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start summer select a project Barra de Potosi, Mexico

Develop potabale water and sanitation systems for the village of Barra de Potosi, Mexico

ninosencantados.com

Background

Barra de Potosi is a village community of about 700 residents in a rural area of Pacific coastal Mexico – Guerrero, Mexico. The villagers are mostly poor fishermen and their families living in approximately 60 lots distributed over 3 hectares of land. The economic base is fishing with some small amount of tourism. Development is expected to go towards tourism and to be rapid with high impact both environmentally and culturally. This is a friendly, close knit community that still moves at a slow pace. We have three schools (kinder, primary and secondary) of limited quality and a Children’s Library Project which is the central project of our civil association and serves as a kind of cultural/community center.

We are located on a very beautiful beach and lagoon estuary system 15 minutes from an International Airport and 30 minutes from Zihuatanejo and Ixtapa in the county to the north of us and which are major tourist destinations in Mexico. We are 30 minutes from our county seat which is Petatlan Guerrero.

The Challenge

Presently the village has few municipal services. Our water systems consist of private septic systems and wells. Not all in the village have access to septic systems continuing the practice of ‘going to the monte” off the edge of the village toward the mangroves on the edge of the lagoon surrounding us… As families grow they are doubling up on the same properties sometimes building up to five homes on a lot meant as a single family dwelling. We are at the limit of what can be safely managed on a system septic systems (or ‘going to the monte’) and wells all too close to each other.

We need access to potable water and a sound plan for water treatment that will be sustainable and non-polluting and preferably as close to free as possible for the poor villagers.  We must accommodate the needs of a growing population. The growing risk of health concerns can’t be ignored as the population grows. Future development is expected to be far faster than we have experienced here up to this point.

We are near to a good source for potable water – a spring-  and we are surrounded by estuary which we understand might serve for an ecologically viable sustainable non-polluting waste treatment systems. We want to explore a water system that could be a model of non-polluting sustainability powered by solar or wind if possible. Our idea is to bring in students specializing in the areas concerned -water treatment engineering, environmental water planning, or other related specializations- and have them study our area and resources and design/recommend a feasible water plan that would take into account the full circle - access to potable water, drainage and treatment of waste and water residues. We are interested in this system being sustainable, easily maintained and ecologically safe. We would want it to dovetail with other projects in our Civil Association and our community having to do with a plan for an Eco-tourism development in our village. The power for the project should be preference by generated by solar or wind. A separate but dovetailing project could focus on that.

Additional projects will dovetail around the water project in a general community plan – with focus on helping our micro-business projects  – both the women’s group (already in existence for 4 years) and our just beginning men’s and women’s cooperative group which will be focused on eco-businesses based in the community – develop and grow around a concept of sustainability, ecological protection and local control.

We have the support of our comisario (elected official (like a local mayor) and of our local community in these projects. Our comisario and I will help with other village residents in making sure the students have access to information, county government offices as needed, permission to be working through private properties, transportation and general support for their work. We believe that if we can end up with a good plan, we can get the county government and other funding sources to take the project to the next step.

Other Information

We will provide clean and comfortable housing for up to three or four students (possibly more if it seems possible and constructive to have a larger team working on the project or multiple projects). I can house three or four at my B&B which can be seen at casadelencanto.com. It is possible to eat very cheaply here. Each student would be responsible for their evening meal. The evening meal is light here and can be gotten at several little neighbors restaurants at around $30 pesos ($2 usd). They will also have room in a refrigerator to keep snacks and cold drinks.

Qualifications and Assets

Good Spanish language skills would be helpful in at least one or two of the students in the work group. Interest in community focused micro-development, ecological protection and sustainability would be nice. A love of the special spark and challenge of rural tropical Mexico would be a good thing. It’s hot and humid in the summer. We also have mosquitos though we live rather blissfully here despite all that. An appreciation of the young people and neighbors who may be available to help, learn, advice etc will make for a great opportunity to have helpers and a great time. Willingness to teach a few workshops or classes at the library on related topics would be especially appreciated.

Contact

MIT students interested in developing Fellowships around these ideas should contact Laura Kelly, lauragecko2@hotmail.com or lauragecko@yahoo.com, 52 1 755 124 6122 (this is a cell phone with pretty bad reception – email is better.)

If Laura is unavailable, contact Fernando Manuel Bello Benitez, Comisario of Barra de Potosi, 52 1 755 102 4892, almanbmx@hotmail.com