Record of Event pg 1 of 2
4th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar Water Project
Where: Cruz del Palmar Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Thurs 25th March 10.30-12.20
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Rafael Cruz (trainer from Los Torres) & approx 19 adults (about 50/50 men/women).
Purpose: Day 4 of the Pilot – building a cistern & collection system at the Cruz del Palmar Primary school.
Record of Event
I arrived to find a huge buzz in the playground. Kids were eating their mid morning meal (prepared by mothers – I think it’s a feed the hungry site), & there were men inside the cistern plastering, men outside, plastering, & attaching the hose & women mixing plaster & feeding people.
The top was on, the door in place, almost done...
I embarrassingly thought Rafael was his brother Jose Miguel, but that’s a whole other story, could be one of early alzheimers.
I was invited to eat with Rafael, the women feeding the kids had extras, we ate beans & rice & tortillas with a papaya water drink. Rafael thought it hilarious that I’d confused him for his brother.
I wanted to confirm the process with Rafael, re the ordering & checking of measurements etc. So did that, as part of that process we talked about Sand & they would order that direct from supplier in CdP, not in Materiales Rivera.
I asked about the gravel, & he responded something I didn’t understand, I thought there were 2 options, order from CdP or from Materiales Rivera, but neither were correct, I exclaimed in frustration, ahhh, anyone speak English? A couple of women rushed away, & they came back 5 mins later with a very well dressed young man, who apparently spoke English. He translated the simple question I had about gravel & it turned out Rafael was suggesting, since it was such a small quantity required, approx 5 wheelbarrows full, each family could provide it themselves! Ahhh – no wonder I didn’t get it, I was stuck on 2 options, so it was agreed, the families would provide the gravel themselves in Cruz del Palmar.
I thanked the young man (& women who had bought him) & we went on to chat a little more, it turned out he used to work for the Casa Diferente program a program run by DIF, in which community recipients receive materials from the govt. But must build their own house, to the exact design of the DIF program.
He now works in another program to do with schools, but offered his assistance to source cheaper materials, he gave me his email address & (Alfredo Ibarra alfpipo@yahoo.com & said if I sent him a list of materials, he would access a quote for me & email me back...
I thanked my good fortune at not speaking Spanish fluently, & thanked Alfredo again.
(I have since emailed him, but no response yet, maybe because it’s easter, maybe...)
I marvelled at the length of piping they had used to connect both roofs to the cistern, the closer one, & another classroom with a bigger surface area, Rafa & I agreed just a little rain will fill it a lot!!
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
I tried to get a photo of one of the young guys helping in the cistern, he kept bobbing down like a jack-in-the-box, to loud bursts of laughter from all the women watching. Ramon was cajoled & coaxed & “told” to pop his head up for a photo, but refused, so I climbed the ladder & tried to take one from the outside looking in, the result was not very clear, so one of the women volunteered to get in the cistern for the shot, but turned out she couldn’t fit, so got one of her half in half out, then I pretended to go & stayed to take the shot, but somehow Ramon knew, so just popped up a little & whipped back down.... By this stage the whole team was watching this & laughing...
I said goodbye & headed off to hide in the shade of the near by classroom, hoping to get a shot, when he finally believed I had gone, he slowly popped up & looked around, didn’t see me so stayed up, at which time I engaged my zoom & took the shot, I yelled out “gracias!” & he looked over to where I was & couldn’t believe he’d been outsmarted! he whole playground erupted in fits of laughter & I headed off...
Here’s the rub
People were told at the assembly prior to the pilot project, that participation in the pilot would enable them to get on the list of people to get cisterns.
The list now stands at 33 definite families.
We had 39 cisterns for Lomas now divided between Vivienda de Arriba & Cruz del Palmar, we took 2 off for pilots, leaving 37 cisterns, & needed to use the funds from one more cistern to fund the extra consulting in Lomas & the extra pilot not budgeted for, hence we have 36 cisterns available.
That was to be split 18/18 for each of these neighbouring communities.
Since VdA have just 16 on their list, we may have 20 for CdP, but that still leaves us short by 13 cisterns!!
Ideally we need to find the extra $10k to get these cisterns constructed at the same time (ie before these rains), these people have proven themselves, have all stepped up & volunteered & all think they are in the running for cisterns... what we don’t want is to have to split the community we’ve just spent this effort building, & have to leave 13 families out of this round!
Ahhhh – somehow a solution will present itself, we are working with local govt. & maybe they will come to the party... I hope so!!!!
Next assembly is April 14th at 11am – Yolande’s house
Photos can be seen (including the one of the blue hooded head, popping out of the cistern) on this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/CruzDelPalmarWaterProject?feat=directlink
Thursday, March 25, 2010
4th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Vivienda de Arriba Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 1
4th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Vivienda de Arriba Water Project
Where: Vivienda de Arriba (40 mins from SMA)
When: Thurs 25th March 9-10am
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Juan & Guillermo Alvarado (Trainers from Los Torres) & 14 adults (7 men & 7 women),
Purpose: 4th day of the Pilot – construction of cistern & water collection system at the Vivienda de Arriba primary school.
I arrived to find the work in action, some people were on the roof, painting on the natural lime/cactus mixture to seal the roof, some were mixing & sieving the mixture to replenish the sealant supplies for those on the roof, & the rest were finishing off the plastering on both the inside & outside of the cistern.
The cistern was fully formed, top on, & door in place.
The piping & roof edging were all in place.
I was invited onto the roof, but decided to stop at the top of the ladder! They thought that was a joke!
I bought the missing piece of hose that had been short supplied, Juan had called Holly, who in turn called me to collect it from a different hardware store in town.
I talked at length with Anamaria, she was very happy the project had been bought forward. We had previously told them their funding would unlikely be avail until approx oct or Nov this year – if successful - she agreed they were very fortunate the way things had worked out with the other community declining the project.
She advised the volunteers turnout had been good each day, the list of definite people wanting to participate in the project, who had equally proven themselves by participating, was now 16 people – down from 21. I explained this was completely normal, & as soon as people learn they have to actually do the work themselves there is always a drop off... this is still a good result for the number of people in this small community.
The old cowboys were there every day! They were currently the plaster crew, & 2 were inside the cistern while the others were on the outside, with one brave one up on the roof of the class room!
They asked about Cruz del Palmar, I told them I was going there next, but we all agreed they had it easier with a bigger community to pull from!
I paid & thanked Juan & his dad Guillermo for their fine work over the previous 4 days.
I congratulated the community team on their huge efforts, declined their kind lunch invitation & headed to Cruz del Palmar.
Photos can be seen at this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/ViviendaDeArribaWaterProject?feat=directlink
Next assembly Wed April 14th at 3pm at the Church
4th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Vivienda de Arriba Water Project
Where: Vivienda de Arriba (40 mins from SMA)
When: Thurs 25th March 9-10am
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Juan & Guillermo Alvarado (Trainers from Los Torres) & 14 adults (7 men & 7 women),
Purpose: 4th day of the Pilot – construction of cistern & water collection system at the Vivienda de Arriba primary school.
I arrived to find the work in action, some people were on the roof, painting on the natural lime/cactus mixture to seal the roof, some were mixing & sieving the mixture to replenish the sealant supplies for those on the roof, & the rest were finishing off the plastering on both the inside & outside of the cistern.
The cistern was fully formed, top on, & door in place.
The piping & roof edging were all in place.
I was invited onto the roof, but decided to stop at the top of the ladder! They thought that was a joke!
I bought the missing piece of hose that had been short supplied, Juan had called Holly, who in turn called me to collect it from a different hardware store in town.
I talked at length with Anamaria, she was very happy the project had been bought forward. We had previously told them their funding would unlikely be avail until approx oct or Nov this year – if successful - she agreed they were very fortunate the way things had worked out with the other community declining the project.
She advised the volunteers turnout had been good each day, the list of definite people wanting to participate in the project, who had equally proven themselves by participating, was now 16 people – down from 21. I explained this was completely normal, & as soon as people learn they have to actually do the work themselves there is always a drop off... this is still a good result for the number of people in this small community.
The old cowboys were there every day! They were currently the plaster crew, & 2 were inside the cistern while the others were on the outside, with one brave one up on the roof of the class room!
They asked about Cruz del Palmar, I told them I was going there next, but we all agreed they had it easier with a bigger community to pull from!
I paid & thanked Juan & his dad Guillermo for their fine work over the previous 4 days.
I congratulated the community team on their huge efforts, declined their kind lunch invitation & headed to Cruz del Palmar.
Photos can be seen at this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/ViviendaDeArribaWaterProject?feat=directlink
Next assembly Wed April 14th at 3pm at the Church
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
37th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Record of Event pg 1 of 3
37th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: Los Torres Chucha’s house
When: Wed 24th March 3-5.40pm
Who: Chela, Holly, (Cedesa), Laura (Rotary), & 26 adults & 10kids, (Incl 3 men)
Purpose:
Planning for the Phase III cisterns construction project & general community assembly.
This assembly was changed to a later start time of 3pm, as there was a govt program visiting in Cruz del Palmar which the Los Torres community was required to attend.
The govt. Program – Oportunidades, a work program, started at 8am & didn’t finish until 2pm with no break for food, & CdP is a 20 minute walk away, the Los Torres people made it to the meeting around 3.20 looking very tired & hungry, & we agreed to try to keep the assembly brief, so people could get home.
We didn’t want to take up their time, but discovered the Oportunidades program offers work for a minimal assistance subsidy of $700 pesos bi-monthly, & also offers a beca (scholarship) for children of $500 pesos in high school, bi-monthly.
General discussion.
We asked about the Sapasma well, apparently it has not been opened yet, despite being completed for around 1 year. They have visited the new administration to ask & were told the new administration needs to settle in first before any action will be taken to get the water to the houses.
Julio from the Ecology department visited during the water info day, & said the tests of the water from the well had come back showing the water is contaminated & not fit for drinking.
Chela invited the LT community to a workshop they are holding at Cedesa to produce solar distillers, the only way to effectively remove fluoride from water.
The workshop is on April 9&10 for only 15 people, during which they will hands-on construct 2 working distillers, that can distill up to 9 litres per day.
The assembly began at 3.40
Chela introduced, & said we would keep it short today as everyone was already looking exhausted.
She said she would co-ordinate & Concha was voted to take note/records.
Discussion points were called for
• How to advance the 3rd phase
• What needs doing?
• What’s missing? someone responded, “we’re willing to work, as long as they give us some limonada!”
• Co-operation payment – still to be paid.
• Distiller workshop – who wants to participate
• The road mini-commission, - who’s working on it?
• Review of traspatio workshops
Item 1. How to advance the 3rd Phase.
At the last assembly people were tasked with taking measurements of the piping they require & getting the info to the group leaders, who in turn will give it to Guillermo (who will be co-ordinating the technical aspect of the 3rd phase in Los Torres).
Group 1 – Alejandro has the info & will give it to Guillermo
Group 2 – Jose Cruz also has the info & will give it to Guillermo
Group 3 – Gilberto? – Laura mentioned Jose Matilde had the info at the Water info day & wanted to give it to someone then, so he will need to be directed to give it to Guillermo
Record of Event pg 2 of 3
Primo, Fabiana & Guillermo all offered to assist with Phase III.
Group 1 – one member – Veronica still owes her $450 co-operation payment re not attending training in the School demonstration cistern construction. She can not afford this payment so has passed on her cistern to her sister – Maria, who happens to be getting married to Gonzalo on Saturday. Everyone voted for this action.
Gonzalo is Rafael & Jose Miguel’s younger brother.
Item 2 – Materials – when will they be available?
