Record of Event
3rd Regional Mtg of the Communities requesting assistance with water
Where: Cruz del Palmar Community Park & “Salon”
When: 25.11.10
Who: Communities represented: More than 25 Adults including 5 men + 3 kids
Jesús Guitierrez, Holly Yasui,- Cedesa, Laura – Rotary, Mario & Citlali from Gaia,
Purpose: To continue work on resolving the water issues with these communities
Jesus gave a brief introductin.
A co-ordinator (Ana from VdA) & records taker (Isabel from 5 Senores) were elected
!. Introductions everyone introduced themselves & said why they were here today.
Reasons included – we don’t have safe drinking water, our wells are dry, we have to carry water from the river & it’s very far & very heavy & not often safe to drink.
“thank god we have water, but unfortunately it is not safe to drink, it is contaminated with fluoride so we need help with drinking water…” “we are struggling for water, having to carry it for people, animals, to clean the house etc”
Why are we here?
Agenda was formed:
Cisterns
Q&A re Cisterns
How to find resources
How to work to construct a cistern
What we need for cisterns
How much they cost?
Now many cisterns needed per community
One representative from Montecillo de Nieto & one from Vivienda de Arriba (previous project sites) described the process of projects in their communities.
From Training days @ schools to receiving their materials, to constructing the cisterns in groups, weaving the cylinders & mixing cement & placing on the lined cylinder…
The woman from Vivienda de Arriba explained it in great detail, she knows the process very well & including “everyone needed their own tools for the work”
The question of why work in groups was raised, “to be united & work together”, it was explained some have tinacos if they live alone or have very small families & are unable to construct their own, but they still contribute however they can, for example bringing food & drink to share.
Montecillo de Nieto described the case in their community where one family did not participate, despite meeting & encouragement & they offered to provide food to make up for it but didn’t follow through on their promise, so the material were given to another family.
Cost to Families
There is no $$ cost but families must participate & provide all the labour, not $$$ but it’s lots of work.
A man from Presita suggested we do a study – we agreed it was a good idea, if he was willing to co-ordinate it (he was not more explicit on the subject of the study he was suggesting).
Requisites
That the community be united, minimum of 20 per pilot, share work & share everything.
It’s difficult to co-ordinate if there is not community unity.
Discussion re how to Prioritise the communities involved
The issues were raised again
Pipas (water trucks) only coming 1x per month
Pipas bring likely contaminated water
Some wells have water but no pipes
Some wells have pipes but no water
The well in San Isidro Capadero has been capped since a dispute of land ownership re the location of the well.
The communites were divided into Clusters/micro regions
Group 1 –
La Cienega, Cinco Senores, Villa Guadalupe, San Lorenzo, Juan Gonzalez
1st meeting 2nd Wednesdays 12.1.11 1pm Villa de Guadalupe
Group 2
Capaderillo, vivienda de Abajo, Guerrero, La Aurora, Don Juan, Presita de Santa Rosa
1st meeting 3rd Wednesdays 19.1.11 1pm Vivienda de Abajo kinder
Group 3
CdP, Los Torres, vivienda de Arriba, Montecillo de Nieto, San Isidro, Tierra Blanca
1st meeting 4th Wednesdays 26.1.11 1pm Vivienda de Arriba @ Capilla
Meeting finished around 4pm.
Next ones as above!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
2nd Regional Mtg of the Communities requesting assistance with water
Record of Event pg 1 of 1
Where: Cruz del Palmar Community “Salon”
When: 19th November 2010
Who: Communities represented: More than 52 Adults including 17 men from:
CdP, Vivienda de Abajo, Tierra Blanca, Presita de Santa Rosa, Juan Gonzalez, Villa de Guadalupe, Los Torres, Capaderillo, La Tinaja, 5 Senores, Guerrero, Montecillo de Nieto, Vivienda de Arriba,
NGOs :CEDESA (Jesús Guitierrez, Holly Yasui, ), Laura – Rotary, Irma Rosado – Representing the municipality, Mario & from Gaia,
Purpose: To plan & create a Citizens Water Board..& work together to resolve the issues raised as important by the communities represented.
!. Introductions everyone introduced themselves.
2. Consejo de Agua Jesus spoke about forming a Consejo de agua, citizens group re water. Working with communities, govt. organizations & NGO’s who are working in this area. There is a need for sustainability & ownership by the communities so that they are not reliant on the team currently working with them (ie Cedesa, Rotary).
The “acta” (official wording”) was handed out & explained.
It is to form an entity to be recognized as representative of their communities by the govt.
Irma further explained that the formation of this Consejo will strengthen the ability of the people to work on the total water issues.
I mentioned the commitment made by Desarollo Social re the “package” they were proposing for 150 families, including dry toilets, solar water heating etc, & suggested that a better use of the funds might be to concentrate on the list of 323 families who have applied by completing forms, for assistance with water.
