Record of Event pg 1 of 3
32nd Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: El Cortijo & Los Torres (school, upper community & Chucha´s house)
When: 28.10.09 10am – 4.15,
Who: Chela, (Cedesa), Bill & Montse Webb (Tallahassee Rotary) Laura (San Miguel Midday, + 51 adults including 7 men, + many children.
Purpose: Pre meeting planning in the car on the way. This visit was dual purpose, 1. to show Bill & Montse the results of the project to date, & introduce them to the people, & methods, 2. to plan next steps with the assembly. The plan included Visit to school to take photos, & meet with teachers & kids, then walking tour of close cisterns for Bill & Montse & visit to the kinder, again to meet with kids & teacher.
11am, we met with some of the community leaders, the teachers & children at the school. We took photos needed to complete the San Miguel Community Fund 2nd Project reporting (SMCF funded the cisterns at the school, which allowed Rotary funding to include more families).
We were met with much enthusiasm. Chela talked to the gathering of teachers & children about the great volunteer effort to build the cisterns, generally about water & conservation, & the water in the cisterns (2 of the 3 are full, the 3rd is waiting for roofing replacement). After a photo session we thanked them all for their involvement & moved on.
We visited another family cistern on the way. This cistern was less than 1/3rd full. The small roof was sited as the cause, I suspect it is lack of conservation, as the roof size should have been more than adequate to fill it by this point. The community also mentioned the municipality truck deliveries were very rare during the rainy season, so I suspect they have been using the water for general use (not just drinking & cleaning as it is designed). We will talk more on conservation at the assembly.
We visited the Kinder, & met with a happy welcome, at the first cistern built. It was completed in February, months before the rainy season, so they opted to have it filled with water from the town deliveries. This is not ideal as the town water was not emptied out before capturing rain water. Also the teacher has been using this water to wash the floors & for general cleaning. We explained there is not sufficient water for this, & other water should be used for this.
We explained this water is not ideal for drinking without treatment, (it should be mentioned the people in Los Torres have been drinking municipality truck delivered water for years, so actually this is not too drastic, considering it will have been diluted with pure rain water, so be a better quality than they have been used to). We will be doing another session on Solar disinfection, for the communities & children/teachers in the kinder & school.
We all squished in the van & drove down to the lower part of the community.
We were met by a big crowd, running a little behind schedule they were already waiting for us, but despite this, Chucha & Jose Miguel (the delegado & his wife) insisted on feeding us, we were treated to a delicious campo meal, of chicheron (pork skin) & nopal (cactus) & beans & rice with warm home made tortillas. We scoffed it down, knowing that the crowd was waiting outside & then joined the gathered assembly.
Assembly began at 1.30.
Chela mentioned they have tested Chucha´s well & it measured 5.8mg/l (this is very high, highest recommended safe level is 1.5mg/l), this testing took place while I was in NZ so I was previously unaware of this.
1. Chela introduced the team & gave a general talk on water & the aquifer. & how we must all work together to improve the situation.
2. A co-ordinator was nominated – Cecilia, & Alejandro was nominated to take records.
3. The roll was called, including the 2 visiting parties representing, Cruz del Palmar & Vivienda de Arriba.
4. Items for the agenda were called for :
The road.
Traspatios (backyard gardens)
Equipo de Acesoria (technical work team)
Conservation of water
Planning the 3rd phase of the project
New communities ie new projects in neighbouring communities
pg 2 of 3
cont.d agenda items.
New solicitudes (ie new projects for the Los Torres community)
These agenda items were prioritised & following is the order in which they were discussed.
Third phase planning
The meeting asked when funding will be available, I responded by end of November with luck, & explained the process to receive funding has many steps.
Veronica raised the point, some people still have not paid their contribution re the construction of the cisterns at the school, (this was an agreement made by the parents of the school kids, who ever could not attend to assist in the construction of the 3 cisterns, agreed to pay a fee) after much back & forth, it was decided to give the list to the teacher to chase. She is difficult to avoid…
A new person came forward to ask to be added to the list of recipients for phase III. Maria de Jesus Ramirez works in Montecillo de Nieto during the week & comes home at the weekend, she is a resident of Los Torres, & is prepared to pay her contribution towards the construction of the school cisterns.