Laura described the process…
1. Guillermo to receive the measurements of the variable materials required by each family (by group).
2. Guillermo to make a day possibly 5th April to visit each house to check the measurements.
3. Guillermo to spend a day collating the grand order, ie 21 x standard materials, & a compilation of the variable materials into one large order.
4. Guillermo is to place the order at the supplier. He should place it in several parts, 1 bulk order of the variable materials to be delivered in bulk to one location.
5. & then order the standard materials to be delivered 3 cisterns per group at a time, with another 3 more per group, once each cistern is completed (Guillermo will give delivery location instructions when he places order for the next partial delivery).
6. The variable materials will have to be collected from the designated delivery location in Los Torres, by each family as they come to construct their cistern. They should come to collect their items, eg 3 elbows, 2 lengths of pvc piping, etc.
7. This way the standard materials order can be placed by phone to the Supplier when the community is ready for the next lot.
(I confirmed this with Juan & Guillermo in Vivienda de Arriba during the pilot build meeting – this will work for them).
Alejandro offered to help Guillermo if it’s too much work for him.
We mentioned that the measuring & ordering & tech assistance is paid work for Guillermo, as technical advisor on this project.
Item 3 – the co-operation – who’s paid & who hasn’t?
The community came up with the solution that anyone from phase III who was unable to attend the demonstration pilot at the primary school, needs to pay a “co-operation” as their contribution.
At the last assembly there were 4 people still to pay.
• Cristina – has since paid.
• Veronica – Mariana (her sister) paid instead & now is on the list to receive the cistern.
• Patricia Nolesco has since paid.
• Maria de Jesus (not the delegada) has paid.
All are now paid up!
The families at the school who were not part of the project, but who’s children benefit from the cisterns built by the community were to pay $50 pesos contribution, some have, there are others still to be chased…
Item 4 – Workshop on distillers at Cedesa
Chela explained more about this workshop
Purpose
• Train people about the issues of contamination
• Practically demonstrate & actually construct 2 solar distillers (to purify the water)
• Only 15 people can attend, anyone who attends will then be expected to be the community expert & show the rest of the community.
• It is actual hands on construction (the best way to learn)
• It costs $4000pesos for one distiller
• These distillers remove all contaminants, bacterial & mineral,
• In case there is no cistern, or no rain, or an empty cistern!
Record of Event pg 3 of 3
Chela asked who would like to come, to learn & then to teach.
Someone volunteered Rafael – because he wasn’t there – for a joke!!
Someone else volunteered Gonzalo, the young guy getting married on Saturday “the one getting married this weekend, since he’ll be having kids soon!”
The community will confirm with Chela or Holly
Item 5 Traspatios (back yards) workshops
Benigno has been to Los Torres for 2 backyard workshops so far.
The first one was to teach design (ie placement of animals, fruit trees, plants, rubbish & other components)
Then 2nd how to prepare the ground for planting, including soil & making paths.
In a couple of months they will be able to plant seeds & or plants for eating. They will then have access to good quality food & if they have excess they can trade it or sell it.
Chela asked how many people participated, a show of hands showed around 12-14 people.
Chela explained it costs Cedesa money for petrol & car maint. & also Benigno’s time, so you must prove you’re interested by participating, or he will go somewhere else.
Someone asked if it was just for people in the cistern project, & Chela replied it’s for the whole community, not just project people.
She went on to talk again about the dangers of eating junk food & how it is ruining the health of Mexicans, with high rates of diabetes etc resulting. She decried Coke, & one of the oldest women, said “she can’t live without it!”.
Chela pointed out that Junk food is sold to poor people, “the owners of the companies don’t eat this junk – they just make money off you guys – it’s only for poor people.
Item 6 – the Road
During the rains the road into Los Torres gets even worse (hard to imagine!) how can we get this fixed? It takes more than ½ hr to transverse!
“We need to begin the solicitude to the municipality”
Chela asked if anyone had ever made a solicitude to govt. before?
Chucha answered yes, they asked to be part of the Piso Firme (concrete floors) program.
Rafael Cruz has been previously to ask for assistance, but that was with the previous administration, so need to go again with the new one.
It was pointed out that Luci (the Mayor) & Helio from the ecology department have both asked to visit the community of Los Torres to see the project. We are currently attempting to schedule that visit with the various secretaries organizing…
It would be ideal to have the solicitude ready to present when the VIP’s visit.
Concha, Chucha & Alejandro all volunteered to get a solicitude together
write up reasons why road needs to be repaired including safety (takes too long in medical emergency), time it takes for people to get to work or to town etc.
what you would like done
write up who signed
Taxes are received by you & should be paid in works & services to the communities not just for the center of town!
The meeting concluded approx 5.40pm
Next Assembly Wed 28th April at 12 pm at Chucha’s house
37th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: Los Torres Chucha’s house
When: Wed 24th March 3-5.40pm
Who: Chela, Holly, (Cedesa), Laura (Rotary), & 26 adults & 10kids, (Incl 3 men)
Purpose:
Planning for the Phase III cisterns construction project & general community assembly.
This assembly was changed to a later start time of 3pm, as there was a govt program visiting in Cruz del Palmar which the Los Torres community was required to attend.
The govt. Program – Oportunidades, a work program, started at 8am & didn’t finish until 2pm with no break for food, & CdP is a 20 minute walk away, the Los Torres people made it to the meeting around 3.20 looking very tired & hungry, & we agreed to try to keep the assembly brief, so people could get home.
We didn’t want to take up their time, but discovered the Oportunidades program offers work for a minimal assistance subsidy of $700 pesos bi-monthly, & also offers a beca (scholarship) for children of $500 pesos in high school, bi-monthly.
General discussion.
We asked about the Sapasma well, apparently it has not been opened yet, despite being completed for around 1 year. They have visited the new administration to ask & were told the new administration needs to settle in first before any action will be taken to get the water to the houses.
Julio from the Ecology department visited during the water info day, & said the tests of the water from the well had come back showing the water is contaminated & not fit for drinking.
Chela invited the LT community to a workshop they are holding at Cedesa to produce solar distillers, the only way to effectively remove fluoride from water.
The workshop is on April 9&10 for only 15 people, during which they will hands-on construct 2 working distillers, that can distill up to 9 litres per day.
The assembly began at 3.40
Chela introduced, & said we would keep it short today as everyone was already looking exhausted.
She said she would co-ordinate & Concha was voted to take note/records.
Discussion points were called for
• How to advance the 3rd phase
• What needs doing?
• What’s missing? someone responded, “we’re willing to work, as long as they give us some limonada!”
• Co-operation payment – still to be paid.
• Distiller workshop – who wants to participate
• The road mini-commission, - who’s working on it?
• Review of traspatio workshops
Item 1. How to advance the 3rd Phase.
At the last assembly people were tasked with taking measurements of the piping they require & getting the info to the group leaders, who in turn will give it to Guillermo (who will be co-ordinating the technical aspect of the 3rd phase in Los Torres).
Group 1 – Alejandro has the info & will give it to Guillermo
Group 2 – Jose Cruz also has the info & will give it to Guillermo
Group 3 – Gilberto? – Laura mentioned Jose Matilde had the info at the Water info day & wanted to give it to someone then, so he will need to be directed to give it to Guillermo
Record of Event pg 2 of 3
Primo, Fabiana & Guillermo all offered to assist with Phase III.
Group 1 – one member – Veronica still owes her $450 co-operation payment re not attending training in the School demonstration cistern construction. She can not afford this payment so has passed on her cistern to her sister – Maria, who happens to be getting married to Gonzalo on Saturday. Everyone voted for this action.
Gonzalo is Rafael & Jose Miguel’s younger brother.
Item 2 – Materials – when will they be available?
Laura described the process…
1. Guillermo to receive the measurements of the variable materials required by each family (by group).
2. Guillermo to make a day possibly 5th April to visit each house to check the measurements.
3. Guillermo to spend a day collating the grand order, ie 21 x standard materials, & a compilation of the variable materials into one large order.
4. Guillermo is to place the order at the supplier. He should place it in several parts, 1 bulk order of the variable materials to be delivered in bulk to one location.
5. & then order the standard materials to be delivered 3 cisterns per group at a time, with another 3 more per group, once each cistern is completed (Guillermo will give delivery location instructions when he places order for the next partial delivery).
6. The variable materials will have to be collected from the designated delivery location in Los Torres, by each family as they come to construct their cistern. They should come to collect their items, eg 3 elbows, 2 lengths of pvc piping, etc.
7. This way the standard materials order can be placed by phone to the Supplier when the community is ready for the next lot.
(I confirmed this with Juan & Guillermo in Vivienda de Arriba during the pilot build meeting – this will work for them).
Alejandro offered to help Guillermo if it’s too much work for him.
We mentioned that the measuring & ordering & tech assistance is paid work for Guillermo, as technical advisor on this project.
Item 3 – the co-operation – who’s paid & who hasn’t?
The community came up with the solution that anyone from phase III who was unable to attend the demonstration pilot at the primary school, needs to pay a “co-operation” as their contribution.
At the last assembly there were 4 people still to pay.
• Cristina – has since paid.
• Veronica – Mariana (her sister) paid instead & now is on the list to receive the cistern.
• Patricia Nolesco has since paid.
• Maria de Jesus (not the delegada) has paid.
All are now paid up!
The families at the school who were not part of the project, but who’s children benefit from the cisterns built by the community were to pay $50 pesos contribution, some have, there are others still to be chased…
Item 4 – Workshop on distillers at Cedesa
Chela explained more about this workshop
Purpose
• Train people about the issues of contamination
• Practically demonstrate & actually construct 2 solar distillers (to purify the water)
• Only 15 people can attend, anyone who attends will then be expected to be the community expert & show the rest of the community.
• It is actual hands on construction (the best way to learn)
• It costs $4000pesos for one distiller
• These distillers remove all contaminants, bacterial & mineral,
• In case there is no cistern, or no rain, or an empty cistern!
Record of Event pg 3 of 3
Chela asked who would like to come, to learn & then to teach.
Someone volunteered Rafael – because he wasn’t there – for a joke!!
Someone else volunteered Gonzalo, the young guy getting married on Saturday “the one getting married this weekend, since he’ll be having kids soon!”
The community will confirm with Chela or Holly
Item 5 Traspatios (back yards) workshops
Benigno has been to Los Torres for 2 backyard workshops so far.
The first one was to teach design (ie placement of animals, fruit trees, plants, rubbish & other components)
Then 2nd how to prepare the ground for planting, including soil & making paths.
In a couple of months they will be able to plant seeds & or plants for eating. They will then have access to good quality food & if they have excess they can trade it or sell it.
Chela asked how many people participated, a show of hands showed around 12-14 people.
Chela explained it costs Cedesa money for petrol & car maint. & also Benigno’s time, so you must prove you’re interested by participating, or he will go somewhere else.
Someone asked if it was just for people in the cistern project, & Chela replied it’s for the whole community, not just project people.
She went on to talk again about the dangers of eating junk food & how it is ruining the health of Mexicans, with high rates of diabetes etc resulting. She decried Coke, & one of the oldest women, said “she can’t live without it!”.
Chela pointed out that Junk food is sold to poor people, “the owners of the companies don’t eat this junk – they just make money off you guys – it’s only for poor people.
Item 6 – the Road
During the rains the road into Los Torres gets even worse (hard to imagine!) how can we get this fixed? It takes more than ½ hr to transverse!
“We need to begin the solicitude to the municipality”
Chela asked if anyone had ever made a solicitude to govt. before?
Chucha answered yes, they asked to be part of the Piso Firme (concrete floors) program.
