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
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
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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