Vivienda de Abajo – 12 cisterns project GG1422619 & Amigas de Vivienda

Materials are being supplied by a private group calling themselves “Amigas de Vivienda”. Rotary is financing the education, training and  project management through GG1422619.

Progress at Vivienda is going well. The pilot is finished & now all wrapped up in plastic sheeting to allow the cement to cure at a slower rate which should increase its strength as well as reduce hairline cracking that sometimes takes place with ferro-cement construction. It is an experiment & I am curious to see if it works. Cisterns 2 & 3 are almost complete.

We have put several new innovations into practice with this project:

1. painted the galvanized nipples with Eco-Prim a special material that will allow the cement to adhere to the galvanized.
2. added a more “convenient” first flush mechanism that will likely result in more people using the first flush as a way to divert water from a dirty roof.
3. plan to add a cement pad under the first flush so a tambor (barrel) can be placed there to collect this water for non-cooking & non-drinking uses. The pad will also discourage erosion around the cistern.
4. produced a sizing chart so families will know how much water to divert.
5. improved the door design for ease of installation
6. added mosquito netting to the overflow pipe.
7. will put a cement pad under the spigot to improve cleanliness and reduce chances of bio-contamination.
8. wrapping the cisterns with shrinkwrap.
9. changed from 3 inch PVC to 4 inch PVC for only a $115 peso price increase. This will make gutters capable of carrying more water & make the installation more secure.

Photos of the pilot cistern and cisterns 2 & 3 can be seen on this link: https://picasaweb.google.com/103368367507077443111/6276876235386985009

Lee Carter
San Miguel Midday Rotary.

And So It Begins...GG1524911 Progress Report – April 10, 2016

We are full forces ahead in getting our new Global Grant for US$199,400 for the next 319 water harvesting systems in the Independence Aquifer. 

The first step in this grant is to develop a comprehensive education program to teach beneficiaries about water & water safety. The program also includes cistern construction & maintenance.

We have contracted with Wendy Coulson, a professional curriculum writer & an experienced teacher in the Waldorf method to help us develop the program but more importantly the teaching methods to use in making this program as effective as possible. Wendy is also a Rotary Peace Scholar.

Alejandro Guerra & Lee Carter have been working with Wendy for several weeks in filling in the blanks for the program. CEDESA has been consulted constantly as they will be the “teacher” &their buy-in & enthusiasm is critical for the success of the program.

On Wednesday, April 6^th, Alejandro, Wendy & I traveled to CEDESA headquarters to present our final “draft”. At this point the didactic method is written down on paper & we wanted to hear from CEDESA & UCCANG about how to proceed. In addition to that, we wanted to discuss the didactic materials that we will develop along with this. Present from CEDESA were Chela Martinez, Director, Meche Paramo, coordinator for COCIRA,  Cecilia Vazquez, Coordinator for UCCANG, & Abel Seratze, Cedesa technician for cistern construction. Araceli Rojas, President of UCCANG also joined us.

It was a long day in project planning as well as presentation of the education program. We arrived at 9:00 am & finished at 5:00 pm. I felt very anxious that CEDESA be truly excited about the education program. Upon leaving we all felt that we were right on track & we had very valuable input from CEDESA throughout the day. Wendy is following up with Meche about various details next week. Once everyone’s input is incorporated in our plan, we will have our next project planning meeting on Friday, April 22 at CEDESA. We will be finalizing the education plan & also planning out the details of the grant including the communities where we will start, billing and administrative issues, & so forth.

This project will be a lot of work but it will be a lot of fun as well. I have seen both Meche & Abel since that meeting &I have been communicating with Ceci also. All three have independently said how excited they are with the new education program. I think we are doing well.

Lee Carter

Rotary San Miguel Midday