Chela said there are strong volunteers & weaker ones, in this case the strong ones have managed to prove the concept for the others, & it should be decided whether others will be allowed to enjoy the fruits of their labours… & they need to take real need into consideration.
There were several others that asked to be included, Caritina Ramirez, Christina Maya & Juana Soria, with these additional 4, that brings us to 24 for phase III – including 3 tinacos for the elderly solo people.
The delegada also asked if we could provide materials for a cistern to be built for the padre of the church they go to in Cruz del Palmar. They are happy to build it for him, if we could provide the materials. I said I would have to check our budget, as we only have funding budgeted for 20 cisterns & are hoping to use the credit balance from phase II to pay for the difference.
The 3 groups for the 24 people were formed. (3 groups of 7, with no mention of the tinaco receivers, this will need to be addressed when the funds arrive.
Conservation of water
Elena & Laura discussed the need to be very sparing with water use. We demonstrated the cistern when full contains 12,000 ltrs, & at 3 ltrs per day per person, for 275 dry days of the year, this will be sufficient for a family of 14. The formula changes depending on how many litres the cistern currently has, & how many people there are in the family, but basically there is not enough to use for washing dishes or floors & it MUST only be used for drinking & cooking. They need to ration themselves.
Also, I mentioned I am worried the taps are too easy for the children to turn on, play with & lose all the water! They need to be very aware of this. Ideally we could have some sort of child proof lock on the taps, yet to determine how.
The community mentioned how grateful they are to have these cisterns, there have been very few deliveries of water by the municipality during the rainy season & they would have had no water, & had to beg or borrow it from the people with (contaminated) wells.
Neighbouring Community Projects
Cruz del Palmar
2 women from the neighbouring Cruz del Palmar,
Yolande Ramirez Juarez 415 155 9482 & Teresa Gonzalez Maya 415 113 9274
attended our previous assembly, asking how they could have a water project in their community, as they have a scarcity, & contaminated water. Los Torres people told them to go door to door & gather names, & inform them they would have to be prepared to form committees & work groups & do the construction themselves, then to return to the next LT assembly with a list of names.
They returned with a list of 32 families.
pg 3 of 3
Vivienda de Arriba
Another neighbouring community also arrived at the Los Torres Assembly, this was a group of 5 women representing the community of Vivienda de Arriba.
Anamaria Torres Ramirez (415 112 5094) told us they have a well in nearby Tierra Blanca Y Espejo, & supposedly have piped water, but during the dry season they receive no water. The well runs dry, in the dry season, & they are on the higher side & there is not enough water for them.
She was very well organised & already had collated a list of families wishing to be involved, 38 families in total.
We thanked them for being such excellent advocates for their communities, we explained the funding process & that we need time to investigate possibilities for financial assistance. We asked them to visit the next assembly to hear what we have discovered by then.
In summary
This is an extremely heartening result. For an outside community to visit their neighbours with a request for help shows great motivation, & an obvious desire to solve their own issues. This is exactly what we hoped would happen with this project, ie that others would seek to replicate this simple & effective model.
Chela (from Cedesa) is very interested to begin organisation with these communities, now all we need to do is find some more funding.
We have since visited with the Ecology department (& plan to visit with the department of social development) to encourage them to adopt our model & assist to provide safe drinking water in this municipality. This is an ambitious project, as they already have their chosen model (ie the San Miguel Viejo model, that we have evolved our project from). It will now be up to us to demonstrate the advantages of this model (that “teaches them how to fish”)´v´ their model (that provides a “fish Meal”).
Regardless of the direction the municipality decide to take, we will continue with our plan (with your continued support) to provide safe drinking water to as many communities as we are able, & we have a headstart on the needs analysis stage, (obviously still be thoroughly investigated).
At the end of the assembly Bill gave a heart warming speech about how with their hard work they have solved their problem, he thanked them for their courage & leadership, & said we are honoured to be their partners.
The meeting concluded at 4.15pm & we headed home with our tired but sated Tallahassee buddies.
Thank you so much to Montse for her excellent simultaneous translation!
