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La Palmerita Water and Sanitation

“La  Palmerita” is a community of 153 families in the Department of León, near the town of Malpaisillo, most of whom are former coffee workers from the north of Nicaragua who were displaced as a result of the coffee crisis of 2000/2001.

Nuevas Esperanzas and its predecessor have been involved in helping this community since 2001 when they first arrived at the site with emergency food supplies, water, sanitation, temporary housing, agricultural projects, medical attention and education.  A major breakthrough was achieved when the land was transferred to the ownership of the Mayor of Malpaisillo in August 2005, paving the way for a permanent settlement.  In December 2006 Nuevas Esperanzas was appointed to manage the construction of the first 112 houses, supervising site work and coordinating the participation of the community.  The construction of this first phase of the housing project was completed in February 2007.

There is now an urgent need to improve water supply and sanitation at La Palmerita.  Although water is readily available from shallow wells, a combination of poor hygiene and contamination of the aquifer have resulted in a high incidence of water-borne diseases.  Microbiological analysis undertaken by Nuevas Esperanzas over a number of years has shown that hand-dug wells in this area are extremely susceptible to contamination.

Priority is being given to improved sanitation through the construction of latrines as a simple and cost-effective means of disease prevention.  Construction of the first 20 latrines began in May 2007 with funding from Llantwit Major Community Church in Wales, but further funding is needed in order to provide sanitation for all 153 families.

To download a project proposal for the latrines project please click here.

To improve the quality of water available to the community at La Palmerita, a new system has been designed to provide a tap at each house, supplied from a protected well located several hundred metres from the housing area.  Nuevas Esperanzas is working with the community to ensure the sustainability of the project and will provide training so that the system can be managed by a water committee and technician.  Detailed plans and hydraulic modelling of the system have been completed and a 30 m borehole was drilled in May 2007 with assistance from Project HOPE.  However additional funding is needed for the pump and controls, a chlorination system, water tower and distribution network.  If you would like more information about this project, please contact us at info@nuevasesperanzas.org.