Improving Atajados (Water Ponds) in Pojo, Bolivia
Mano a Mano’s heavy equipment starting the trip from Cochabamba to Pojo to dredge water ponds, late October 2018.
We are currently dredging 83 water ponds built by others, which have since filled with silt. Mano a Mano’s heavy equipment left Cochabamba for Pojo a few weeks ago, and Ivo Velasquez from our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo sent us an update on the work:
“Mano a Mano’s heavy equipment started work in Pojo on October 25th. It was not easy getting the equipment to the atajados, and they are spread out throughout the area; getting from one atajado to the next takes 1-3 hours.
Through early November, we have been working in the community of Charcas and have dredged 5 atajados, which has totaled 40 hours of machine time to excavate the silt. We then went to the community of Thago and have worked on 7 atajados, totaling 50 hours of machine time with the bulldozer.
These cleanup projects are not easy. With the first rains coming, communities have been able to use these atajados to collect water, and they appreciate the work.”
Mano a Mano Water Projects
Mano a Mano seeks the most feasible means for accessing water when communities ask us to partner with them. We have constructed or improved 320 farm ponds in areas where tillable land plots are not side by side; 47 surface wells in communities that lie near banks of large rivers; and 9 large water reservoirs.
Ucuchi Water Reservoir, September 2018. This was Mano a Mano’s first reservoir, built in 2006, and continues to provide consistent access to water for families in the community.