Cienega Phase II Pilot

On Monday 28th the Pilot in Cienega Juana Ruiz began.

This is phase II in this community funded by Sapasma Project II.

The pilot was being conducted at a private house & 17 other individual cisterns will be constructed in this phase, adding to the 26 cisterns completed in the first phase.

Total number of cisterns in this community will then be 42.

Saul conducted the training with assistance by Fili & on the 29th Saul's 2nd baby - Emiliano was born.

The families of Cienega are currently constructing the remaining 17 cisterns & are due to complete around the middle of January.

Presita de Santa Rosa Pilot 21st-25th Nov

The Pilot at the Presita de Santa Rosa Primary School went ahead on the 21st to the 25th November.

This pilot was funded by a private Donor - Chris Hosford, as part of the Sapasma Project II, where by the time the funding was received the prices had risen & we were no longer able to completed what we had committed to 3 mths earlier... Thankfully we have people like Chris to come to our rescue...

20 individual cisterns are being constructed by the families participating in this first phase at Presita de Santa Rosa, as part of the Sapasma Project II (funding in total 59 cisterns).

Unusually there were a majority of men working at the Pilot, when I jokingly referred to the fact that it was usually the women working & the men only on weekends, sadly they said they were on "compulsory" vacation ie they were all out of work.

They are currently all working on their individual family cisterns now & due to be finished approx middle of January...

44th Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Los Torres

Where: Los Torres Community Pilot Project private house

When: 14.11.11

Who: Saul, (Cedesa), Miguel Cruz (technician) Denis & Laura (Rotary), 27 adults plus 5 kids

Purpose:

1^st Day of Pilot training session (train the trainer type) for Phase III of Los Torres Water project, This project funded as part of the Sapasma Project II grant.

Denis & I arrived approx. 10.45am the session was well underway & had begun at 8.30.

The materials had been delivered as requested, by Hierro Comercial Dolores Hidalgo, on Friday afternoon.

The first phase was almost completed, the women & some men were weaving the chicken wire either side of the electrosoldered maya. They were using ganchos (hooks) created by grinding down cut pieces of the maya. This community has done 2 other phases + cisterns at the kinder & School so they were fairly well versed in the phases, & were working quickly to complete the weaving.

Next was to cut the length for the cylinder & for the cone top, & flat base. The cylinder was joined to the flat base. 2 of the guys worked on the inside of the cylinder & Denis & I joked about how the heck they were going to get out, since they had joined the bottom. Saul explained when finished they would tip the cylinder (with bottom attached) on it’s side & they guys would climb out.

Everyone was in good spirits & many people working.

Delivery of the maya & wire had been made for the families to begin work on their cisterns at night after the pilot, the delivery had been made to one place as it turned out the co-ordinator was not present when the truck arrived to guide them to each participant’s house. The groups therefore had to work out delivery of the maya & mesh on their own.

We congratulated everyone & left.

This was Denis’ first visit to Los Torres & we noted how particularly dry the terrain is, since rainy season (such as it was) had recently finished. The maize plants in 2 fields were on avg less than 1 mtr high.

We will return when the family construction is in progress & see how things are going.