Rafael Cruz has been previously to ask for assistance, but that was with the previous administration, so need to go again with the new one.
It was pointed out that Luci (the Mayor) & Helio from the ecology department have both asked to visit the community of Los Torres to see the project. We are currently attempting to schedule that visit with the various secretaries organizing…
It would be ideal to have the solicitude ready to present when the VIP’s visit.
Concha, Chucha & Alejandro all volunteered to get a solicitude together
write up reasons why road needs to be repaired including safety (takes too long in medical emergency), time it takes for people to get to work or to town etc.
what you would like done
write up who signed
Taxes are received by you & should be paid in works & services to the communities not just for the center of town!
The meeting concluded approx 5.40pm
Next Assembly Wed 28th April at 12 pm at Chucha’s house
Monday, March 22, 2010
2 more Pilot projects started today!
Another brief update, (full reports to follow)...
Both Cruz del Palmar & Vivienda de Arriba began their pilot projects at their respective primary schools today.
During the pilot projects all of the participants learn each of the steps involved in constructing these ferro cement cisterns.
Those that can, help, those that can't, contribute in other ways, they bring food & drinks & help mind children...
A collaborative effort.
Both Cruz del Palmar & Vivienda de Arriba began their pilot projects at their respective primary schools today.
During the pilot projects all of the participants learn each of the steps involved in constructing these ferro cement cisterns.
Those that can, help, those that can't, contribute in other ways, they bring food & drinks & help mind children...
A collaborative effort.
3rd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Vivienda de Arriba potential water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 2
3rd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Vivienda de Arriba potential water Project
Where: Vivienda de Arriba (40 mins from SMA)
When: Monday 22nd March 11am – 2.10pm
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Juan & Guillermo Alvarado (Trainers from Los Torres) & 7 adults (5 men & 7 women), by the time I left at 2pm.
Purpose: Pilot – construction of cistern & water collection system at the Vivienda de Arriba primary school.
Background: This pilot was “bought forward”, Juan & Guillermo liaised with the community directly to begin earlier than previously planned. As a result the order for the materials was placed hurriedly by me last Saturday. I had given a typed list of the standard materials required + a list of the variable materials (ie the piping & bricks etc, that changes depending on the location of the cistern in relation to the roof, & roof size etc).
Observations of the day
The supplier, Materiales Rivera – in San Miguel, had assured us the delivery could be made before 9.30 on Monday – it was now 11am & no sign of the materials.
There were 5 men (plus Guillermo & Juan – the trainers), all digging a hole for the pad for the cistern, with shovels & picks. The men were all grandfathers, & none had been at the assemblies, so was good to see them involved. These were all old cowboys, complete with cowboy hats & boots...
Again, they all asked if it was only me – (& my less than fluent Spanish!), & Juan broke out a few words from his English vocab in solidarity.
I met the Maestro (teacher) who was very happy for this project to be happening in his school. They have a small school of just 19 kids, in contrast to Cruz del Palmar, who have around 200 kids!!
I called Holly & asked her to call Materiales Rivera to see what was going on, she called back to say the truck drivers’ mother had died & he had not made it into work today, so they were just sending another truck now. (that was at 11am, & the drive is only 40 mins or so, so we remained hopeful).
Around 11.30 some women arrived laden with buckets, filled with plates, cups, & food.
We assumed it was for almuerzo for the kids but after 20mins the women finally told us they were waiting for us, & that it was to feed the workers...
The cowboys downed shovels & we ate delicious lunch of rice, beans, tortillas & some hot vegetable soup that was described as a hangover cure!! All very delicious & nutritious & washed down with water flavoured with guava (or coke, but the coke bottles remained closed while there was agua fresco available)...
Still we waited, & joked about the truck being lost, until I decided it was time to make another check up call, 2 hrs after the other one!
Again I called Holly, who in turn called Materiales Rivera, to be told the truck had left 15mins ago... hmmmm....
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
The cowboys finished the preparation for the pad, & began to sift the sand for the cement, & finally, with a lot of hurrah! The truck arrived at around 1.15...
By 2.10 when I left, the materials had been unloaded (those old cowboys can carry 8 bricks in one go!), & the mesh was rolled out & being crocheted... More women arrived when the materials go there, & there were 12 people working (+ Juan & Guillermo) when I left...This is a much smaller community than Cruz del Palmar, so a good turnout!
Click on this link to see Photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/ViviendaDeArribaWaterProject?feat=directlink
I couldn’t help thinking those old cowboys would have some interesting stories to tell about their lives & adventures in the States, but bid them farewell & congrats on the first stage of their mission, & headed back into town.
Next event – day 4 of the pilot 25th March 2010
3rd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Vivienda de Arriba potential water Project
Where: Vivienda de Arriba (40 mins from SMA)
When: Monday 22nd March 11am – 2.10pm
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Juan & Guillermo Alvarado (Trainers from Los Torres) & 7 adults (5 men & 7 women), by the time I left at 2pm.
Purpose: Pilot – construction of cistern & water collection system at the Vivienda de Arriba primary school.
Background: This pilot was “bought forward”, Juan & Guillermo liaised with the community directly to begin earlier than previously planned. As a result the order for the materials was placed hurriedly by me last Saturday. I had given a typed list of the standard materials required + a list of the variable materials (ie the piping & bricks etc, that changes depending on the location of the cistern in relation to the roof, & roof size etc).
Observations of the day
The supplier, Materiales Rivera – in San Miguel, had assured us the delivery could be made before 9.30 on Monday – it was now 11am & no sign of the materials.
There were 5 men (plus Guillermo & Juan – the trainers), all digging a hole for the pad for the cistern, with shovels & picks. The men were all grandfathers, & none had been at the assemblies, so was good to see them involved. These were all old cowboys, complete with cowboy hats & boots...
Again, they all asked if it was only me – (& my less than fluent Spanish!), & Juan broke out a few words from his English vocab in solidarity.
I met the Maestro (teacher) who was very happy for this project to be happening in his school. They have a small school of just 19 kids, in contrast to Cruz del Palmar, who have around 200 kids!!
I called Holly & asked her to call Materiales Rivera to see what was going on, she called back to say the truck drivers’ mother had died & he had not made it into work today, so they were just sending another truck now. (that was at 11am, & the drive is only 40 mins or so, so we remained hopeful).
Around 11.30 some women arrived laden with buckets, filled with plates, cups, & food.
We assumed it was for almuerzo for the kids but after 20mins the women finally told us they were waiting for us, & that it was to feed the workers...
The cowboys downed shovels & we ate delicious lunch of rice, beans, tortillas & some hot vegetable soup that was described as a hangover cure!! All very delicious & nutritious & washed down with water flavoured with guava (or coke, but the coke bottles remained closed while there was agua fresco available)...
Still we waited, & joked about the truck being lost, until I decided it was time to make another check up call, 2 hrs after the other one!
Again I called Holly, who in turn called Materiales Rivera, to be told the truck had left 15mins ago... hmmmm....
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
The cowboys finished the preparation for the pad, & began to sift the sand for the cement, & finally, with a lot of hurrah! The truck arrived at around 1.15...
By 2.10 when I left, the materials had been unloaded (those old cowboys can carry 8 bricks in one go!), & the mesh was rolled out & being crocheted... More women arrived when the materials go there, & there were 12 people working (+ Juan & Guillermo) when I left...This is a much smaller community than Cruz del Palmar, so a good turnout!
Click on this link to see Photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/ViviendaDeArribaWaterProject?feat=directlink
I couldn’t help thinking those old cowboys would have some interesting stories to tell about their lives & adventures in the States, but bid them farewell & congrats on the first stage of their mission, & headed back into town.
Next event – day 4 of the pilot 25th March 2010
3rd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar potential water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 1
3rd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar potential water Project
Where: Cruz del Palmar Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Mon 22nd March 9am-10.40
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Rafael Cruz (trainer from Los Torres) & by 9.30 29adults, approx 50/50 men/women. (7 kids, plus interested onlookers – kids from the primary school).
Purpose: 4 Day Pilot – building a cistern & collection system at the Cruz del Palmar Primary school.
Record of Event
I arrived on time at 9am to find Rafael (the trainer) & around 8 people gathering for the Pilot. By 9.30 there were 29 people, all occupied in the first steps of the construction.
They all asked where Holly, Chela or Elena were, they are nervous when it’s only me, because my Spanish is limited, but we managed to convey all we needed to.
The wire was laid out with the mesh on top & the wire on top of that, there were more people than tools, so one of the guys went to get a grinder & they cut off a strip of the mesh & made more ganchos (hooks), so that everyone could work on this task.
The “crocheting” begins at one side of the roll, by row, & ends at the other, with 4 diamonds of wire mesh “crocheted” in each square of mesh.
Everyone was in good spirit & all eager to learn.
There was a strange “bucket of water” ritual going on at the primary school, it took me a while to work out why there were kids criss-crossing the courtyard carrying buckets of water, in what seemed to be a random way. Turns out, these kids were all going to the toilet, & they needed to first take the bucket & fill it at various taps & mini tanks, then carry it to the toilet, to use to flush, then carry the water back to the mini tank, & the bucket back to the classroom.
I remembered how we as kids used to ask to be excused so we could get some time out of the classroom, & was giggling to myself that so many of these kids were doing the same, then it struck me that many of these kids probably don’t have toilets at home, & so save their “routine” for school.
I don’t know if there were more bucket carriers than usual because they were interested to see what was going on in their playground, many did decide to detour close to the action!
Rafael was very organised & had everyone occupied. I took a few photos, & bid them a successful mission, & headed off to their neighbouring community – Vivienda de Arriba, who were beginning their Pilot at their primary school today too.
One reason for the good turnout - it had been decided by the people at the previous assembly that whoever participates in the training will be on the list of the people to receive their cisterns first.
I noticed Analaura had the attendance list in the records book.
Next visit will be on the last day of the Pilot, 25th March at 9am
Photos on this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/CruzDelPalmarWaterProject?feat=directlink
3rd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar potential water Project
Where: Cruz del Palmar Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Mon 22nd March 9am-10.40
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Rafael Cruz (trainer from Los Torres) & by 9.30 29adults, approx 50/50 men/women. (7 kids, plus interested onlookers – kids from the primary school).
Purpose: 4 Day Pilot – building a cistern & collection system at the Cruz del Palmar Primary school.
Record of Event
I arrived on time at 9am to find Rafael (the trainer) & around 8 people gathering for the Pilot. By 9.30 there were 29 people, all occupied in the first steps of the construction.
They all asked where Holly, Chela or Elena were, they are nervous when it’s only me, because my Spanish is limited, but we managed to convey all we needed to.
The wire was laid out with the mesh on top & the wire on top of that, there were more people than tools, so one of the guys went to get a grinder & they cut off a strip of the mesh & made more ganchos (hooks), so that everyone could work on this task.
The “crocheting” begins at one side of the roll, by row, & ends at the other, with 4 diamonds of wire mesh “crocheted” in each square of mesh.
Everyone was in good spirit & all eager to learn.
There was a strange “bucket of water” ritual going on at the primary school, it took me a while to work out why there were kids criss-crossing the courtyard carrying buckets of water, in what seemed to be a random way. Turns out, these kids were all going to the toilet, & they needed to first take the bucket & fill it at various taps & mini tanks, then carry it to the toilet, to use to flush, then carry the water back to the mini tank, & the bucket back to the classroom.
I remembered how we as kids used to ask to be excused so we could get some time out of the classroom, & was giggling to myself that so many of these kids were doing the same, then it struck me that many of these kids probably don’t have toilets at home, & so save their “routine” for school.
