Record of Event pg 1 of 3
7th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, at the church
When: Friday 29.01.10 (scheduled for 4pm start, started 4.35pm)
Who: Enrique Orvañanos & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Benigno (Cedesa), 3 men & 12 women from the community attended (along with 6 kids & 2dogs!)
(the 3 men left during the meeting, with no interest)
Purpose: to begin planning of the next stages of this project. The demonstration build, & creation of work groups.
We arrived on time at 4pm, & a few people were there, we decided to wait longer.
A few more people arrived including 3 new faces, people who were passing & called to join in.
At 4.35pm, despite the small numbers, we decided to begin.
Item 1. Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & explained why we were there.
We met the 3 new men attending, 1 had a come as he was interested to see what it was about, he had a cistern already, so didn’t stay, one has no space for a cistern.
Item 2 Difference between an assembly & a meeting
This is the usual beginning of the meeting, reiteration of difference between a meeting & an assembly, as an incentive to organise bigger attendance.
Item 3 appointment of a co-ordinator & a records taker
Benigno reiterated these 2 roles & Carmen was appointed co-ordinator, & Cristina Record taker (Angelika had bought the notes from previous meetings as well as the “list” of people interested in participating.
Item 4 Description of the process & of working in groups
For the new people, Benigno described how the construction of the cisterns would take place, that working in groups was essential, & that there was 39 on original list & that groups of 8 had been decided back in June.
Item 5 revised list of participants
At the previous meeting it had been raised that there were people on the list that didn’t even have a building on their land, & who had gone on the list thinking they might be able to get a cistern in future, when their building was complete.
The attendees of the previous meeting had been tasked with visiting the families on the list & revising the list to be actual families with space & a building in place already, whose roof could be used to catch water for the cistern.
Angelika said there were now 30 people on the list.
The role was called, & there were several people at today’s meeting that were not on the list, & many more not attending today’s meeting, despite being told that attendance of the meetings was compulsory if they wished to be included in the project.
Item 6 How to proceed, with lack of participation
Enrique, Benigno & Laura discussed how to proceed in this situation, ie with an obvious lack of interest or motivation in this community. There are many factors to be considered
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
1. There is only a core few regularly attending the meetings, approx 4 have been at all meetings, others are coming & going, & new people showing up & not coming again.
2. We have a commitment to the four who regularly attend
3. It takes as many resources (financial/time & energy) to organise for a few families as it does for 30.
4. We have many communities in need of this project, who are demonstrating their willingness (at least at the early stages) should we split this project?
5. Is it too early for this community, do they need more time to organise themselves? Are they actually capable of organising themselves?
6. This is a semi urban community, without unity, it will take a lot of work to first create unity & some sense of “community” here, they are essentially a cluster of houses living in close proximity rather than a community with roots & history in the area (like the other project sites)
7. We came to this community offering the project, they did not come to us seeking it, we have other communities that have come to us.
8. Normally the bi product of these projects is to assist communities to become organised, & to build community spirit it will pose an additional challenge here.
Item 7 – insufficient numbers to define the project yet.
We explained the issues we discussed, & although this meeting was to be the definitive list of people to be involved in the project, there were still insufficient to set a date for demonstration demo build days, & to begin to seriously plan & organise the next steps.
We asked if they needed more time to speak with their neighbours & the people on the list to get a bigger group together & agreed to meet again in 2 wks. We told them the next assembly was the LAST chance.
We asked again if there was a better time for people to meet, more discussion on this topic again, this time it was decided that Saturday is a better day, & after much back and forth, about day, time & location was ultimately agreed
Funny things that happened...
The men (all 3 of them) slowly sloped off, one by one, when they thought we weren’t watching.
Carmen – the woman that was appointed co-ordinator, suddenly ran off mid sentence, I turned to see her climbing on the bus & driving away. It took a while for people to realise the co-ordinator had gone, & it turned out her husband was getting paid, & if she wasn’t there at the time, she would not see any of the money & he would head off to the cantina!
There was the usual pre-requisite dog fight, dispersed with a shower of stones!
Item 8 – visit to Enrique’s house
Enrique invited the remaining women at the meeting to see the cistern he has built on his property, & also to see a demonstration of a solar oven his employee’s daughter has created as part of a project Enrique has been working on.
We all piled into cars & headed to Enrique’s property.
I had to leave before they tasted the food cooking in the solar oven & then rang to apologise & to give them a laugh, told Enrique to tell them I had to go as I had the same situation as Carmen. (I really just had to pick up my kids!)
I left at 6.05pm
Next Lomas Assembly Saturday 13th Feb at 5pm in front of the Church
Friday, January 29, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
6th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 3
6th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, opposite Candelaria on the Road to Dolores.
When: 23.01.10 (scheduled for 4pm start, started 5pm)
Who: Enrique Orvañanos , Elena Padilla & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Benigno (Cedesa), Juan, Guillermo & Jose Miguel (Tech Expert team from Los Torres),
5 men & 8 women from the community attended (along with 4 kids & 4 dogs!)
Purpose: to begin planning of the next stages of this project. The demonstration build, & creation of work groups & to introduce the Tech team & Benigno from Cedesa who will be working with them for the remainder of this project.
We arrived on time at 4pm, but the community had not gathered yet, we took the time while they were slowly arriving to discuss plans for who & how this project would be technically & organisationally supported. Ie what role the LT team would play v how Benigno from Cedesa would be involved.
Benigno was not aware that we wanted Cedesa to help with the organisational side, I think this confusion has arisen because Enrique & Laura did the early meetings with the community without involving Cedesa as funding had not been approved, so we unable to pay for their services at that point. It should be noted that Cedesa do not ask for payment for their services, but since they come all the way from Dolores Hidalgo, & have no prior connection with this community we think it is only fair.
At 5pm, despite the small numbers, we decided to begin.
Item 1. Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & explained why we were there.
Item 2 Difference between an assembly & a meeting
As part of the organisational training Benigno explained the difference between a community assembly & a meeting, & the ability of the community to make decisions for the entire community if it qualifies as an assembly (ie over half the community present).
He stressed it is better to have assemblies than just meetings as more important decisions can be made, & at meetings only possible to have discussions & plan actions for the people attending.
He described the process of a meeting & explained the following:
• the roles of Co-ordinator & record keeper,
• essential they are appointed at each meeting
• the co-ordinator “gives the word” to people to allow them to speak in turn & keep order
• the co-ordinator & record taker will be different at each meeting so everyone learns what’s involved
• the record keeper/secretary, needs to record the events of the meetings & actions decided, & should keep all the info in one book
• the process of creating an agenda
• people should raise their hands if they wish to speak
Ali was voted Co-ordinator & Angelika record taker.
Record of Event pg 2 of 3
There were giggles as Ali took on her role & gave people their turn to speak when they raised their hands.
Item 3 – number of people on list v number of people attending
Angelika explained there were 44 families with their names on the list – ie wishing to be involved in the project to build cisterns, she has some apologies for people, but others have just not shown up.
We asked which day suited best for a majority attendance, they decided Friday at 4pm is best for the women, Saturday is foodshopping & fiesta day so no good.
Item 4 – purpose of today’s meeting
Benigno asked why are we here today,
“people are interested in receiving help to build cisterns”
“to get water/cisterns”
“ We only have 3 or 4 big water containers & after the truck delivery the water soon runs out”
Benigno asked who was aware of the project or knew what a cistern was, & 3 people had visited Los Torres & knew the cisterns already.
Benigno explained cisterns & the purpose of collecting rainwater, ie in 1 m2 of surface area with an average rainfall of 500mm in this area, you can collect 1500 litres of water. We can all catch that water & store it in a ferro cement cistern.
The cistern is very simple to construct, women & children can easily participate in the construction process.
Each one of you needs to help to construct these cisterns so you need to learn the steps of construction.
When there is a majority we can decide on the dates of training/demo build days.
The process is 1st to build the cistern as a pilot so everyone learns the steps.
You will need to decide where the 1st one is built, they suggested maybe the church & they would speak to Jesus Rodriguez who is the president of the church.
You will need to work on the groups.
Is it possible to visit all the 38? Families to find out
1. who has room for the cistern
2. some have just land & no home, they need to be removed from the list
There was a question from one of the women “why are there small animals in the rain water they catch from their roofs in buckets?” it was explained that these “animals” – basically mosquito larvae, enter the water after the rain is collected because there is no lid on the container, that the water from the rain is pure, but precautions must be taken to prevent contamination by insects, dust or bacteria, & that’s why the cisterns are completely closed, & have a “sieve” to prevent things entering the cistern.
Record of Event pg 3 of 3
There was a little more explanation of the process, & it was reiterated how essential it is that people attend the 4 training days so they can become experts like the Los Torres
crew, & then there’s the possibility they can become technicians & paid to assist in other communities.
