa), Laura (San Miguel Midday), + Los Torres people 28 women, 5 men + about 10 small kids, + Annamaria & her husband from Vivienda de Arriba.
Pre Planning session
Purpose:
Planning session for phase III, discuss proposed workshops & water info day, reschedule bee project planning session.
Jesus has been working with Cedesa on the Camposino University plan, & Chela had asked him to put a plan together for the Water Info day planned for 5th March at Los Torres Primary School.
1st Item Water info day planning
The objective of the day is to teach the kids at the primary school, the importance of conserving water.
The planned agenda for Water info day is
1. for the people of Los Torres to talk to the children about the history of water in their area. Members of the assemblies have been tasked with interviewing their elders & reporting back regarding the change in the water/rivers since the oldies were kids…
2. Jesus has a very fun interactive learning experience planned for the whole school. It is to take the form of a ¨rally¨with 7 stations, at each station will be a Quiz, the station will be manned by a co-ordinator, a devil & an angel/or dwarf… the devil & angel will act as bad & good consciences trying to entice the kids to do the right or wrong thing at each station.
Topics for the stations will be for example Hydro weather cycle, global water situation, ie how much fresh & how much salt water covers the earth, identify water sources in their own community, how is water used in their community, define concrete actions to conserve H2o in their own community, etc.
They kids will be divided into teams, of mixed age & gender & each team will pass through the rally. Each successful answer will gain them a “marble” signifying a drop of water, in their bucket, at the end of the rally the team with the most marbles will be deemed the “guardians” of water in their school. This position will carry with it a responsibility to protect & conserve water in their school, they will be the ones to fill the garaphons with water, & make sure the taps are turned off & water is not wasted…
There will be prizes for all the kids, & then some sort of bracelet or identifier for the “guardians”…
We need to work on the details, ideally we would like to reward the kids with a drink bottle each, which they can fill from the garaphons each morning, instead of slurping water directly from the tap as they currently do.
There are approx 80 kids in the school, so we don´t really have the budget to buy a drink bottle for each, but are working on a creative solution to this problem.
We agreed there will need to be continued followup for these “guardians”, & we have yet to decide what form that follow up will take, probably a mini commission from the adults to keep checking with the kids & reporting back to assemblies.
We thanked Jesus for his excellent plan & wished him well with the balance of the execution of it!
The community will need to volunteer at least 21 people to help, & they will need to meet an hr before the event to co-ordinate the event.
Item 2 – Elena arrived to discuss when the next assembly would be held in Montecillo de Nieto (other project site), we agreed 17/3 should give us enough time to receive the $$$ (& 3rd wed of the Month has been set aside for assemblies for this community. She asked if she could visit to touch base with them & we said of course! Great idea…
Record of Event pg 2 of 5
At this point we ran out of time for planning & left for Los Torres. (& Elena went to Montecillo de Nieto).
Arrival in Los Torres, we were around 20 mins late & met with a very small crowd, only around 15 women, more arrived in the next 15mins until we had the usual complement of around 37 people.
Eventually we commenced the meeting at 12.40 (supposed to start at 12)
Item 1. Concha took the roll, (ie of attendance)
Chela described the importance of attending assemblies, “we all have to participate, we shouldn’t have to force you to talk, there is no knot in your tongue is there?” lots of laughing…
One woman said she is afraid people will laugh at what she has to say.
Another woman said you shouldn´t be afraid to briefly state your opinion.
There is no reason for others to be speaking while someone has the “word” (except Holly who sometimes has to translate for Laura … more laughing)…
If you want to speak, raise your hand.
If you put your foot in your mouth, you can always take it out tomorrow…more giggles.
No-one should make fun of anyone, alright to laugh with but not at…
3 things needed presence, respect & participation.
You are the focus of attention in the region, the impact of the cisterns is obvious, & all due to your hard work & persistence.