I don’t know if there were more bucket carriers than usual because they were interested to see what was going on in their playground, many did decide to detour close to the action!
Rafael was very organised & had everyone occupied. I took a few photos, & bid them a successful mission, & headed off to their neighbouring community – Vivienda de Arriba, who were beginning their Pilot at their primary school today too.
One reason for the good turnout - it had been decided by the people at the previous assembly that whoever participates in the training will be on the list of the people to receive their cisterns first.
I noticed Analaura had the attendance list in the records book.
Next visit will be on the last day of the Pilot, 25th March at 9am
Photos on this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/CruzDelPalmarWaterProject?feat=directlink
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Quick update - Cruz del Palmar & Vivienda de Arriba Pilots
This is a quick update to record that the materials for pilot projects (ie the demonstration & train the trainer component of the project) have been ordered.
Pilots projects are about to commence in both Cruz del Palmar & Vivienda de Arriba on Monday 22nd March.
In both cases the 1st cisterns are being constructed at the Primary schools.
The materials were ordered for Cruz on Wednesday, & delivered Friday.
For Vivienda de Arriba, they were delivered Saturday morning & are to be delivered Monday 22nd.
Rafael Cruz is overseeing/training in Cruz del Palmar, & Juan & Guillermo Alvarado are overseeing/training at Vivienda de Arriba.
They have been co-ordinating directly with the primary contacts in each community, & have pulled the pilots forward.
Let's see who turns up for training on Monday!!
Pilots projects are about to commence in both Cruz del Palmar & Vivienda de Arriba on Monday 22nd March.
In both cases the 1st cisterns are being constructed at the Primary schools.
The materials were ordered for Cruz on Wednesday, & delivered Friday.
For Vivienda de Arriba, they were delivered Saturday morning & are to be delivered Monday 22nd.
Rafael Cruz is overseeing/training in Cruz del Palmar, & Juan & Guillermo Alvarado are overseeing/training at Vivienda de Arriba.
They have been co-ordinating directly with the primary contacts in each community, & have pulled the pilots forward.
Let's see who turns up for training on Monday!!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
6th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 2
6th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Where: Montecillo de Nieto Kindergarten
When: 17 March 2010 12-1.30
Who: Elena & Laura (Rotary), Hector & Leon &(woman teacher) primary school teachers, +21 community members.
Purpose: Review the Pilot project, & plan the next phase – ie individual cisterns per families.
Chela was sick today, Elena & I decided it was to crucial to postpone, so we had the assembly without her.
We arrived at 12 & most of the women were still at the Primary school, there were inoculations going on today, kids & dogs!!
We gathered back at the kinder & began the assembly approx 12.20.
We asked if they had the book to take the roll, & Margarita had left it at home, so went home to get it, while we waited we chatted.
• They finished the cistern on the 21st January.
• The next week it rained & ¾ filled the cistern!
• Kids are drinking water from the cistern already
• The kids know how precious the water is, & they don´t touch the tap. The teacher fills a garafon.
• The teachers from the primary school came to the kinder meeting too – although they have an ecology dept. model rainwater collection system, it doesn´t work & they want one of our cisterns.
• We have 26 cisterns avail, 1 constructed, a list of 24 families, so one spare for the school potentially.
Margarita was voted co-ordinator of the meeting. & Enedina as record taker, it turned out that Margarita did both…
We called for agenda items:
• Attendance
• Review of what has been done to date
• When will the materials for the next phase arrive?
• Which houses will receive the materials first (planning next phase)
• How many cisterns can be being built simultaneously?
• Unity & communication in the community
• Program the next meeting date.
Item 1. Roll was called.
Item 2. Review of pilot project
Everyone was very happy with how the cistern turned out & the timing, ie just before it rained.
The kids are drinking the water, & everyone is very keen to have their own cisterns now (especially before the rains in June).
A comment about volunteers was “some came because they had to volunteer, others came because they wanted to learn”
There was one person who didn´t attend & 1 person who is not on the list who did attend the training days.
The person not attending has been removed & the new person invited to join the list (as per the meeting consensus).
Item 3. Materials/Planning for the next steps
I explained the next steps,
1. They needed to measure the tubes & elbows etc needed at their specific location. – they have done this, & have a list per family, per group.
2. They need to co-ordinate a time for the community & Rafael Cruz (who will be technical co-ordinator on this job – from the Los Torres team of Experts)… to come to check the measurements house by house. He suggested 5th April is soonest. They have his phone number & will co-ordinate direct.
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
6th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
3. When he goes to do the measurement he will also need to determine with the community where & when they wish to have the materials delivered.
4. Rafa will need to collate the order, 24 x the standard materials list, + each list of variable materials per family into one bulk order for the variables.
5. Suggest – 1 big order of the variable materials is delivered to 1 spot, & each family comes with their list & collects what they need.
6. The Standard materials (ie cement, mesh, wire etc) is delivered 2 cisterns per group at a time, until the cisterns are built & then order then next lot.
7. Rafa will need to place the order with the supplier. (NB we still need to sign the supplier contract, & negotiate best option)
There was some discussion re how to best build all the cisterns for each group. Gaston said he feels it´s better to do one cistern at a time, not 2 concurrently. Since there are only 6 families in each group this is probably a good idea.
Item 4. Unity & Communication
Elena talked about how important it is to communicate with eachother, for example the woman teacher from the primary across the road had not visited to see the cistern at the kinder…
Item 5 26th Cistern to be for the primary school
I asked the teachers why since they already have a 30,000 ltr tank supplied by Ecology, they want an additional cistern (they have 65 kids in the school). They explained it does not work, & to make it function properly more money has to be spent & the Eco. Dept wants to excavate & have a below ground tank. This project cost approx US$11k, I explained the big project providing 26 cisterns cost not much more than that.
The teachers agreed they did not want to spend more money on this other project, & really do want one of our cisterns.
The people in the meeting agreed since their kids all go to the school that the 26th cistern should go to the school. All groups will participate in the constr6ction, & only once all of the cisterns are built.
They will have keys to allow Rafa access to decide the best place to put the cistern at the school.
Item 6 important dates
Traspatio workshop at Los Torres 7th April (1st Wednesday each month)
Proposed check measurements date with Rafa 5th April
Proposed collation of order by Rafa 6th April,
Proposed place order by Rafa – to supplier – 7th April
Proposed 1st delivery of materials to community 8th April
Next Assembly in Montecillo de Nieto 21 April 12pm at Kinder
6th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
Where: Montecillo de Nieto Kindergarten
When: 17 March 2010 12-1.30
Who: Elena & Laura (Rotary), Hector & Leon &(woman teacher) primary school teachers, +21 community members.
Purpose: Review the Pilot project, & plan the next phase – ie individual cisterns per families.
Chela was sick today, Elena & I decided it was to crucial to postpone, so we had the assembly without her.
We arrived at 12 & most of the women were still at the Primary school, there were inoculations going on today, kids & dogs!!
We gathered back at the kinder & began the assembly approx 12.20.
We asked if they had the book to take the roll, & Margarita had left it at home, so went home to get it, while we waited we chatted.
• They finished the cistern on the 21st January.
• The next week it rained & ¾ filled the cistern!
• Kids are drinking water from the cistern already
• The kids know how precious the water is, & they don´t touch the tap. The teacher fills a garafon.
• The teachers from the primary school came to the kinder meeting too – although they have an ecology dept. model rainwater collection system, it doesn´t work & they want one of our cisterns.
• We have 26 cisterns avail, 1 constructed, a list of 24 families, so one spare for the school potentially.
Margarita was voted co-ordinator of the meeting. & Enedina as record taker, it turned out that Margarita did both…
We called for agenda items:
• Attendance
• Review of what has been done to date
• When will the materials for the next phase arrive?
• Which houses will receive the materials first (planning next phase)
• How many cisterns can be being built simultaneously?
• Unity & communication in the community
• Program the next meeting date.
Item 1. Roll was called.
Item 2. Review of pilot project
Everyone was very happy with how the cistern turned out & the timing, ie just before it rained.
The kids are drinking the water, & everyone is very keen to have their own cisterns now (especially before the rains in June).
A comment about volunteers was “some came because they had to volunteer, others came because they wanted to learn”
There was one person who didn´t attend & 1 person who is not on the list who did attend the training days.
The person not attending has been removed & the new person invited to join the list (as per the meeting consensus).
Item 3. Materials/Planning for the next steps
I explained the next steps,
1. They needed to measure the tubes & elbows etc needed at their specific location. – they have done this, & have a list per family, per group.
2. They need to co-ordinate a time for the community & Rafael Cruz (who will be technical co-ordinator on this job – from the Los Torres team of Experts)… to come to check the measurements house by house. He suggested 5th April is soonest. They have his phone number & will co-ordinate direct.
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
6th report of the SMA Midday Rotary Montecillo de Nieto Water Project
3. When he goes to do the measurement he will also need to determine with the community where & when they wish to have the materials delivered.
4. Rafa will need to collate the order, 24 x the standard materials list, + each list of variable materials per family into one bulk order for the variables.
5. Suggest – 1 big order of the variable materials is delivered to 1 spot, & each family comes with their list & collects what they need.
6. The Standard materials (ie cement, mesh, wire etc) is delivered 2 cisterns per group at a time, until the cisterns are built & then order then next lot.
7. Rafa will need to place the order with the supplier. (NB we still need to sign the supplier contract, & negotiate best option)
There was some discussion re how to best build all the cisterns for each group. Gaston said he feels it´s better to do one cistern at a time, not 2 concurrently. Since there are only 6 families in each group this is probably a good idea.
Item 4. Unity & Communication
Elena talked about how important it is to communicate with eachother, for example the woman teacher from the primary across the road had not visited to see the cistern at the kinder…
Item 5 26th Cistern to be for the primary school
I asked the teachers why since they already have a 30,000 ltr tank supplied by Ecology, they want an additional cistern (they have 65 kids in the school). They explained it does not work, & to make it function properly more money has to be spent & the Eco. Dept wants to excavate & have a below ground tank. This project cost approx US$11k, I explained the big project providing 26 cisterns cost not much more than that.
The teachers agreed they did not want to spend more money on this other project, & really do want one of our cisterns.
The people in the meeting agreed since their kids all go to the school that the 26th cistern should go to the school. All groups will participate in the constr6ction, & only once all of the cisterns are built.
They will have keys to allow Rafa access to decide the best place to put the cistern at the school.
Item 6 important dates
Traspatio workshop at Los Torres 7th April (1st Wednesday each month)
Proposed check measurements date with Rafa 5th April
Proposed collation of order by Rafa 6th April,
Proposed place order by Rafa – to supplier – 7th April
Proposed 1st delivery of materials to community 8th April
Next Assembly in Montecillo de Nieto 21 April 12pm at Kinder
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Report 2 on Vivienda de Arriba assembly, March 10, 2010
Report 2 on Vivienda de Arriba assembly, March 10, 2010
Report kindly written by Holly Yasui in Laura's absence.
We arrived at Vivienda de Arriba a Little before 3 p.m., and there was a small group of people from Tierra Blanca waiting outside the chapel, including Juana Granados and her son Fernando who attended the Water Day activities in Los Torres on March 5. They told us it was a 20-minute walk from Tierra Blanca to Vivienda de Arriba.
Ana Maria Torres, who has been our main contact in Vivienda de Arriba, arrived right on the dot at 3 p.m., saw that the gate was locked and went off to get a key. We entered the churchyard, and because it was very windy, decided to meet in a small room on the side of the chapel so that Chela could use the rotofolio without the pages flying around.
