Tourists from the city of Cochabamba are beginning to view the Laguna Sulti reservoir as the perfect spot for a Dia de Campo – a vacation day in the countryside. This water reservoir was originally built by Mano a Mano in 2008 in partnership with the community, with a number of expansions over the years.

The Mano a Mano water reservoir in Laguna Sulti, Bolivia (February 2024)

Laguna Sulti Reservoir Brings Tourism to the Community

One of Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo’s machine operators recently used his lunch break to give this city family a boat tour of the reservoir. They circled the many small islands he had helped build when the reservoir was deepened, and were given his unrehearsed lesson on birds that have found a new home there.

Laguna Sulti residents are excited about the potential economic growth that tourism might bring to their community. But they never waver in their recognition that the greatest benefit is the irrigation water that this reservoir has stored and released to their fields during the past 16 years. It has literally saved their harvests and made it possible for them to continue to live on their land.

They proudly display and sell their products at every opportunity.

Community celebration in May 2024 while a group of US travelers was visiting Bolivia with Mano a Mano.

New Deep Water Well in Vintu Cancha, Bolivia

On the other end of the spectrum for Mano a Mano water projects, Mano a Mano is nearing completion on a new deep water well in Vintu Cancha, Bolivia.

When Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo’s well drilling machinery arrived in their community, Vintu Cancha’s 320 families (1,920 residents) were overjoyed. They had waited for this moment for years.

But the day after the machinery arrived, another wait began. The Bolivian government scheduled its overdue 10-year census. When a census is scheduled, every Bolivian citizen must return to the community of their birth. Then, all traffic halts while the census is taken.

Mano a Mano personnel traveled to their hometowns and stayed there until people and their vehicles were allowed to be on the move again. At that point they returned to Vintu Cancha to prepare for drilling the well.

The drilling equipment reached 39 meters (127 feet) in depth when the tricono, an essential three-point cutter, had worn down completely and was too worn to function. It was their last one. Repairs and maintenance are expected parts of construction work of course, but they are always expensive (and more often than not for construction items in Bolivia they have to be purchased in dollars, which is a significant challenge in Bolivia currently that adds to the expense) and especially more specialized equipment is rarely available for purchase in Bolivia; simple processes like these require months of planning to ensure that our programs in Bolivia continue to function (we often have to source parts in other countries, and sometimes have to resort to extremes like making a 4-day round trip to Peru ourselves).

Maintenance and repairs at the Mano a Mano Nuevo Mundo warehouse in Cochabamba are a never-ending process.

With repairs completed, the 120 meter-deep (393 feet) well became a reality. There is still some work to be done, but the well yields 4 liters of water per second with excellent continuous flow. Vintu Cancha residents declared that the water is excellent.

Providing Access to Water in Chirusi Rosario, Bolivia (Video)

We have worked with the community of Chirusi Rosario on a number of projects recently, including a water distribution system that was dedicated in February 2024 and new 2-story school.

Visiting Wirkini Water Reservoir (Completed in 2016) in May 2024

Wirkini residents gather on their reservoir levee, eager to welcome 15 Mano a Mano US visitors, May 2024

A visit to the Wirkini water reservoir project, completed in 2016, gave Mano a Mano travelers an opportunity to witness the flow of water from the filled reservoir and talk about the sustainability of this large infrastructure project.

Since it was dedicated and turned over to the community eight years ago, Wirkini’s farmers have taken full responsibility for maintaining the reservoir and managing the distribution of its water. They were eager to demonstrate how the reservoir functions and tell the visitors how this water has vastly improved their lives.

Don Pacifico, leader of the Wirkini Irrigators Association, explained that 20 small communities draw water from this reservoir. “We are all united, working forward together so that all can survive,” he told the surrounding crowd.

This Wirkini farmer explained that he and his neighbors lacked sufficient water to raise enough food to feed their families before Mano a Mano built the reservoir in partnership with them. Having this predictable source of water has transformed their lives. “Last year I raised about 18,000 pounds (two box-truck loads) of potatoes, some almost the size of my head.”

Having watched the farmers dig potatoes, several travelers decided to pitch in and help, using the tools at hand.