The group building concept was explained, ie each group builds all the cisterns for that group.
Juan & Guillermo & Jose Miguel (the Los Torres guys), all spoke about their experience with the Project, the benefits, & encouraged involvement, reduced doubts, they explained “some people work harder than others don’t, you guys are the hard workers”
They said “we have bad roads, trouble with electricity & no services, you guys have more & are lucky to get this, there are so many communities that want this, & it is really going to depend on your community, involvement & motivation”
“Many communities are interested & they come to all our assemblies, they need help & if you don’t want it – they should have it, resources are limited, this is a great opportunity, don’t lose it, or the offer to help the communities may stop.”
The Los Torres crew were very motivational, firm but kind in their approach, & were speaking peer to peer, there was great pride in what they have achieved, & they were very inspirational.
Item 5 – importance of attendance of next meeting
Because of the lack of numbers at today’s meeting no important dates were able to be set for beginning the work. It was stressed that the next meeting MUST be well attended, we need to see they are truly interested & motivated to be involved in this project.
We have had several meetings before this at which they had lists of 39 or more people interested, we have committed a lot of effort to achieve funding of this project & we need to see commitment from the community if we are to continue.
We reiterated there are many communities in the same situation, ie without drinking water, & if they are not ready & willing we will go to a community that is ready & willing.
All agreed they will spread the word & attend the next meeting scheduled
Next Lomas Assembly Friday 4pm 29.01.10 at the Church
The meeting finished at 6.15 pm. The Rotary team & Benigno headed up to the church to see whether it was a good prospect for the demonstration build.
When we arrived we discovered it is a church in construction, has only the walls & no roof! We had a good giggle, & agreed it would be difficult to collect water on a church without a roof, & maybe the community thought we would build the roof for them…To be continued…
We all agreed there needs to be a lot more participation & crossed our fingers the community would come together like they had in previous meetings.
6th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Lomas de San José Water Project
Where: Lomas de San José Community, opposite Candelaria on the Road to Dolores.
When: 23.01.10 (scheduled for 4pm start, started 5pm)
Who: Enrique Orvañanos , Elena Padilla & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Benigno (Cedesa), Juan, Guillermo & Jose Miguel (Tech Expert team from Los Torres),
5 men & 8 women from the community attended (along with 4 kids & 4 dogs!)
Purpose: to begin planning of the next stages of this project. The demonstration build, & creation of work groups & to introduce the Tech team & Benigno from Cedesa who will be working with them for the remainder of this project.
We arrived on time at 4pm, but the community had not gathered yet, we took the time while they were slowly arriving to discuss plans for who & how this project would be technically & organisationally supported. Ie what role the LT team would play v how Benigno from Cedesa would be involved.
Benigno was not aware that we wanted Cedesa to help with the organisational side, I think this confusion has arisen because Enrique & Laura did the early meetings with the community without involving Cedesa as funding had not been approved, so we unable to pay for their services at that point. It should be noted that Cedesa do not ask for payment for their services, but since they come all the way from Dolores Hidalgo, & have no prior connection with this community we think it is only fair.
At 5pm, despite the small numbers, we decided to begin.
Item 1. Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & explained why we were there.
Item 2 Difference between an assembly & a meeting
As part of the organisational training Benigno explained the difference between a community assembly & a meeting, & the ability of the community to make decisions for the entire community if it qualifies as an assembly (ie over half the community present).
He stressed it is better to have assemblies than just meetings as more important decisions can be made, & at meetings only possible to have discussions & plan actions for the people attending.
He described the process of a meeting & explained the following:
• the roles of Co-ordinator & record keeper,
• essential they are appointed at each meeting
• the co-ordinator “gives the word” to people to allow them to speak in turn & keep order
• the co-ordinator & record taker will be different at each meeting so everyone learns what’s involved
• the record keeper/secretary, needs to record the events of the meetings & actions decided, & should keep all the info in one book
• the process of creating an agenda
• people should raise their hands if they wish to speak
Ali was voted Co-ordinator & Angelika record taker.
Record of Event pg 2 of 3
There were giggles as Ali took on her role & gave people their turn to speak when they raised their hands.
Item 3 – number of people on list v number of people attending
Angelika explained there were 44 families with their names on the list – ie wishing to be involved in the project to build cisterns, she has some apologies for people, but others have just not shown up.
We asked which day suited best for a majority attendance, they decided Friday at 4pm is best for the women, Saturday is foodshopping & fiesta day so no good.
Item 4 – purpose of today’s meeting
Benigno asked why are we here today,
“people are interested in receiving help to build cisterns”
“to get water/cisterns”
“ We only have 3 or 4 big water containers & after the truck delivery the water soon runs out”
Benigno asked who was aware of the project or knew what a cistern was, & 3 people had visited Los Torres & knew the cisterns already.
Benigno explained cisterns & the purpose of collecting rainwater, ie in 1 m2 of surface area with an average rainfall of 500mm in this area, you can collect 1500 litres of water. We can all catch that water & store it in a ferro cement cistern.
The cistern is very simple to construct, women & children can easily participate in the construction process.
Each one of you needs to help to construct these cisterns so you need to learn the steps of construction.
When there is a majority we can decide on the dates of training/demo build days.
The process is 1st to build the cistern as a pilot so everyone learns the steps.
You will need to decide where the 1st one is built, they suggested maybe the church & they would speak to Jesus Rodriguez who is the president of the church.
You will need to work on the groups.
Is it possible to visit all the 38? Families to find out
1. who has room for the cistern
2. some have just land & no home, they need to be removed from the list
There was a question from one of the women “why are there small animals in the rain water they catch from their roofs in buckets?” it was explained that these “animals” – basically mosquito larvae, enter the water after the rain is collected because there is no lid on the container, that the water from the rain is pure, but precautions must be taken to prevent contamination by insects, dust or bacteria, & that’s why the cisterns are completely closed, & have a “sieve” to prevent things entering the cistern.
Record of Event pg 3 of 3
There was a little more explanation of the process, & it was reiterated how essential it is that people attend the 4 training days so they can become experts like the Los Torres
crew, & then there’s the possibility they can become technicians & paid to assist in other communities.
The group building concept was explained, ie each group builds all the cisterns for that group.
Juan & Guillermo & Jose Miguel (the Los Torres guys), all spoke about their experience with the Project, the benefits, & encouraged involvement, reduced doubts, they explained “some people work harder than others don’t, you guys are the hard workers”
They said “we have bad roads, trouble with electricity & no services, you guys have more & are lucky to get this, there are so many communities that want this, & it is really going to depend on your community, involvement & motivation”
“Many communities are interested & they come to all our assemblies, they need help & if you don’t want it – they should have it, resources are limited, this is a great opportunity, don’t lose it, or the offer to help the communities may stop.”
The Los Torres crew were very motivational, firm but kind in their approach, & were speaking peer to peer, there was great pride in what they have achieved, & they were very inspirational.
Item 5 – importance of attendance of next meeting
Because of the lack of numbers at today’s meeting no important dates were able to be set for beginning the work. It was stressed that the next meeting MUST be well attended, we need to see they are truly interested & motivated to be involved in this project.
We have had several meetings before this at which they had lists of 39 or more people interested, we have committed a lot of effort to achieve funding of this project & we need to see commitment from the community if we are to continue.
We reiterated there are many communities in the same situation, ie without drinking water, & if they are not ready & willing we will go to a community that is ready & willing.
All agreed they will spread the word & attend the next meeting scheduled
Next Lomas Assembly Friday 4pm 29.01.10 at the Church
The meeting finished at 6.15 pm. The Rotary team & Benigno headed up to the church to see whether it was a good prospect for the demonstration build.
When we arrived we discovered it is a church in construction, has only the walls & no roof! We had a good giggle, & agreed it would be difficult to collect water on a church without a roof, & maybe the community thought we would build the roof for them…To be continued…
We all agreed there needs to be a lot more participation & crossed our fingers the community would come together like they had in previous meetings.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
34th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Record of Event pg 1 of 5
34th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: Los Torres (Chucha´s house) & pre-meeting in the car on the way!
When: 20.1.10 11am – 3.00pm
Who: Chela & Holly, (Cedesa), Laura & Elena (San Miguel Midday) + visitor Kerry from near Dolores Hidalgo, + Los Torres people 31 women, 5 men + about 10 small kids, + Annamaria & Erica from Vivienda de Arriba, & Saul Juarez from Capadrilla.
Grab a cup of coffee, this is another long report…
Purpose:
Planning session for phase III, discuss proposed workshops, reschedule bee project planning session, Water education day at the school or not?,
We arrived at 12.05 – & with greetings & introductions etc, kicked off the meeting at 12.30.
1st Item
Holly & Chela wrote up the agenda we had discussed on the way in the car.
Introductions were made, & people were welcomed.