Holly passed her notebook around for a list of persons attending, and at 3:30 there were 14 people from Vivienda and 10 from Tierra Blanca. More arrived in the course of the meeting, see below the two groups formed for the training. Two weeks ago, Ana had asked us at the last Los Torres assembly if we could limit the number of people from Tierra Blanca at “their” (Vivienda’s) assemblies, and she made sure that the notebook that I passed around was signed first by people from Vivienda de Arriba, then the people from Tierra Blanca. (Note: after the meeting, in the privacy of her mother-in-law’s house, Ana told us that she felt that the people from Tierra Blanca were “troublesome” or “belligerent” - the word in Spanish is “conflictiva” - because at their water committee meetings, held in Tierra Blanca where the well is located, the Tierrablancans always steamroll over everyone else. As Chela and Holly were driving back to La Cieneguita, Chela explained that there is often conflict between large and small communities, especially as regards water for “newcomers” since the water committee is always a political football.)
Chela started the assembly off by asking the newcomers why they had come to this meeting, and then asking those who had attended the last assembly to explain the project. As in Cruz del Palmar in the morning, she discussed the difference between the government programs (only “Piso Firme” and “Oportunidades” have been promulgated in Vivienda de A) that owe the people attention, and nonprofit organizations like CEDESA and Rotary, which work with communities in solidarity. She emphasized that communities need to organize themselves in order to get the government to help them to solve their problems.
Chela also engaged the people at the meeting in a discussion of the contamination of water – whether or not it is contaminated, and why; also what they should use the water from rain-harvesting for (drinking and cooking only, not washing). She explained that there are three players in the rain-harvesting project: the community provides labor in mutual-aid groups (what they provide is: work, cooperation and participation in meetings and training), CEDESA helps the community to organize, and Rotary provides materials for the construction, and pays the trainers, who are men from Los Torres who learned how to make the cisterns during their initial project. She asked Holly to explain the training and construction process, which she did, starting with the weaving together of the two meshes, the raising of the frame, the application of cement, placing the spigot and water-level indicator tube, the door and connecting the pipes from the roof. Holly also mentioned the need for space next to their roofs for the cistern, and the number of days required to build them (4), as Laura had expressed concern that the people understand this clearly from the outset, since this was a problem at Lomas de San Josè.
Chela then focused on the people from Vivienda because, as she put it, a delegation from Vivienda has been attending the meetings at Los Torres since last October, so they have been waiting a long time for their project to begin whereas the people from Tierra Blanca have just begun the process.
The people from Vivienda decided to do their pilot project at the primary school (only 19 students there, but the kinder has only 6! It is a very small community), and split up into two groups as follows (names followed by asterisks are the team leaders):
GROUP 1
Ana Maria Torres*
Agripina Ramírez*
Lorena Vazquéz
Valentin (represented by his mother, Marcelina who lives in Cruz del Palmar)
Aurelia
Gloria*
Lorena Ramírez
Ana Isabel Ramírez
María de la Luz Ramírez
Alfredo Granados
GROUP 2
Ángela
Julia/Patricio Torres*
Maricela Granados*
Teresa Alvarado
Cristina Morales*
Irene López
Cirila Ramírez
María de Jesús
Natividad
Tomasa
The training will take place the week of April 5, concurrent with the training at Cruz del Palmar, if the Los Torres Consulting Team (equipo de asesoria) can do it then. Holly called Miguel Cruz in Los Torres to ask him to coordinate that with the other three on the team, and will call back on Friday, March 12 to confirm.
Next Assembly April 14th 3pm.
Report kindly written by Holly Yasui in Laura's absence.
We arrived at Vivienda de Arriba a Little before 3 p.m., and there was a small group of people from Tierra Blanca waiting outside the chapel, including Juana Granados and her son Fernando who attended the Water Day activities in Los Torres on March 5. They told us it was a 20-minute walk from Tierra Blanca to Vivienda de Arriba.
Ana Maria Torres, who has been our main contact in Vivienda de Arriba, arrived right on the dot at 3 p.m., saw that the gate was locked and went off to get a key. We entered the churchyard, and because it was very windy, decided to meet in a small room on the side of the chapel so that Chela could use the rotofolio without the pages flying around.
Holly passed her notebook around for a list of persons attending, and at 3:30 there were 14 people from Vivienda and 10 from Tierra Blanca. More arrived in the course of the meeting, see below the two groups formed for the training. Two weeks ago, Ana had asked us at the last Los Torres assembly if we could limit the number of people from Tierra Blanca at “their” (Vivienda’s) assemblies, and she made sure that the notebook that I passed around was signed first by people from Vivienda de Arriba, then the people from Tierra Blanca. (Note: after the meeting, in the privacy of her mother-in-law’s house, Ana told us that she felt that the people from Tierra Blanca were “troublesome” or “belligerent” - the word in Spanish is “conflictiva” - because at their water committee meetings, held in Tierra Blanca where the well is located, the Tierrablancans always steamroll over everyone else. As Chela and Holly were driving back to La Cieneguita, Chela explained that there is often conflict between large and small communities, especially as regards water for “newcomers” since the water committee is always a political football.)
Chela started the assembly off by asking the newcomers why they had come to this meeting, and then asking those who had attended the last assembly to explain the project. As in Cruz del Palmar in the morning, she discussed the difference between the government programs (only “Piso Firme” and “Oportunidades” have been promulgated in Vivienda de A) that owe the people attention, and nonprofit organizations like CEDESA and Rotary, which work with communities in solidarity. She emphasized that communities need to organize themselves in order to get the government to help them to solve their problems.
Chela also engaged the people at the meeting in a discussion of the contamination of water – whether or not it is contaminated, and why; also what they should use the water from rain-harvesting for (drinking and cooking only, not washing). She explained that there are three players in the rain-harvesting project: the community provides labor in mutual-aid groups (what they provide is: work, cooperation and participation in meetings and training), CEDESA helps the community to organize, and Rotary provides materials for the construction, and pays the trainers, who are men from Los Torres who learned how to make the cisterns during their initial project. She asked Holly to explain the training and construction process, which she did, starting with the weaving together of the two meshes, the raising of the frame, the application of cement, placing the spigot and water-level indicator tube, the door and connecting the pipes from the roof. Holly also mentioned the need for space next to their roofs for the cistern, and the number of days required to build them (4), as Laura had expressed concern that the people understand this clearly from the outset, since this was a problem at Lomas de San Josè.
Chela then focused on the people from Vivienda because, as she put it, a delegation from Vivienda has been attending the meetings at Los Torres since last October, so they have been waiting a long time for their project to begin whereas the people from Tierra Blanca have just begun the process.
The people from Vivienda decided to do their pilot project at the primary school (only 19 students there, but the kinder has only 6! It is a very small community), and split up into two groups as follows (names followed by asterisks are the team leaders):
GROUP 1
Ana Maria Torres*
Agripina Ramírez*
Lorena Vazquéz
Valentin (represented by his mother, Marcelina who lives in Cruz del Palmar)
Aurelia
Gloria*
Lorena Ramírez
Ana Isabel Ramírez
María de la Luz Ramírez
Alfredo Granados
GROUP 2
Ángela
Julia/Patricio Torres*
Maricela Granados*
Teresa Alvarado
Cristina Morales*
Irene López
Cirila Ramírez
María de Jesús
Natividad
Tomasa
The training will take place the week of April 5, concurrent with the training at Cruz del Palmar, if the Los Torres Consulting Team (equipo de asesoria) can do it then. Holly called Miguel Cruz in Los Torres to ask him to coordinate that with the other three on the team, and will call back on Friday, March 12 to confirm.
Next Assembly April 14th 3pm.
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar potential water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 4
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar potential water Project
Where: Cruz del Palmar Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Wed 10th March 11am – 1.30pm
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Holly Yasui & Chela Martinez (for Cedesa) 32 adults (incl. 2 men), + 15 kids.
Purpose: Planning for the next stage of the water project
Update: As a result of the change of Scope of the MG received for the community of Lomas de San Jose, (who recently declined our project for lack of numbers). we now have immediate funding for this community,
With this MG we have sufficient funding for 19 cisterns, 1 pilot & 18 individual family cisterns. Vivienda de Arriba (neighbouring community) will receive the other 19 cisterns.
Record of Event
We managed to arrive on time this time, after getting lost last time!
When we arrived Yolande had already created a circular seating arrangement out of planks & bricks.
The people slowly filtered in, & we began the assembly at 11.30.
Item 1 – Welcome
Chela welcomed everyone & asked how long they thought the meeting should be – everyone looked a bit blank, so Holly responded – ideally 1 hour.
Chela explained it’s important to meet & get to know eachother & to relate, & in the process of relating establish a relationship of trust between “you & us”...
Everyone was asked to introduce themselves – first names only to make it easier. There was some giggling as people are embarrassed to speak, one young woman introduced her mother instead, until we insisted she say her own name.
Chela invited everyone to call her Chela, not Senorita, she said she’s over that, & asked them to feel confident to speak.
They were asked for a show of hands as to who was here today, but not the previous meeting. (approx 10 people).
Chela said she would co-ordinate the meeting this time, but in future meetings they will will elect a co-ordinator & record taker each time.
Item 2 – explanation & background
Chela “why are you here today?”
Responses –
I have come to hear what the program is about,
To hear about the cisternas, I’m interested because we need water.
I live in the top part of CdP & we have a lot of problems with water, we suffer a lot.
I want to know if I’m on the list, if I’m not I’ll leave the meeting, I want to know more about it.
I live here & I went to Los Torres to ask what they have & how they got it, & to see “what you gave to them”...
Record of Event pg 2 of 4
I’m attending to get more info, 3rd hand is not so good, you have to find out for yourself, that’s why I’m here.
Chela “what is the objective of this meeting/reunion?”
Chela invited Laura (through Holly) to talk a little about our history working with Cedesa in Los Torres. (I gave a brief history).
Chela talked about Cedesa, it’s not a program, it’s a school to train people on organising. Chela also explained that Rotary was a large organisation with more than 30,000 clubs worldwide, a service organisation, voluntary. Without everyone on the team we can’t resolve this, we’re a team, with integral development being the goal or objective.
Rotary can not resolve all the issues, but with Cedesa training you can take control of your own issues & resolve them, by finding necessary resources.
We wish to collaborate with people in the region to resolve the issue of lack of safe drinking water.
Chela “what water problems do you have?”
- Contaminated water
- Can’t drink the water
- Often water is not there when we turn on the taps
- Water from the taps (if it is there) is not drinkable.
We are offering to assist with the construction of cisterns to catch water for drinking & cooking.
Chela “If you buy water, who get’s the $$$?”
- Santorini, Ciel, Bonafont, & these are owned by Coca Cola & Pepsi & Nestle – foreign ownership.
“how much do you spend on water weekly?”
- 80pesos, $100 pesos, $120 pesos (depending on family sizes)
A garafon is 20 litres so each litre is 1 peso.
52 wks x 80pesos = 4140 pesos per year, money they don’t have!
Cisterna is 12,000 litres & costs approx $8000 pesos, once, & then water is free from then on.
In 2 years you could have bought your own cistern!
This is the significance of water & cost in your household. Water is life, the subterranean water does not represent life for you guys, since it is contaminated in this region, rain water is life.
Chela”how is this affecting your family economy?”
Response – with giggles – we’re getting poorer & the companies are getting richer.
We – Cedesa & Rotary, come out of solidarity, the govt has a responsibility to respond to your issue. The govt. Administers $$$ but where do those $$$ come from? “us, Taxes”
They have a responsibility to help you with resources to resolve your drinking water issue – yes or no? “YES”.