Next meeting December 2nd at 11am – Chucha´s house
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 2
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Where: El Cortijo & Montecillo de Nieto Primary School
When: 21 October 2009 11.20-12.10, & 12.30 – 2.45
Who: pre planning meeting – Bob, Elena & Laura (Rotary), Chela & Holly Cedesa.
Assembly, Bob, Elena, Laura & Chela, Hector & Leon (2 professors), + 32 Adults (including 1 man, Luis from Taboada), & 6 kids, with about a million kids playing outside in the school grounds.
Purpose: Pre planning session at El Cortijo & then Community Assembly at MdN Primary School – first public notification of possible project & call for interest in involvement in this project.
We arrived to the school & were welcomed by a bunch of happy & curious school kids, we entered the class room & the Teachers had already written up an agenda for the day, including the first item, which was a visit by a Govt. Official inviting parents to become involved in a program on parenting & health. The mums sat there pretty passively, looked at the handout books & were advised to attend the kinder if they were interested.
Next it was our turn, more people came in, a total of about 32, + the 2 professors who were very helpful, & co-operative, preparing printouts for people to sign their attendance & chalk for blackboards etc.
One of the teachers speaks English well, & was able to help with translation on a few points.
1stly Chela introduced us all, & spoke a little about Rotary, & Cedesa & what we were there for.
• The theme of the meeting was noted as water, & they were asked for their input on what they knew about water in the area. Some of the responses follow
• We have contaminated fluoride
• Contaminated by rubbish & drains
• & high fluoride
Chela asked what they knew about fluoride contamination, they were aware that it damages teeth, & she added that it also damages bones & major organs.
Chela asked them if they thought this was a problem or not, there was a resounding yes...
Chela talked about the watershed in general & the fact that the aquifer is reducing at a rapid rate & asked me to explain more, I talked about the slow recharge rate, that the water moves 1 mtr per year, so for example the rain we receive today will not enter the aquifer for 60 years if the water table is 60 metres deep in this area, in many areas the wells are deeper than 180 metres!
There was talk of pipes being layed to pipe the water from the Sapasma drilled well in Los Torres to MdN, but there has been no further action by govt on this. There has also been a rumour they might drill another well in MdN, but apparently this would go against current policy, re proximity of wells in regions.
Next we talked about a solution.
Only 2 people were aware of the Los Torres cisterns, but all were aware of the govt. Project to catch water at the school The tank is made of polypropelene (?) & is essentially supported in a structure with a loose fitting lid. There are mosquitos in the water. They have pumps & filters.
Pg 2 of 2
The most crucial point is that although there is a capacity of 30,000 litres it is estimated to be only 1/3rd full at the end of the rainy season. This is because only a small part of the available roof was piped to the cistern, it seems no followup has been done to check the efficiency of
the project, or they would have added the additional piping required to fill the tank. Pipes are cheap!
It was discussed that the community are not able to replicate this model (incidentally the same model as the project Rotary did at San Miguel Viejo, prior to our new development approach & revised model).
The maestro also mentioned that this project was very expensive, 1million pesos for just 9 schools.
Chela invited us to describe what Rotary was offering, & also asked why we were doing this.
Elena kindly translated for me, & in many cases guessed what I was going to say next & said it for me!!
We explained what Rotary was, & that there are members globally that care about the rest of the world & want to assist in making the world a better place.
We described the process of the project completed in Los Torres, including census, working in groups & positive outcomes. We handed around the instruction booklet which describes the process.
We also pointed out that there were many more families involved at the beginning, then some dropped out, & then some came back on board & that this was normal in the process.
We asked if they would like to be involved & all agreed.
We explained the next step was to form a mini committee.
5 people volunteered
Margarita (MdN)
Carmen (MdN)
Luis Cisneros (Taboada)
Irene Jimenez (MdN)
Emilia Ramirez (MdN)
These people will go house to house & explain the project, & ask who wants to be involved. They will record
Families, no. of people, roof material, size of roof
& they will invite them to attend the next meeting.