Irma/Jesus responded that the consejo’s purpose would be to decide/prioritise & propose requests to Govt. & collaborate with all parties.
There were various side discussions about other water issues, some wells not functioning for example.
Jesus proposed having different committees formed for different areas/issues, ie extraction, contamination, environment, capture of water.
The representative consejo group was formed, & President & Secretary were elected.
There was some confusion amongst the participants (including Laura & Holly) as to the process of this meeting, it was not the normal meeting where agenda was decided by participants & run by person elected that day at the meeting. Jesus had created an agenda in advance & was running the meeting.
As a result many of the attendees were confused as to what was going on.
Jesus needed to leave early & left with Irma.
Mario took over the meeting & scheduled the next series of “special purpose” meetings,
Captacion – Thurs 25/11 1pm CdP
Health – Monday 22/11 1pm CdP
Extraction 2/12 1pm Cdp
Dry Toilets – 29/11 1pm
Environment 30/11 1pm Cdp
The meeting disbanded.
(side note, Laura, Holly, Jesus, Chela & Saul, later had a meeting to discuss this departure from the norm. the other issue meeting were later “scrapped” & it has now reverted back to 1 mtg for Regional representatives of the formed Consejo & 1 meeting per micro region (6 communities grouped together).
Where: Cruz del Palmar Community “Salon”
When: 19th November 2010
Who: Communities represented: More than 52 Adults including 17 men from:
CdP, Vivienda de Abajo, Tierra Blanca, Presita de Santa Rosa, Juan Gonzalez, Villa de Guadalupe, Los Torres, Capaderillo, La Tinaja, 5 Senores, Guerrero, Montecillo de Nieto, Vivienda de Arriba,
NGOs :CEDESA (Jesús Guitierrez, Holly Yasui, ), Laura – Rotary, Irma Rosado – Representing the municipality, Mario & from Gaia,
Purpose: To plan & create a Citizens Water Board..& work together to resolve the issues raised as important by the communities represented.
!. Introductions everyone introduced themselves.
2. Consejo de Agua Jesus spoke about forming a Consejo de agua, citizens group re water. Working with communities, govt. organizations & NGO’s who are working in this area. There is a need for sustainability & ownership by the communities so that they are not reliant on the team currently working with them (ie Cedesa, Rotary).
The “acta” (official wording”) was handed out & explained.
It is to form an entity to be recognized as representative of their communities by the govt.
Irma further explained that the formation of this Consejo will strengthen the ability of the people to work on the total water issues.
I mentioned the commitment made by Desarollo Social re the “package” they were proposing for 150 families, including dry toilets, solar water heating etc, & suggested that a better use of the funds might be to concentrate on the list of 323 families who have applied by completing forms, for assistance with water.
Irma/Jesus responded that the consejo’s purpose would be to decide/prioritise & propose requests to Govt. & collaborate with all parties.
There were various side discussions about other water issues, some wells not functioning for example.
Jesus proposed having different committees formed for different areas/issues, ie extraction, contamination, environment, capture of water.
The representative consejo group was formed, & President & Secretary were elected.
There was some confusion amongst the participants (including Laura & Holly) as to the process of this meeting, it was not the normal meeting where agenda was decided by participants & run by person elected that day at the meeting. Jesus had created an agenda in advance & was running the meeting.
As a result many of the attendees were confused as to what was going on.
Jesus needed to leave early & left with Irma.
Mario took over the meeting & scheduled the next series of “special purpose” meetings,
Captacion – Thurs 25/11 1pm CdP
Health – Monday 22/11 1pm CdP
Extraction 2/12 1pm Cdp
Dry Toilets – 29/11 1pm
Environment 30/11 1pm Cdp
The meeting disbanded.
(side note, Laura, Holly, Jesus, Chela & Saul, later had a meeting to discuss this departure from the norm. the other issue meeting were later “scrapped” & it has now reverted back to 1 mtg for Regional representatives of the formed Consejo & 1 meeting per micro region (6 communities grouped together).
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
2nd Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Palencia
2nd Event of the SMA Midday Rotary Water Project Palencia
Where: Community House in Palencia – 1hr north of Dolores Hidalgo,
When: 27.10.10 12.30 meeting began (left SMA at 10am)
Who: Bill & Monse Webb, & Dr Larry Kubiak from Tallahassee Rotary, Laura from San Miguel Midday Rotary, Chela & Saul – Cedesa & 19 women, 6 kids from the Palencia Community
Purpose:
Since we last met in January this year, & the announcement of Future Vision & it’s ramifications, Bill Webb has been working very hard to secure funding for this project, the $$ are finally arranged, $7k from Tallahassee (Direct Grant), $7k approved to be spent on this project (excess funds from the 4 SMA water projects completed this year), + $200 from San Miguel Midday Rotary, will fund the project of 21 cisterns (1 pilot & 20 individual family cisterns).