Record of Event pg 3 of 4
Item 3 – planning phase
How many families are there in CdP? – 300
We can’t help 300 families but we can train people, & have an impact. We can train one group & they can train others & after you can ask Govt. For help with financial resources to purchase materials.
The first phase is training for you:
33 families on the list.
Community provides participation, labour to build.
Cedesa provides the training
Rotary provides $$$ for the materials.
The list needs to be divided into groups to learn the full process of construction.
If you can’t help with construction, you can contribute by bringing food & drink to the workers.
The training phase consists of a pilot of 4 days to build the cistern. The work involves
1. Crochet the wire
2. Mix concrete
3. Apply concrete
All things most people can do easily. The final application of the concrete is a little more specialist but there are people in your community who do this easily.
Whoever participates in the training will be the list of the people to receive their cisterns first.
Item 4 Pilot project plans
Where would you like to build the first cistern?
Primary 200 kids
Secondaria 900 kids
Kinder 50 kids
They decided the primary school, since they provide breakfast at school & it has the longest school day. They use 2 garafons of water per meal. One cistern will not be sufficient water for drinking for all the kids, but will help with the meal preparation.
The smallest kids are the most prone to health issues.
In CdP all the schools buy water, they ask the parents for donations for this.
There are 33 people here today, we need to work in groups, it was decided to have 3 groups of 11. Those in bold are the chosen leaders.
Record of Event pg 4 of 4
Group 1.
Lucia
Sonia
Maria
Teresa
Imelda
Jose Luis
Ester Maya
Juana
Irene
Marta
Martin
Group 2
Laura
Yola
Diana
Celia
Julia
Soledad
Elizabeth
Leticia
Olivia
Estela
Wencilada Group 3
Cristina
Nicolasa
Benita
Marcelina
Eva
Leticia N
Esther
Herminia
Maricela
Luisa
Domitilia
All the leaders need to take info re their groups, & ensure they all have sufficient space (2.5m) for the cistern.
The head of the PTA (Sonia) will check with the Teachers (since confirmed yes).
We arranged materials will be delivered on the 5th April, but since then Rafael (from Los Torres) who will be doing the training, went to visit & co-ordinate directly with the community & changed the date until 22nd March. (Materials to be delivered before then – Laura placed the order on the 17th March & made payment).
Proposed demo days are now 22, 23,24,25th March. 10am to 5pm.
Leaders are responsible for co-ordinating their groups, ie attendance, food & drink
They will need to bring tools
Wheel barrow, wire cutters, ganchos/hooks, trowels, shovels, ladder, buckets.
More than 2 people from each group will need to learn the entire process, ideally 4. So that for the individual cistern construction there are more experts.
The next assembly is planned for 14th April at 11am –
The community thanked us & departed, & Yolande invited us in for some lunch.
Delicious, beans with chorizo, nopal & tomato, torillas, beans & a guava drink.
We headed out full & happy at 2pm, Laura headed back to town to attend her son’s birthday dinner, & Chela & Holly went on to the 2nd assembly in Vivienda de Arriba.
2nd Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Cruz del Palmar potential water Project
Where: Cruz del Palmar Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Wed 10th March 11am – 1.30pm
Who: Laura Stewart (Rotary), Holly Yasui & Chela Martinez (for Cedesa) 32 adults (incl. 2 men), + 15 kids.
Purpose: Planning for the next stage of the water project
Update: As a result of the change of Scope of the MG received for the community of Lomas de San Jose, (who recently declined our project for lack of numbers). we now have immediate funding for this community,
With this MG we have sufficient funding for 19 cisterns, 1 pilot & 18 individual family cisterns. Vivienda de Arriba (neighbouring community) will receive the other 19 cisterns.
Record of Event
We managed to arrive on time this time, after getting lost last time!
When we arrived Yolande had already created a circular seating arrangement out of planks & bricks.
The people slowly filtered in, & we began the assembly at 11.30.
Item 1 – Welcome
Chela welcomed everyone & asked how long they thought the meeting should be – everyone looked a bit blank, so Holly responded – ideally 1 hour.
Chela explained it’s important to meet & get to know eachother & to relate, & in the process of relating establish a relationship of trust between “you & us”...
Everyone was asked to introduce themselves – first names only to make it easier. There was some giggling as people are embarrassed to speak, one young woman introduced her mother instead, until we insisted she say her own name.
Chela invited everyone to call her Chela, not Senorita, she said she’s over that, & asked them to feel confident to speak.
They were asked for a show of hands as to who was here today, but not the previous meeting. (approx 10 people).
Chela said she would co-ordinate the meeting this time, but in future meetings they will will elect a co-ordinator & record taker each time.
Item 2 – explanation & background
Chela “why are you here today?”
Responses –
I have come to hear what the program is about,
To hear about the cisternas, I’m interested because we need water.
I live in the top part of CdP & we have a lot of problems with water, we suffer a lot.
I want to know if I’m on the list, if I’m not I’ll leave the meeting, I want to know more about it.
I live here & I went to Los Torres to ask what they have & how they got it, & to see “what you gave to them”...
Record of Event pg 2 of 4
I’m attending to get more info, 3rd hand is not so good, you have to find out for yourself, that’s why I’m here.
Chela “what is the objective of this meeting/reunion?”
Chela invited Laura (through Holly) to talk a little about our history working with Cedesa in Los Torres. (I gave a brief history).
Chela talked about Cedesa, it’s not a program, it’s a school to train people on organising. Chela also explained that Rotary was a large organisation with more than 30,000 clubs worldwide, a service organisation, voluntary. Without everyone on the team we can’t resolve this, we’re a team, with integral development being the goal or objective.
Rotary can not resolve all the issues, but with Cedesa training you can take control of your own issues & resolve them, by finding necessary resources.
We wish to collaborate with people in the region to resolve the issue of lack of safe drinking water.
Chela “what water problems do you have?”
- Contaminated water
- Can’t drink the water
- Often water is not there when we turn on the taps
- Water from the taps (if it is there) is not drinkable.
We are offering to assist with the construction of cisterns to catch water for drinking & cooking.
Chela “If you buy water, who get’s the $$$?”
- Santorini, Ciel, Bonafont, & these are owned by Coca Cola & Pepsi & Nestle – foreign ownership.
“how much do you spend on water weekly?”
- 80pesos, $100 pesos, $120 pesos (depending on family sizes)
A garafon is 20 litres so each litre is 1 peso.
52 wks x 80pesos = 4140 pesos per year, money they don’t have!
Cisterna is 12,000 litres & costs approx $8000 pesos, once, & then water is free from then on.
In 2 years you could have bought your own cistern!
This is the significance of water & cost in your household. Water is life, the subterranean water does not represent life for you guys, since it is contaminated in this region, rain water is life.
Chela”how is this affecting your family economy?”
Response – with giggles – we’re getting poorer & the companies are getting richer.
We – Cedesa & Rotary, come out of solidarity, the govt has a responsibility to respond to your issue. The govt. Administers $$$ but where do those $$$ come from? “us, Taxes”
They have a responsibility to help you with resources to resolve your drinking water issue – yes or no? “YES”.
Record of Event pg 3 of 4
Item 3 – planning phase
How many families are there in CdP? – 300
We can’t help 300 families but we can train people, & have an impact. We can train one group & they can train others & after you can ask Govt. For help with financial resources to purchase materials.
The first phase is training for you:
33 families on the list.
Community provides participation, labour to build.
Cedesa provides the training
Rotary provides $$$ for the materials.
The list needs to be divided into groups to learn the full process of construction.
If you can’t help with construction, you can contribute by bringing food & drink to the workers.
The training phase consists of a pilot of 4 days to build the cistern. The work involves
1. Crochet the wire
2. Mix concrete
3. Apply concrete
All things most people can do easily. The final application of the concrete is a little more specialist but there are people in your community who do this easily.
Whoever participates in the training will be the list of the people to receive their cisterns first.
Item 4 Pilot project plans
Where would you like to build the first cistern?
Primary 200 kids
Secondaria 900 kids
Kinder 50 kids
They decided the primary school, since they provide breakfast at school & it has the longest school day. They use 2 garafons of water per meal. One cistern will not be sufficient water for drinking for all the kids, but will help with the meal preparation.
The smallest kids are the most prone to health issues.
In CdP all the schools buy water, they ask the parents for donations for this.
There are 33 people here today, we need to work in groups, it was decided to have 3 groups of 11. Those in bold are the chosen leaders.
Record of Event pg 4 of 4
Group 1.
Lucia
Sonia
Maria
Teresa
Imelda
Jose Luis
Ester Maya
Juana
Irene
Marta
Martin
Group 2
Laura
Yola
Diana
Celia
Julia
Soledad
Elizabeth
Leticia
Olivia
Estela
Wencilada Group 3
Cristina
Nicolasa
Benita
Marcelina
Eva
Leticia N
Esther
Herminia
Maricela
Luisa
Domitilia
All the leaders need to take info re their groups, & ensure they all have sufficient space (2.5m) for the cistern.
The head of the PTA (Sonia) will check with the Teachers (since confirmed yes).
We arranged materials will be delivered on the 5th April, but since then Rafael (from Los Torres) who will be doing the training, went to visit & co-ordinate directly with the community & changed the date until 22nd March. (Materials to be delivered before then – Laura placed the order on the 17th March & made payment).
Proposed demo days are now 22, 23,24,25th March. 10am to 5pm.
Leaders are responsible for co-ordinating their groups, ie attendance, food & drink
They will need to bring tools
Wheel barrow, wire cutters, ganchos/hooks, trowels, shovels, ladder, buckets.
More than 2 people from each group will need to learn the entire process, ideally 4. So that for the individual cistern construction there are more experts.
The next assembly is planned for 14th April at 11am –
The community thanked us & departed, & Yolande invited us in for some lunch.
Delicious, beans with chorizo, nopal & tomato, torillas, beans & a guava drink.
We headed out full & happy at 2pm, Laura headed back to town to attend her son’s birthday dinner, & Chela & Holly went on to the 2nd assembly in Vivienda de Arriba.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Water Info Day 36th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Record of Event pg 1 of 2
36th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: Los Torres Primary School – Water Information Day
When: 5th March 11-2pm
Who: Chela, Holly, Gerardo (Holly’s partner) + Jesus (Cedesa), Laura (San Miguel Midday), Laura, Tony & Caroline, representing SMA Midday Rotary, Jonathan Murray (visiting Rotarian from Nova Scotia), Jim Grant – representing San Miguel Community Foundation (SMCF) & later Julio, from Ecology Department.
Purpose/ Objective:
To inform the kids at Los Torres Primary of the issues re water in their region, at home & at school, & make them responsible guardians of the water in the cisterns at their school.
Many of the children have parents involved in the water project, & have already been educated by their parents as to the importance of water conservation, turning taps off tightly etc.
Jesus has been working with Cedesa & has put a plan together for the Water Info day. He provided me with a very comprehensive planning paper in Spanish. (I have this on file).
Description of the day:
Laura & the visitors met at the Fabrica Aurora car park & drove in 2 vehicles to Los Torres.
We arrived in Los Torres about 10.50 & found a hive of action. People were already at their “stations”, tables were set up with women ready to serve food (later), & Jesus was buzzing around making sure people knew the plan & their roles in it.
The visitors were immediately put to work assembling the bracelets (mentioned below), they joked about being qualified or not, since we had lawyers, a teacher & a surgeon amongst us!
