Clearly Canadian and Global Water Initiative
Projects Progress Reports
Clearly Canadian has partnered with Global Water to provide funding for water supply projects that bring in safe, clean water to those in need. With the goal of completing 20 community water projects by 2010, we’re happy to say that we are right on target!
In May 2007, Clearly Canadian staff had the life-changing experience of visiting the village of La Pita in the Nicaraguan highlands to celebrate the inauguration of their new water source. To witness first hand how Global Water projects can dramatically improve the quality of life of communities in developing nations is remarkable. Read more about the humbling experience.
Let’s take a look at our progress to date:
- Village of Cotzol, Guatemala – COMPLETE!
- Village of La Pita, Nicaragua – COMPLETE!
Projects Underway for 2007:
- Village of San Cayetano, Nicaragua
- Village of Balsamo, Nicaragua
- Village of La Flor, Nicaragua
- Village of El Mirador, Guatemala
- Healthy School Program, Guatemala
Projects to Date:
Project 1) Village of Cotzol, Guatemala
The first project commenced in August 2006 in the small Guatemalan village of Cotzol, home to roughly 500 people..
This water supply system consisted of two spring catchment boxes connecting through piping down the hillside towards the village to a distribution tank of 5m3 (1,300 gallons) built at the village of Cotzol. The distance between the natural springs and the village was approximately 5-miles (8 Kilometers) and trenching was necessary to protect the interconnecting PVC pipe virtually the entire 5-mile distance. In keeping with Global Water’s project model, the men of Cotzol provided all the unskilled labor for the trenching, pipe installation and tank fabrication.
Global Water was specifically involved with finding a local water-advocacy NGO that could help support this project and communicating with the NGO throughout the project to insure problems were corrected quickly and money was managed efficiently. In addition, Global Water was involved with the planning for the project in terms of determining what tankage was required, as well as calculating the diameters of the PVC pipe that connected the spring catchment boxes with the distribution tank. This particular project did not require disinfection equipment as the water was safe from microbiological contamination once the natural spring was protected by a catchment box.
Cotzol Journal Entries:
August 22, 2006 - Construction Underway
With the support and funding received from Clearly Canadian, Global Water has began the construction of a new water supply for the small village of Loch Ba'Lib in the Guatemalan municipality Cotzol, Nebaj.
As the photos below indicate, the project is well under way and is slated to be finished in November 2006.
September 15, 2006 – Pipeline Progress
Promising progress has been made in the building of a new pipeline that will sufficiently supply 260 families for a period of 20 years. This represents more than half of the communities’ current population.
The work on the new spring site is now complete and 3.8 kilometers of pipeline have been dug to date. Volunteers have estimated that the remainder of September will likely be spent completing this pipeline. October will be primarily be spent completing work on the old spring sites and installing control valves in each home to meter the amount of water they are receiving. Fortunately, the weather has not been much of a problem - which it can be this time of year.
November 28, 2006 – The Finishing Touches
After completing the work on the old spring sites, the final step in this project was to create and install control valves that would address the village’s hydraulic problems. The control valves were set up at each house to meter the amount of water dispersed to each home and ensure that equal pressure and water flow is maintained. As a result of these completed installments, all homes are now receiving safe water supplies.
Official Inauguration Ceremony
An official inauguration ceremony was set for the 27th of October to celebrate this life changing event for the village of Cotzol. The celebration featured a presentation of the Guatemalan flag, marimba background music, a symbolic ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by a feast and piñata.
Instruction was given to the village committee on how to regulate the valves and explain to the home owner the purpose of the valve
Typical improved water station in the Nebaj area with absorption pit behind
Symbollic ribbon cutting
Girls breaking the Pinata
Guatemalan children from the village of Cotzol
Guatemalan child in carrier
Project 2) Village of La Pita, Nicaragua
Our second project has taken place in the small village of La Pita located in the Nicaraguan highlands. This village requires a combination water supply, sanitation facility and tree planting focus. This project was completed in May 2007 with various staff members of Clearly Canadian venturing out to the village of La Pita to witness first-hand how their contributions have made a difference.