This meeting was for the Tallahassee partners to meet the community, for Laura to know better this community & for the community to receive the news re the $$ & begin planning the logistics of the project.
Background.
Chela, Elena & Laura met with this community in January, after Chela had alerted us to the fact this community has the highest levels of Fluoride & arsenic than any in SMA. They had heard of the projects in SMA & petitioned us for assistance. See report 1, for more information.
Some brief facts about the community were raised in the previous meeting, included again here for ease of reference
• Approx 80 families /500 people
• Cedesa have been working with this community for 22 years
• Palencia is approx 1 hr from Cedesa in Dolores Hidalgo
• The community well was drilled 18 years ago, they have been drinking contaminated water for 18years
• There are smaller family wells that fill up when it rains, but they do not last the dry season
• There was a cacique (self appointed boss) when cedesa began work here, he is still apart from the community
• They have worked on many community projects together, including fighting for land rights, building a community centre (with funding for materials from local govt.), obtaining electricity
Item 1 – introductions all round:
Bill, Monse, Laura & Larry introduced themselves. Chela is well known, she also took time to describe a little about what/who Rotary is & does.
Chela – has been working with this community for more than 20 years, less frequent visits lately as she is concentrating in the San Miguel region where they also have fluoride issues.
Saul introduced himself & gave a little summary of how he came to be working with Cedesa (through assemblies at Los Torres) & has recently completed a 40 cistern project funded by the municipality , in Capaderillo (his wife’s community).
Chela mentioned Saul is one of the promoters at Cedesa, learning the work, & he has a good heart & knows the issues, which is essential to be a good promoter.
20 years ago they were fighting to get water, now they are striving to find an alternative, since the water they have is contaminated, ironic!
The women introduced themselves, some of them took it upon themselves to thank us for being here, for travelling so far & for helping them to get the materials they need for this project.
Chela described the water situation in the region, the aquifer in general.
They chose a co-ordinator for the day – Victoria.
The women were asked to describe the history, how they began to become organized.
History
In another community “Mulata” they heard of a person who was working to provide water there, so they went to see her, that was Chela.
They didn’t have enough water, only shallow wells & those wells dried up when the agri business people drilled very deep wells nearby. They had to ask the agribusiness – deep well owners for water.
After a struggle, they received their own community well, unfortunately this water is highly contaminated with naturally occurring fluoride & arsenic. So now they have badly damaged teeth (& probably bones), & many are buying water in 20 litre containers (garafones).
At the time they began to drink the well water they noticed more illiness.
One woman described aches & pain in her feet, she went to the doctor, & then stopped drinking the well water, the pain went away.
They tested the water during the water diploma course held at Cedesa in 2008. At that time they discovered the extremely high levels, sometimes as high as 8mg/l (1.5 is max safe level).
Dr Kubiak asked if they had sought govt. assistance with this issue –
The response was that the govt. have been denying this issue.
A professor at UNAM discovered this issue & alerted the communities, this study was denied & called false. It has been very contentious, with a lot of negative attention, & accusations of corruption.
These questions were asked
What is your number 1 priority? – Water
What is your number 2 priority? – food production
Where are the men in your community? Many are in the USA, of the 19 women attending 7 of their husbands were in the US.
If you have no men here to help, who will build these cisterns? ..it’s heavy work - There was a resounding response, “we will build them, we can mix cement, & do heavy work, we built the maize grinder, we helped build this salon, we will work together, if we have to we could contribute to pay for masons to help us.
One woman said her husband was aware of the project & has said he will return from the US to help, another agreed re her husband too would help, once they had the materials & were ready to begin.
Another woman responded “we learnt about cisterns in a workshop at Cedesa approx. 8 years ago, we build 5 then”
They have asked for financial assistance for materials for cisterns & dry toilets from the Dolores Hidalgo municipality, but have had no response.
Bill responded
Congratulations on taking responsibility for your own lives, the health & future of your kids, & not relying on the govt for help. We are honoured to be your partner (along with Cedesa & SMA Midday Rotary) in your water project. Today I want to announce that Tallahassee RC has made available the $$ to the SMA club to assist you to do your project.
He went on to talk more about the situation in the USA (Chela had asked during our drive, for Bill to inform the community about the hardships of working in the USA, that it is not the land of milk & honey they all dream it is)… “In this period of our history in the USA, the economic situation is very difficult, many people have no work & hope for their families. It’s very difficult in the areas of agriculture, construction, hotels & service industry, it’s very hard & your husbands are there. I think you know these things, the economic experts are predicting things are going to stay difficult for many years, in the USA people are saying we have to help ourselves & for people coming from other countries this is difficult since priority is given to people from the US.
It’s our honour to be with you today & know you are working hard to provide for yourselves.
There was discussion about discrimination in the US, & from the US perspective how it is difficult to provide services for immigrants as well as a large population, there are all sorts of complexities, obligations,etc.