Chela gave thanks to everyone for their continuing involvement in the development of their community, & re-iterated we have been working together for a year now, & have achieved a lot. She thanked people for their energy & for making a difference.
Chela invited Elena to give the “moment of inspiration”, Elena mentioned not everything is easy, not everyone is perfect but we are all growing.
Chela called for proposals for Co-ordinator & records taker for today’s meeting, after discussion & voting Anamaria (from Vivienda de Arriba) was voted co-ordinator, & Maria de Jesus (not the delegada, the woman who works in Montecillo de Nieto), records taker.
Kerry (a proposed new Rotarian) introduced herself & explained she has the same problems with water in her community & thanked them for having her there today.
2nd Item
Ana called for additional items to add to the agenda, the issue of the road was added.
The roll was called.
3rd Item
Holly apologised for cancelling the planned traspatio workshop & bee project planning session on the 13th Jan. We were unable to go because of the rain, & we tried to contact the delegada Chucha but were unable to get through on her phone.
Holly asked for other contact phone numbers in Los Torres, Rafael Cruz 415 100 9482, Holly also got Ofelia’s number.
4th Item
Water education day or not. The San Miguel Community Fund grant for the 3 cisterns at the school, included an amount to fund staffing of a water education event at the primary school. This has been re-scheduled many times mainly due to a lack of time!
Chela said the purpose of the info day was to explain to the kids the importance of water conservation, contamination etc. & asked for input, do they still want to go ahead or not?
Guillermo thinks it’s a good idea because there are cisterns at the school as well as in the homes & especially important for the kids who’s families have chosen not to participate in the project.
Alejandro thinks it’s the responsibility of the parents, especially the mum, to impart this info daily.
Concha asked what they – as a community would have to do?
We said talk to the Teachers & arrange a time/day when we could do the mini workshop, info day.
Pg 2 of 5
Holly suggested the community, as part of the info day, could research the history of water issues in their region. She suggested interviewing the older people in the community for descriptions of what they did for water in their day.
The subject “History of Water in this Region” will be presented during the info. day. The parents will interview their parents etc, One of the older women said her family used to get water from the river that is now dry. The Rio Damien or Rio San Marcus is a tributary that feeds into the Rio Laja (or it did when there was water in it!).
The event should be in the morning, Format - the history & general information on the topic of water.
Action: A commission was created, Guillermo, Dania Torres (VdA), Lucia Gonzalez, Saul Juarez (Capadrillo), Ana (VdA), Concha, Chucha. The older ones will interview, the younger ones will write up the notes.
Action: Ofelia & Elena Ramirez & Leova Barranca will ask the Maestra for a suitable time on 5th March. & report back at next LT assembly
Item 5: Traspatio Workshop, reschedule
Chela re-iterated the purpose of traspatios, ie to grow your own food, for nutrition & financial benefits. Veges, fruits, chickens etc.
After much discussion it was decided:
the 1st Wednesday of each month @ 12 midday (Starting Feb 3rd) will be for ongoing traspatio workshops.
The 3rd Wednesday of each month @ 12 midday (Starting Feb) will be for Health workshop.
The 4th Wednesday of each month @ 12 midday will be for Community Assembly.
I gave the community the packets of seeds Patricia Schacke had kindly donated. They discussed what they were, & Chucha now has them for the Traspatio workshop.
Kerry also spoke at length about seeds she has & what she has been doing at her house, she began to talk about bio-diversity etc.
I cut short Kerry’s speech & explained in our role in the Assemblies, as facilitator it is important to stick to the agenda. The community is working with Chela & Cedesa, & on a pre-arranged program.
This is a tricky point, all previous visitors have been very respectful & observant of the process, & spoken only when invited to do so & so this has not been an issue before.
While Kerry is very well meaning, & potentially knowledgeable in many areas, we are not the trainers. Too many words from too many sources dilute the information, & cloud the points. It is not about the quantity of information, but the quality. The community is sitting for many hours in the hot sun, & have other things they could be doing. We need to keep it on topic & on plan.
We have been working hard as a tight group to keep the integrity of the project, & must be very cautious about who is allowed to visit, it should be stressed these are working meetings & not simply an opportunity for voyeurism. We need to ride the fine line between promoting the projects & their successes, & allowing the projects to continue productively without interference.
I will ask our Board for guidance on this.
Item 6 Bee workshop
Members of the Ann Arbor Rotary Club have offered to look at a proposal for a micro-business opportunity if we can design one for the Los Torres Community. Chela has suggested bee keeping as an ideal small business. A project planning session was postponed due to rain on the 13th Jan.
There was more discussion about bees & their products, & benefits.
Pg 3 of 5
Honey is much healthier than sugar, it is important in the development of health & immunity, only need a wild area away from people for keeping bees. The bees in Mexico used to be less aggressive but have been “Africanised” & so need to be further away from housing.
There are now more people interested, who would like to be added to the previous list.
Fabiana, Elena, Caretina, Maria Soria, Mariana, Aurelia, Chucha, Maya, Carolina, Juana, Patricia, Carmela + the women on the first list.
Chela suggested they work in small groups from 5-10 per group.
The first workshop will be on the 10th March, with Bee project continuing on the 2nd Wednesday of each month from then on.
Item 7 Construction groups for Phase III
The 3 groups were re-iterated, leaders were voted, in “bold”
Group 1
Marta Maya, Veronica Alvarado, Patricia Nolesco, Alejandro Alvarado, Piedad Soria, Filomena Ferrer, Lucia Gonzalez (Consuelo Huerta, Alejandro Gonzalez)
Group 2
Dulce Martinez, Maribel Ferrer, Jose Cruz, Cristina, Elena Ramirez, Juana Soria, Ma de Jesus Rodriguez
Group 3
Aurelia Fajardo, Josefina Barranca, Sabina Ramirez, Maria Fajardo, Rosa Barranca, Nicolasa Agredo, Caritina Ramirez. (Jose Alvarado)
Someone raised the 3 people to receive plastic tinaco’s (see italics added above)
Chela raised the question of Solidarity, who from the previous phases would be prepared to volunteer to help this group.
Alejandro asked for help, he said they had learnt for free, & asked who could return the favour.
Concha, pointed out the cistern construction at the school was supposedly the train the trainer for those in the 3rd phase, & that many of them were too lazy to attend, or even bring those working a drink of water, & why should anyone help them? (good point!)
Fabiana volunteered with her husband, as did Ofelia (for her husband Primo), & Guillermo.
It was reiterated that the people who need help should come to them, & not vice versa. If in doubt ask.
Benigno will be there to help also. (through a miscommunication, it was thought during this meeting there was no funding for technical assistance in the budget, but later, after the meeting confirmed there is more than sufficient to ensure Benigno, & or the Expert Crew in LT, are able to be paid to assist with the technical spec.s, purchase of materials, distribution issues etc.
In retrospect though, it was an interesting exercise to gauge the willingness to help others from the other phases.
Chela mentioned the groups need to meet & discuss
Where are you going to plan & when?
Where to put the materials, - need to co-ordinate within the group
2 materials lists, one for upper & one for lower community.
Action: need to measure the qty of piping each family needs.
When will the money for the materials be available?
I said in approx. 1 month. (yikes!)
Pg 4 of 5
Item 8 Donations of Clothes
I had about 4 bags of clothes to donate, last time I donated to one family to share & was not sure how much was shared. I asked for Chela’s advice as to how to distribute. Not to be seen as charity, & handouts is important to me.
Chela suggested we donate the clothes to the whole community & that a mini tienda of clothes is created. With the items to be sold at an agreed upon price & the funds to go to the community for anything that arises.
The meeting was very happy about this, Concha & Leova volunteered, the price of 5 pesos was agreed, & the shop essentially opened immediately, with a frenzy of shopping.
Item 9 the Road
Since everyone was busy “shopping” & the meeting was already long, it was decided to make this the first item on the agenda for the next assembly.
Item 10 Saul Juarez – Capadrilla
After the meeting had ended, Saul approached us, he was the young man (22 yrs old) who had attended the previous assembly. Amazingly he also rang Elena to check whether the 13th Jan Traspatio workshop was to be cancelled because of the rain…
He is a very bright, interested young man, (currently unemployed) he comes from a community about ½ hr drive from Los Torres, he rode his bike to the meeting. During the meetings he was very respectful, but also participated fully, answered questions when others couldn’t, remembered facts from the previous meeting we’d forgotten, & had also done a survey of his community to find out who was interested in being involved in a project such as Los Torres.
• Capadrilla - his community has approx. 64 families,
• 22 families were interested (with what he told them)
• They have family wells, shared between about 5 – 8 families,
• The wells are approx. 12-15 mtrs deep
• The water is contaminated, not tested, but lots of damaged teeth evident in the kids, & others
• They are very close to Vivienda de Abajo, another community.
