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Catching the Rain

San Jacinto is an impoverished rural community of about 2400 people in the Department of León, Western Nicaragua.  The community is located in a volcanically active area that makes local water sources such as groundwater unsuitable for human consumption.  Access to safe drinking water in the community is extremely limited with many households travelling several hours to the nearest source.

Rainwater harvesting had never been taken very seriously as a potential solution to water supply needs. Small amounts of rainwater had previously been collected from roofs in uncovered barrels creating numerous breeding sites for the mosquito responsible for the transmission of dengue fever.  Poor management of the catchment and aggressive deforestation has led to soil erosion, depletion of resources and adverse changes in the micro-climate.   

In 2005, Nuevas Esperanzas undertook a ten month integrated project to address the most urgent water, health and environmental needs of the community, introducing the concept of rainwater harvesting through the construction of 14 model systems in the school, health centre and in individual houses. Additional components tackled the problems of mosquito control and dengue fever, hygiene, environmental health, deforestation and excessive consumption of firewood.  

This pilot project has successfully demonstrated how this technique can provide an excellent source of clean water from roofs of buildings and has generated a huge amount of interest in rainwater harvesting, not just in San Jacinto, but also in many neighbouring communities. Two follow-up projects are currently underway (El Ojochal Rainwater Harvesting and Churches Unite to Catch the Rain) with more planned over the next few years.

To download the full report on this project please click here.