Item 2 appointment of co-ordinator & records taker for the meeting
Maribel (a young woman) was appointed co-ordinator
Concha was appointed record taker
Item 3 creation of an agenda
Maribel asked the assembly what points they would like to discuss today
The road/beekeeping/3rd phase planning/traspatio/water info day/health workshop/co-operation payments
Item 4 prioritise the points for discussion
After some discussion the points were prioritised.
Agenda item 1 The Road
Chela “what is the point – what does anyone have to say?
Following were various points raised
We were going to talk to someone in the govt.
My husband talked to the govt. pre election, & now we have to talk to the new govt.
Do we need a road or not – resounding “yes”
Who wants to work for it? – general mumble of agreement
Why is it necessary?
- of a person´s sick they cant get to hospital in a hurry
- so we can arrive more quickly (ie us, laura, chela & Holly) – lots of laughter
- so we can get to work on time
- so we can spend more time with our families & not getting to work
- often we don’t have time or $$ to make the trip
- we only stay out here in the country, & go into the campo to collect work, that´s what we have to resort to for fun! (roars of laughter!)
- sometimes need to deliver papers & go shopping, & it takes forever.
- No taxis will come here
- We have to carry shopping & babies…
What is the first step
- to organise a “solicitud”/make an application, to govt.
- there is not a majority here today so we can not make a decision on behalf of the community we will need to call another meeting & hope for a majority,
- 50 people would be a majority
- Need a space to meet – discussion about using the Ejido “salon”, they will need to speak to the Leaders of the Ejido to book a good time.
- There was discussion about making the decision at the next Ejido meeting, but Chela pointed out there is a lot of the community not part of the Ejido, so it needs to be a community initiative not limited to Ejido.
- They will need to invite the entire community & ask them to sign the petition/solicitud for the road…
Record of Event pg 3 of 5
Who can do this?
Plan to meet on the 5/3 (water info day) & write a petition, plan the steps etc.
Chela said they need 5 people for the commission
Action: Road commission Ofelia, Cruz, Chuy, Arturo, Gonzalo & Carmela volunteered.
Chela”it´s important you guys learn how to arrive at the presidencia, who to put your application to”.
Carmela, Cruz & Arturo will ask the Ejido leaders to use the “salon”
How will you inform the community? Someone yelled out “by phone” a big joke because no-one has them!, agreed to inform them at the water info day.
Chela mentioned Palencia (a community she has been working in for 22 yrs), they have a public meeting space & she suggested they need one here in Los Torres.
I suggested they use the school after hours, they said better in the Ejido salon because it is empty so there´s nothing to take! Apparently they have 29 chairs there so people will need to bring their own.
Agenda item 2 3rd Stage Planning
At the last meeting people in phase III were tasked with measuring the length of pipes they need & giving the list to the leader of their group.
No-one had done this, no good reason… Maybe they didn´t know how to measure it, but Chuy pointed out the experts live in their community & are happy to be asked for help.
Chela talked about responsibility, & commitment & sticking together in groups,
“will you advance without taking responsibility?” – no
It was pointed out the technicians can not place the order for the full project until all the lists are in.
They were urged to take charge, go to the group leaders if they do not come to you, & if you don´t know what to do, go & ask someone who does, you know who they are!”
Another person asked if there was a chance of adding another cistern to the list.
Chela said no, phase III was closed & $$$ had been budgeted for just 24, but there could be a phase IV if there was demand, & they could make representation to the govt. for assistance, & not always rely on funding from Rotary.
Agenda item 3 Water Info Day 5 March 2010
Chela asked the objective of the day.
Ofelia answered “for the kids to learn how to conserve water”
The commission at the last meeting was tasked with asking the Teacher if it was ok to hold the day at the school.
They forgot!
Action for the Ofelia & rest of the group, they said they will ask tomorrow.
Chela said they haven´t gotten off their butts, & used the responsibility again.
She asked “is it an education event” – yes
Then it should be fine to have it at school, but you just need to confirm.
More discussion & a description of the event as described by Jesus.
There are 21 volunteers needed.
Apparently 5/3 is the day Casa Diferente (a govt program) is delivering the materials for the houses, & they need to be present to receive the materials. 6 families were involved & therefore wont be able to attend.
