Maldonado Water Project Update – Late June 2017
Mano a Mano co-founder Segundo Velasquez just got back from a trip to Bolivia, which included a site visit to our water project underway in Maldonado, Bolivia:
I just came back from Bolivia. I want to tell you that the Maldonado project is coming along quite well.The levee, the foundation area, clearing was completed. A 4-meter wide by 5-meter deep key way or channel at the middle of the levee foundation was cut out. Bore holes were drilled below ground in the area of the foundation, and liquid cement was pumped into the bore holes.Clay and the right mixture of material is being compacted into the dug out channel. To date, 1/3 of the length of the levee channel has been refilled while the rest of the levee area is receiving material and is being compacted.We estimate that next week we will begin to compact clay material on the width of the whole levee area. Our biggest problem has been to find the right clay mixture material near the project site. If it all goes well, we expect to complete this levee project before the rainy season this November.
Pictures from Late June 2017 – Maldonado Water Project
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.
In 2012 Mano a Mano dedicated a large water reservoir project in Sancayani, Bolivia. Sancayani is a rural community in the department of Cochabamba high in the Bolivian Andes – about 14,000 feet above sea level.
Through eight major water projects, 20+ wells, and 275 water ponds, more than 50,000 people have consistent, reliable access to water.