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.