The committee will report back to the next meeting. (they agreed to do the census by Monday)
Next Meeting Wednesday 18th November 12.30 at the MdN School
Photo album http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=steve.mckee&target=ALBUM&id=5395898476865345153&authkey=Gv1sRgCN3a_7DOi7iACg&feat=email
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Where: El Cortijo & Montecillo de Nieto Primary School
When: 21 October 2009 11.20-12.10, & 12.30 – 2.45
Who: pre planning meeting – Bob, Elena & Laura (Rotary), Chela & Holly Cedesa.
Assembly, Bob, Elena, Laura & Chela, Hector & Leon (2 professors), + 32 Adults (including 1 man, Luis from Taboada), & 6 kids, with about a million kids playing outside in the school grounds.
Purpose: Pre planning session at El Cortijo & then Community Assembly at MdN Primary School – first public notification of possible project & call for interest in involvement in this project.
We arrived to the school & were welcomed by a bunch of happy & curious school kids, we entered the class room & the Teachers had already written up an agenda for the day, including the first item, which was a visit by a Govt. Official inviting parents to become involved in a program on parenting & health. The mums sat there pretty passively, looked at the handout books & were advised to attend the kinder if they were interested.
Next it was our turn, more people came in, a total of about 32, + the 2 professors who were very helpful, & co-operative, preparing printouts for people to sign their attendance & chalk for blackboards etc.
One of the teachers speaks English well, & was able to help with translation on a few points.
1stly Chela introduced us all, & spoke a little about Rotary, & Cedesa & what we were there for.
• The theme of the meeting was noted as water, & they were asked for their input on what they knew about water in the area. Some of the responses follow
• We have contaminated fluoride
• Contaminated by rubbish & drains
• & high fluoride
Chela asked what they knew about fluoride contamination, they were aware that it damages teeth, & she added that it also damages bones & major organs.
Chela asked them if they thought this was a problem or not, there was a resounding yes...
Chela talked about the watershed in general & the fact that the aquifer is reducing at a rapid rate & asked me to explain more, I talked about the slow recharge rate, that the water moves 1 mtr per year, so for example the rain we receive today will not enter the aquifer for 60 years if the water table is 60 metres deep in this area, in many areas the wells are deeper than 180 metres!
There was talk of pipes being layed to pipe the water from the Sapasma drilled well in Los Torres to MdN, but there has been no further action by govt on this. There has also been a rumour they might drill another well in MdN, but apparently this would go against current policy, re proximity of wells in regions.
Next we talked about a solution.
Only 2 people were aware of the Los Torres cisterns, but all were aware of the govt. Project to catch water at the school The tank is made of polypropelene (?) & is essentially supported in a structure with a loose fitting lid. There are mosquitos in the water. They have pumps & filters.
Pg 2 of 2
The most crucial point is that although there is a capacity of 30,000 litres it is estimated to be only 1/3rd full at the end of the rainy season. This is because only a small part of the available roof was piped to the cistern, it seems no followup has been done to check the efficiency of
the project, or they would have added the additional piping required to fill the tank. Pipes are cheap!
It was discussed that the community are not able to replicate this model (incidentally the same model as the project Rotary did at San Miguel Viejo, prior to our new development approach & revised model).
The maestro also mentioned that this project was very expensive, 1million pesos for just 9 schools.
Chela invited us to describe what Rotary was offering, & also asked why we were doing this.
Elena kindly translated for me, & in many cases guessed what I was going to say next & said it for me!!
We explained what Rotary was, & that there are members globally that care about the rest of the world & want to assist in making the world a better place.
We described the process of the project completed in Los Torres, including census, working in groups & positive outcomes. We handed around the instruction booklet which describes the process.
We also pointed out that there were many more families involved at the beginning, then some dropped out, & then some came back on board & that this was normal in the process.
We asked if they would like to be involved & all agreed.
We explained the next step was to form a mini committee.
5 people volunteered
Margarita (MdN)
Carmen (MdN)
Luis Cisneros (Taboada)
Irene Jimenez (MdN)
Emilia Ramirez (MdN)
These people will go house to house & explain the project, & ask who wants to be involved. They will record
Families, no. of people, roof material, size of roof
& they will invite them to attend the next meeting.