There was a call for volunteers
Action: Chuy, Concha, Elena, Hilaria, Gonzalo, Dulce, Fabiana, Sofia, Saul, Juana, Carmela, Maribel, Cecilia, Maria Soria, Maria de Jesus, Orelia, Elvira, Don Cruz, Catalina, Jose Matilde.
They will ask the teacher to ask other parents to bring food to contribute & make it a shared meal event.
The commission to interview the elders, was supposed to meet & research & record the history of water in the region, Chuy had asked her parents but had not recorded it, no-one else had. Another reminder was made.
At this point we were getting a little despondent about the lack of commitment to what people had committed to at the previous meeting. I asked Holly why they don´t write it down, & she pointed out many of people at Los Torres cant read & write, they simply rely on their memory…
Record of Event pg 4 of 5
I asked permission to make the Water Info day an open event, & invite the Mayor & Ecology director as well as Rotarians, pointing out it could be favourable for their representation re the Road if these guys knew the road first hand…They all agreed.
Chela discussed alternatives to foam plates, they talked about having tacos in serviettes.
Time for Water Info Day – start at 11am – finish 2pm, meet at 9.30 for planning session, & they will have to get up really early to prepare food to bring to the event. (Road planning meeting will have to be after the event.
Agenda item 4 Co-operations pending
3 people still owe money for their contribution to the building of the cisterns at the school. The community agreed those from phase III who couldn’t attend this demonstration build would have to pay for their share. The agreed price was $450 pesos.
There was much discussion about this, & I missed what was finally agreed.
There are also people who were supposed to contribute to the school project if they had kids there but were not part of the LT water projects. That contribution was $50, the teacher was supposed to be asked to help recover this money.
Action: It was agreed Maria Soria would go door to door asking for the contribution.
Agenda item 5 Traspatio (back yard) workshops (run by Cedesa, without Rotary funding)
Benigno ran the first workshop last week, they did not keep a count of attendance, but said lots of people were there. They were asked to make a design for their backyard, including moving things to better positions.
Chela had some seeds from prospective Rotarian, Kerry, that visited to the last assembly. She will give them to Benigno to work with.
Agenda item 6 Heath workshop (proposed, to be run by Cedesa, again without funding from Rotary)
Chela explained the woman that gives the workshops on natural health & nutrition, can not drive so it is difficult for her to reach Los Torres. There was talk of transport options, ie catch the bus to Cruz del Palmar & walk 15 mins.
They are not having their regular health topic meetings on Fridays anymore, they were having these when we first visited LT back in Oct. 2008.
Agenda item 7 Bee Keeping project (this is a potential small business project maybe funded by Ann Arbour club…)
Chela opened with “we can provide workshops but we need to know how interested you are, if no interest we wont come.” “lots of people are afraid of bees right?”
Yes – especially the africanised ones.
The bees can provide many valuable products but it requires a lot of voluntary work by you guys.
Response “you´re going to teach us how not to be afraid – right?” Yes, with protective clothing.
Chela explained they are pretty low maintenance, a well working hive only needs visiting mthly, but people will have to keep checking they haven´t been vandalized. There was discussion about this, since they need to be in the countryside, & not easy to monitor.
Chela said we will re-look at the bee project once we see how motivated people are with the existing workshops, ie back yard gardens, & possibly health…
Hence the 10/3/10 beekeeping project planning session is postponed, date to be advised later.
Misc. discussion
There was a written question submitted re resealing of the kindergarten roof. Apparently there are leaks that the nopal/lime sealant has not repaired.
Action: Chela will discuss with Benigno & get back to them with a suggestion for sealant that will not be toxic for the water collection.
Record of Event pg 5 of 5
Anamaria & her husband from Vivienda de Arriba asked to talk with us.
Anamaria mentioned she was concerned there was such a large attendance from a neighbouring community (Tierra Blanca) at the assembly just held at Vivienda de Arriba, 9 from TB & 27 from VdA. She asked if it would ok to tell TB that just 2 representatives should attend the VdA assembly, so the focus can stay on the VdA community.
