Closing Celebration Alonso Yanez and Lindero July 23, 2015

Today Beatriz Sauceda and I traveled to Alonso Yanez and Lindero to attend the final celebration for this 38 cistern project. We also took a young woman named Karen with us who is photo journalist. She also makes short

documentaries and is interested in documenting some of our work here in San Miguel.

We arrived to a very large crowd of over 70 adults and many many children. We had visiting delegations from Boca de la Canada, Presa Allende, Cienega de Juana Ruiz, and Coralejos. When we arrived the food was already spread out in several locations and people were having their "almuerzo" - late breakfast.

Mayra and Carolina were attending the event in the role of CEDESA promoters. Chela unfortunately could not come because she is having problems with her knee. We had a brief program where the community groups introduced themselves and I said a few words about the cistern program and what a pleasure it was to work in a sucha a beautiful community and with people who were willing to work so hard to bring "agua de calidad" (quality water) to their families. 

You may remember that these communities have 4.95 mg/litre of fluoride in their water - a gravely serious situation (WHO maximum recommended level is 1.5mg/l) It was nice to see that they really "get it" about the dangers of the fluoride and there is already an even larger group forming for a future rainwater harvesting project. 

We also discussed the importance of staying involved with COCIRA and CEDESA to take advantage of other programs such as back yard gardening, health clinics and bee keeping. Beatriz spoke elegantly about the power of women in changing their lives, and their family's lives, through their organizing and working in teams. It is the women who take on the cistern building work and they are approx 95% of the participants in our projects.

After an introduction of the visitors from other communities, project participants from both Alonso Yanez and Lindero spoke about the process and work that went into the cistern project. The municipal delegate spoke briefly about the importance of this project and the issue of high fluoride levels in their community. He encouraged everyone to become more conscious of the dangers of the well water, especially for children, and the importance of gestating a next phase of cisterns in their community.

After our meeting, a huge meal was spread out including moles, green and red pozole, huaraches, quesadillas and more. Delicious! Normally we do not know how many children attend our events but today was different. An ice cream truck was passing by and Beatriz flagged it down announcing that she intended to buy an ice cream cone for each child there. There were eighty ice cream cones served!

It is days like these that remind us all of why we love working in rainwater harvesting so much!

Submitted by Lee Carter
Rotary San Miguel Midday

Planning Next Grant and a visit to Ojo de Zarco

July 1, 2015

Today I met with Chela Martinez, Director of CEDESA and Cece, coordinator of CEDESA promotors. We discussed in depth future plans for water harvesting within the Independence Aquifer.

Particularly we were able to lay out plans for who will be the promotor for various micro-regions of COCIRA and UNCANG. We will be submitting a new Rotary Foundation Global Grant request in August that includes a robust education program, “water days” in the communities, and the construction of the next 250 to 300 cisterns. I am pleased how the additional education program can be integrated into our community development and organization process.

COCIRA, the regional water council of communities in the San Miguel area, and UNCANG, the regional water council in the northern part of the aquifer, will be taking on the responsibility of evaluating and inspecting all cisterns between the end of the construction period and the final celebration. They will administer a survey that will give us specific information to be used to improve future projects and to achieve that critical last 5% in assuring that we finish each mini-project with 100% of the water harvesting systems fully functional. 

We also discussed leaving a small inventory of cistern parts and repair materials in communities that stay involved with COCIRA and UNCANG so that small problems can be immediately attended to before they develop into bigger problems.

The COCIRA/UNCANG groups will also returning to visit each of the 725 cisterns we have constructed since 2009. This is an intermediate term program that will take 12 to 18 months to complete. We want to assure continual monitoring and maintenance as to have the maximum number of functional water harvesting systems possible.

I look forward to receiving the surveys so that we can guide beneficiaries to do the best maintenance possible and maximize the quality of their drinking and cooking water. This work will lead to even better success in our new projects.

After lunch, Chela and I went to our third community organizational meeting in Ojo de Zarco and Purisima de Ojo de Zarco. Eighty-five percent (85%) of the community turned out for this meeting.

There were 54 families stating their interest in joining together for a project. We explained the process of what they must do to become eligible for the Rotary/CEDESA resources. They learned of the water harvesting program from some families in Los Torres where there have been four phases of cistern projects resulting in almost 100 cisterns in that community. It was agreed that the next step would be all potential families willing to do the work to earn cistern resources would meet in Los Torres on July 22 to see the cisterns at work and talk with past participants about the work necessary to have a successful project. It is a great pleasure to travel to these communities with Chela who now has 43 years of experience in community development work.