Gerardo was at the ready with water bottles to hand out to the kids. The water bottles served as both prizes for attending & participating, but also as a method to conserve water. The kids did not previously use water bottles at school, when they were thirsty they went to the tap & slurped the water as it gushed past! By giving them all bottles, we hope they fill them (without waste) & drink more water as a result.
The groups had been created, 7 x 12, & each group came out of the classroom, lined up & received their water bottles.
Marker pens were passed around & the kids wrote their names on their bottles...
Each group went to each of the 7 stations to begin the “rally”.
At each of the stations was a small team of adults, a devil, an angel & a leader. The leader talked about the topic of the station, eg the hydrolic cycle, or salt water v fresh water on Earth, or methods of conserving water, or sources of water in their community...
The kids had to answer the questions correctly & receive a “bead”, the devil was their to tempt them with the wrong answers & the angel the opposite!
After each of the groups had visited all 7 tables, their beads were tallied up & the winning team were rewarded with the position of Guardian of Water (with a bracelet to signify their position), others were also given the opportunity to volunteer for the role of Guardian, & were voted by their peers, the top 6 contenders also joined the Guardian team... About 10 kids volunteered for the role!
While all this was going on, the kinder kids arrived & joined in, & there were many young kids & babies also running around, these guys were all very happy to receive a water bottle too, & within minutes were rushing to fill them from the cisterns, I hovered at the cisterns for a while to see how they did, & they were all very specific about turning the tap on & off & not wasting a drop!
I noticed they have also put small containers under the taps to catch any drips, & then use these to water the plants (their idea!).
One of the Teachers at the school participated, & the others watched with smiling faces.
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
At the conclusion of the rally, once the winners were awarded their bracelets, Concha & Saul, showed a big poster they had created to describe the water situation in Los Torres historically, Concha spoke loudly & well & involved all the kids, who yelled answers back to her questions... I congratulated her later & she admitted that 4 of the women had stayed up til midnight the night before to finish the poster, & that she’d had lots of practice yelling in her life, which was why she was so good at speaking loudly to the crowd of kids!
I couldn’t believe how involved these kids were in the day, at school events in my past, I’ve seen kids running around like mad things just to be outside, these guys were very quiet, & interested & took the whole process very seriously, but at the same time had a lot of laughs with Jesus playing the clown...
When it was all finished, the mums set up food stations & handed out delicious nutritious food to everyone, tostadas with refried beans & lettuce & cheese, tacos with soya, tomato, cilantro & onion, & other yummy snacks. We all ate lots!
Tony was called into duty to help remove a flat tyre Julio discovered when he went to leave. He met Rafael (one of the Los Torres cistern expert team) & between 4 guys managed to get the tyre replaced... Something about oxidised nuts making the process harder!
This day far exceeded my expectations – it was very professionally executed, the kids learnt a lot, & proved how much they already knew! All ages participated, even the littlies knew more than the big ones in some cases... & most importantly they all had fun!
It was great to see the kids leaving sipping on water from their new bottles, instead of the usual soda’s or plastic bags filled with cordial...
Everyone headed home tired & full, a good day was had by all!
Next event 24th March – Los Torres Assembly.
See photos at this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/WaterProjectLTWaterInfoDay2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCOTh-J_ytbaHyAE&feat=directlink
36th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres
Where: Los Torres Primary School – Water Information Day
When: 5th March 11-2pm
Who: Chela, Holly, Gerardo (Holly’s partner) + Jesus (Cedesa), Laura (San Miguel Midday), Laura, Tony & Caroline, representing SMA Midday Rotary, Jonathan Murray (visiting Rotarian from Nova Scotia), Jim Grant – representing San Miguel Community Foundation (SMCF) & later Julio, from Ecology Department.
Purpose/ Objective:
To inform the kids at Los Torres Primary of the issues re water in their region, at home & at school, & make them responsible guardians of the water in the cisterns at their school.
Many of the children have parents involved in the water project, & have already been educated by their parents as to the importance of water conservation, turning taps off tightly etc.
Jesus has been working with Cedesa & has put a plan together for the Water Info day. He provided me with a very comprehensive planning paper in Spanish. (I have this on file).
Description of the day:
Laura & the visitors met at the Fabrica Aurora car park & drove in 2 vehicles to Los Torres.
We arrived in Los Torres about 10.50 & found a hive of action. People were already at their “stations”, tables were set up with women ready to serve food (later), & Jesus was buzzing around making sure people knew the plan & their roles in it.
The visitors were immediately put to work assembling the bracelets (mentioned below), they joked about being qualified or not, since we had lawyers, a teacher & a surgeon amongst us!
Gerardo was at the ready with water bottles to hand out to the kids. The water bottles served as both prizes for attending & participating, but also as a method to conserve water. The kids did not previously use water bottles at school, when they were thirsty they went to the tap & slurped the water as it gushed past! By giving them all bottles, we hope they fill them (without waste) & drink more water as a result.
The groups had been created, 7 x 12, & each group came out of the classroom, lined up & received their water bottles.
Marker pens were passed around & the kids wrote their names on their bottles...
Each group went to each of the 7 stations to begin the “rally”.
At each of the stations was a small team of adults, a devil, an angel & a leader. The leader talked about the topic of the station, eg the hydrolic cycle, or salt water v fresh water on Earth, or methods of conserving water, or sources of water in their community...
The kids had to answer the questions correctly & receive a “bead”, the devil was their to tempt them with the wrong answers & the angel the opposite!
After each of the groups had visited all 7 tables, their beads were tallied up & the winning team were rewarded with the position of Guardian of Water (with a bracelet to signify their position), others were also given the opportunity to volunteer for the role of Guardian, & were voted by their peers, the top 6 contenders also joined the Guardian team... About 10 kids volunteered for the role!
While all this was going on, the kinder kids arrived & joined in, & there were many young kids & babies also running around, these guys were all very happy to receive a water bottle too, & within minutes were rushing to fill them from the cisterns, I hovered at the cisterns for a while to see how they did, & they were all very specific about turning the tap on & off & not wasting a drop!
I noticed they have also put small containers under the taps to catch any drips, & then use these to water the plants (their idea!).
One of the Teachers at the school participated, & the others watched with smiling faces.
Record of Event pg 2 of 2
At the conclusion of the rally, once the winners were awarded their bracelets, Concha & Saul, showed a big poster they had created to describe the water situation in Los Torres historically, Concha spoke loudly & well & involved all the kids, who yelled answers back to her questions... I congratulated her later & she admitted that 4 of the women had stayed up til midnight the night before to finish the poster, & that she’d had lots of practice yelling in her life, which was why she was so good at speaking loudly to the crowd of kids!
I couldn’t believe how involved these kids were in the day, at school events in my past, I’ve seen kids running around like mad things just to be outside, these guys were very quiet, & interested & took the whole process very seriously, but at the same time had a lot of laughs with Jesus playing the clown...
When it was all finished, the mums set up food stations & handed out delicious nutritious food to everyone, tostadas with refried beans & lettuce & cheese, tacos with soya, tomato, cilantro & onion, & other yummy snacks. We all ate lots!
Tony was called into duty to help remove a flat tyre Julio discovered when he went to leave. He met Rafael (one of the Los Torres cistern expert team) & between 4 guys managed to get the tyre replaced... Something about oxidised nuts making the process harder!
This day far exceeded my expectations – it was very professionally executed, the kids learnt a lot, & proved how much they already knew! All ages participated, even the littlies knew more than the big ones in some cases... & most importantly they all had fun!
It was great to see the kids leaving sipping on water from their new bottles, instead of the usual soda’s or plastic bags filled with cordial...
Everyone headed home tired & full, a good day was had by all!
Next event 24th March – Los Torres Assembly.
See photos at this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lauramex/WaterProjectLTWaterInfoDay2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCOTh-J_ytbaHyAE&feat=directlink
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Capaderillo potential water Project
Record of Event pg 1 of 4
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Capaderillo potential water Project
Where: Capaderillo Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Wed 3rd March 12pm
Who: Elena Padilla & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Holly Yasui & Chela Martinez (for Cedesa) + 33 adults (including 6 men) & 10 kids.
Purpose: Preliminary Assembly re potential future water project in this community
History: Capaderillo is beside the Presa, on the road to Cruz del Palmar, approx 30mins by bike to Los Torres, the community we carried out the first water cistern project with.
Saul Juarez, a young man who lives in Capaderillo has attended several assemblies at Los Torres & CdP & VdA.
He is very keen to organise a project in his community & had done preliminary organising to inform the community, about the potential project & to attend the assembly. He has a list of names, but there are more people at today’s assembly so he will revise the list.
We arrived at 12pm, Saul was waiting & took us to the house at which the meeting was held. There were approx 15 people there when we arrived, many more arrived in the next 15 mins, we started the meeting as 12.15. Here are some discussion points before the meeting started.
Some facts:
• Capaderillo is ver close to Guerro & Vivienda de Abajo, school & kindergarten are almost neighbouring, yet they are in different communities.
• Capadarillo has approx 60 families.
• Some people are participating in a govt opportunities program & they will have a better census.
• A lot of the land here is Ejido (community co-op), approx 22-25 Ejiditarios.
• Majority do not have land rights, or land parcels.
• Parents have sold the land not realising the consequences, a comment was, “they think they can’t take it with them so may as well have the money to spend, rather than leave the land to their kids”...
• Saul has approx 40 people on the list at this point, after going door to door to explain the project.
• Kinder in Vivienda de Abajo has approx 50 kids
• Primary school in Capaerillo has approx 150 kids
• Telesecondaria in Vivienda De Abajo has approx 80 kids
• Women carry wáter to the schools from their own Wells.
Chela asked Elena to give an introduction, she talked about land is like children, we can’t really own it, but guide it & nurture it, & give it water & life.
Item 1: Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & gave a little background about our work together. Chela described the history of our relationship with Cedesa, starting with the diploma in water studies Cedesa gave for 8mths with UNAM. She described briefly the aquifer, & situation with contamination of fluoride in this area. She listed some of the health issues caused & this is why Cedesa & Rotary are working together with the communities to solve this.
Record of Event pg 2 of 4
Chela gave a history of the project in Los Torres & that’s where we met Saul Juarez. He has attended 2 assemblies in Los Torres & 1 in Vivienda de Arriba.
The community was then asked to introduce themselves.
Starting with Saul, who has been living in Capaderillo for 2 years, originally from Dolores Hidalgo. He saw & heard Chela & was interested in a water project for Capaderillo because of the extreme contamination in this area, not just affecting teeth, but also bones & brain & all major organs. He implored the community to show their interest & attend meetings.
Each person introduced themselves.
It was very funny as almost 90% of the people were either Ramirez, Ramirez Ramirez or Lopez Ramirez!
Item 2 What problems with water do you have here?
• They only have family wells, no other water (no truck deliveries, or bottled water)
• Everyone drinks well water, & the wells are contaminated at a level of approx 4mg/l (1.5mg p/l is maximum safe level).
• The clinic has told them the water is not safe to drink, they must boil it or add chlorine!
• The men were asked to comment, & they said they don’t know, they never go to the clinic.
• The wells are anywhere from 12 to 30 mtrs deep
• They have never analysed the water, they don’t know how or where
• Neighbouring Guerrero & Vivienda de Abajo are the same
• One woman (incidentally from Guerrero) comments, they need to analyse the water, they know there is a lot of fluoride in the region, the damage is obvious in the teeth, but she believes bones are also brittle, there have been cases of kids falling off burros & breaking bones easily
Chela explained some of the ill health affects of fluoride contamination, kidneys filter water, but fluoride builds up in the kidneys & escapes into the blood, which affects the brain & all the major organs. Every internal organ is affected, the kids are smaller & when they have problems concentrating or learning it can be attributed to fluoride poisoning.
