Maldonado Water Project – Early August 2017 Update
From our staff at our counterpart organization Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo:
All work in the nucleus of the levee has been completed. All compacting in the area where top soil was removed has also been completed. We are pleased that the levee has reached a half-meter high throughout the length of the levee, and it will continue to grow. Progress will be faster as we grow higher.
Maldonado Water Project Description
Mano a Mano staff started work on the new water project in Maldonado, Bolivia in February 2017. As with many of our projects, the working conditions are difficult: it is about 14,000 feet above sea level, and it is cold, wet, and windy.
When completed, this project will make it possible for 96 subsistence farm families (about 600 people) to irrigate 250 acres of cropland and to water their livestock, as well as having water for household use. With the severe drought currently affecting Bolivia, water projects like this one are especially important to help rural communities manage their resources.
Because of the need, water projects are a high priority for Mano a Mano and the communities that we partner with. In addition to building large-scale water reservoirs, we also build surface wells and small water ponds in communities where the smaller projects are a better fit.
Mano a Mano’s first water reservoir project, built more than a decade ago in Ucuchi, Bolivia.
Through eight major water projects, 20+ wells, and 275 water ponds, more than 50,000 people have consistent, reliable access to water.