Submitted by Lee Carter, Rotary San Miguel Miday

Inspections and Monitoring GG1422619

We have gotten off to a good start in our new monitoring and evaluation program. The COCIRA council is taking this work on as their responsibility. They will be inspecting every cistern constructed during this grant and will be administering a survey as well as noting the GPS coordinates of each cistern. 

We are finding that there is a common set of problems that we can discover soon after construction: leaks in the galvanized plumbing, confusion in connecting the gutter system to the cistern, leaks in the cold joint at the base, leaks where the galvanized nipples penetrate the cistern, no first flush mechanism installed. None of these problems, individually, seem persistent, but when they are all taken together as a group, it is clear that early intervention on our part will improve the success of the project ie ultimately, our work monitoring will lead to minor tweaks to the construction process that will lead  overall to an improved process.

From our inspections thus far, we have been generating a list of “recurring problems” with appropriate solutions to those problems.. This is being developed into a “Use and Maintenance Manual” that we intend to publish and distribute to all project beneficiaries later in the summer or early in the fall. We are seeking simple solutions using materials commonly available in each community when possible. For problems of a more serious nature that would render a system completely dysfunctional, we are meeting with experts to look for the appropriate repair techniques and materials for those relatively rare cases. 

One possibility being discussed is placing about US$100 worth of commonly needed materials and repair parts with the COCIRA council member in each community to have an inventory of immediately available repair parts. The thought is that the council member would collect the cost of the materials as they are dispensed and then use that to replenish the inventory to maintain a perpetual supply.  

We are also considering returning to each community from this project to have a “Water Day” where we can individually consult on any problems and their solutions, where we can talk more about water safety and the benefits of using bio-contamination disinfection methods to improve water quality. We believe the opportunity for additional training and education will enhance the sustainability of these projects.

In addition to the evaluation of the cisterns built during this grant, the COCIRA council has indicated they are willing to go back to visit and inspect all cisterns constructed since 2009 – ie approx 725 cisterns in total. Collecting this data and using it to improve future projects will lead to better utilization of our future grant funds. Knowledge is power.

Submitted by Lee Carter, Rotary San Miguel Midday

Closing Ceremony Vivienda de Abajo

Yesterday we celebrated the completion of 10 cisterns in Vivienda de Abajo. Nine cisterns were in family homes and one was at the secondary school. This is the last cistern that we plan to build in a public space until we have a program in place to ensure maintenance and proper use. The development process for building a “public” cistern that must be maintained by a group or committee is very different than the process of building privately owned cisterns.

Attending were 15 families from Vivienda that are still participating in COCIRA. These persons are involved in other CEDESA promoted projects such as backyard gardening, health clinics & home health training, and bee keeping. Overall there were about 40 persons in attendance and a wonderful lunch (especially wonderful green mole) was served. 

New members to COCIRA seeking Rotary resources were in attendance from Nombre de Dios, San Lorenzo, Boca de Canada and Ex-Hacienda de Pena Blanca.

Chela, Mayra, Saul and Mago were representing CEDESA. Lee Carter was there from Rotary San Miguel Midday. As this was Saul’s last official day as a CEDESA promotor, he cut the inaugural ribbon.

It is interesting to see how some projects go better than others, but I still am not sure how to predict a project’s outcome. This project is one of the best we have had during this grant. All of the cisterns are well constructed, connected and in good service. On the other hand, we still need to go back and do remedial work on about one-half of the cisterns in Banda. I will be talking with CEDESA about sending a technical representative to Banda in the next several weeks to finish up that project so that we finish there with 100% of the collection systems functional and collecting the summer rains. We have determined that having a good and responsible albanil (experienced construction worker) as a part of the work group is very important.

Submitted by Lee Carter, Rotary San Miguel Midday

COCIRA MEETING

June 4, 2015 – Presa Allende

COCIRA (Consejo Ciudadano Rural de Agua  - the regional water council for San Miguel de Allende), met today in the community building at Presa Allende. There were approximately 60 of us plus a “big-ole-bunch” of kids to start the meeting to at 10 am. By the time we finished at 3:30 pm, after a nice lunch hosted by Presa Allende, that group had grown to about 75 and many more kids. Meetings always seem to grow to the max just before we break for lunch.

Communities in attendance were: Alonso Yañez, Lindero, La Ciénega, Juan Gonzalez, Montecillo de Nieto, Boca de Canadá, Ex-Hacienda de Pena Blanca, Tierra Blanca, La Banda, Vivienda Abajo, San Lorenzo, Presa Allende, and Correlejos. Also in attendance was Lee Carter from Rotary San Miguel and Chela, Saul, Mayra, Mago and Carolina from CEDESA.