We agreed, good idea. TB send representatives to each assembly to learn the process & report back to their community, then when they/we are ready to initiate a project there they will have the same knowledge VdA has by attending Los Torres assemblies.
Story of determination!!
We then said our goodbyes & headed back up the dusty, pockholed track loosely described as a road, home, on our way we say Maria de Jesus (a young mother part of phase III) struggling up the hill with a bike, her 18mth old & her four year old boys.
We asked if she would like a ride & she looked very relieved.
The story goes, she lives at Los Torres, but works in Montecillo de Nieto, she had forgotten about the assembly in Los Torres today, but saw Elena (Rotarian) visiting MdN & Elena reminded her it was on. She then loaded up her 18mth old on the handle bars, & her four year old son (with his school bag on his back) standing up on the pegs of the back wheel, & rode her bike with her shakey precious cargo all the way from Montecillo de Nieto to Los Torres. Anyone who has even driven that road knows how hard it is even in a car, up hill, down dale, & that´s just in the space of 20 feet!
It is a journey of more than ½ hr by car! & she managed it!
Needless to say she was extremely grateful to ride back in the pickup, & her children, promptly fell asleep in her arms… only to be off-loaded in their sleepy state at the destination! I am a pretty strong determined person, but I doubt I could have made that journey, she truly deserves her cistern!
Side note – I am glad the $$$ are almost here, I think the possible lapse in motivation may be due to lack of “concrete” (excuse the pun) action lately, they really are ready to roll up their sleeves & get the cisterns built, & am sure will be spurred on for the next issue they choose to resolve.
Water info Day 5th March 2010 9.30planning session, 11am commencement 2pm close (school)
Road Application Planning meeting 2.30pm 5th March (school)
Next assembly 24th March 2010 12midday
35th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: Los Torres (Chucha´s house) & pre-meeting in El Cortijo & in the car on the way.
When: 24.2.10 10.30am – 3.35pm
Who: Chela & Holly + Jesus for planning of the water info day(Cedesa), Laura (San Miguel Midday), + Los Torres people 28 women, 5 men + about 10 small kids, + Annamaria & her husband from Vivienda de Arriba.
Pre Planning session
Purpose:
Planning session for phase III, discuss proposed workshops & water info day, reschedule bee project planning session.
Jesus has been working with Cedesa on the Camposino University plan, & Chela had asked him to put a plan together for the Water Info day planned for 5th March at Los Torres Primary School.
1st Item Water info day planning
The objective of the day is to teach the kids at the primary school, the importance of conserving water.
The planned agenda for Water info day is
1. for the people of Los Torres to talk to the children about the history of water in their area. Members of the assemblies have been tasked with interviewing their elders & reporting back regarding the change in the water/rivers since the oldies were kids…
2. Jesus has a very fun interactive learning experience planned for the whole school. It is to take the form of a ¨rally¨with 7 stations, at each station will be a Quiz, the station will be manned by a co-ordinator, a devil & an angel/or dwarf… the devil & angel will act as bad & good consciences trying to entice the kids to do the right or wrong thing at each station.
Topics for the stations will be for example Hydro weather cycle, global water situation, ie how much fresh & how much salt water covers the earth, identify water sources in their own community, how is water used in their community, define concrete actions to conserve H2o in their own community, etc.
They kids will be divided into teams, of mixed age & gender & each team will pass through the rally. Each successful answer will gain them a “marble” signifying a drop of water, in their bucket, at the end of the rally the team with the most marbles will be deemed the “guardians” of water in their school. This position will carry with it a responsibility to protect & conserve water in their school, they will be the ones to fill the garaphons with water, & make sure the taps are turned off & water is not wasted…
There will be prizes for all the kids, & then some sort of bracelet or identifier for the “guardians”…
We need to work on the details, ideally we would like to reward the kids with a drink bottle each, which they can fill from the garaphons each morning, instead of slurping water directly from the tap as they currently do.