We explained the lengthy process involved in seeking & receiving funding through Rotary, but that we are also looking at different options.
This kid is a shining star, he has turned up at the assemblies of his own accord, under his own steam, & was taking photos on his camera (probably to help explain to his community), he is very interested in all topics, & extremely polite, shaking hands with everyone, & waiting his turn (until the end of the 3 hr meeting) to talk.
He spent time talking to Anamaria from Vivienda de Arriba, another shining star, from Vivienda de Arriba. These guys have excellent & very obvious leadership skills.
Saul asked to come with us to Montecillo de Nieto, where we were headed after the meeting, to see the cistern being built at the Kinder there.
He rode with his bike in the back of Chela’s pickup, he opened & closed the doors for us!! When we arrived at MdN, he promptly started taking photos with his phone, & shaking hands & introducing himself to this bunch of people, he was asking questions & again shook hands & said goodbye.
He is going to attend the traspatio & Health workshops & said he may even come to Lomas on Saturday for our Assembly there, (but he didn’t know where this community is)…
Item 11 Anamaria Ramirez – Vivienda de Arriba
Anamaria is also very enthusiastic, bright & participates fully. She did a beautiful job of co-ordinating a long & complex meeting today.
She bought with her another young woman Erica, & they described the water situation in VdA again for us.
Pg 5 of 5
They share a municipal well with 2 other communities, Tierra Blanca & Espejo.
This water is piped to each household, but is often not available, & when it is, it is often black & greasy! Definitely not drinkable.
Another woman from Tierra Blanca (more than 100 families in Tierra Blanca)– Julia was also visiting & echoed the comments above.
We will be visiting VdA on the 10th Feb so will find out more then.
A challenge for us all – how can we find development funding to be able to pay these young stars to stay in their communities & assist with their community’s development? They are too good to lose to some menial paying job, lifting buckets of concrete or cleaning people’s floors.
They have shown huge initiative turning up to 3 meetings over 3 months, & not just sitting listening, but actively participating & greatly assisting the process.
Cedesa is in the early stages of planning a “camposino university” with the aim to teach people in the communities how to promote development in those communities. These guys would be A+ students, if only the university was already in place, & there was some form of compensation to allow them to stay in their communities…food for thought!
Dates to remember:
• Traspatio Workshop 3rd Feb 12 midday
• Health Workshop 17th Feb 12 midday
• Next Assembly 24th Feb 12 midday
• Visit to Cruz del Palmar, & Vivienda de Arriba 10th Feb. 11am & 3pm
• Proposed Water Info Day 5th March.(time to be advised re mtg with Teacher)
• Bee project 1st workshop 10th March 12 midday
These records were made by Laura Stewart (San Miguel Midday RC – Community Service Committee)
34th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: Los Torres (Chucha´s house) & pre-meeting in the car on the way!
When: 20.1.10 11am – 3.00pm
Who: Chela & Holly, (Cedesa), Laura & Elena (San Miguel Midday) + visitor Kerry from near Dolores Hidalgo, + Los Torres people 31 women, 5 men + about 10 small kids, + Annamaria & Erica from Vivienda de Arriba, & Saul Juarez from Capadrilla.
Grab a cup of coffee, this is another long report…
Purpose:
Planning session for phase III, discuss proposed workshops, reschedule bee project planning session, Water education day at the school or not?,
We arrived at 12.05 – & with greetings & introductions etc, kicked off the meeting at 12.30.
1st Item
Holly & Chela wrote up the agenda we had discussed on the way in the car.
Introductions were made, & people were welcomed.
Chela gave thanks to everyone for their continuing involvement in the development of their community, & re-iterated we have been working together for a year now, & have achieved a lot. She thanked people for their energy & for making a difference.
Chela invited Elena to give the “moment of inspiration”, Elena mentioned not everything is easy, not everyone is perfect but we are all growing.
Chela called for proposals for Co-ordinator & records taker for today’s meeting, after discussion & voting Anamaria (from Vivienda de Arriba) was voted co-ordinator, & Maria de Jesus (not the delegada, the woman who works in Montecillo de Nieto), records taker.
Kerry (a proposed new Rotarian) introduced herself & explained she has the same problems with water in her community & thanked them for having her there today.
2nd Item
Ana called for additional items to add to the agenda, the issue of the road was added.
The roll was called.
3rd Item
Holly apologised for cancelling the planned traspatio workshop & bee project planning session on the 13th Jan. We were unable to go because of the rain, & we tried to contact the delegada Chucha but were unable to get through on her phone.
Holly asked for other contact phone numbers in Los Torres, Rafael Cruz 415 100 9482, Holly also got Ofelia’s number.
4th Item
Water education day or not. The San Miguel Community Fund grant for the 3 cisterns at the school, included an amount to fund staffing of a water education event at the primary school. This has been re-scheduled many times mainly due to a lack of time!
Chela said the purpose of the info day was to explain to the kids the importance of water conservation, contamination etc. & asked for input, do they still want to go ahead or not?
Guillermo thinks it’s a good idea because there are cisterns at the school as well as in the homes & especially important for the kids who’s families have chosen not to participate in the project.
Alejandro thinks it’s the responsibility of the parents, especially the mum, to impart this info daily.
Concha asked what they – as a community would have to do?
We said talk to the Teachers & arrange a time/day when we could do the mini workshop, info day.
Pg 2 of 5
Holly suggested the community, as part of the info day, could research the history of water issues in their region. She suggested interviewing the older people in the community for descriptions of what they did for water in their day.
The subject “History of Water in this Region” will be presented during the info. day. The parents will interview their parents etc, One of the older women said her family used to get water from the river that is now dry. The Rio Damien or Rio San Marcus is a tributary that feeds into the Rio Laja (or it did when there was water in it!).
The event should be in the morning, Format - the history & general information on the topic of water.
Action: A commission was created, Guillermo, Dania Torres (VdA), Lucia Gonzalez, Saul Juarez (Capadrillo), Ana (VdA), Concha, Chucha. The older ones will interview, the younger ones will write up the notes.
Action: Ofelia & Elena Ramirez & Leova Barranca will ask the Maestra for a suitable time on 5th March. & report back at next LT assembly
Item 5: Traspatio Workshop, reschedule
Chela re-iterated the purpose of traspatios, ie to grow your own food, for nutrition & financial benefits. Veges, fruits, chickens etc.
After much discussion it was decided:
the 1st Wednesday of each month @ 12 midday (Starting Feb 3rd) will be for ongoing traspatio workshops.
The 3rd Wednesday of each month @ 12 midday (Starting Feb) will be for Health workshop.
The 4th Wednesday of each month @ 12 midday will be for Community Assembly.
I gave the community the packets of seeds Patricia Schacke had kindly donated. They discussed what they were, & Chucha now has them for the Traspatio workshop.
Kerry also spoke at length about seeds she has & what she has been doing at her house, she began to talk about bio-diversity etc.
I cut short Kerry’s speech & explained in our role in the Assemblies, as facilitator it is important to stick to the agenda. The community is working with Chela & Cedesa, & on a pre-arranged program.
This is a tricky point, all previous visitors have been very respectful & observant of the process, & spoken only when invited to do so & so this has not been an issue before.
While Kerry is very well meaning, & potentially knowledgeable in many areas, we are not the trainers. Too many words from too many sources dilute the information, & cloud the points. It is not about the quantity of information, but the quality. The community is sitting for many hours in the hot sun, & have other things they could be doing. We need to keep it on topic & on plan.
We have been working hard as a tight group to keep the integrity of the project, & must be very cautious about who is allowed to visit, it should be stressed these are working meetings & not simply an opportunity for voyeurism. We need to ride the fine line between promoting the projects & their successes, & allowing the projects to continue productively without interference.
I will ask our Board for guidance on this.
Item 6 Bee workshop
Members of the Ann Arbor Rotary Club have offered to look at a proposal for a micro-business opportunity if we can design one for the Los Torres Community. Chela has suggested bee keeping as an ideal small business. A project planning session was postponed due to rain on the 13th Jan.
There was more discussion about bees & their products, & benefits.
Pg 3 of 5
Honey is much healthier than sugar, it is important in the development of health & immunity, only need a wild area away from people for keeping bees. The bees in Mexico used to be less aggressive but have been “Africanised” & so need to be further away from housing.
There are now more people interested, who would like to be added to the previous list.
Fabiana, Elena, Caretina, Maria Soria, Mariana, Aurelia, Chucha, Maya, Carolina, Juana, Patricia, Carmela + the women on the first list.
Chela suggested they work in small groups from 5-10 per group.
The first workshop will be on the 10th March, with Bee project continuing on the 2nd Wednesday of each month from then on.