The committee will report back to the next meeting. (they agreed to do the census by Monday)
Next Meeting Wednesday 18th November 12.30 at the MdN School
Photo album http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=steve.mckee&target=ALBUM&id=5395898476865345153&authkey=Gv1sRgCN3a_7DOi7iACg&feat=email
31st of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Record of Event pg 1 of 2
31st of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: El Cortijo
When: 21.10.09 2.45-3.45,
Who: Chela, Holly Yasui (Cedesa), Laura
Purpose: Pre mini-meeting planning & Mini Meeting with Los Torres leaders. The mini meeting was to
1. Plan the attendance by Los Torres women at the Water Foro, but the foro is now cancelled, meeting will be on other topics.
2. Discuss the formation of an Equipo de Acessoria – working team who are able to demonstrate the cistern technology & build in other locations.
Where: Los Torres – Chucha´s house.
When: 4.15-7.00pm
Who: Chela, Holly Yasui (Cedesa), Laura, Juan, Concha, Miguel, Chucha, Guillermo, Rafael, Carmella, Ofelia & 2 more women.
Purpose: as above.
!. The usual introductions & welcome.
2. Next was a general discussion, Q&A session.
SAPASMA (the municipal water providers), have not provided piping to the lower community, only the upper community. The well was also to be piped to Montecillo de Nieto (around 8 kms away) & apparently is not now.
MdN & Sapasma planning another well in MdN, but unlikely according to the proximity to this well, & regulations re proximity.
La Cienega & San Antonio la Joya, other side of the lake, have apparently recently received wells.
3. Chela took this time to discuss the general situation about the watershed. The aquifer is in crisis, the usage far outstrips the recharge rate, & it is reducing at approx 2 mtrs per year. There is no underground river, the water there is the only water there is, it is not replenishing any other way except rain, at a rate of 1mtr per year, to enter the aquifer. Ie if the well is 60 mtrs deep, then the rain from today will take 60 years to reach the aquifer at the today´s level…(1mtr per yearx 60 mtrs). In many places the water level is down to 180mtrs or more, so rain water will likely never get there…
4. Discussion about who will co-ordinate for today? Juan suggested no need for a co-ordinator as it is a much smaller meeting, easier to manage. Just need someone to keep records. He said that if you talk amongst yourselves you can stand up at the front of the class like in school – jokingly!
5. Agenda –
• Foro cancelled
• Visitor coming from Rotary in USA
• Other issues Los Torres community would like to work on
• Equipo de Acesoria
6. The Water Foro being planned by a coalition of people interested or affected by water issues has currently postponed, at least until we see what the new Local Govt. will do with regards water issues.
7. Visitor (Bill Webb) will be welcomed by a small committee who will then accompany him to view some of the nearby cisterns, including photos at the school & kindergarten. Carol, Carmella, & Chucha will organise this, speak to the teachers in advance, & meet us at 11am. (with the assembly to be moved to 12midday).
8. Other Community Issues to solve
Chela explained they now have a system for raising & solving their own issues (ie the community assembly & committees), & no longer have to rely on the government or outside help.
Page 2 of 2
They were asked to brainstorm ideas of issues the community would like to solve. Chela asked “how is life in Los Torres”
• Water (they mentioned how happy they were to have the cisterns because the trucks have not been coming from the Municipio & they would have had to borrow water, but with the cisterns they have their own!)
• No work, no money
• Not managing the money they do have well (would like budget advice)
• Health, not managing money well leads to lack of food or bad food
• Lack of awareness of nutrition
• Food production
• The road, better via MdN than CdP because if it was via CdP would need a bridge (to cross the mostly dry river)
Chela asked if they have ever done any projects or requests for assistance to the govt. in the past.
They said in the past they have paid for diesel for the govt to use machinery to level out the road, but it´s difficult because access is across ejido land & many different owners of the land that the road passes through.
They have been getting no-where with Ecology dept. feels like going round & round.
“We need to get upper & lower community more united, & working together.” Juan Alvarado
• Rafael mentioned, the 1st Thursday of every month there are meetings in different rural communities, working (paid small amount, paid by govt. program to do with boundaries –
• Federal $$ -
• Ejido people, of the 90 people involved only approx 20-24 participate regularly,
• only those that participate are paid. “Cacardos” program.