Nicaragua Journal Entries
- May 2007 – The InAuguration & Visit from Clearly Canadian
- October 2006 - Early Stages
May 2007 – The InAuguration Ceremony and Visit from Clearly Canadian Staff
In order to celebrate the new system, the villagers of La Pita greeted us with a lively inauguration party at their local school. About 200 villagers came to meet us and to say “Thanks” and to experience the inauguration’s speeches, music, piñatas, and, of course, the cutting of the ceremonial ribbon.
In addition, Clearly Canadian members brought many gifts for the community that included toys, school items, and clothing. The gifts were much appreciated by La Pita’s villagers, especially the children.
Here are pictures of the Inauguration and some of the wonderful villagers we met that day.
New Village Water Tap Location
Musicians from La Pita Wrote a Song Just for the
Water System Inauguration
Lining up for Gifts at Inauguration
Bobby Genovese of Clearly Canadian Cutting the Water System Symbolic Ribbon at Inauguration
Inauguration’s First Drink
La Pita Children at their New Faucet
October 2006 - Early Stages
Global Water staff traveled to Nicaragua to identify water project areas that could benefit from spring catchment, gravity flow designs. Several were identified and one was chosen for initial funding. The first village to receive a gravity flow water system is the village of La Pita.
Global Water staff worked with a local NGO to determine what equipment was going to be necessary to complete this project. Partial funds have been sent by Global Water to the NGO in Nicaragua and materials are being purchased in preparation of this project.
Looking at the village of La Pita
Meeting with the villagers of La Pita
The villagers of La Pita
Training the villagers of La Pita
Child getting ready to do laundry near La Pita
A visitor downstream
Starting to dig the trenches
Projects Underway for 2007:
Here is a description of the projects Clearly Canadian has funded for 2007/08. We will keep you updated via our journal entries – Stay tuned!
Village of San Cayetano, Nicaragua
This project consists of building a new spring catchment system to replace an old spring system that has failed. There are 29 families (approximately 145 people) living in the area; 15 families will directly benefit from a new spring system; 14 families live above the elevation of the spring and we are looking at the possibility of funding the installation of a hand-dug well and rope pump for them; this would be accomplished while the spring catchment system was being built.
Village of Balsamo, Nicaragua
This area has 30 houses and 32 families (approximately 160 people) living in the area.
This is another old spring catchment system that has failed; there are three springs in the area that have been given by their owner to the village that could be connected together for the villagers; one spring in particular is strong (with a flow rate of 1.4 gal / minute; checked May 2007) The distance from the springs to the village is modest at approximately 1.2 kilometers.
Village of La Flor, Nicaragua
There is an existing centralized unprotected hand-dug well that is used by villagers in the vicinity of the well. The number of villagers using the existing well is about 150 people from 26 families. The existing well is hand-dug and it is not functioning properly; for example, it goes dry during elongated spells of drought. The well is old and needs to be re-dug to make it deeper so it won’t go dry. Once the well is re-dug, it will be sealed on top to prevent contamination and a rope pump will be installed. In addition, rain water cascading down the nearby hillside currently contaminates the well; this rain water will be re-routed so it cannot go into the well to contaminate it.
Village of El Mirador, Guatemala
This project includes the creation of a spring catchment system for the majority of the villagers and rain catchment tanks (with interconnecting piping between roofs and tanks) for about 10 of the village homes. This project will also install a water source and repair the water piping of a laundry table (or pila) that should be used by villagers, but is currently inoperable.
As described in the GW Trip Report – Spring 2007, the inoperable laundry table facility causes women to do their laundry from a puddle next to the road where pesticide sprayers are filled (and overflow). It’s an accident waiting to happen.
Healthy School Program, Guatemala
This is a wonderful program in Guatemala run by the Appropriate Technology Program in the Peace Corps; an “Appropriate Technology” Peace Corps volunteer works with a group of schools to help them build health-related facilities. These facilities include: water systems, latrines, kitchen facilities, and hand-washing stations (called lavamanos).
Once the necessary health-related facilities are installed and being used, the schools become eligible to be recognized as a “healthy school” by the Guatemalan government agency that builds and maintains schools. (hence, the Program’s name). It’s quite an accomplishment for a school to be recognized by the Guatemalan government agency and so having a “healthy school” in a village is a significant point of pride for a village.
This particular Healthy Schools Program is focused on the Tecpan village area in Guatemala and includes five schools.
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