Water Projects for Chel and Illom

I told a friend Sunday I was writing another blog report and he committed that he always was happy to read them and stay currant. Well I don’t feel I ever am really currant with all that is happening but this report will bring everyone up to date with our water projects in Chel and Illom. When I first visited Chel the thought of bring water to a village this size seemed impossible. Now it is close to being accomplished and in the same year we are also amplifying the water system in Illom. I feel blessed and humbled to be part of this ripple, the act of humanity, of caring. Basic Project Descriptions Both of these water projects are gravity feed springs that we are developing to supplement existing systems. Chel is a village with 447 families but the three waterlines that enter the town are small. Two of them are just 1.25 pipes and the other one is only 1.5 inch pipe. Most single family homes in the US are serviced with a 1” waterline or bigger. We are installing two new 3” lines and developing a new spring to augment the existing water source. The second part of this project relays the water line throughout the entire village. As you can see this is a major upgrade and a large project valued at $40,000. TRE dollar commitment is $12,000, the value of donated community labor is $15,000 and the municipality will contribute $13,000. In Illom we are developing a new spring to recharge a system for 125 families that don’t have any water now.Distance is the greatest obstacle there and we needed to install 2,700 meters of piping and cross a 70 foot deep ravine. This project is values at $39,000 Well facts and details can go on forever so from this base let’s look at the story. In March I worked out an agreement with each village and the local municipality. Our first step was to turn the study we had done into a working design so we walked through the systems mapping out distances, tank types and connections with the local leaders and water committees. During this time we identified exactly who of the three parties, the municipality, the village or TRE would be reasonable for what.

Well let's dig in and get going. Here we are heading up the spring in Illom. It is a 1 hour walk up the mountain behind the village

Rain and mountains are defiantly a common part of my Guatemala experience. The colorful rain gear that everyone is wearing easily fits into your pocket when you are done with it.

My friend and committee president Reynaldo.

Here we are measuring the abundant flow of excellent water this spring provides.

We bought the spring and parcel of ground around it and in this photo we are continuing to negotiate for the purchase of the spring. This village is surrounded by a finca or plantation and private land is rare and precious. The man with the cowboy hat and stick is the village special envoy and the stick is his symbol of final authority on that day. The two men in the fore grown, one with the blue dress shirt and other with the orange t-shirt are the father and son who own the spring. It took over a month and a half to finally come to an agreement with them.

String is measure out in 25 meter lengths to measure the distance back to the village as well as marking the property corners. The distance back to the village measured 2,700 meters

Back down we go. I have joked that next time I choose somewhere to help I am going to look for flat land.

After ½ an hour of walking through the brush we came back out into the corn fields and our measuring became a lot easier.

Back in Chel most of our work was within the village plotting the size and location of the pipes. Having the mayor walk through the village with a giant map of our piping layout sure got everyone’s attention.

We went through each sector counting how many houses were there and deciding how to lay the main branches One of the important steps we have learned is that after we have come to an agreement with the village leaders is to hold a village meeting, read the agreement and discuss the project. At the end of the meeting, any amendments to the plan are added and every family signs the agreement thus ratifying and pledging their commitment to the project. It is after all at the family level that the work is done.

This is the classic photo op picture of leaders from both villages with the mayor and his assistant. After reading the agreement everyone sign the declaration and we were ready to carry our petition to the regional government to solicit there help. On my last day in Chajul we went and visited the Municipal and Mayor Pedro Caba. Finally all parties were ready to sign. The municipality’s part of the agreements totaled just over $20,000! This process of uniting the village leaders and then the village and bringing the signed agreement with the village committees creates a much stronger agreement with the government. This completed the six month long process of reaching an agreement and finding proper funding for these two projects. When we calculate the value of the village labor and materials the budget for these projects are $71,000 and will bring water to 457 families. The village labor is calculated at $7 per person per day and they are the largest contributor. As you can tell I was very happy.

The following photos are special in that I was not there for any of them. The work and reporting have all been done by the villages.

Forming the collection tank above Chel

Finished collection tank at the spring.

Part of the ditch in Chel

Hanging two new three inch galvanized pipes over the river Chel.

This last Thursday August 30 they tested the water flow to this point at the head of the village. Friday Pedro Caba came to the village to verify the work and start on the second phase. I wish I could have been there. I know it is the pure mechanics of gravity that caries the water down the hill but the first time you see it exit a pipe after so much work it feels like magic. All of this work and the problems that have arisen they have resolved. This year will be remembered for many years as the year that the fathers of the village banded together to bring water to every family. I want to thank everyone who has helped us finance these projects with a special thanks going to the Gig Harbor Morning Rotary Club who has been the backbone of this aid. I know that every time I use water in a village where we have developed a system I feel so blessed to have been a part of making it happen. I would like to offer a challenge that for one day you turn off your home’s water. Just for one day carry your water from you neighbors down the road and then you will begin to understand the amount of thankfulness that these families have each day for the help you our supporters have been involved in bringing. MUCHAS GRACIAS A TODOS