There are approx 80 kids in the school, so we don´t really have the budget to buy a drink bottle for each, but are working on a creative solution to this problem.
We agreed there will need to be continued followup for these “guardians”, & we have yet to decide what form that follow up will take, probably a mini commission from the adults to keep checking with the kids & reporting back to assemblies.
We thanked Jesus for his excellent plan & wished him well with the balance of the execution of it!
The community will need to volunteer at least 21 people to help, & they will need to meet an hr before the event to co-ordinate the event.
Item 2 – Elena arrived to discuss when the next assembly would be held in Montecillo de Nieto (other project site), we agreed 17/3 should give us enough time to receive the $$$ (& 3rd wed of the Month has been set aside for assemblies for this community. She asked if she could visit to touch base with them & we said of course! Great idea…
Record of Event pg 2 of 5
At this point we ran out of time for planning & left for Los Torres. (& Elena went to Montecillo de Nieto).
Arrival in Los Torres, we were around 20 mins late & met with a very small crowd, only around 15 women, more arrived in the next 15mins until we had the usual complement of around 37 people.
Eventually we commenced the meeting at 12.40 (supposed to start at 12)
Item 1. Concha took the roll, (ie of attendance)
Chela described the importance of attending assemblies, “we all have to participate, we shouldn’t have to force you to talk, there is no knot in your tongue is there?” lots of laughing…
One woman said she is afraid people will laugh at what she has to say.
Another woman said you shouldn´t be afraid to briefly state your opinion.
There is no reason for others to be speaking while someone has the “word” (except Holly who sometimes has to translate for Laura … more laughing)…
If you want to speak, raise your hand.
If you put your foot in your mouth, you can always take it out tomorrow…more giggles.
No-one should make fun of anyone, alright to laugh with but not at…
3 things needed presence, respect & participation.
You are the focus of attention in the region, the impact of the cisterns is obvious, & all due to your hard work & persistence.
Item 2 appointment of co-ordinator & records taker for the meeting
Maribel (a young woman) was appointed co-ordinator
Concha was appointed record taker
Item 3 creation of an agenda
Maribel asked the assembly what points they would like to discuss today
The road/beekeeping/3rd phase planning/traspatio/water info day/health workshop/co-operation payments
Item 4 prioritise the points for discussion
After some discussion the points were prioritised.
Agenda item 1 The Road
Chela “what is the point – what does anyone have to say?
Following were various points raised
We were going to talk to someone in the govt.
My husband talked to the govt. pre election, & now we have to talk to the new govt.
Do we need a road or not – resounding “yes”
Who wants to work for it? – general mumble of agreement
Why is it necessary?
- of a person´s sick they cant get to hospital in a hurry
- so we can arrive more quickly (ie us, laura, chela & Holly) – lots of laughter
- so we can get to work on time
- so we can spend more time with our families & not getting to work
- often we don’t have time or $$ to make the trip
- we only stay out here in the country, & go into the campo to collect work, that´s what we have to resort to for fun! (roars of laughter!)
- sometimes need to deliver papers & go shopping, & it takes forever.
- No taxis will come here
- We have to carry shopping & babies…
What is the first step
- to organise a “solicitud”/make an application, to govt.
- there is not a majority here today so we can not make a decision on behalf of the community we will need to call another meeting & hope for a majority,
- 50 people would be a majority
- Need a space to meet – discussion about using the Ejido “salon”, they will need to speak to the Leaders of the Ejido to book a good time.
- There was discussion about making the decision at the next Ejido meeting, but Chela pointed out there is a lot of the community not part of the Ejido, so it needs to be a community initiative not limited to Ejido.
- They will need to invite the entire community & ask them to sign the petition/solicitud for the road…
Record of Event pg 3 of 5
Who can do this?
Plan to meet on the 5/3 (water info day) & write a petition, plan the steps etc.
Chela said they need 5 people for the commission
Action: Road commission Ofelia, Cruz, Chuy, Arturo, Gonzalo & Carmela volunteered.