Item 7 Construction groups for Phase III
The 3 groups were re-iterated, leaders were voted, in “bold”
Group 1
Marta Maya, Veronica Alvarado, Patricia Nolesco, Alejandro Alvarado, Piedad Soria, Filomena Ferrer, Lucia Gonzalez (Consuelo Huerta, Alejandro Gonzalez)
Group 2
Dulce Martinez, Maribel Ferrer, Jose Cruz, Cristina, Elena Ramirez, Juana Soria, Ma de Jesus Rodriguez
Group 3
Aurelia Fajardo, Josefina Barranca, Sabina Ramirez, Maria Fajardo, Rosa Barranca, Nicolasa Agredo, Caritina Ramirez. (Jose Alvarado)
Someone raised the 3 people to receive plastic tinaco’s (see italics added above)
Chela raised the question of Solidarity, who from the previous phases would be prepared to volunteer to help this group.
Alejandro asked for help, he said they had learnt for free, & asked who could return the favour.
Concha, pointed out the cistern construction at the school was supposedly the train the trainer for those in the 3rd phase, & that many of them were too lazy to attend, or even bring those working a drink of water, & why should anyone help them? (good point!)
Fabiana volunteered with her husband, as did Ofelia (for her husband Primo), & Guillermo.
It was reiterated that the people who need help should come to them, & not vice versa. If in doubt ask.
Benigno will be there to help also. (through a miscommunication, it was thought during this meeting there was no funding for technical assistance in the budget, but later, after the meeting confirmed there is more than sufficient to ensure Benigno, & or the Expert Crew in LT, are able to be paid to assist with the technical spec.s, purchase of materials, distribution issues etc.
In retrospect though, it was an interesting exercise to gauge the willingness to help others from the other phases.
Chela mentioned the groups need to meet & discuss
Where are you going to plan & when?
Where to put the materials, - need to co-ordinate within the group
2 materials lists, one for upper & one for lower community.
Action: need to measure the qty of piping each family needs.
When will the money for the materials be available?
I said in approx. 1 month. (yikes!)
Pg 4 of 5
Item 8 Donations of Clothes
I had about 4 bags of clothes to donate, last time I donated to one family to share & was not sure how much was shared. I asked for Chela’s advice as to how to distribute. Not to be seen as charity, & handouts is important to me.
Chela suggested we donate the clothes to the whole community & that a mini tienda of clothes is created. With the items to be sold at an agreed upon price & the funds to go to the community for anything that arises.
The meeting was very happy about this, Concha & Leova volunteered, the price of 5 pesos was agreed, & the shop essentially opened immediately, with a frenzy of shopping.
Item 9 the Road
Since everyone was busy “shopping” & the meeting was already long, it was decided to make this the first item on the agenda for the next assembly.
Item 10 Saul Juarez – Capadrilla
After the meeting had ended, Saul approached us, he was the young man (22 yrs old) who had attended the previous assembly. Amazingly he also rang Elena to check whether the 13th Jan Traspatio workshop was to be cancelled because of the rain…
He is a very bright, interested young man, (currently unemployed) he comes from a community about ½ hr drive from Los Torres, he rode his bike to the meeting. During the meetings he was very respectful, but also participated fully, answered questions when others couldn’t, remembered facts from the previous meeting we’d forgotten, & had also done a survey of his community to find out who was interested in being involved in a project such as Los Torres.
• Capadrilla - his community has approx. 64 families,
• 22 families were interested (with what he told them)
• They have family wells, shared between about 5 – 8 families,
• The wells are approx. 12-15 mtrs deep
• The water is contaminated, not tested, but lots of damaged teeth evident in the kids, & others
• They are very close to Vivienda de Abajo, another community.
We explained the lengthy process involved in seeking & receiving funding through Rotary, but that we are also looking at different options.
This kid is a shining star, he has turned up at the assemblies of his own accord, under his own steam, & was taking photos on his camera (probably to help explain to his community), he is very interested in all topics, & extremely polite, shaking hands with everyone, & waiting his turn (until the end of the 3 hr meeting) to talk.
He spent time talking to Anamaria from Vivienda de Arriba, another shining star, from Vivienda de Arriba. These guys have excellent & very obvious leadership skills.
Saul asked to come with us to Montecillo de Nieto, where we were headed after the meeting, to see the cistern being built at the Kinder there.
He rode with his bike in the back of Chela’s pickup, he opened & closed the doors for us!! When we arrived at MdN, he promptly started taking photos with his phone, & shaking hands & introducing himself to this bunch of people, he was asking questions & again shook hands & said goodbye.
He is going to attend the traspatio & Health workshops & said he may even come to Lomas on Saturday for our Assembly there, (but he didn’t know where this community is)…
Item 11 Anamaria Ramirez – Vivienda de Arriba
Anamaria is also very enthusiastic, bright & participates fully. She did a beautiful job of co-ordinating a long & complex meeting today.
She bought with her another young woman Erica, & they described the water situation in VdA again for us.
Pg 5 of 5
They share a municipal well with 2 other communities, Tierra Blanca & Espejo.
This water is piped to each household, but is often not available, & when it is, it is often black & greasy! Definitely not drinkable.
Another woman from Tierra Blanca (more than 100 families in Tierra Blanca)– Julia was also visiting & echoed the comments above.
We will be visiting VdA on the 10th Feb so will find out more then.
A challenge for us all – how can we find development funding to be able to pay these young stars to stay in their communities & assist with their community’s development? They are too good to lose to some menial paying job, lifting buckets of concrete or cleaning people’s floors.
They have shown huge initiative turning up to 3 meetings over 3 months, & not just sitting listening, but actively participating & greatly assisting the process.
Cedesa is in the early stages of planning a “camposino university” with the aim to teach people in the communities how to promote development in those communities. These guys would be A+ students, if only the university was already in place, & there was some form of compensation to allow them to stay in their communities…food for thought!
Dates to remember:
• Traspatio Workshop 3rd Feb 12 midday
• Health Workshop 17th Feb 12 midday
• Next Assembly 24th Feb 12 midday
• Visit to Cruz del Palmar, & Vivienda de Arriba 10th Feb. 11am & 3pm
• Proposed Water Info Day 5th March.(time to be advised re mtg with Teacher)
• Bee project 1st workshop 10th March 12 midday
These records were made by Laura Stewart (San Miguel Midday RC – Community Service Committee)
Monday, January 18, 2010
5th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 3
5th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Where: Montecillo de Nieto Kindergarten
When: 18,19,20 & 21st January 2010 9am-1.30 & other times
Who: Elena & Laura (Rotary), Benigno (Cedesa) , Rafael & Jose Miguel Cruz (Los Torres Crew) + approx 12 others.
Purpose: Train the trainers demonstration, & instructional build of the 1st Cistern in the MdN water project.
Take a deep breath, there’s lots to read here!!!
A bit of background & how the day was saved!
The date for these training days was set at the previous assembly on 16th December.
During this assembly, Chela was very keen to set a date for the beginning of the training (ie the first actual action) since we had met 4 times with only talking meetings. We all optimistically believed the money would be well in hand by this stage, & I had thought to myself, well it’s only 1 cistern I could bridge it if need be...
Chela & us, would be meeting on the 13th January to nut out the details, & make sure everything was in place, so in December we thought we had it sorted.
On the 13th Jan (the supposed next meeting time for Traspatio workshop in Los Torres) it was pouring with rain!!! Great for the cisterns already constructed! – not so great for outside backyard training sessions – so we cancelled.
This had great ramifications, 1st. We were not able to get hold of Los Torres to cancel the session – so hoped they assumed like us that it was off, & left a message on the only cellphone they have... 2nd we didn’t get to plan the purchase & delivery of materials in time for the 18th or make sure the Cedesa technician was booked to appear that day!!
At midnight on the Fri 15th as I was climbing into bed, it suddenly hit me, Monday was the 18th & they had no materials or trainer!!!! I emailed Holly (our contact with Cedesa) & explained the issue, quietly hoping Chela (from Cedesa) had all of this in hand, since they always organised this side of things, & it was her that booked the dates!!. Luckily Holly was going to Cedesa the next day (Saturday) & was able to order the materials (for delivery on Mon. 18th) & book Benigno (the technician), & we put in an urgent call in to Los Torres to see if the LT Crew could come to train the MdN people on Monday.
Holly & the LT crew saved the day!!!
It snowed that night in San Miguel for the first time in more than 30 years!
What next?!
Elena & I headed to MdN on Monday morning, not really knowing what to expect. The day was crisp with blue skies.
We were greeted by Jose Miguel (one of the Los Torres Crew), he was there waiting with his bicycle!
We headed down the path to the kinder & found a few people milling around (whew, at least they remembered) & explained we were just waiting for Benigno & the materials.
