What I´ve been up to so far...

It is hard to believe that nearly 7 weeks have passed since I arrived in Bolivia. I’ve spent the vast majority of my time so far working closely with COBAGUAL’s team leader and sole full time employee, Felipe Quispe. So far we’ve focused on networking with other NGO’s in Bolivia that can provide us with skills, advice, and to ensure our success once we begin work in the beneficiary community.

Here is a brief week by week summary of our activities since I arrived in the country.

Week 1 – June 4-9: I arrived traveling overland via Peru, and Felipe and I took advantage of the opportunity to visit some of Jaraña´s projects in Oruro and Cochabamba. We had several meetings with Jaraña to discuss how we will collaborate throughout the year, and while passing through Santa Cruz de la Sierra, started with my visa application to stay in the country.

Week 2 – June 10-16: We mostly focused on reviewing and refining the project plan in Ascensión de Guarayos, and continuing my visa application in Santa Cruz.
Week 3 – June 17-24: We traveled to Ginger´s Paradise organic farm to learn more about their gardens and composting latrines.

Week 4 – June 25-30: Began the week in Mairana, Bolivia having strategic planning meetings with two ex-employees (Juan and Irwin) of a Bolivian NGO who are willing to provide us crucial technical support. We finished the week in Guarayos with more project planning and our first site visits (since my arrival to Bolivia this year) to the most likely candidates for the beneficiary community, Limoncito and Los Chacos. I also finished phase 1 of my visa application process. Yay!

Week 5 – July 1-7: We spent 5 days in Santa Cruz´s dry Gran Chaco region with Agua Yaku learning an inexpensive method to drill water wells.

Week 6 – July 8-14: Our most frustrating week so far… we attempted to spend more time with Agua Yaku but were unable to coordinate with them due to scheduling conflicts. I also was sick the whole week with a nasty chest cold.

Week 7 – July 15-21: Back in Guarayos, we began planning our approach for implementing a small demonstration project in the town of Ascensión, and developing our strategy for participatory diagnostic studies in the beneficiary community.

Welcome to the project blog...

Hello everyone!

At long last, and after several requests, I´m launching a blog where people involved with Bolivian-Canadian Clean Water Network (BCCWN) will provide updates on our activities in Bolivia.

I have been in Bolivia for nearly two months now providing support to COBAGUAL on a pilot project related to improving food security in Guarayos, part of Bolivian´s Amazon basin. This project is supported by the Pathy Family Foundation and the University of British Columbia.

Prior to this project, I had been involved in water projects in eastern Bolivia since 2006, mostly focused on using the BioSand Filters to improve access safe drinking water. As a co-founder and volunteer for BCCWN I helped provide a small Bolivian community organization called COBAGUAL with financial support as they implemented BioSand Filter projects in Ascensión de Guarayos, Bolivia and surrounding rural communities. After several years of increasing food prices, a fuel shortage in late 2010 (Caused by an abrupt end to government subsidies on transport fuel known as ‘el Gasolinazo’) forced us to temporarily halt our water projects because stores in Guarayos ran out of food. The event exposed the precarious food security situation in the region and inspired this project.

This project was designed to incorporate 3 elements: 1) drilling shallow wells to provide better access to water for irrigation or drinking 2) supporting the establishment of household or community gardens 3) improving access to sanitation, possibly through composting latrines, which could also provide fertilizer for some crops. Rather than arriving in the beneficiary community with a pre-designed plan for implementing, we are going to take our time to get to know the community’s existing needs and strengths. By tailoring the project to the community’s needs and building on its existing strengths and abilities, and requiring community members to provide labor and materials we hope to ensure that the project yields long-term benefits.