The order of the day was set to discuss:

1.       Water Issues in General

2.       Closing Celebrations for Vivienda, Alonso Yanez and Lindero

3.       Communities in waiting: Ex-Hacienda de Pena Blanca (14), Nombre de Dios (6), Boca de Canada (more than 35), and San Lorenzo (2).

4.       Anniversary Celebration at CEDESA on June 19 and 20 to celebrate 50 years of service to the communities!

5.       Review a video about the Sierra Norte de Puebla about community actions taken by the indigenous people of that region to stop strip mining, fracking and the construction of hydro-electric dams.

6.        Present the new Consejo of COCIRA (governing board)

7.       Discuss health issues and CEDESA programs to provide training in interested communities.

The future work schedule is heavy with a number of meetings and events planned:

1.       June 13, 11 am, Lee to deliver cistern and community photos for the 50^th Anniversary amparo to Mayra at Presa Allende Church.

2.       June 16, COCIRA counsel and Lee to go to Alonso Yanez and Lindero to do a final inspection and evaluation of that mini-project. Meet at the highway entrance to Alonso Yanez at 10 am.

3.       June 19 and 20. Attend 50^th Anniversary Celebration at CEDESA

4.       June 26, 10:30 am, Lee and Chela to visit San Lorenzo to do a profile of the two families asking for cistern resources in that community

5.       June 26, 12 noon, Closing Ceremony for Vivienda at the house of Louisa.

6.       July 16, 10 am, Meeting of the Counsel of COCIRA at the Salon de Lecturas en Cienega Juan Ruiz

7.       July 23, 12 noon, Closing Ceremony for Alonso Yanez and Lindero at the Casa de Lecturas.

8.       July 28, 10 am, Organizational meeting for the community of Boca de Canada. Chela, Lee, Mayra, and Carolina to attend.

So much for having a leisurely summer before beginning new projects in the fall! It was decided that we will use the rest of the cistern construction funds for the San Miguel de Allende community over the summer. The plan is to construct 14 in Ex-Hacienda de Pena Blanca, 2 in San Lorenzo and 6 in Nombre de Dios.

The COCIRA counsel proposed to take the responsibility of visiting every community after a Project is completed and before the final celebration to do a final inspection, evaluation and monitoring of the Project. This could be an excellent way for us to improve each project while building a complete database with all of the cisterns constructed by CEDESA and Rotary since 2008. At the end of the summer we will have completed a total of 125 cisterns from the current global grant bringing the grand total to about 750 in 29 different San Miguel communities. There will be more discussion with the COCIRA council on how best to return to all previous communities so that we will have a complete picture of all of the work done since the water harvesting project began in 2009 at Los Torres. Mayra told me that she and Benigno (CEDESA) visited many communities already last summer. She and I will review the information she already has and make a plan how to accomplish this task. This is likely more appropriate than trying to use college students doing their social service to evaluate the cistern projects.

Lee reported that Rotary San Miguel Midday has already begun seeking resources for the winter of 2015 and the year 2016 in all communities lying within the Cuenca de Independencia. This will include San Felipe, Dolores Hidalgo, San Diego Union, San Luis de la Paz and San Miguel de Allende. We will begin organizing the community of Boca de Canada over the summer so that they will be ready by the fall when grant funds become available.

Saul Juarez of CEDESA announced at the end of the meeting that he will stop working as a promotor for CEDESA at the end of June to pursue personal goals and projects. Everyone is sorry to see Saul retire as a promotor, but he will still be involved as a citizen and member of COCIRA. From the standpoint of Rotary, we will miss Saul very much and we wish him the best in the future. Saul has been the backbone of our work in San Miguel since 2010 and has contributed significantly to the success of our many projects. There are other CEDESA promotors that can do the work of organizing and coordinating communities but we will need to train a new technical promotor to oversee construction. Until that is done Benigno who generally works in the northern part of CEDESA’s territory will be available to us.

Lee Carter

Rotary San Miguel Midday

June 4, 2015

COCIRA Meeting (Consejo Ciudadano Rural de Agua de San Miguel de Allende

COCIRA Meeting

(Consejo Ciudadano Rural de Agua de San Miguel de Allende

Location: Alonso Yanez

April 9, 2015

Attendance: Presa Allende, San Lorenzo, Juan Gonzalez, Tierra Blanca, Vivienda de Abajo, Alonso Yanez, Lindero, Correlejo, Boca de La Cañada, Cienega Juan Ruiz, Capadrillo. Approximately 36 community Members and a boat load of children. Chela Martinez, Margarita Godinez and Saul Juarez from CEDESA. Lee Carter from Rotary San Miguel Midday.