Secondino – one of the men who had attended all meetings & was confident they didn’t need the LT Crew & that he knew how to do it all, was absent, he sent his son instead, who informed us his dad had a sore foot & couldn’t make it. The son said he could attend Monday & no other day, & Elena told him if there weren’t people there for the whole 4 days, they wouldn’t know the whole process. She mentioned if they couldn’t find the team in MdN we could move to another community that was ready. Within an hour 3 more men arrived! & a few more women.
The truck arrived at 11am, the MdN reps. Checked off the invoice, & then the rest of the team unloaded the truck, men carrying 1 bag of cement each & women, carrying 1 bag between 2. It was stored in the corner of the little classroom, (in case we happened to get any more of this unseasonal weather), & by the time Benigno arrived at 11.30 the metal mesh was laid out & the people were already binding it together with ganchos “metal crochet hooks”, under the LT crew’s instructions.
pg 2 of 3
MdN people bought tools with them, including a ladder that was too short, so Rafael stood behind it & held it vertical for his brother Miguel to climb onto the roof & begin the measuring!
We met the Maestra, Mireya Figaroa, very kind & accommodating, & she was happy for Elena to tell the kids what was going on in their playground.
When Benigno arrived he joined the work crew, & during a break explained more about the water situation & reinforced the purpose of building a cistern, & the beauty of solving their own issues!
We spoke with the LT Crew (in this case the Cruz brothers) & confirmed they were confident about what additional materials they needed to purchase - sand, Gravel, bricks, glue, wood & the door to the cistern, along with a couple of things missing from the delivery.
I asked their estimate for cost of these materials & after discussion decided $4000 should cover it.
We confirmed they were able to work the 4 days & complete the training & the cistern.
There were more people than ganchos, so one of the guys bought a grinder from home & cut some lengths of rebar, sharpened them with the grinder & bent a handle on each, then there were plenty.
As we were leaving one of the women arrived with 2 big buckets, one with food & the other with agua fresca... they insisted we have a snack before we left. We had tostadas with TVP, which was miraculously like chicken, with onion, tomato & cilantro, & horchata (rice drink), both delicious!
Day 2. Tuesday
We had Rotary Committee meeting from 10am, & midday meeting didn’t finish until 3pm, Elena drove out to MdN early morning & peaked through the fence, the cistern was already standing upright! Great progress! & bricks, gravel & sand were there, the Crew had done their ordering.
Day 3 Wednesday 20th Jan.
This was Los Torres Assembly day (see separate report), on the way back, at 3pm we “popped” in to MdN Kinder to see what was going on.
Again good progress, both men & women were working, & a group of about 5 very small kids were playing building games in the sandpit! They had their mini shovels out & were filling plastic containers with sand, & moving them to their own construction area! Everyone was busy!
Day 4 Thursday 21st Jan
Elena & I headed out to MdN about 12midday to find a hive of industry. The top of the cistern was being plastered, Cal (lime) was mixed in a big bucket with chunks of Nopal cactus, which adds elasticity, essentially “self heals” small fissures.
We collected the “receipts” for materials that had been itemised for us, & paid the LT Crew.
We also made arrangements to meet Miguel & Rafael Saturday morning at an alternative materials supplier here in SMA (the other one we have been using is in Dolores Hidalgo, which is too difficult for the LT crew to get to), Enrique (another Rotarian) will accompany us on Saturday, to negotiate better prices & put in place arrangements (for the LT crew to sign for & Rotary to pay) for the materials, in an effort to simplify the process.
Some other things that happened-
There was a small dead rabbit in the grounds, the kids had found, they were very carefully inspecting it with sticks, & discovered the cause of death was ticks that were still attached to it’s ears.
They discussed it amongst themselves & decided they should bury it under the tree where it lay.
They asked one of the mums if they could use her shovel, & the smallest boy tried to dig a hole, then handed it to the biggest girl. She dug the hole to agreed specifications, & the smallest boy then gently moved the rabbit into his final resting place with the shovel (they already knew not to touch it with their bare hands!). Then they carefully placed the dirt on top, & ran to the flower garden & returned with bunches of geraniums & handfuls of green weeds & decorated the grave!
We advised MdN of the forthcoming monthly workshops in Los Torres, to which MdN is invited. NB Cedesa is doing this with no funding from us, it is their own initiative! (again see Los Torres next report),
pg 3 of 3
1st Wednesday of each month is to be a Traspatio workshop (backyard food production)
3rd Wednesday of each month is Health workshop (natural health methods),
In March Cedesa will begin bee keeping workshop on the 2nd Wednesday of each month.
There were some cups with bees trapped in them with stones on top, I thought this was a great sign, since bee keeping training is starting in March!
Miguel (from Los Torres) proudly mentioned that their cisterns were overflowing again, thanks to the unseasonal rain last week. The cistern at the school that was half full is now full!
The other model of cistern the Ecology dept. installed at the MdN primary school (across the road from the kindergarten) is still empty, despite the rains, & the school teachers both asked if there was a chance we could build one our ferro cement cisterns there!
We told them we might be able to as, so far we have budget for 26, built 1, & have names down for 24, & to raise the issue at the next assembly.
They asked when the rest of the materials could be purchased, I said still waiting on money to arrive to the right place, & hopefully should be 1 month.
They wrote a big schedule of the workshops at Los Torres & intend to attend! Elena organised with Benigno from Cedesa to bring a big van & stop in MdN on the way to the workshop each Wednesday, to collect anyone interested. They informed us the ones that go will spread the info to the ones that can’t.
3 of the women asked what happens to the materials for the families of the people who committed to attending but haven’t shown up. We explained it can easily be made available to the people that did turn up, & it would be discussed at the next assembly.
One cistern up, 25 to go!!
NB Next assembly will be scheduled by phone on confirmation of receipt of all funds into the Frost Account.
5th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Where: Montecillo de Nieto Kindergarten
When: 18,19,20 & 21st January 2010 9am-1.30 & other times
Who: Elena & Laura (Rotary), Benigno (Cedesa) , Rafael & Jose Miguel Cruz (Los Torres Crew) + approx 12 others.
Purpose: Train the trainers demonstration, & instructional build of the 1st Cistern in the MdN water project.
Take a deep breath, there’s lots to read here!!!
A bit of background & how the day was saved!
The date for these training days was set at the previous assembly on 16th December.
During this assembly, Chela was very keen to set a date for the beginning of the training (ie the first actual action) since we had met 4 times with only talking meetings. We all optimistically believed the money would be well in hand by this stage, & I had thought to myself, well it’s only 1 cistern I could bridge it if need be...
Chela & us, would be meeting on the 13th January to nut out the details, & make sure everything was in place, so in December we thought we had it sorted.
On the 13th Jan (the supposed next meeting time for Traspatio workshop in Los Torres) it was pouring with rain!!! Great for the cisterns already constructed! – not so great for outside backyard training sessions – so we cancelled.
This had great ramifications, 1st. We were not able to get hold of Los Torres to cancel the session – so hoped they assumed like us that it was off, & left a message on the only cellphone they have... 2nd we didn’t get to plan the purchase & delivery of materials in time for the 18th or make sure the Cedesa technician was booked to appear that day!!
At midnight on the Fri 15th as I was climbing into bed, it suddenly hit me, Monday was the 18th & they had no materials or trainer!!!! I emailed Holly (our contact with Cedesa) & explained the issue, quietly hoping Chela (from Cedesa) had all of this in hand, since they always organised this side of things, & it was her that booked the dates!!. Luckily Holly was going to Cedesa the next day (Saturday) & was able to order the materials (for delivery on Mon. 18th) & book Benigno (the technician), & we put in an urgent call in to Los Torres to see if the LT Crew could come to train the MdN people on Monday.
Holly & the LT crew saved the day!!!
It snowed that night in San Miguel for the first time in more than 30 years!
What next?!
Elena & I headed to MdN on Monday morning, not really knowing what to expect. The day was crisp with blue skies.
We were greeted by Jose Miguel (one of the Los Torres Crew), he was there waiting with his bicycle!
We headed down the path to the kinder & found a few people milling around (whew, at least they remembered) & explained we were just waiting for Benigno & the materials.
Secondino – one of the men who had attended all meetings & was confident they didn’t need the LT Crew & that he knew how to do it all, was absent, he sent his son instead, who informed us his dad had a sore foot & couldn’t make it. The son said he could attend Monday & no other day, & Elena told him if there weren’t people there for the whole 4 days, they wouldn’t know the whole process. She mentioned if they couldn’t find the team in MdN we could move to another community that was ready. Within an hour 3 more men arrived! & a few more women.
The truck arrived at 11am, the MdN reps. Checked off the invoice, & then the rest of the team unloaded the truck, men carrying 1 bag of cement each & women, carrying 1 bag between 2. It was stored in the corner of the little classroom, (in case we happened to get any more of this unseasonal weather), & by the time Benigno arrived at 11.30 the metal mesh was laid out & the people were already binding it together with ganchos “metal crochet hooks”, under the LT crew’s instructions.
pg 2 of 3
MdN people bought tools with them, including a ladder that was too short, so Rafael stood behind it & held it vertical for his brother Miguel to climb onto the roof & begin the measuring!