Chela”it´s important you guys learn how to arrive at the presidencia, who to put your application to”.
Carmela, Cruz & Arturo will ask the Ejido leaders to use the “salon”
How will you inform the community? Someone yelled out “by phone” a big joke because no-one has them!, agreed to inform them at the water info day.
Chela mentioned Palencia (a community she has been working in for 22 yrs), they have a public meeting space & she suggested they need one here in Los Torres.
I suggested they use the school after hours, they said better in the Ejido salon because it is empty so there´s nothing to take! Apparently they have 29 chairs there so people will need to bring their own.
Agenda item 2 3rd Stage Planning
At the last meeting people in phase III were tasked with measuring the length of pipes they need & giving the list to the leader of their group.
No-one had done this, no good reason… Maybe they didn´t know how to measure it, but Chuy pointed out the experts live in their community & are happy to be asked for help.
Chela talked about responsibility, & commitment & sticking together in groups,
“will you advance without taking responsibility?” – no
It was pointed out the technicians can not place the order for the full project until all the lists are in.
They were urged to take charge, go to the group leaders if they do not come to you, & if you don´t know what to do, go & ask someone who does, you know who they are!”
Another person asked if there was a chance of adding another cistern to the list.
Chela said no, phase III was closed & $$$ had been budgeted for just 24, but there could be a phase IV if there was demand, & they could make representation to the govt. for assistance, & not always rely on funding from Rotary.
Agenda item 3 Water Info Day 5 March 2010
Chela asked the objective of the day.
Ofelia answered “for the kids to learn how to conserve water”
The commission at the last meeting was tasked with asking the Teacher if it was ok to hold the day at the school.
They forgot!
Action for the Ofelia & rest of the group, they said they will ask tomorrow.
Chela said they haven´t gotten off their butts, & used the responsibility again.
She asked “is it an education event” – yes
Then it should be fine to have it at school, but you just need to confirm.
More discussion & a description of the event as described by Jesus.
There are 21 volunteers needed.
Apparently 5/3 is the day Casa Diferente (a govt program) is delivering the materials for the houses, & they need to be present to receive the materials. 6 families were involved & therefore wont be able to attend.
There was a call for volunteers
Action: Chuy, Concha, Elena, Hilaria, Gonzalo, Dulce, Fabiana, Sofia, Saul, Juana, Carmela, Maribel, Cecilia, Maria Soria, Maria de Jesus, Orelia, Elvira, Don Cruz, Catalina, Jose Matilde.
They will ask the teacher to ask other parents to bring food to contribute & make it a shared meal event.
The commission to interview the elders, was supposed to meet & research & record the history of water in the region, Chuy had asked her parents but had not recorded it, no-one else had. Another reminder was made.
At this point we were getting a little despondent about the lack of commitment to what people had committed to at the previous meeting. I asked Holly why they don´t write it down, & she pointed out many of people at Los Torres cant read & write, they simply rely on their memory…
Record of Event pg 4 of 5
I asked permission to make the Water Info day an open event, & invite the Mayor & Ecology director as well as Rotarians, pointing out it could be favourable for their representation re the Road if these guys knew the road first hand…They all agreed.
Chela discussed alternatives to foam plates, they talked about having tacos in serviettes.
Time for Water Info Day – start at 11am – finish 2pm, meet at 9.30 for planning session, & they will have to get up really early to prepare food to bring to the event. (Road planning meeting will have to be after the event.
Agenda item 4 Co-operations pending
3 people still owe money for their contribution to the building of the cisterns at the school. The community agreed those from phase III who couldn’t attend this demonstration build would have to pay for their share. The agreed price was $450 pesos.
There was much discussion about this, & I missed what was finally agreed.
There are also people who were supposed to contribute to the school project if they had kids there but were not part of the LT water projects. That contribution was $50, the teacher was supposed to be asked to help recover this money.
Action: It was agreed Maria Soria would go door to door asking for the contribution.
