Week 73: Monday, January 13, 2025 – Sunday, January 19, 2025

Happy Sunday!!

I hope you all had restful weekends.

This week I was mainly focused on wrapping up my first project, closing accounts and adding some finishing touches. 

On Monday, I spent the day up at the high school, helping with the installation of new pipes to provide the high school with easier access to running water. By installing new pipes, we were also able to create a connection close to the cisterns to be able to fill them up with a hose during times when they aren't able to collect rainwater and when there is running water in the community. Ideally, the cisterns will be filled up with rainwater rather than water from the tap, but it is equally important that the cisterns have water in general to prevent them from cracking. And right now, while there is running water in the community, it is important that we fill the cisterns up, because in a few months when the dry season comes, who knows if there will be enough water for the community. It will be important for the school to have water to continue operating at full capacity. Last year, the high school struggled so much with water security that at one point they had to close the bathrooms and the students had no access to bathrooms on or near the premises. 

In addition to installing the new pipes, this week, I was able to spend the last of the money in the account by purchasing a ladder to facilitate cistern maintenance, seeds for the school to be able to start a garden, and fruit trees that grow well in the region for a small reforestation project.

This coming week, we also plan on painting the cisterns with a natural sealant made out of the nopal cactus and lime powder that will ensure that the cisterns are protected from the elements and likely to have a longer lifespan. 

I've been pretty diligent about checking on the cisterns over the past couple of months, and I was particularly concerned about one of the cisterns that seemed to be leaking from the bottom. But today, when I went to check on the cisterns with Pablo—one of the men who helped work on the cisterns—it appeared that the cistern was no longer leaking. You might be wondering, how is that possible? Maybe the cistern no longer had water in it to leak out. But that wasn't the case. Even without filling the cistern up with water from the tap, the cisterns still had about a foot or so of water, likely from accumulated rainwater, which means that the rainwater harvesting system is working as planned. It also turns out that over time the minerals from the water in the cisterns can help seal up leaks, which is what appears to have happened with the cistern at the high school. Of course, we will still be diligent about checking to make sure that is not any further leakage, but I'm pretty optimistic that with the sealant and with time, the cisterns will cure themselves and no longer leak.

What else happened this week?

Well, like I said, I was pretty busy with project-related activities. But I did spend a good amount of time with my site partner Rayanne this week. 

This week, when I was out of electricity and water (more on that later), Rayanne invited me to come work at her house, which I definitely took her up on. On Tuesday, we took our pets (her dog, my cat) to the vet to be sterilized, and on Friday we went for a run together, which was great motivation for me, as I am trying to add running into my routine. After the run, she invited me to shower at her house, which was greatly appreciated. 

Why no electricity or water? Well, the electricity was an isolated case at our house. It turns out there was a loose cable that caused the electricity and internet to come and go every few minutes. The water, however, was a more universal problem. It turns out that the community of El Lobo (about an hour drive from Neblinas) has started pumping water from the same water source as Neblinas. But because Neblinas uses gravity and El Lobo is using a pump, more water is going to El Lobo than to Neblinas, leaving the community's water tanks without water. After negotiations between the leaders of the communities, our water luckily came back. But it is more than slightly concerning that the same, overdrawn water source is now being distributed to more communities without knowing the consequences. 

I'm hopeful that the communities can come to a more permanent solution, but this scarcity of water provides an even bigger justification as to why Neblinas will benefit from more cisterns for rainwater capture, and which is why for my next project, I will be building more cisterns. 

This week, I plan on focusing more on my next project: confirming the participants and locking in more details.

A week from today, I'll be heading to Querétaro for my Mid-Service Training conference, which I'm looking forward to. It will be the first time in almost a year that our entire cohort will be together again. Unfortunately, we will be a smaller group than when we started (down to 30 from 39), but I'm excited to see friends and see how things are going for people at this stage of their service. 

After training, my dad will be coming to Querétaro and we are going to take a roadtrip from Querétaro to Neblinas!! Super excited for him to come up and see where I live and get a taste of the life I currently live. 

I'll do my best to write next week. But if not, I'll send you all a recap in a few weeks, once things have settled down.

Wishing you all a great start to your week!

Love,
Ilana