Mural of the Water Cycle, Cochabamba, Bolivia

In this process of learning and sharing, building rain water harvesting tanks, natural sewage treatment wetlands, planting trees, painting and much more, EVI formed The One Water Network/Red Un Mundo Un Agua to connect the people committed to solving the problems facing water and soil today and to make the information and education more available. The One Water Network now has members in South America, Europe and the United States, a center for the restoration of water and soil in Cochabamba, Bolivia, a website, and informational pamphlets. The collaboration in Bolivia has started a strong basis for future work throughout the world.

Another major success was that the material cost for the projects were shared between EVI and the three locations enabling far more work to be accomplished. We found that when the people contributed financially to solving the problems facing their own water and soil, they were more dedicated to learning about the technologies and using the systems.

Cochabamba:
The Ecovillage Institute had established a relationship with CENFOTEC, a sustainable agriculture school in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2003. Students at the school, who come from all parts of Bolivia, had been trained to build and design ecological constructed wetlands for treating sewage. In the second visit to CENFOTEC in 2004/2005 the Ecovillage Institute worked with the school to form a center for the sustainable use of water and soil. The students were educated through the implementation of specific projects and through cooperative games and artistic endeavors. The idea was to have as many examples of ecological technologies as possible to demonstrate ways of improving the quality of water and soil and therefore everyone’s quality of life.

Rainwater Catchment Tank, Cochabamba Bolivia

Each Student Painted a Drop of Water on the Tank with One of Water’s Many Forms.
At CENFOTEC visitors can now view constructed wetlands for treating sewage and grey water, a rain water catchment tank, a sand filter for drinking water, Permaculture gardens irrigated only with treated grey water, a hand pump for accessing well water, composting toilets, bio-gas for cooking, agro-forestry, and a twenty meter mural of the water cycle. There are beautifully painted signs explaining the systems and an educational manual is currently in the works. These technologies are simple, inexpensive and easily replicable. The idea is to encourage autonomy and self-sufficiency so that the people can restore, recycle and responsibly care for their water and soil without depending on foreign help. CENFOTEC has recently been contracted to build a sewage treatment wetland to treat the waste from a new orphanage building, which neighbors the school.

Grey Water Wetland Under Construction and Six Months Later

Art and creativity are essential components to the teaching and work in all locations. It is easier to learn when the classes are hands-on and full of dynamic games and art projects. Art is an effective tool for bringing people together and for self-expression. Collaborative paintings and murals were completed around the themes of water and soil, and as a way for exploring personal visions.

Collaborative Puzzle Garden Artwork

Puka Puka:
Puka Puka is a very remote Quechua village whose population are farmers or teachers in the school, high school or university. The people are very proud of their history as direct descendents of the Incas. Education is their most important priority and they have a high quality school and are unique in their area for having a university in the campo. The major problem for the village, however was that they did not have enough water or any form of toilet for the older students. EVI spent five weeks in Puka Puka working together with students and villagers. During this time a water catchment tank was built for the school. This was done using circular metal molds, filling them with cement and barbed wire and later removing the molds. This simple technique can now be replicated by any family that wishes to have a water catchment tank, as the mold can be used countless times.

Rain Water Catchment Tank Under Construction and Completed, Puka Puka

A composting toilet prototype was constructed for the high-school, and a caretaker chosen to monitor its proper use. The caretaker is paid by the community to coordinate the removal of compost and cleaning of the bathroom, thereby guaranteeing the work will be done. The toilet is a dual chamber system in which the compost sits for six months, while the other chamber is in use, after which the compost is removed and used to fertilize trees.

Composting Toilet Puka Puka

Trees are essential to healthy water and soil. Puka Puka has practically no trees and is suffering from erosion and dry, poor quality soil. A tree-planting project was started in Puka Puka with hundreds of trees planted and a paid coordinator elected to coordinate the planting of one thousand trees a year for three years and their protection with fencing. The trees are a variety of fruit trees and legumes.

Tree Planting Puka Puka

The water in the village came from a spring providing just three liters of water a minute. The first week that the EVI team spent in Puka Puka there was no water arriving at the teachers housing where they stayed and the only water they had was from a large sink filled with dirty water. In order to dramatically increase the potable water supply EVI contributed 50% of the funds needed to bring water from a nearby spring to the village which was: three hundred dollars. Each family contributed a percentage of their potato harvest in order to raise their 50%, they were able to raise the three hundred dollars, however six hundred dollars would have been impossible. The new spring provides ten liters of water a minute, more than three times what they originally had.

Water From Spring Close to Arriving in Puka Puka

During the time spent in Puka Puka EVI also monitored the use of water to determine the locations where the majority of water was used. These were found to be at the school, where students drank, washed and cooked food and at the teachers housing area. This water was originally flowing out into the road, but now is channeled under the road and enters a garden where the tree seedlings are planted. EVI also installed the first shower in Puka Puka, a simple solar shower for the teacher’s quarters, which was very popular with the people.

Japo:
Japo is an Ayamara village in the Altiplano, perched in a barren area at one of the highest altitudes of any town in Bolivia. The people have a strong sense of community with frequent town meetings and colorful traditions of dance, music and weaving. Similarly to in Puka Puka, water was a scarce commodity in Japo. An aid organization had attempted to bring water from a distant spring to the village in 1995 and installed all the pipes and a ram pump. However it was the wrong sort of pump to raise the water up the necessary elevation and therefore no water ever arrived. EVI brought a state of the art solar pump and worked with the people to install it safely in the location. This successfully pumped the crystal clear water to the village.

Solar Pump Japo

A water catchment tank was built for the town hall and a prototype of a composting toilet was completed. At the time that EVI was in Japo it was the wrong season to plant trees, however trees species were researched which could survive at high altitudes and money set in place for the planting of three thousand seedlings the following year and a coordinator elected.

Japo Group Portrait

Conclusion:
A whole systems approach to the sustainable use and restoration of water and soil proved to be a very effective way of solving the problems of water scarcity, contamination and land degradation. In addition to the benefits of clean water access and increased land productivity, the systems that the Ecovillage Institute Lookfar Team taught about and implemented support the local economy, biodiversity, and health of the region.

This work strongly supports many of the global objectives laid out in the Millennium Goals and Agenda 21. The people in Cochabamba, Puka Puka and Japo were trained in these skills and can now replicate the systems to suit their needs. Additionally there is now a demonstration center in Cochabamba. The Ecovillage Institute hopes to implement phase three of the work in Bolivia in one years time. This would involve supporting the Network members, continuing training of trainers, and helping the people to spread the environmental solutions and education to other communities.

Contributors:
The organizations and people who contributed to this project are: The Funding Network, The Robert and Margaret Thomas Foundation, Aldeas Infantiles SOS, the village of Puka Puka, the village of Japo, Lynette Raap and Ron Miller.