Families Benefiting from the Wirkini Water Reservoir
Paulino Rocha Gonzales, 44 years old, married with 4 children living in Iluri Grande, Tiraque Province, is a direct beneficiary of the waters made possible by the Wirkini reservoir.
He mentions that the water in the reservoir is currently full, with the excess water flowing through the overflow channel. People irrigate their plots only using the overflow water – so far the outflow valve for the outlet pipe of the reservoir has not been opened.
Paulino says:
“the lands were previously not in production due to lack of water; now, all of those lands are cultivated with potatoes, corn, peas, beans, barley, oats, and wheat. In the past nobody wanted to buy these lands; even those with some available irrigation sold for minimal prices. Now, nobody wants to sell land, and everyone wants to buy because they are assured of irrigation water from the reservoir.”
The beneficiaries of the Wirkini reservoir, more than 340 families, are happy with the reservoir water and happy that the reservoir overflows every year. They thank Mano a Mano for our collaboration.
The Wirkini Water Reservoir was completed in October 2016 and quickly filled with about 20 feet of water (top picture). By March 2017 the water was 50 feet deep (bottom picture).
Wirkini Residents Talk About the Reservoir and the Impact it Will Have for Them
More Information about the Wirkini Water Reservoir
- Note from Mano a Mano co-founder Segundo Velasquez from the dedication
- Pictures & information from August when construction was being finalized
- Post from volunteer Sam Klein about a site visit to Wirkini in September
Mano a Mano Water Projects
The Wirkini project joins Mano a Mano’s 8 other large-scale water retention projects that benefit 131,062 people throughout Bolivia (51,062 directly). Our first water reservoir was built in Ucuchi, Bolivia in 2005 (this reservoir in Ucuchi is the other project featured in the video above) and has been consistently providing water to the community for more than a decade, even in times of drought like Bolivia is currently experiencing. We are expecting the Wirkini reservoir to work as well as the Ucuchi reservoir, for many years to come.