• They are making terraces, & bordos, planting Maguey & are paid approx 50 pesos per day.
• They get given jobs, eg plant 300 magueys or minimum road to construct.
• It´s good that it´s for your own land, so 50pesos per day is just a bonus
• It is good to retain the water, the water is all going to QTO where it is already sold, so whatever we can do here to retain it is worthwhile
• The program is only for those with Ejido land, many people in Los Torres only have their houselots & not additional productive land.
• Guillermo suggested maybe people could work on un-utilised land if they have none.
• The road is a major issue for the community as is the piping for the rest of the community, & there is a cost to rent the machinery.
• Chela suggested forming a communal fund, people could pay just 1 peso per day, ie 7 pesos per wk per family would be 630 pesos per wk, & use this money to improve the conditions of the community.
• People representing Los Torres should be paid their transport costs to get to meetings in SMA (from this communal fund for eg)
• Contributions would add value for everyone
• Chela suggested workshops in
• Traspatios(backyard gardens), natural health solutions (so not to have to visit the Dr) eg eat healthy foods, inhale eucalyptus steam, poultices, massage.
Chela said they need to put these issues to the next assembly (28th Oct) & get consensus & start prioritising issues & planning next steps.
9. Equipo de Acesoria the team consists of Juan, Miguel, Rafael & Guillermo, they were asked to meet, discuss their charges & find out the cost of materials to build a single cistern as a demonstration in Peñon de los Baños. Yolande Millan (Mujeres en Cambio) has been working in this community & has funds to build a demonstration cistern, to teach students.
Juan & his team have been asked to come up with pricing, & availability etc to go on weekends only to construct the cistern. They will report back to us at the 28th October assembly in Los Torres.
(this is great news, these Los Torres men are now skilled in Cistern construction, including materials purchasing, & can show others! It was also discussed by Chela, Holly & me that Juan would make an excellent promoter for Cedesa as they are very short staffed, & he has all the attributes, keen, enquiring, good follow up, very pro-active & organised.
Meeting ended at 7pm & we drove home… nearly got wiped out by a bus on the way home, but that´s a whole other story!
31st of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: El Cortijo
When: 21.10.09 2.45-3.45,
Who: Chela, Holly Yasui (Cedesa), Laura
Purpose: Pre mini-meeting planning & Mini Meeting with Los Torres leaders. The mini meeting was to
1. Plan the attendance by Los Torres women at the Water Foro, but the foro is now cancelled, meeting will be on other topics.
2. Discuss the formation of an Equipo de Acessoria – working team who are able to demonstrate the cistern technology & build in other locations.
Where: Los Torres – Chucha´s house.
When: 4.15-7.00pm
Who: Chela, Holly Yasui (Cedesa), Laura, Juan, Concha, Miguel, Chucha, Guillermo, Rafael, Carmella, Ofelia & 2 more women.
Purpose: as above.
!. The usual introductions & welcome.
2. Next was a general discussion, Q&A session.
SAPASMA (the municipal water providers), have not provided piping to the lower community, only the upper community. The well was also to be piped to Montecillo de Nieto (around 8 kms away) & apparently is not now.
MdN & Sapasma planning another well in MdN, but unlikely according to the proximity to this well, & regulations re proximity.
La Cienega & San Antonio la Joya, other side of the lake, have apparently recently received wells.
3. Chela took this time to discuss the general situation about the watershed. The aquifer is in crisis, the usage far outstrips the recharge rate, & it is reducing at approx 2 mtrs per year. There is no underground river, the water there is the only water there is, it is not replenishing any other way except rain, at a rate of 1mtr per year, to enter the aquifer. Ie if the well is 60 mtrs deep, then the rain from today will take 60 years to reach the aquifer at the today´s level…(1mtr per yearx 60 mtrs). In many places the water level is down to 180mtrs or more, so rain water will likely never get there…
4. Discussion about who will co-ordinate for today? Juan suggested no need for a co-ordinator as it is a much smaller meeting, easier to manage. Just need someone to keep records. He said that if you talk amongst yourselves you can stand up at the front of the class like in school – jokingly!