Chela joined the discussion by saying “there is no work in the USA, but there is no work here either, so what can we do? We have our hands , we can produce food for ourselves & reduce the amount of money we need to live, we can become self sufficient. How to convince people to do this is the issue.
One woman said “we have to tell our families not to sell our land but to retain it to remain more productive”.
Chela “USA is finished for us, it is no longer a viable alternative, the $$ our husbands send is not worth it now.”
One woman talked of a family she had heard about, where the grandparents in Mexico had had to send money to the US to support their Mexican family there…
Bill – “we have said many things about the difficulties of finding work in the USA, I want you to also know we have a lot of respect for the people who come & work so hard in the USA.”
Planning of the project
21 Cisterns – 1 pilot to be constructed at the Salon (community meeting space), & 20 individual family cisterns.
They had pre decided to build the pilot at the salon, apparently the children pass there on their way home from school & currently take water from the tap (which is fluoride contaminated) they want them to drink the rain water instead.
Benigno will come to Palencia to do the training, they have created their work groups already, as follows
The names in bold, are the co-ordinators
Group1. Margarita, Estela, Raquel, Olga, Goya
Group2. Victoria, Jesus, Carmela B, Luca + 1 other
Group 3 Lucia, Dolores, Martina, Belen, Constancia
Group4. Luz, Maira, Lidia, Carmela S, Leticia (not sure who is co-ord)
There were only 19 names as they thought the 20 included the pilot, but it is 20 + pilot so they will find an extra family.
They asked “when can we start?” I responded – when do you want to & they all said “now!”
Larry spoke
“when I look around & see the kids here today, I am reminded I became a grandparent 3 mths ago, I am honoured that our club can help provide resources for you to have safe water for your kids & babies.”
Chela spoke about a woman who took a bucket of honey she had produced with her bees, to town to barter & how she was able to receive much more for a bucket of honey than she would have with a few $$. She reiterated money was less important than produce.
Fruit of your own work/hands gives you a better quality of life.
She reminded them that if they have the opportunity to buy even 1 hectare of land they should take it, they can produce a lot with 1 hectare & wild areas.
Doubts & questions time
I asked if now was a good time to begin the project, ie if they were busy harvesting or …
They all agreed they would work in the fields in the morning & work on the cisterns in the afternoons.
One woman asked about the necessity of water in the cisterns to prevent cracking (very good question), they will need to put water in from an external source, but then remove it before the good rain water comes, to keep the cistern water pure.
Saul described the process he used to complete the 40 cisterns, said that it was a little complicated to have materials arriving for different groups at different times, he suggested they all do the work at the same time, & receive the wire first, finish that stage, before receiving the cement, & completing the next stage.
They will plan with Benigno.
There was discussion about which days suit them better for Benigno to come.
They suggested Thursdays, as that’s the day the community meets to plant trees & do community tasks.
Chela will organize with Benigno.
They explained that their Salon was widely used, for meetings, fiestas etc.
The first Tuesday of every month they have a community meeting, often this big building is full. They share their problems, talk about issues but also make rules, they make sure everyone can attend, attendance is compulsory – 1 rep. per family, they talk about issues, administer resources, inform people.
We asked who is the leader – they responded “all of them!” there in no one person in charge, a true democracy, everyone is responsible”
They also create mini commissions to achieve specific things. Even when Cedesa is not present they continue to have meetings & organize themselves. They are not just doing projects, but have a process in place to take care of ongoing issues.
Chela officially thanked Tallahassee RC on behalf of Cedesa for the wonderful assistance they have made possible for these projects.
Another woman spoke & was very emotional, she said she did not have the words to describe her heartfelt thanks, & that she truly hoped they would visit again.
Bill & Monse said they would come back when the cisterns are finished.
The Next assembly is to be arranged with Benigno (to be advised)
There are no cell phones in the community, contact is made through the phone kiosk provided by telmex.
Where: Community House in Palencia – 1hr north of Dolores Hidalgo,
When: 27.10.10 12.30 meeting began (left SMA at 10am)
Who: Bill & Monse Webb, & Dr Larry Kubiak from Tallahassee Rotary, Laura from San Miguel Midday Rotary, Chela & Saul – Cedesa & 19 women, 6 kids from the Palencia Community
Purpose:
Since we last met in January this year, & the announcement of Future Vision & it’s ramifications, Bill Webb has been working very hard to secure funding for this project, the $$ are finally arranged, $7k from Tallahassee (Direct Grant), $7k approved to be spent on this project (excess funds from the 4 SMA water projects completed this year), + $200 from San Miguel Midday Rotary, will fund the project of 21 cisterns (1 pilot & 20 individual family cisterns).
This meeting was for the Tallahassee partners to meet the community, for Laura to know better this community & for the community to receive the news re the $$ & begin planning the logistics of the project.
Background.
Chela, Elena & Laura met with this community in January, after Chela had alerted us to the fact this community has the highest levels of Fluoride & arsenic than any in SMA. They had heard of the projects in SMA & petitioned us for assistance. See report 1, for more information.