Agenda item 5 Traspatio (back yard) workshops (run by Cedesa, without Rotary funding)
Benigno ran the first workshop last week, they did not keep a count of attendance, but said lots of people were there. They were asked to make a design for their backyard, including moving things to better positions.
Chela had some seeds from prospective Rotarian, Kerry, that visited to the last assembly. She will give them to Benigno to work with.
Agenda item 6 Heath workshop (proposed, to be run by Cedesa, again without funding from Rotary)
Chela explained the woman that gives the workshops on natural health & nutrition, can not drive so it is difficult for her to reach Los Torres. There was talk of transport options, ie catch the bus to Cruz del Palmar & walk 15 mins.
They are not having their regular health topic meetings on Fridays anymore, they were having these when we first visited LT back in Oct. 2008.
Agenda item 7 Bee Keeping project (this is a potential small business project maybe funded by Ann Arbour club…)
Chela opened with “we can provide workshops but we need to know how interested you are, if no interest we wont come.” “lots of people are afraid of bees right?”
Yes – especially the africanised ones.
The bees can provide many valuable products but it requires a lot of voluntary work by you guys.
Response “you´re going to teach us how not to be afraid – right?” Yes, with protective clothing.
Chela explained they are pretty low maintenance, a well working hive only needs visiting mthly, but people will have to keep checking they haven´t been vandalized. There was discussion about this, since they need to be in the countryside, & not easy to monitor.
Chela said we will re-look at the bee project once we see how motivated people are with the existing workshops, ie back yard gardens, & possibly health…
Hence the 10/3/10 beekeeping project planning session is postponed, date to be advised later.
Misc. discussion
There was a written question submitted re resealing of the kindergarten roof. Apparently there are leaks that the nopal/lime sealant has not repaired.
Action: Chela will discuss with Benigno & get back to them with a suggestion for sealant that will not be toxic for the water collection.
Record of Event pg 5 of 5
Anamaria & her husband from Vivienda de Arriba asked to talk with us.
Anamaria mentioned she was concerned there was such a large attendance from a neighbouring community (Tierra Blanca) at the assembly just held at Vivienda de Arriba, 9 from TB & 27 from VdA. She asked if it would ok to tell TB that just 2 representatives should attend the VdA assembly, so the focus can stay on the VdA community.
We agreed, good idea. TB send representatives to each assembly to learn the process & report back to their community, then when they/we are ready to initiate a project there they will have the same knowledge VdA has by attending Los Torres assemblies.
Story of determination!!
We then said our goodbyes & headed back up the dusty, pockholed track loosely described as a road, home, on our way we say Maria de Jesus (a young mother part of phase III) struggling up the hill with a bike, her 18mth old & her four year old boys.
We asked if she would like a ride & she looked very relieved.
The story goes, she lives at Los Torres, but works in Montecillo de Nieto, she had forgotten about the assembly in Los Torres today, but saw Elena (Rotarian) visiting MdN & Elena reminded her it was on. She then loaded up her 18mth old on the handle bars, & her four year old son (with his school bag on his back) standing up on the pegs of the back wheel, & rode her bike with her shakey precious cargo all the way from Montecillo de Nieto to Los Torres. Anyone who has even driven that road knows how hard it is even in a car, up hill, down dale, & that´s just in the space of 20 feet!
It is a journey of more than ½ hr by car! & she managed it!
Needless to say she was extremely grateful to ride back in the pickup, & her children, promptly fell asleep in her arms… only to be off-loaded in their sleepy state at the destination! I am a pretty strong determined person, but I doubt I could have made that journey, she truly deserves her cistern!
Side note – I am glad the $$$ are almost here, I think the possible lapse in motivation may be due to lack of “concrete” (excuse the pun) action lately, they really are ready to roll up their sleeves & get the cisterns built, & am sure will be spurred on for the next issue they choose to resolve.
Water info Day 5th March 2010 9.30planning session, 11am commencement 2pm close (school)
Road Application Planning meeting 2.30pm 5th March (school)
Next assembly 24th March 2010 12midday
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