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Rainwater brings hope to volcano community

With no electricity and a five hour round trip to the nearest water source, life is not easy for the community of El Ojochal, high up on the side of one of Nicaragua’s most active volcanoes.  Nestled in the slopes of Volcán Telica, the air is cooler and it could seem an ideal place for the 100 or so people to live except for the challenge of finding an adequate clean water supply.  Following the very successful rainwater harvesting pilot project in San Jacinto which we implemented in 2005, the community in El Ojochal were keen to build a tank at their school.

The biggest challenge is transporting materials up the steep track from San Jacinto.  After necessary improvements to the road had been completed Nuevas Esperanzas invested in 7 horses to help speed up the process and construction work is going well.  No organisation has ever worked in this remote community and the special events held as part of the project have been very much appreciated, especially the Christmas party when the children enjoyed all the traditional fun and games.

The community hope the tank will be finished in time for the rains to fill it soon after the rainy season starts in May.  Our engineer, Arturo Juárez, makes the journey every couple of weeks to check on progress.

31/03/06