So let´s talk about water...

Skip this post if you´re not interested. :-p

Well, ok, I´ve been here for over a month now helping to work on this "sistema del agua". In actual fact I´ve ended up doing a lot more water quality monitoring and work raising awareness within the village (or attempting to). This is because the water system in the village does work, up to a point - though technical issues do include the fact that the main filter in the system clogs very rapidly (so if it isn´t cleaned regularly the system grinds to a halt), and that a reliable distribution lines only reaches to the centre of the community rather than to each house. However, one of the very important problems at the moment is that the community lacks the infrastructure in an administrative capacity.

Basically, someone needs to collect money from the families on a regular basis to pay for the system, to regularly clean the filter, to regularly add chlorine to the system. The way things work in Santa Ana means that it is unusual for someone to have a "regular" job like this. Most people spend time working in the "chakras" (gardens), fishing, working in the jungle or making artisan materials, which means its very flexible for them. This work on the water system also is done for the good of the whole community rather than benefitting one person themselves, which means its very difficult to get one person to commit to operating. So many of these issues are culteral-based rather than any technically.

On a side note - the addition of chlorine to the system is very important and I think is one of the big issues here. If (or "when") the system has no chlorine left and it isn´t topped up, the water is almost certainly no longer safe to drink. And almost all the families in Santa Ana believe that the water system water is automatically fantastic and completely clean - so requires no boiling or further preparation. The worry here is that when a community that has become used to chlorinated water, and suddenly switches to contaminated water unknowingly (when the operator forgets to redo the chlorine levels), there´s likely to be a nasty outbreak of illness. Not a good thing.

In Santa Ana, there´s no lack of water, only of clean and safe water for drinking. I´ve been running a survey, and an overwhelming majority of families have had at least one family member ill with a bad stomach in the past month or often the past week. Its not completely definate that this is due to the water, but its a good indication that somethings lacking (there´s another question on the survey asking if people boil their water before drinking - I´m really hoping for a negative correlation). However the fact that water is so easily available disclines people to put in the work to get this system completely finished (I bet that, if given the choice, they´d prefer an internet system in the village to than drinking water).

Anyway. Just thought I´d put in some notes on the work what I´m sposed to be doing here. Other work-y stuff has included drawing up some "designs" for improvements to the existing filter ("lets put a lid on it so the rain doesn´t get in!"), some very sketchy designs for a pre-filter system, running these water quality tests throughout the village and feeding-back results, attempting to get surveys completed, and this week I´m very much looking forward to doing some water and health awareness work with the children in the school (I think) - have just been printing off pictures of hands being washed for colouring in, and wrote a wordsearch (in spanish! Be proud!).

Was going to do another post about fun things too but out of time. Just know that there was another fiesta yesterday, and I feel a little bit weary today. But I´m getting to like chicha.