Some brief facts about the community were raised in the previous meeting, included again here for ease of reference
• Approx 80 families /500 people
• Cedesa have been working with this community for 22 years
• Palencia is approx 1 hr from Cedesa in Dolores Hidalgo
• The community well was drilled 18 years ago, they have been drinking contaminated water for 18years
• There are smaller family wells that fill up when it rains, but they do not last the dry season
• There was a cacique (self appointed boss) when cedesa began work here, he is still apart from the community
• They have worked on many community projects together, including fighting for land rights, building a community centre (with funding for materials from local govt.), obtaining electricity
Item 1 – introductions all round:
Bill, Monse, Laura & Larry introduced themselves. Chela is well known, she also took time to describe a little about what/who Rotary is & does.
Chela – has been working with this community for more than 20 years, less frequent visits lately as she is concentrating in the San Miguel region where they also have fluoride issues.
Saul introduced himself & gave a little summary of how he came to be working with Cedesa (through assemblies at Los Torres) & has recently completed a 40 cistern project funded by the municipality , in Capaderillo (his wife’s community).
Chela mentioned Saul is one of the promoters at Cedesa, learning the work, & he has a good heart & knows the issues, which is essential to be a good promoter.
20 years ago they were fighting to get water, now they are striving to find an alternative, since the water they have is contaminated, ironic!
The women introduced themselves, some of them took it upon themselves to thank us for being here, for travelling so far & for helping them to get the materials they need for this project.
Chela described the water situation in the region, the aquifer in general.
They chose a co-ordinator for the day – Victoria.
The women were asked to describe the history, how they began to become organized.
History
In another community “Mulata” they heard of a person who was working to provide water there, so they went to see her, that was Chela.
They didn’t have enough water, only shallow wells & those wells dried up when the agri business people drilled very deep wells nearby. They had to ask the agribusiness – deep well owners for water.
After a struggle, they received their own community well, unfortunately this water is highly contaminated with naturally occurring fluoride & arsenic. So now they have badly damaged teeth (& probably bones), & many are buying water in 20 litre containers (garafones).
At the time they began to drink the well water they noticed more illiness.
One woman described aches & pain in her feet, she went to the doctor, & then stopped drinking the well water, the pain went away.
They tested the water during the water diploma course held at Cedesa in 2008. At that time they discovered the extremely high levels, sometimes as high as 8mg/l (1.5 is max safe level).
Dr Kubiak asked if they had sought govt. assistance with this issue –
The response was that the govt. have been denying this issue.
A professor at UNAM discovered this issue & alerted the communities, this study was denied & called false. It has been very contentious, with a lot of negative attention, & accusations of corruption.
These questions were asked
What is your number 1 priority? – Water
What is your number 2 priority? – food production
Where are the men in your community? Many are in the USA, of the 19 women attending 7 of their husbands were in the US.
If you have no men here to help, who will build these cisterns? ..it’s heavy work - There was a resounding response, “we will build them, we can mix cement, & do heavy work, we built the maize grinder, we helped build this salon, we will work together, if we have to we could contribute to pay for masons to help us.
One woman said her husband was aware of the project & has said he will return from the US to help, another agreed re her husband too would help, once they had the materials & were ready to begin.
Another woman responded “we learnt about cisterns in a workshop at Cedesa approx. 8 years ago, we build 5 then”
They have asked for financial assistance for materials for cisterns & dry toilets from the Dolores Hidalgo municipality, but have had no response.
Bill responded
Congratulations on taking responsibility for your own lives, the health & future of your kids, & not relying on the govt for help. We are honoured to be your partner (along with Cedesa & SMA Midday Rotary) in your water project. Today I want to announce that Tallahassee RC has made available the $$ to the SMA club to assist you to do your project.
He went on to talk more about the situation in the USA (Chela had asked during our drive, for Bill to inform the community about the hardships of working in the USA, that it is not the land of milk & honey they all dream it is)… “In this period of our history in the USA, the economic situation is very difficult, many people have no work & hope for their families. It’s very difficult in the areas of agriculture, construction, hotels & service industry, it’s very hard & your husbands are there. I think you know these things, the economic experts are predicting things are going to stay difficult for many years, in the USA people are saying we have to help ourselves & for people coming from other countries this is difficult since priority is given to people from the US.
It’s our honour to be with you today & know you are working hard to provide for yourselves.
There was discussion about discrimination in the US, & from the US perspective how it is difficult to provide services for immigrants as well as a large population, there are all sorts of complexities, obligations,etc.
Chela joined the discussion by saying “there is no work in the USA, but there is no work here either, so what can we do? We have our hands , we can produce food for ourselves & reduce the amount of money we need to live, we can become self sufficient. How to convince people to do this is the issue.
One woman said “we have to tell our families not to sell our land but to retain it to remain more productive”.