Missing: Ex-Hacienda de Pena Blanca, Montecillo de Nieto, Nombre de Dios and La Banda

This was a good turnout and we were pleased to welcome a new community, Boca de La Cañada, to COCIRA. Boca de La Cañada, stated they came because they had been invited by Alonso Yanez and they had heard through them about the water contamination problems. They have a preliminary list of 30 families that are interested in a water harvesting project. They noted that their children are getting dental fluorosis. They also said they are interested in getting dry toilets in the future as well.

The many possibilities of things that can be done to improve community health and economics by working through COCIRA and CEDESA was discussed. Among the many things were included Bee Keeping (Apicultura), Water Harvesting, Dry Toilets, Health and Alternative Medicine Clinics, Transformation of Products. Chela Martinez spoke about the importance of working together in communities and through COCIRA to achieve significant change in their lives.

Saul and several community members reported about the World Water Day activities from the event last month in San Cayentano in San Luis de la Paz. Lidia from Vivienda talked about how interesting it was to meet persons from other municipalities facing the same problems that we face here in San Miguel. Alejandro Guerra and Lee Carter from Rotary had attended the event also.

Chela announced that CEDESA would be celebrating its 50^th year in community development in June and invited everyone to come to CEDESA headquarters in Dolores Hidalgo on June 20 and 21 for two days of workshops and celebration. Chela also told the history of the Rotary water projects and how that led to the formation of COCIRA. Were it not for COCIRA and the work of Laura Stewart and Holly Yasui there would never have been such success in the rural rainwater harvesting projects.

Lee reported that he had visited Presa Allende on April 7^th with Dr. Norman Feldstein, a retired dentist and dentistry professor who had taught fluorosis at the University of Pittsburg. The examination of 23 children clearly demonstrated the existence of fluoride from the well located in Salitrillo. Although, fortunately there was no clinically severe fluorosis present, the mild and moderate fluorosis seen confirmed the importance to finding alternative drinking and cooking water for the community as soon as possible. That project is now scheduled to begin in May.

Lee also reported that Rotary has begun looking for funding for the next water harvesting project and that first results appeared encouraging. Lee asked the COCIRA members if there would be any interest in returning to communities with prior projects with water safety and cistern maintenance classes along with a review of the current status of cisterns built since 2008. Chela was in agreement and would like to set up a program to do this within the next grant if possible. Perhaps we can do some one day community visits where we can teach the materials that are being developed for the new grant. Community members agreed that this could be a helpful program. Chela also announced that Rotary would be expanding its work to include all communities affected in the Independence Aquifer region.

Saul reported that this year there were 16 new cisterns in Juan Gonzalez (plus 4 rotoplas's), 17 in La Banda/Montecillo, 16 (plus one Rotoplas) are under construction in Lindero and 23 are to be started in Alonso Yanez in two weeks. Presa Allende is standing by for a minimum of 20 cisterns. (There were 36 families in waiting last September and some of the lost families may come back into the project now that they know it is definitely going to happen.)  Saul and Lee are going to set a community meeting there in the next two weeks to “reanimate” the community.

Representatives came from San Lorenzo to ask for cisterns for two families there. They reported also that the Villa de Guadalupe well is finally operating after more than 18 months of waiting for the pump to be installed by SAPASMA. Lee stated that he would like to have that well tested as soon as possible remembering that there were 8 families there that wanted cisterns if the water quality of the new well was not satisfactory. Lee will follow up on that.

A meeting of the council leaders of COCIRA was set for 9 am on Abril 21 at Corralejo. Chela and Lee set a date in June to go visit Nombre de Dios and Ojo de Charco two communities that are in dire need of assistance but are in a location that leaves them stranded neither belonging to San Miguel nor Dolores. The next COCIRA meeting will be on June 4, 10 am at Presa Allende.

As always we adjourned (3:30 pm) to a fine pot luck lunch brought by all of the participants. Lee took the back way home dropping off COCIRA members in Juan Gonzalez and Correlajo, & then visited the project under way in Vivienda. Pleased to report that all is moving forward on schedule and that the completed cisterns appear very good.

Lee Carter, Rotary San Miguel Midday

Dental Fluorosis report of community of Presa Allende

This document provides documentary evidence of the health effects; on a number inhabitants of the community in Presa Allende, of consuming fluoride contaminated water, 

View the dental fluorosis report here by Norman R. Feldstein D.M.D.

Despite the anomaly in current levels of fluoride testing below the maximum threshold of 1.5mg/l (most likely explained by the unusually high levels of rainfall this season, possibly diluting the levels of fluoride present in the artesenal wells), this report serves to explain the evident need for safe drinking water in this community.