5. Agenda –
• Foro cancelled
• Visitor coming from Rotary in USA
• Other issues Los Torres community would like to work on
• Equipo de Acesoria
6. The Water Foro being planned by a coalition of people interested or affected by water issues has currently postponed, at least until we see what the new Local Govt. will do with regards water issues.
7. Visitor (Bill Webb) will be welcomed by a small committee who will then accompany him to view some of the nearby cisterns, including photos at the school & kindergarten. Carol, Carmella, & Chucha will organise this, speak to the teachers in advance, & meet us at 11am. (with the assembly to be moved to 12midday).
8. Other Community Issues to solve
Chela explained they now have a system for raising & solving their own issues (ie the community assembly & committees), & no longer have to rely on the government or outside help.
Page 2 of 2
They were asked to brainstorm ideas of issues the community would like to solve. Chela asked “how is life in Los Torres”
• Water (they mentioned how happy they were to have the cisterns because the trucks have not been coming from the Municipio & they would have had to borrow water, but with the cisterns they have their own!)
• No work, no money
• Not managing the money they do have well (would like budget advice)
• Health, not managing money well leads to lack of food or bad food
• Lack of awareness of nutrition
• Food production
• The road, better via MdN than CdP because if it was via CdP would need a bridge (to cross the mostly dry river)
Chela asked if they have ever done any projects or requests for assistance to the govt. in the past.
They said in the past they have paid for diesel for the govt to use machinery to level out the road, but it´s difficult because access is across ejido land & many different owners of the land that the road passes through.
They have been getting no-where with Ecology dept. feels like going round & round.
“We need to get upper & lower community more united, & working together.” Juan Alvarado
• Rafael mentioned, the 1st Thursday of every month there are meetings in different rural communities, working (paid small amount, paid by govt. program to do with boundaries –
• Federal $$ -
• Ejido people, of the 90 people involved only approx 20-24 participate regularly,
• only those that participate are paid. “Cacardos” program.
• They are making terraces, & bordos, planting Maguey & are paid approx 50 pesos per day.
• They get given jobs, eg plant 300 magueys or minimum road to construct.
• It´s good that it´s for your own land, so 50pesos per day is just a bonus
• It is good to retain the water, the water is all going to QTO where it is already sold, so whatever we can do here to retain it is worthwhile
• The program is only for those with Ejido land, many people in Los Torres only have their houselots & not additional productive land.
• Guillermo suggested maybe people could work on un-utilised land if they have none.
• The road is a major issue for the community as is the piping for the rest of the community, & there is a cost to rent the machinery.
• Chela suggested forming a communal fund, people could pay just 1 peso per day, ie 7 pesos per wk per family would be 630 pesos per wk, & use this money to improve the conditions of the community.
• People representing Los Torres should be paid their transport costs to get to meetings in SMA (from this communal fund for eg)
• Contributions would add value for everyone
• Chela suggested workshops in
• Traspatios(backyard gardens), natural health solutions (so not to have to visit the Dr) eg eat healthy foods, inhale eucalyptus steam, poultices, massage.
Chela said they need to put these issues to the next assembly (28th Oct) & get consensus & start prioritising issues & planning next steps.
9. Equipo de Acesoria the team consists of Juan, Miguel, Rafael & Guillermo, they were asked to meet, discuss their charges & find out the cost of materials to build a single cistern as a demonstration in Peñon de los Baños. Yolande Millan (Mujeres en Cambio) has been working in this community & has funds to build a demonstration cistern, to teach students.
Juan & his team have been asked to come up with pricing, & availability etc to go on weekends only to construct the cistern. They will report back to us at the 28th October assembly in Los Torres.
(this is great news, these Los Torres men are now skilled in Cistern construction, including materials purchasing, & can show others! It was also discussed by Chela, Holly & me that Juan would make an excellent promoter for Cedesa as they are very short staffed, & he has all the attributes, keen, enquiring, good follow up, very pro-active & organised.
Meeting ended at 7pm & we drove home… nearly got wiped out by a bus on the way home, but that´s a whole other story!
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