We met the Maestra, Mireya Figaroa, very kind & accommodating, & she was happy for Elena to tell the kids what was going on in their playground.
When Benigno arrived he joined the work crew, & during a break explained more about the water situation & reinforced the purpose of building a cistern, & the beauty of solving their own issues!
We spoke with the LT Crew (in this case the Cruz brothers) & confirmed they were confident about what additional materials they needed to purchase - sand, Gravel, bricks, glue, wood & the door to the cistern, along with a couple of things missing from the delivery.
I asked their estimate for cost of these materials & after discussion decided $4000 should cover it.
We confirmed they were able to work the 4 days & complete the training & the cistern.
There were more people than ganchos, so one of the guys bought a grinder from home & cut some lengths of rebar, sharpened them with the grinder & bent a handle on each, then there were plenty.
As we were leaving one of the women arrived with 2 big buckets, one with food & the other with agua fresca... they insisted we have a snack before we left. We had tostadas with TVP, which was miraculously like chicken, with onion, tomato & cilantro, & horchata (rice drink), both delicious!
Day 2. Tuesday
We had Rotary Committee meeting from 10am, & midday meeting didn’t finish until 3pm, Elena drove out to MdN early morning & peaked through the fence, the cistern was already standing upright! Great progress! & bricks, gravel & sand were there, the Crew had done their ordering.
Day 3 Wednesday 20th Jan.
This was Los Torres Assembly day (see separate report), on the way back, at 3pm we “popped” in to MdN Kinder to see what was going on.
Again good progress, both men & women were working, & a group of about 5 very small kids were playing building games in the sandpit! They had their mini shovels out & were filling plastic containers with sand, & moving them to their own construction area! Everyone was busy!
Day 4 Thursday 21st Jan
Elena & I headed out to MdN about 12midday to find a hive of industry. The top of the cistern was being plastered, Cal (lime) was mixed in a big bucket with chunks of Nopal cactus, which adds elasticity, essentially “self heals” small fissures.
We collected the “receipts” for materials that had been itemised for us, & paid the LT Crew.
We also made arrangements to meet Miguel & Rafael Saturday morning at an alternative materials supplier here in SMA (the other one we have been using is in Dolores Hidalgo, which is too difficult for the LT crew to get to), Enrique (another Rotarian) will accompany us on Saturday, to negotiate better prices & put in place arrangements (for the LT crew to sign for & Rotary to pay) for the materials, in an effort to simplify the process.
Some other things that happened-
There was a small dead rabbit in the grounds, the kids had found, they were very carefully inspecting it with sticks, & discovered the cause of death was ticks that were still attached to it’s ears.
They discussed it amongst themselves & decided they should bury it under the tree where it lay.
They asked one of the mums if they could use her shovel, & the smallest boy tried to dig a hole, then handed it to the biggest girl. She dug the hole to agreed specifications, & the smallest boy then gently moved the rabbit into his final resting place with the shovel (they already knew not to touch it with their bare hands!). Then they carefully placed the dirt on top, & ran to the flower garden & returned with bunches of geraniums & handfuls of green weeds & decorated the grave!
We advised MdN of the forthcoming monthly workshops in Los Torres, to which MdN is invited. NB Cedesa is doing this with no funding from us, it is their own initiative! (again see Los Torres next report),
pg 3 of 3
1st Wednesday of each month is to be a Traspatio workshop (backyard food production)
3rd Wednesday of each month is Health workshop (natural health methods),
In March Cedesa will begin bee keeping workshop on the 2nd Wednesday of each month.
There were some cups with bees trapped in them with stones on top, I thought this was a great sign, since bee keeping training is starting in March!
Miguel (from Los Torres) proudly mentioned that their cisterns were overflowing again, thanks to the unseasonal rain last week. The cistern at the school that was half full is now full!
The other model of cistern the Ecology dept. installed at the MdN primary school (across the road from the kindergarten) is still empty, despite the rains, & the school teachers both asked if there was a chance we could build one our ferro cement cisterns there!
We told them we might be able to as, so far we have budget for 26, built 1, & have names down for 24, & to raise the issue at the next assembly.
They asked when the rest of the materials could be purchased, I said still waiting on money to arrive to the right place, & hopefully should be 1 month.
They wrote a big schedule of the workshops at Los Torres & intend to attend! Elena organised with Benigno from Cedesa to bring a big van & stop in MdN on the way to the workshop each Wednesday, to collect anyone interested. They informed us the ones that go will spread the info to the ones that can’t.
3 of the women asked what happens to the materials for the families of the people who committed to attending but haven’t shown up. We explained it can easily be made available to the people that did turn up, & it would be discussed at the next assembly.
One cistern up, 25 to go!!
NB Next assembly will be scheduled by phone on confirmation of receipt of all funds into the Frost Account.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
1st Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Palencia
Record of Event pg 1 of 3
1st Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Palencia
Where: Community House in Palencia – 1hr north of Dolores Hidalgo,
When: 14.1.10 12 midday meeting began (left SMA at 10am)
Who: Elena & Laura from San Miguel Midday Rotary, Georgina Sautto (President Elect for San Miguel Rotary), Chela – Cedesa & 13 women, 1 man & 4 kids from the Palencia Community
Purpose:
Look at possibility of a joint project with SMA rotary, to assist the community to solve Palencia’s contaminated water issue.
Background.
Chela & Cedesa have been working with this community for 22 years. When they began here there were no services (electricity, water) no registered land ownership, & no solidarity. The community was run by Machismo & Caciques (self appointed bosses/oppressive men).
Little by little this community has come together to achieve many things (as detailed below), the current issue they are struggling to solve, is their contaminated water. They share a govt. drilled well with 3 other communities, unfortunately the water from this well has been tested to contain extremely high levels of both fluoride & arsenic. More than 5mg/l of Fluoride for example. (maximum safe level by World Health Org. is 1.5mg/l)
Chela has previously bought us a petition for help from the community with the signatures of more than 20 families on it.
The issue is, although this community has a higher need, ie higher level of contamination, than any of the communities in SMA municipality, it is outside our Municipality, & the community service committee of SMA Midday RC, have previously discussed, we should first work to resolve water issues in our own municipality before going outside our region.
This is a dilemma, there is an obvious high need here, Elena (as District Chair) has spoken with SMA RC & is trying to enlist interest from clubs within this neighbouring municipality to come together in the hope we can co-operatively solve this.
Today´s visit is to gather information & a preliminary needs analysis.
Item 1 – introductions
Everyone introduced themselves this was the common introduction “ I work in the community & participate in community projects”
Some brief facts about the community were raised
• Approx 80 families /500 people
• Cedesa have been working with this community for 22 years
• Palencia is approx 1 hr from Cedesa in Dolores Hidalgo
• The community well was drilled 18 years ago,
* they have been drinking contaminated water for 18years
• There are smaller family wells that fill up when it rains, but they do not last the dry season
• There was a cacique (self appointed boss) when cedesa began work here, he is still apart from the community
• They have worked on many community projects together, including fighting for land rights, building a community centre (with funding for materials from local govt.), obtaining electricity
We explained a little about the joint project in Los Torres & what the community now has there.
pg 2 of 3
Item 2 History described
The members of the community articulated the following:
The community has been working for 22 years to improve their community for their children. With collaboration & resources we can help transform conditions, with the work of your hands & minds you can achieve change.
We do not encourage dependence, but encourage people to take their future into their own hands, assume responsibility for yourselves as subjects, not objects & work co-operatively to achieve improvements like backyard gardens & resolve issues.
Elena & Georgina were invited to speak, & reiterated the beauty of working on things together, & that it takes planting the seed first, then tending that plant for it to bear fruit, good things take time, & they were commended on their achievements, like the construction of the Salon de Asamblea we were currently meeting in.
Chela explained the relationship Rotary Midday & Cedesa have built while working together in the last year in Los Torres.
Item 3 – appoint co-ordinator & secretary & raise agenda for today´s meeting.
The community had done this many times before & quickly voted for Victoria & Lola.
The agenda was written up
a. how the community had changed over 22 years.
b. Organization of the community
c. Projects in common
d. Future projects
The members of the community were invited to speak of how their community had changed over the last 22 years. Each & every member was very keen to speak, & in turn articulately described the struggles, & challenges they had faced & how they had overcome adversity.
As an aside - in other communities we have been working in, the participants are often reluctant to speak, in this case it was the opposite, each wanted to speak, & had a lot to say, they were very happy, & proud to share their history.
a. how the community had changed over 22 years.
