Into the jungle

On Tuesday we flew to Makuma, about a 30 minute flight (the other option is a 3 hour bus journey plus a 3 hour walk).

We walked to nearby Amazonas, a village with a new water supply (a protected underground spring with a solar pump and elevated tank) where the water no longer reaches the remotest 2 properties.  At various points people had installed valves badly, or ripped out their meters and put in direct connections, both causing leaks - the main problem is not engineering but management of the system.

We talked to the head of the 'junta' (the community group which manages the water system) who said people are unwilling to pay for their water - they think it should be provided for free - and so would rather damage the system or use the old polluted water than pay for the new system to be maintained.

Back in Makuma we had a look at a ram pump which provides drinking water for the town. I'd heard of these but not seen one before. It wasn't working because the spring is no longer providing enough water - a possible project for me to look into.

We stayed the night with Miryam Diaz in Makuma - not an entirely restful experience as we spent the evening trying to catch a tarantula that was on the landing, before Miryam eventually cut it in half with a machete.

On Wednesday a group of 6 from Water for People (USA equivalent of WaterAid) came out to visit a project in Mutins that they had donated money for. Mutins is a 2.5 hour walk from Makuma, fairly hard going through mud with tree branches laid down to make a path in places.

They have a new drinking water supply from a protected spring and new ventilated pit latrines. We slept under mosquito nets in the school and ate lots of rice and tuna (which we brought), and Watusa (a cat-sized rodent they had hunted for us). It rained all night and the river next to the village rose and was uncrossable for several hours - eventually our hosts decided it was safe and we waded through - it was thigh deep and fairly fast flowing.

We stopped halfway back in Kim - another village which has a new handpump (not working) and an old bomba mecate (working but not so clean). This is a simple pump made from string, bottletops, and a bicycle wheel, which it was good to see working in practice.

Back in Makuma after a very muddy journey felt like being back in the 21st century - despite only occasional running water and electricity there was chocolate cake and lemonade. Shell by comparison is the height of luxury.


The rest of the week has been spent getting ready for our next trip out - to Cangaime to install a solar pump. We've also been preparing materials for hygiene teaching - I've got to do the first sessions on 'what are microbes?' - all in spanish of course.