10 new wells in Nicaragua
So we recently had the great opportunity to complete a new project in Nicaragua by funding 10 hand built wells. This project was led by our friend Paul and he was able to work directly with Maria, a local leader in the community.
The wells were drilled to about 60 feet (18 meters) The drilling rigs were provided by Paul and the labor was done by the local community members. In addition, the villagers put in a financial contribution for equipment maintenance for each well.
Extra thanks to Paul Cloesen for all his hard work organizing this project! We greatly appreciate it!
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Thomaskosh March 24th
Nice. Keep up the good work.
David Craige April 1st
Paul just emailed me with the following additional details:
* Photos 1, 2 and 4 are actually the same well !
* 13 wells were drilled and materials handed over for 14. 13 pump handles are shown on a photograph. One had been built in an earlier session. The 14th well has not been drilled yet, due to the fact that the owner, Pastor Durón (also the local leader) suffered a stroke and prostponed his own well. When I left Nicaragua, three of the drilled wells did not have their pump installed but I suppose they must be installed by now. Will confirm after next visit.
* Materials were also handed over for two faucet installations: piping, a water tank (”cantarito”), a wash basin and a tap. The idea was to complete all systems with a tank, faucet and wash basin, like in the first photograph, but as people did not move (or at least not fast enough), I took materials (essentially cement, left over from another project) back to prevent them from getting wasted. The cement had started hardening.
* The number of wells (plus the two distribution systems) is higher than expected on a budget of 500 dollars. That is due to the fact that wells in this area are shallower than average. Our standard cost is 40 dollars per well with pump for an 18 m deep well with a 12 m pump. In this case, however, wells were only 15 m deep and most pumps only 6 m.
* Ms. María Yanirée Alvarez Olivas is actually known as Yanirée, not as María, which is a very common name in Central America. She is not a local leader, but a lawyer and an environmental activist from civil society. She has been supporting this project since 2004 and was appointed Delegate of the Ministry of Natural Reources and Environment for the Department of León recently. That puts her in a position to support the project a.o. with means of transport. The local leader is called Pastor Durón. He appears on a photograph assembling a pump handle with a Stillson pipe wrench.
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