22 yrs ago they had no services or land rights & were dominated by a cacique (self appointed community bully) & machismo. They originally had to meet under the trees on the edge of the community. They were very afraid to participate. They are very proud to list their achievements,
• They now have electricity
• They demanded their freedom from Caciques
• Individual land ownership (a result of protests in 1992)
• Raised enough money to build two community “salons” meeting places.
• They now have their own school
• Each generation carries on the learning & meetings & work & many of the women here today were little kids when Chela first began work here.
• 20% of the men are in the United States (ie 1 in 5 are single mums)
• It was very hard to talk to the women originally, for them to understand the future was in their own hands.
• They fought for equal respect & equal rights for the women
•
b. Organization of the community
• The community well is approx 200 mtrs deep & reducing at a rate of 5 mtrs per year
• Organization has been carried out by assembly
• Issues are raised at the assembly for resolution
• They organize into groups & mini commissions to achieve results
• Every 2 months they meet with 3 other communities who have joint water services, re main of pumps, payments for electricity.
• There are approx 230 families in the 4 communities
pg 3 of 3
C Projects in common
They have many projects in progress – Bees, Health, Backyard production, parcel production.
D. Future projects
The Community are working on a resolution to the issue of no safe drinking water in their community. They would like each family to have their own cistern to be responsible for their own collection, & conservation of water. They have currently made a “solicitude” request for assistance to the local Govt. in San Diego de la Union, but have had no response so far.
The community is also asking if there is any help Rotary could provide.
They are already organized so would only need funding for materials & training & are fully prepared to carry out the rest themselves.
They are also working on Dry toilets as they would like to prevent more contamination of the water table.
We explained the Rotary funding process, & timeframe, it is a long timeframe for response.
Georgina & Elena undertook to bring it to their clubs as a potential joint project.
San Miguel Midday RC has already stated they would prefer to continue to work inside the municipality of San Miguel, which is why we have bought Georgina from the other San Miguel club to see if it is something her club would be prepared to work with other clubs to solve.
There is a list of 21 families that has been presented as a petition to SMA midday RC as a request for assistance.
The money needed to fund the materials for the construction of 21 cisterns (with just 4 days training & 4 days follow up/trouble shooting, is approx US$11,000.
Conclusion
This community has done the hard yards & is organized, now they just need financial assistance with materials only. & a simple solution can be put in place to resolve the drinking water for these people for ever (as long as it continues to rain annually).
We need to work to find a solution for this community, Elena is working at a District Level, & Laura is seeking other possibilities.
The meeting finished at 2.30.
There is no date for a next meeting as the respective clubs need to work with their committees on this.
1st Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Palencia
Where: Community House in Palencia – 1hr north of Dolores Hidalgo,
When: 14.1.10 12 midday meeting began (left SMA at 10am)
Who: Elena & Laura from San Miguel Midday Rotary, Georgina Sautto (President Elect for San Miguel Rotary), Chela – Cedesa & 13 women, 1 man & 4 kids from the Palencia Community
Purpose:
Look at possibility of a joint project with SMA rotary, to assist the community to solve Palencia’s contaminated water issue.
Background.
Chela & Cedesa have been working with this community for 22 years. When they began here there were no services (electricity, water) no registered land ownership, & no solidarity. The community was run by Machismo & Caciques (self appointed bosses/oppressive men).
Little by little this community has come together to achieve many things (as detailed below), the current issue they are struggling to solve, is their contaminated water. They share a govt. drilled well with 3 other communities, unfortunately the water from this well has been tested to contain extremely high levels of both fluoride & arsenic. More than 5mg/l of Fluoride for example. (maximum safe level by World Health Org. is 1.5mg/l)
Chela has previously bought us a petition for help from the community with the signatures of more than 20 families on it.
The issue is, although this community has a higher need, ie higher level of contamination, than any of the communities in SMA municipality, it is outside our Municipality, & the community service committee of SMA Midday RC, have previously discussed, we should first work to resolve water issues in our own municipality before going outside our region.
This is a dilemma, there is an obvious high need here, Elena (as District Chair) has spoken with SMA RC & is trying to enlist interest from clubs within this neighbouring municipality to come together in the hope we can co-operatively solve this.
Today´s visit is to gather information & a preliminary needs analysis.
Item 1 – introductions
Everyone introduced themselves this was the common introduction “ I work in the community & participate in community projects”
Some brief facts about the community were raised
• Approx 80 families /500 people
• Cedesa have been working with this community for 22 years
• Palencia is approx 1 hr from Cedesa in Dolores Hidalgo
• The community well was drilled 18 years ago,
* they have been drinking contaminated water for 18years
• There are smaller family wells that fill up when it rains, but they do not last the dry season
• There was a cacique (self appointed boss) when cedesa began work here, he is still apart from the community
• They have worked on many community projects together, including fighting for land rights, building a community centre (with funding for materials from local govt.), obtaining electricity
We explained a little about the joint project in Los Torres & what the community now has there.
pg 2 of 3
Item 2 History described
The members of the community articulated the following:
The community has been working for 22 years to improve their community for their children. With collaboration & resources we can help transform conditions, with the work of your hands & minds you can achieve change.
We do not encourage dependence, but encourage people to take their future into their own hands, assume responsibility for yourselves as subjects, not objects & work co-operatively to achieve improvements like backyard gardens & resolve issues.
Elena & Georgina were invited to speak, & reiterated the beauty of working on things together, & that it takes planting the seed first, then tending that plant for it to bear fruit, good things take time, & they were commended on their achievements, like the construction of the Salon de Asamblea we were currently meeting in.
Chela explained the relationship Rotary Midday & Cedesa have built while working together in the last year in Los Torres.
Item 3 – appoint co-ordinator & secretary & raise agenda for today´s meeting.
The community had done this many times before & quickly voted for Victoria & Lola.
The agenda was written up
a. how the community had changed over 22 years.
b. Organization of the community
c. Projects in common
d. Future projects
The members of the community were invited to speak of how their community had changed over the last 22 years. Each & every member was very keen to speak, & in turn articulately described the struggles, & challenges they had faced & how they had overcome adversity.
As an aside - in other communities we have been working in, the participants are often reluctant to speak, in this case it was the opposite, each wanted to speak, & had a lot to say, they were very happy, & proud to share their history.
a. how the community had changed over 22 years.
22 yrs ago they had no services or land rights & were dominated by a cacique (self appointed community bully) & machismo. They originally had to meet under the trees on the edge of the community. They were very afraid to participate. They are very proud to list their achievements,
• They now have electricity
• They demanded their freedom from Caciques
• Individual land ownership (a result of protests in 1992)
• Raised enough money to build two community “salons” meeting places.
• They now have their own school
• Each generation carries on the learning & meetings & work & many of the women here today were little kids when Chela first began work here.
• 20% of the men are in the United States (ie 1 in 5 are single mums)
• It was very hard to talk to the women originally, for them to understand the future was in their own hands.
• They fought for equal respect & equal rights for the women
•
b. Organization of the community
• The community well is approx 200 mtrs deep & reducing at a rate of 5 mtrs per year
• Organization has been carried out by assembly
• Issues are raised at the assembly for resolution
• They organize into groups & mini commissions to achieve results
• Every 2 months they meet with 3 other communities who have joint water services, re main of pumps, payments for electricity.
• There are approx 230 families in the 4 communities
pg 3 of 3
C Projects in common
They have many projects in progress – Bees, Health, Backyard production, parcel production.
D. Future projects
The Community are working on a resolution to the issue of no safe drinking water in their community. They would like each family to have their own cistern to be responsible for their own collection, & conservation of water. They have currently made a “solicitude” request for assistance to the local Govt. in San Diego de la Union, but have had no response so far.
The community is also asking if there is any help Rotary could provide.
They are already organized so would only need funding for materials & training & are fully prepared to carry out the rest themselves.
They are also working on Dry toilets as they would like to prevent more contamination of the water table.
We explained the Rotary funding process, & timeframe, it is a long timeframe for response.
Georgina & Elena undertook to bring it to their clubs as a potential joint project.
San Miguel Midday RC has already stated they would prefer to continue to work inside the municipality of San Miguel, which is why we have bought Georgina from the other San Miguel club to see if it is something her club would be prepared to work with other clubs to solve.
There is a list of 21 families that has been presented as a petition to SMA midday RC as a request for assistance.
The money needed to fund the materials for the construction of 21 cisterns (with just 4 days training & 4 days follow up/trouble shooting, is approx US$11,000.
Conclusion
This community has done the hard yards & is organized, now they just need financial assistance with materials only. & a simple solution can be put in place to resolve the drinking water for these people for ever (as long as it continues to rain annually).
We need to work to find a solution for this community, Elena is working at a District Level, & Laura is seeking other possibilities.
The meeting finished at 2.30.
There is no date for a next meeting as the respective clubs need to work with their committees on this.
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