Chela “USA is finished for us, it is no longer a viable alternative, the $$ our husbands send is not worth it now.”
One woman talked of a family she had heard about, where the grandparents in Mexico had had to send money to the US to support their Mexican family there…
Bill – “we have said many things about the difficulties of finding work in the USA, I want you to also know we have a lot of respect for the people who come & work so hard in the USA.”
Planning of the project
21 Cisterns – 1 pilot to be constructed at the Salon (community meeting space), & 20 individual family cisterns.
They had pre decided to build the pilot at the salon, apparently the children pass there on their way home from school & currently take water from the tap (which is fluoride contaminated) they want them to drink the rain water instead.
Benigno will come to Palencia to do the training, they have created their work groups already, as follows
The names in bold, are the co-ordinators
Group1. Margarita, Estela, Raquel, Olga, Goya
Group2. Victoria, Jesus, Carmela B, Luca + 1 other
Group 3 Lucia, Dolores, Martina, Belen, Constancia
Group4. Luz, Maira, Lidia, Carmela S, Leticia (not sure who is co-ord)
There were only 19 names as they thought the 20 included the pilot, but it is 20 + pilot so they will find an extra family.
They asked “when can we start?” I responded – when do you want to & they all said “now!”
Larry spoke
“when I look around & see the kids here today, I am reminded I became a grandparent 3 mths ago, I am honoured that our club can help provide resources for you to have safe water for your kids & babies.”
Chela spoke about a woman who took a bucket of honey she had produced with her bees, to town to barter & how she was able to receive much more for a bucket of honey than she would have with a few $$. She reiterated money was less important than produce.
Fruit of your own work/hands gives you a better quality of life.
She reminded them that if they have the opportunity to buy even 1 hectare of land they should take it, they can produce a lot with 1 hectare & wild areas.
Doubts & questions time
I asked if now was a good time to begin the project, ie if they were busy harvesting or …
They all agreed they would work in the fields in the morning & work on the cisterns in the afternoons.
One woman asked about the necessity of water in the cisterns to prevent cracking (very good question), they will need to put water in from an external source, but then remove it before the good rain water comes, to keep the cistern water pure.
Saul described the process he used to complete the 40 cisterns, said that it was a little complicated to have materials arriving for different groups at different times, he suggested they all do the work at the same time, & receive the wire first, finish that stage, before receiving the cement, & completing the next stage.
They will plan with Benigno.
There was discussion about which days suit them better for Benigno to come.
They suggested Thursdays, as that’s the day the community meets to plant trees & do community tasks.
Chela will organize with Benigno.
They explained that their Salon was widely used, for meetings, fiestas etc.
The first Tuesday of every month they have a community meeting, often this big building is full. They share their problems, talk about issues but also make rules, they make sure everyone can attend, attendance is compulsory – 1 rep. per family, they talk about issues, administer resources, inform people.
We asked who is the leader – they responded “all of them!” there in no one person in charge, a true democracy, everyone is responsible”
They also create mini commissions to achieve specific things. Even when Cedesa is not present they continue to have meetings & organize themselves. They are not just doing projects, but have a process in place to take care of ongoing issues.
Chela officially thanked Tallahassee RC on behalf of Cedesa for the wonderful assistance they have made possible for these projects.
Another woman spoke & was very emotional, she said she did not have the words to describe her heartfelt thanks, & that she truly hoped they would visit again.
Bill & Monse said they would come back when the cisterns are finished.
The Next assembly is to be arranged with Benigno (to be advised)
There are no cell phones in the community, contact is made through the phone kiosk provided by telmex.
Monday, October 25, 2010
District 6940 newsletter Article
Tallahassee Rotary Club Supports Rotary Clubs and
International Partners to Change Lives...
Go to page 7 of this link & you'll find Tallahassee's story...
Click here
International Partners to Change Lives...
Go to page 7 of this link & you'll find Tallahassee's story...
