Approved Grant (through donor-advised fund): $2,000
Designation: Provide matching funds to build a community well as well as eco-latrines for the school in Pachut, Guatemala.
Additional Notes: This project took place May through July, 2017. Total expenses for the project ended up at $3,482.14, which was below the original estimate of around $4,000.00.
We estimate this project serves approximately 140 people. The school at Pachut has 38 students, and 2 teachers. It is also estimated that around 100 people from the surrounding area will use the well.
A biosand filtration system was also provided as part of this project.
In addition, 3 eco-latrines were constructed.
A little background information:
- Pachut is a small, rural village of around 300 people whose economy is primarily agricultural, with the average daily wage being around $4.00/day.
- Pachut is located in the township of Patzicia in the department of Chimaltenango, and the land the community is situated on is owned communally by the township of Patzicia, not by the residents themselves. Because of this technicality and poverty, they have no electricity or running water in their homes.
- Water for the village is currently obtained from several small wells located just north and west of the village.
- Having a functional well near the school with a sand filtration system would help provide better sanitation for the students since they currently have no water that is easily accessible for washing their hands and brushing their teeth.
- Construction of an eco-latrine system, whereby waste can be recycled into fertilizer
Components of the water system project included:
- Reinforcing the well walls with concrete casings and adding a protective barrier around the top of the well for the safety of the students.
- Installing a bicycle powered pump.
- Construction of a concrete platform to stabilize the cistern.
- Connecting the cistern with tubing to an easily accessible faucet/pila.
- The ability to hook up the water system to irrigation, so that the school can create a garden if it chooses to in the future.
The attached document has a breakdown of the final accounting for this project: Click Here
The attached document has scans of the cost estimates by vendor: Click Here
Project Photos: (*** We plan to add an additional photo facing the cistern platform soon***)
Students washing their hands using the new water system. The wooden structure behind, houses the bicycle water pump, along with the well casing and cover. There is a little lock on the door so that way the children can’t enter to try to play with the bike. And, behind on the right side you can see the yellow structure which houses the eco-latrines.
In this photo you can see the newly constructed concrete platform designed to hold the water cistern. The water tank holds 500 liters.
View of the washing area
Well casing
Newly constructed latrine area
Inside latrine
Urinal inside latrine
In this photo you can see the mid-point of construction of the water system. The concrete platform to hold the cistern is being constructed, along with the piping system, and structure to house the pump along with the well casing
Here you can see in the mid-point of construction, the installation of the bicycle pump, which is just behind a round concrete cover for the well. The concrete cover was designed to help prevent debris from getting into the well, as well as to add to safety.
Mid-point construction of latrines
Students at Pachut
