Indigenous Oaxacan Teens Create Water Filters
In a major step for gender equity in science, Shanni and Rosa, high school students from the small town of Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize! They invented a filter to remove harmful chemicals left in water after dyeing wool. The resulting purified water is better for watering crops, whereas the dyes were causing soil damage. Their filters contain gravel, sand, activated carbon, clay, and cotton cloth. After passing through these filters, the water has lost its color; it is further purified by the sun, and odors are much diminished.
The young women are also promoting the use of natural plant dyes to replace the chemicals used for wool in the local weaving, a big part of their economy. “We want to see gender equity, and women can be at the front of this effort! We were not limited by being indigenous, by our skin color, or for speaking our mother tongue,” said Shanni.
Because of climate change and resulting water scarcity, it was hard to irrigate natural dye plants such as nopal, and people were increasing the use of chemical dyes. But the chemicals were harmful and the wastewater could not be used for watering crops. The students want to add a further step of purification using aquatic plants in ponds; they are seeking resources for testing the water to determine its viability for crops. The teens’ dream is to study environmental engineering.
(Report from an article in El Pais by Omaya Casama, president, Associacion de Mujeres Artesanas de Ipeti Emberoe.)
United for the Care of Our Water
Sipping coffee, munching on croissants and catching glimpses of a rufus hummingbird in the back garden of Pandemono Café…Ingrid, Rosa and I went over our group’s draft proposal to the Cabildo Abierto (open forum on water). I was thrilled that we produced a document that addressed important themes: the rights of personhood for our neighborhood stream; our responsibility to care for it by cleaning and not contaminating it especially with sewage; using biogas digesters, Effective Microorganisms, and vermiculture in decentralized approaches; and collaborating with Villanueva, the town above us in the watershed.
The proposal emphasized looking at the full water cycle, capturing and channeling rainwater to help refill the aquifer and keep stormwater out of the blackwater to be treated. Ingrid highlighted how the current practice of dumping untreated sewage into the stream has caused the loss of a natural gem: the waterfall known as Salto de Mico, which literally stinks. Ingrid presented our proposal at the forum.
The Grand Forum on Water Supply
The culmination of months of organizing, the Cabildo took place on Sunday, Nov. 17, with multiple community groups in attendance, plus the Mayor and members of the town Council. The meeting went for over 4 hours. “Lack of water affects all sectors, including agricultiure, tourism, education, and development. Our collective intelligence and collaboration are needed,” said Daniel Forero, the organizer.
A few highlights:
Julian, the young radical from “A Cry for Water,” made clear his opinion of the agency ESANT (which administrates water supply and sanitation), calling for its liquidation. “The community should manage all the resources for water supply and sanitation,” he declared.
Carlos, president of Water for Guane, described the town’s ambitious plan to capture 450,000 liters of rainwater in a large higher altitude pond, and purify it using solar power. This plan originated with my good friend Paúl. They are doing their best to raise funds.
SEPA (Private Educational Sector): Studies have been done for 20 years, there are many interconnected problems. 1200 trees have been planted, and more are needed. A quick solution was suggested, to collect rainwater. Each house should have a tank holding 30,000 liters, and gutters where needed. The cost per tank is only about $250 USD.
Felipe Medina spoke on behalf of Pasos de Agua (Water Steps), highlighting the actual risk of desertification, if we don’t manage water better, and pointing out that half the world’s population already suffers from water scarcity. He called the creeks the “blood of the territory” — not a commodity or a thing. “Soil is the place to store water,” he emphasized.
Juan Carlos Rey called attention to the plight of the rural districts that surround Barichara, where over 1000 lots have been licensed for construction, yet no plans are in place for providing enough water. At present, the 1600 rural residents get raw water, completely untreated, which is actually against the law. “Potable water is a human right!”
“All these studies!” lamented German; “We don’t need more… Water is a public good, yet Villanueva pollutes our stream.” Like others, he called for capturing more rainwater, slowing the speed of runoff with vegetation, and reforestation.
Karl, with his wife Katrin translating German to Spanish, gave his recommendations: Raise the level of the dam holding water for the 4 towns, so more water can be contained. Import water from Butaregua. Treat wastewater before it goes into the stream. Maintain septic tanks better.
Three school children spoke up against deforestation and for protecting springs, “sources of life.” They called for creating deep ponds to recharge the aquifer.
The organizers of the forum plan to weave together some of the common threads from the various proposals. I learned that we won’t anticipate any response from the mayor or council until perhaps February of next year.
Sustainable Hotels
Recently, Ingrid and I met with two members of Juntanza por el Agua, an alliance of hotel owners working towards more sustainability. Maria Elvira is the owner of Casa Barichara Boutique, a lovely hotel near the canyon, which harvests rainwater. She has a vision of tourism focused on local regeneration.
Some of their visitors from Bogota are environmental professionals, and she loves the idea of having some of them contribute their expertise. She knows an environmental engineer from Bogota, and a young woman who is writing her thesis on the Suarez River. There’s a French nonprofit organization, “From the Alps to the Andes,” working on sustainable tourism in the Chicamocha canyon area. They see the importance of education, and like the idea of a powerpoint presentation for hotel owners on the benefits of biodigesters and EMs, perhaps in the last week of January.