Click here
Atencion article 24.4.2009
Friday, October 22, 2010
Saul's testimonial in Atencion
Check out the wonderful centrefold spread in Atencion (San Miguel's premium local newspaper) it appeared in the 22nd October 2010 edition - view it here
12th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Capaderillo Water Project
Record of Event
12th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Capaderillo Water Project
Where: Capaderillo Soccer grounds beside the Primary School
When: Friday 22nd Oct 2010 11am – 3pm
Who: Communities represented: More than 250 Adults from:
Los Torres, Montecillo de Nieto, Cruz del Palmar, Vivienda de Arriba, Capaderillo, Tierra Blanca,
Vivienda de Abajo/Urbana/Viviendilla, La Aurora, Guerrero, Presita Santa Rosa, San Lorenzo,
Cinco Señores, Juan Gonzales, La Tinaja, San Isidro Capadero, Correlejo de Abajo, Nuevo
Rancho Villa de Guadalupe
Government officials
Presidencia (Vinculacion con ONGs) – Irma Rosado
Fondo Verde – Ignacio Soto
Ecologia – Julio Bernal, Helio Bastien
Desarrollo Social – Miguel Gil
Ayuntamiento (Regidor) – Jaime Martínez
NGOs
CEDESA (Graciela Martínez, Jesús Guitierrez, Holly Yasui, Abel)
Club Rotario Midday (Gary Peterson, Walter Scott, Liz Powell, Enrique
Orvañanos, Miguel Gil, David Bossman, Laura Stewart)
(Rotary Volunteers/guests Patricia Stewart (Laura’s mum), Gary Reid – photographer)
Unitarian Universalists Fellowship – Cliff DuRand
GAIA – Grupo de Acción Interdisciplinaria Ambiental – Citlali Caldera (and her partner, Mario)
Purpose: Inaugurate/celebrate the closure of the 40 cistern project funded by Ecologia’s Fondo Verde, & to have a regional meeting of all the communities who have been attending assemblies & asking for guidance on how to create a water project to construct water cisterns in their communities.
The Event was originally planned for 11am but was moved to a later start time to accommodate the Fondo Verde people who had a time clash.
The communities met at 11am to register, plan & prepare for the presentation.
We arrived at 10.50 to find Capaderillo a hive of activity. There were balloons strung around all the visible cisterns on the way into Capaderillo, many tarpaulins had been strung up from the goal posts to supports on the soccer “field”. There were chairs, tables, posters, women carrying buckets full of food topped with brightly embroidered cloths, people running hither & thither, & Saul was in the thick of it, speaking with all the communities as their representatives arrived.
Holly began passing out cardboard & pens for communities to write up their community signs, Chela arranged the seating in a semi circle – league of nations style, with people holding up their community signs & their representatives clustered behind them, tables for the food were arranged in an outer layer.
All the while the blue tarps & balloons were flapping in the breeze, the kids were running around & the dogs were trying to find their place…
I collected the completed forms 1, for each community, & 1 for each family wishing to participate in each community. We now have requests from more than 300 families for cisterns in their communities.
Irma Rosado arrived with Jesus & viewed the photos of the cisterns arranged on a poster. Chela began working with the communities, explaining they would get a few minutes to explain their water situation & history with the projects, & their request for assistance.
Chela explained the program for the day, listing & elaborating on each item on the agenda, she spoke about the water situation in the area, she asked those who had completed projects or phases of projects, to give a description/summary, ie how many cisterns, when they began & when they finished.
The agenda/ order of events was:
1. Welcome & introduction of communities & guests
2. Description of the issues of the Watershed
3. Closing ceremony of the Capaderillo project – popping balloons of the school cistern
4. Testimonies of the project participants in Capaderillo
5. Issues of concern of the communities in the region
6. Response by the govt/municipal reps
7. Conclusion follow up plan
8. Lunch
Chela described the evolution of the projects, from the first one in Los Torres – first visited in November 2008 to the Capaderillo 40 cistern project just completed. The funding from Rotary & now the Fondo Verde, & that we are all working together to seek more resources to resolve this issue for all that would like to participate.
“you are here to work on this, & we will all work towards a resolution, our goal is that ll of our families will have a cistern for safe drinking water”
She explained that logistically we can’t continue to meet in each community each month, there are just too many, the issue is too big, she suggested we combine communities & meet with several at once, taking turns in each community.
Irma spoke, she introduced herself, representing the Municipality, & said they are wanting to work on a resolution to this issue too, they are planning how to solve this & other issues, she thanked all for their participation including Cedesa, Rotary Midday & especially the communitites.
The day continued with community representatives stating their cases to the the audience including the govt. officials who had by then arrived. They articulately described their current water situations, & the projects they had completed (if they were project communities).
Liz Powell commented it was incredible to see these young women stand & speak to the municipality reps, but also a crowd of more than 250 of fellow community members in their region. Some were a little shy or embarrassed, but all overcame this & spoke well. The cisterns are one (very important) thing, but to see the difference it is making to the lives of these people is pretty amazing.
Members of the municipality & Rotary each spoke & thanked all involved, congratulating them on their achievements & assuring they were there to help.
Jesus eventually wound up the day with a commitment to create a citizens water committee, with representatives of each of the communities represented today, attending, to work on the resolution to this issue together…
After discussion it was decided the first of these working planning meetings will be held in:
Cruz del Palmar on 19/11/10 at 12 midday.
The meeting was closed, & the eating began! We all headed home with full stomachs & overflowing hearts!