We can’t solve the problem it has to be a collaboration. Have any authorities come to help or advise of this problem? “no!”
No-one from Sapasma, Ecology, the presidencia? “no”
Chela “I have lots of work at Cedesa & so does Rotary, & Holly, but we are motivated to assist you if you want assistance with this issue, you will need to raise the consciousness of the community regarding this issue. We are here to help resolve this, but one important point is organisation – Saul Juarez is very motivated to help organise – do you think this is a problem?”
Someone responded “ it’s a big problem, for us & for our kids when they drink the water!”
Chela then talked more about fluoride, where it comes from & what alternatives there are for removing it.
Record of Event pg 3 of 4
With demonstration & discussion about what happens to salt in the water, she explained that boiling actually worsens the problem. The good water evaporates into steam & you are left with even more concentrated fluoride in the boiled water. So boiling is not a good option.
Chlorine is a chemical & not good for humans, so not a good option either.
She explained the fluoride is naturally occurring & is in the water for many 1000’s of years, she talked about the rain cycle, & where the water comes from, & the rocks & gravel in this area contain fluoride.
The first deep well was drilled in 1958 & since then water usage from the aquifer has been extreme, for agribusiness, hence the aquifer is reducing at a much faster rate than it is being recharged by the rains. (only 1 mtr per year permeation).
Toilets also contaminate the water, & she talked about bacteria a little.
She called for suggestions of how they could solve their own water issue.
Alma suggested catching water in a hole in the ground, dug as a “dam”, or in big buckets.
There are 2 ways to have safe drinking water here.
1. Catching rain water from the roof & storing in Cisterns
2. Distilling water with a solar distiller. (ie catching the steam)
Saul described the cisterns Los Torres have built, including the process, ie Rotary supplying the materials, & the people building them with training from Cedesa.
Round cisterns are better than subterranean square ones, easier to build & easier to retrieve water from & keep clean.
The water caught during the rainy season will last the whole year for drinking & cooking for a family up to 14 people.
“it’s important to get organised – how can you generate resources?”
“from Rotary & Cedesa, but also from the local govt. & sapasma & Ecology dept”
It costs approx $8000 per cistern, how can you make this happen?
Do you have the $$$? “no!”
How can you help? “we have hands – we can work”.
Chela explained that with solidarity & collaboration with Rotary, we have been raising funds & resources but there are limits & time constraints.
They decided they would like to make an application to govt. & Laura has volunteered to help with this, since she is already meeting with Govt. on a monthly basis on the topic of water, she will ask for a meeting time for the community to meet & put their case.
Chela asked who is interested in this project – a resounding yes!
It’s voluntary & requires motivation & participation, & involvement. You are busy with the problem, you need to get busy with the solution!
Record of Event pg 4 of 4
The beginnings of organisation was described, creating an application explaining the issue, Saul has an idea of what’s needed, as they did on recently for the church. Another woman is working with a group currently to apply for dry toilets.
A mini commission was established
Saul, Juana, Elvia, Hermelinda, Marino & Reynalda.
They will split into 2 groups of 3 & door know the entire community spreading the word & taking names of interested families.
They will ask number of people in family, the list must be of people not just interested but “committed” & they will also look at the placement of the cistern during the visit.
Action Saul volunteered to have the list by Friday, he will be attending the water info. Day at Los Torres Primary school that we have planned, & he will present the list then.
Action Laura will take the list to the Sapasma meeting on the 11th March, & ask for a meeting time for the community.
Action Laura to add the number of cisterns required for Kinder, School & Telesecondaria to the individual families list.
Next meeting scheduled for 7th April same house, at 11am
(Guerrero woman is Salud Ramirez, & she is going to make preliminary enquiries in her community,)
(On 5th March, Saul came to the Water Info Day, & participated as planned, he also bought with him the list of 54 families interested in participating in a water project in their community)
1st Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Capaderillo potential water Project
Where: Capaderillo Community (40 mins from SMA)
When: Wed 3rd March 12pm
Who: Elena Padilla & Laura Stewart (Rotary), Holly Yasui & Chela Martinez (for Cedesa) + 33 adults (including 6 men) & 10 kids.
Purpose: Preliminary Assembly re potential future water project in this community
History: Capaderillo is beside the Presa, on the road to Cruz del Palmar, approx 30mins by bike to Los Torres, the community we carried out the first water cistern project with.
Saul Juarez, a young man who lives in Capaderillo has attended several assemblies at Los Torres & CdP & VdA.
He is very keen to organise a project in his community & had done preliminary organising to inform the community, about the potential project & to attend the assembly. He has a list of names, but there are more people at today’s assembly so he will revise the list.
We arrived at 12pm, Saul was waiting & took us to the house at which the meeting was held. There were approx 15 people there when we arrived, many more arrived in the next 15 mins, we started the meeting as 12.15. Here are some discussion points before the meeting started.
Some facts:
• Capaderillo is ver close to Guerro & Vivienda de Abajo, school & kindergarten are almost neighbouring, yet they are in different communities.
• Capadarillo has approx 60 families.
• Some people are participating in a govt opportunities program & they will have a better census.
• A lot of the land here is Ejido (community co-op), approx 22-25 Ejiditarios.
• Majority do not have land rights, or land parcels.
• Parents have sold the land not realising the consequences, a comment was, “they think they can’t take it with them so may as well have the money to spend, rather than leave the land to their kids”...
• Saul has approx 40 people on the list at this point, after going door to door to explain the project.
• Kinder in Vivienda de Abajo has approx 50 kids
• Primary school in Capaerillo has approx 150 kids
• Telesecondaria in Vivienda De Abajo has approx 80 kids
• Women carry wáter to the schools from their own Wells.
Chela asked Elena to give an introduction, she talked about land is like children, we can’t really own it, but guide it & nurture it, & give it water & life.
Item 1: Introductions
We all introduced ourselves & gave a little background about our work together. Chela described the history of our relationship with Cedesa, starting with the diploma in water studies Cedesa gave for 8mths with UNAM. She described briefly the aquifer, & situation with contamination of fluoride in this area. She listed some of the health issues caused & this is why Cedesa & Rotary are working together with the communities to solve this.
Record of Event pg 2 of 4
Chela gave a history of the project in Los Torres & that’s where we met Saul Juarez. He has attended 2 assemblies in Los Torres & 1 in Vivienda de Arriba.
The community was then asked to introduce themselves.
Starting with Saul, who has been living in Capaderillo for 2 years, originally from Dolores Hidalgo. He saw & heard Chela & was interested in a water project for Capaderillo because of the extreme contamination in this area, not just affecting teeth, but also bones & brain & all major organs. He implored the community to show their interest & attend meetings.
Each person introduced themselves.
It was very funny as almost 90% of the people were either Ramirez, Ramirez Ramirez or Lopez Ramirez!
Item 2 What problems with water do you have here?
• They only have family wells, no other water (no truck deliveries, or bottled water)
• Everyone drinks well water, & the wells are contaminated at a level of approx 4mg/l (1.5mg p/l is maximum safe level).
• The clinic has told them the water is not safe to drink, they must boil it or add chlorine!
• The men were asked to comment, & they said they don’t know, they never go to the clinic.
• The wells are anywhere from 12 to 30 mtrs deep
• They have never analysed the water, they don’t know how or where
• Neighbouring Guerrero & Vivienda de Abajo are the same
• One woman (incidentally from Guerrero) comments, they need to analyse the water, they know there is a lot of fluoride in the region, the damage is obvious in the teeth, but she believes bones are also brittle, there have been cases of kids falling off burros & breaking bones easily
Chela explained some of the ill health affects of fluoride contamination, kidneys filter water, but fluoride builds up in the kidneys & escapes into the blood, which affects the brain & all the major organs. Every internal organ is affected, the kids are smaller & when they have problems concentrating or learning it can be attributed to fluoride poisoning.
We can’t solve the problem it has to be a collaboration. Have any authorities come to help or advise of this problem? “no!”
No-one from Sapasma, Ecology, the presidencia? “no”
Chela “I have lots of work at Cedesa & so does Rotary, & Holly, but we are motivated to assist you if you want assistance with this issue, you will need to raise the consciousness of the community regarding this issue. We are here to help resolve this, but one important point is organisation – Saul Juarez is very motivated to help organise – do you think this is a problem?”
Someone responded “ it’s a big problem, for us & for our kids when they drink the water!”
Chela then talked more about fluoride, where it comes from & what alternatives there are for removing it.
Record of Event pg 3 of 4
With demonstration & discussion about what happens to salt in the water, she explained that boiling actually worsens the problem. The good water evaporates into steam & you are left with even more concentrated fluoride in the boiled water. So boiling is not a good option.
Chlorine is a chemical & not good for humans, so not a good option either.
She explained the fluoride is naturally occurring & is in the water for many 1000’s of years, she talked about the rain cycle, & where the water comes from, & the rocks & gravel in this area contain fluoride.
The first deep well was drilled in 1958 & since then water usage from the aquifer has been extreme, for agribusiness, hence the aquifer is reducing at a much faster rate than it is being recharged by the rains. (only 1 mtr per year permeation).
Toilets also contaminate the water, & she talked about bacteria a little.
She called for suggestions of how they could solve their own water issue.
Alma suggested catching water in a hole in the ground, dug as a “dam”, or in big buckets.
There are 2 ways to have safe drinking water here.
1. Catching rain water from the roof & storing in Cisterns
2. Distilling water with a solar distiller. (ie catching the steam)
Saul described the cisterns Los Torres have built, including the process, ie Rotary supplying the materials, & the people building them with training from Cedesa.
Round cisterns are better than subterranean square ones, easier to build & easier to retrieve water from & keep clean.
The water caught during the rainy season will last the whole year for drinking & cooking for a family up to 14 people.
“it’s important to get organised – how can you generate resources?”
“from Rotary & Cedesa, but also from the local govt. & sapasma & Ecology dept”
It costs approx $8000 per cistern, how can you make this happen?
Do you have the $$$? “no!”
How can you help? “we have hands – we can work”.
Chela explained that with solidarity & collaboration with Rotary, we have been raising funds & resources but there are limits & time constraints.
They decided they would like to make an application to govt. & Laura has volunteered to help with this, since she is already meeting with Govt. on a monthly basis on the topic of water, she will ask for a meeting time for the community to meet & put their case.
Chela asked who is interested in this project – a resounding yes!
It’s voluntary & requires motivation & participation, & involvement. You are busy with the problem, you need to get busy with the solution!
Record of Event pg 4 of 4
The beginnings of organisation was described, creating an application explaining the issue, Saul has an idea of what’s needed, as they did on recently for the church. Another woman is working with a group currently to apply for dry toilets.
A mini commission was established
Saul, Juana, Elvia, Hermelinda, Marino & Reynalda.
They will split into 2 groups of 3 & door know the entire community spreading the word & taking names of interested families.
They will ask number of people in family, the list must be of people not just interested but “committed” & they will also look at the placement of the cistern during the visit.
Action Saul volunteered to have the list by Friday, he will be attending the water info. Day at Los Torres Primary school that we have planned, & he will present the list then.
Action Laura will take the list to the Sapasma meeting on the 11th March, & ask for a meeting time for the community.
Action Laura to add the number of cisterns required for Kinder, School & Telesecondaria to the individual families list.
Next meeting scheduled for 7th April same house, at 11am
(Guerrero woman is Salud Ramirez, & she is going to make preliminary enquiries in her community,)
(On 5th March, Saul came to the Water Info Day, & participated as planned, he also bought with him the list of 54 families interested in participating in a water project in their community)
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