Community Education

By Daemen College Posted on Fri 17 Apr 2009, about 17 years ago

The needs for an improved stove, hand-washing station and septic systems are well justified. How does Agua Para La Salud work with the school to incorporate health and environmental education? Specifically, are there efforts to educate the community about the health and environmental consequences of raw sewage dumped into a river or smoke production in contained spaces?

This is the main application for review

By Peer Water Exchange Posted on Sat 18 Apr 2009, about 17 years ago

Since APLS has submitted 6 applications for similar school projects, only one application will be reviewed and the rest will inherit the fate of the reviewed one: this one!

The other applications can be seen through many paths on PWX.

Raw Sewage Alternatives

By Earth Voyage Posted on Sat 18 Apr 2009, about 17 years ago

Earth Voyage is excited and honored to be part of Agua Para La Salud's project, by facilitating children and adults here in Western North Carolina do more than learn about water conservation and those in need but put service learning into action by raising money and awareness for the children at Chajul School and their community and to be part of The Peer Water Exchange Program and Agua Para La Salud!

My only comment about this project is about the septic system. Certainly a septic system is preferable to raw sewage being dumped in the river, but has the idea of composting toilets been considered as alternative to a septic tank? Septic tanks can leak, fail and have to be maintained. From what I have gathered of the region it has a high water table and so availability of water is not so much the issue but sanitation.
I know there is not much time for the evaluation period and overall the project seems great. However if you wanted to look into alternatives I would be willing to help find cost basis for it and project scope.

Here is a link to The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) that helps individuals and communities "get affordable and environmentally sound access to electricity, sanitation and clean water. Through a combination of business incubation, education, and outreach, they help people get technology that will better their health and improve their lives."
This link explains how a urine diverting/dry toilet was made in Haiti. They also work in Guatemala.
http://www.aidg.org/component/option,com_jd-wp/Itemid,34/p,1044/

Here is another project that was successful:
Enterprising Technology Transfer: The Puerto Morelos Composting Toilet Project
Methodology:The approach to establishing composting toilets and greywater recycling systems in Puerto Morelos included:
- Using proven technical design parameters
- Flexibility in degrees of design sophistication (i.e.; materials, size, energy needs, cost, micro-flush and waterless systems, appearance)
- Institutionalized maintenance (not dependent on individual households)
- Community education - Emphasizing women's participation
http://www.solutions-site.org/artman/publish/article_66.shtml

Earth Voyage believes that now is the time to link all our knowledge, and creativity together to create sustainability for all people.

Raw Sewage Alternatives

By Agua Para La Salud (APLS) Posted on Sat 18 Apr 2009, about 17 years ago

Composting solutions in individual homes have been tried in the highlands of Guatemala with limited success. The use of composting toilets in schools with 100-300 children have not worked due to the volumne of waste to deal with and the ambient temperature which does not allow for proper bacterial action to deal with the volumne over time. We work with the Peace Corps Healthy Schools Program which has had hygiene projects in hundreds of schools over the last 10 years and they do not reccommend using compost disposal as an option in schools for these reasons.

APS does offer schools and communities on-going technical assitance in inspecting and maintaining septic tanks and bathroom equipment.

I have seen projects in individual homes ( not schools) that did work in areas such as the lowland tropical areas of Guatemalan coastal plains with high water tables where the temperature was suitable for the proper bacterial action to take place.

The central highlands of Guatemala does not have high water tables which are usually at about +20 meters depth. As a result septic tanks and drain fields or seepage pits are a viable solution to a large volumne of human waste.

Old work + Household penetration

By Blue Planet Network Posted on Sat 18 Apr 2009, about 17 years ago

This is a new area of funding for BPR. We started by funding drinking water projects and expanded to sanitation. Hygiene facilities and education are new for us, but we see the importance of reaching the youth using school facilities.

Also, it feels good to be supporting extensions to earlier work.

Can you tell us the state of your earlier projects?
How long do you feel these structures last?
Can the community self maintain the system? How have they been doing so far?

Regarding further expansion, can you tell us the state of the household toilet facilities? If not good, do you have experience or witness in these school project knowledge and work penetrating to the household level?

Thanks,
Rajesh

Old work + Household penetration

By Agua Para La Salud (APLS) Posted on Mon 20 Apr 2009, about 17 years ago

The designs that we have developed over the last 15 years for hand washing stations and sanirtary facilities minimize in the designs the need for maintanence. Our main focus in maintaining facilities that fail is to provide long term technical assitance to schools and villages so that they can maintain the facilities using their own resources. The "Circuit Rider" project we are currently developing in the highlands of Guatemala allow us to train a key local individual to facilitate this need in individual villages and schools for repair and maintenance in the futiure. This type of support requires in the future the taking of responsiblity by local school districts and governmental offices to be sustainable. Peace Corps and APS have been attempting to make this change to government responsibility for the last 10 tears with limited success because of the low funding priority that central government has for school facilities. We have had success with the local villages an school teachers taking responsibility for the maintenance but this depends entirely upon the competence of the school director and the teachers. We can reinforce their efforts as our funding allows.

Attitude changing is the key factor as to the transfer of sanitation use in schools to the home. This is an area that could use some long term study. Attitude change requires long term "positive", " repeated" exposure to a concept such as latrine use. We have noticed over the last 15 years since the ending of the civil war in Guatemala that the majotiy of homes know they should use latrines or other sanitary facilities for human waste disposal and in the majority of cases have provide facilities in their homes even though primitive at times.This also is an area of education that is ultimately in the hands of the schools and parents of a given area. To state the obvious, if the childerns habits are developed in schools then one could anticipate a long term change when they become parents such as has occurred in the US since the Civil War of the 1850's. This change will require consistent encouragement and support of local efforts , but not replacement of responsibility for the efforts by teachers and governments agencies.

Old work + Household penetration

By Blue Planet Network Posted on Tue 21 Apr 2009, about 17 years ago

This topic merits more discussion - but it distracts from the application.

The question is how to speed up some of these attitude and behavior changes needed?

Anyway, regarding the application, thanks for your response. What is your experience with good gov't programs when they do happen?

Old work + Household penetration

By Agua Para La Salud (APLS) Posted on Tue 21 Apr 2009, about 17 years ago

The government hostipal in the Nebaj region has an active program of visiting the villages and holding classes with primarily women to discuss and deliver trainings on a a variety of health related issues. The program with the Cuban governement to exchange cuban doctors has worked very well to provide direct health care to the villages and schools for the first time in Guatemalan history while training young Guatemalans to become rural doctors. These initiatives along with assisting schools and teachers with facilities and materials is making a change in providing the above mentioned long term exposure to health concepts.