12th Mtg of the SMA Midday Rotary Capaderillo Water Project
Where: Capaderillo Soccer grounds beside the Primary School
When: Friday 22nd Oct 2010 11am – 3pm
Who: Communities represented: More than 250 Adults from:
Los Torres, Montecillo de Nieto, Cruz del Palmar, Vivienda de Arriba, Capaderillo, Tierra Blanca,
Vivienda de Abajo/Urbana/Viviendilla, La Aurora, Guerrero, Presita Santa Rosa, San Lorenzo,
Cinco Señores, Juan Gonzales, La Tinaja, San Isidro Capadero, Correlejo de Abajo, Nuevo
Rancho Villa de Guadalupe
Government officials
Presidencia (Vinculacion con ONGs) – Irma Rosado
Fondo Verde – Ignacio Soto
Ecologia – Julio Bernal, Helio Bastien
Desarrollo Social – Miguel Gil
Ayuntamiento (Regidor) – Jaime Martínez
NGOs
CEDESA (Graciela Martínez, Jesús Guitierrez, Holly Yasui, Abel)
Club Rotario Midday (Gary Peterson, Walter Scott, Liz Powell, Enrique
Orvañanos, Miguel Gil, David Bossman, Laura Stewart)
(Rotary Volunteers/guests Patricia Stewart (Laura’s mum), Gary Reid – photographer)
Unitarian Universalists Fellowship – Cliff DuRand
GAIA – Grupo de Acción Interdisciplinaria Ambiental – Citlali Caldera (and her partner, Mario)
Purpose: Inaugurate/celebrate the closure of the 40 cistern project funded by Ecologia’s Fondo Verde, & to have a regional meeting of all the communities who have been attending assemblies & asking for guidance on how to create a water project to construct water cisterns in their communities.
The Event was originally planned for 11am but was moved to a later start time to accommodate the Fondo Verde people who had a time clash.
The communities met at 11am to register, plan & prepare for the presentation.
We arrived at 10.50 to find Capaderillo a hive of activity. There were balloons strung around all the visible cisterns on the way into Capaderillo, many tarpaulins had been strung up from the goal posts to supports on the soccer “field”. There were chairs, tables, posters, women carrying buckets full of food topped with brightly embroidered cloths, people running hither & thither, & Saul was in the thick of it, speaking with all the communities as their representatives arrived.
Holly began passing out cardboard & pens for communities to write up their community signs, Chela arranged the seating in a semi circle – league of nations style, with people holding up their community signs & their representatives clustered behind them, tables for the food were arranged in an outer layer.
All the while the blue tarps & balloons were flapping in the breeze, the kids were running around & the dogs were trying to find their place…
I collected the completed forms 1, for each community, & 1 for each family wishing to participate in each community. We now have requests from more than 300 families for cisterns in their communities.
Irma Rosado arrived with Jesus & viewed the photos of the cisterns arranged on a poster. Chela began working with the communities, explaining they would get a few minutes to explain their water situation & history with the projects, & their request for assistance.
Chela explained the program for the day, listing & elaborating on each item on the agenda, she spoke about the water situation in the area, she asked those who had completed projects or phases of projects, to give a description/summary, ie how many cisterns, when they began & when they finished.
The agenda/ order of events was:
1. Welcome & introduction of communities & guests
2. Description of the issues of the Watershed
3. Closing ceremony of the Capaderillo project – popping balloons of the school cistern
4. Testimonies of the project participants in Capaderillo
5. Issues of concern of the communities in the region
6. Response by the govt/municipal reps
7. Conclusion follow up plan
8. Lunch
Chela described the evolution of the projects, from the first one in Los Torres – first visited in November 2008 to the Capaderillo 40 cistern project just completed. The funding from Rotary & now the Fondo Verde, & that we are all working together to seek more resources to resolve this issue for all that would like to participate.
“you are here to work on this, & we will all work towards a resolution, our goal is that ll of our families will have a cistern for safe drinking water”
She explained that logistically we can’t continue to meet in each community each month, there are just too many, the issue is too big, she suggested we combine communities & meet with several at once, taking turns in each community.
Irma spoke, she introduced herself, representing the Municipality, & said they are wanting to work on a resolution to this issue too, they are planning how to solve this & other issues, she thanked all for their participation including Cedesa, Rotary Midday & especially the communitites.
The day continued with community representatives stating their cases to the the audience including the govt. officials who had by then arrived. They articulately described their current water situations, & the projects they had completed (if they were project communities).
Liz Powell commented it was incredible to see these young women stand & speak to the municipality reps, but also a crowd of more than 250 of fellow community members in their region. Some were a little shy or embarrassed, but all overcame this & spoke well. The cisterns are one (very important) thing, but to see the difference it is making to the lives of these people is pretty amazing.
Members of the municipality & Rotary each spoke & thanked all involved, congratulating them on their achievements & assuring they were there to help.
Jesus eventually wound up the day with a commitment to create a citizens water committee, with representatives of each of the communities represented today, attending, to work on the resolution to this issue together…
After discussion it was decided the first of these working planning meetings will be held in:
Cruz del Palmar on 19/11/10 at 12 midday.
The meeting was closed, & the eating began! We all headed home with full stomachs & overflowing hearts!
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