Hasta La Cosecha
The Cristosal Foundation
Executive Director, Noah Bullock
Until The Harvest: Sustainable Agriculture
Installation of Gravity Pump System for Agricultural and Domestic Use
El Carmen, Department Usulután, El Salvador, Central America
Project Description: The purchase of a gravity pump (Ram Pump) that would double the capacity of the current system providing 24 families with fresh water for drinking, maintenance of family garden plots, and supply the newly formed organic chicken cooperative with a sufficient source of water for production.
Outcome:
1. Improved access to potable water improving the quality of life for 113 people.
2. Increase family income by guaranteeing the resources needed to increase agricultural production to yield surpluses that can be marketed.
a. Provide water to strengthen the productive capacity of the newly formed organic chicken cooperative.
3. Improved family diet by providing the water resources to strengthen the productive capacity of the rural families and their ability to meet their nutritional needs.
a. Sufficient water to enable the community to carryout plans for small-scale agricultural diversification.
b. Guarantee water supply to maintain productive livestock though the wet and dry seasons providing sources of dairy and meat for local consumption.
Millennium Challenge Goals Addressed:
1) Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger: The principal goal of Hasta la Cosecha is to achieve a diversified agricultural production that provides for the complete nutritional needs of the families whose diets are principally corn tortillas and beans.
2) Promote gender equality and empower women: From the initiation of the agricultural school to the production in the family gardens, the participation of women to men in Hasta la Cosecha has been 60:40. The education and equipping of women in agriculture empowers rural women to take on new roles in family as provider of food and in the sale of products income.
3) Ensure environmental stability: For the last two years Hasta La Cosecha has been using agricultural education as a means of introducing sustainable agricultural methods as an alternative to monoculture that contributes to the high levels of deforestation and water contamination in El Salvador. The adoption of the “Ram Pump” system is in line with the tenants of sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture in that is does not require fuel or electrical energy and will not contaminate the sensitive eco-system where the springs are located.
4) Develop a global partnership for development: The core principle of our development strategy is the formation of the human capacity and resources as a means to ensure the sustainable community development. The key component is the formation of global partnerships that seek to support and mutually enrich the process. Hasta la Cosecha has been strengthened by partnerships with The Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, The Episcopal Diocese of Central New York, and the Episcopal Diocese of Washington though frequent visits and project support that create mutual understanding of the dynamics of poverty in Usulután and healthy accompaniment of the community as its seeks to break out of that cycle
Overview of the Situation:
The community of El Carmen was founded by ex-combatants and displaced people at the conclusion of the Salvadoran Civil War in 1992. It is located in the foothills above the coastal plans on the eastern bank of the River Lempa. It is a small and isolated community with many challenges, but one that has been able to make great progress in because of its unity and collective work ethic.
One of El Carmen’s greatest struggles since its founding has been the limited and unreliable access to water. Access to water is a major factor in relegating the families to struggle at or below subsistence levels of agricultural production as all agricultural production is totally dependent on rainfall. In overly wet or dry spells families loose whole crops leaving them without their major food source and without the means to recuperate the investment made to plant the field. Unreliable access to water also makes the incorporation of more lucrative and nutritious horticulture and fruit crops ultimately impossible. During the dry season there is not sufficient water to keep livestock in productive conditions. Cows for example, do not produce milk for 4-6 months out of the year.
Project Overview:
Investment in a community run water system that would double the capacity of the system providing 24 families with fresh water for drinking, maintenance of family garden plots, and supply the newly formed organic chicken cooperative with adequate water to produce.
The water source is a series of springs located in a ravine approximately 250 feet below the community. There is an existing water system that consists of a “Ram Pump” manufactured in Germany in 1945 and installed in the community in 1997. The pump functions on water pressure generated by gravity and does not rely on electricity or fuel making it a sustainable technology. The pump has the capacity to provide drinking water every three days or four days, but does not provide for any use beyond domestic activities. Because of the age of the pump, it is prone to break down, and it is not unusual that the community goes without access to water for long periods.
An elected community board manages the administration of the water system and community water association. Families become members of the community water association by contributing their labor on construction and maintenance of the system, a monthly quota of $3.00, and participate in the pump maintenance cycle ( Each family watched the pump for two months at a time).
Description of a Ram Pump
Rams are devices for pumping water solely by means of water-power. The flow and fall of the water powers the Rife Ram, driving a portion of this water uphill. This provides a continuous supply of water day after day, year after year, without interruption in service. Given a steady supply of water, a Ram is the closest thing to a perpetual motion machine. Since the device does not require electricity, there are no operating costs, making the Rife Ram system a highly cost efficient one. In addition, Rife Rams are self-starting and require no lubrication or priming.
Budget
Item | Quantity | Price | Money Raised |
Ram Pump | 1 | $5000 | $2500 (Diocese of Olympia) |
Shipping |
| $300 |
|
|
| Fund Raising Goal | $2,800 |
Current Status of Project:
The proposed water project is an important component of a ongoing agricultural development project Hasta la Cosecha, the aim of which, is to educate and equip the community in agricultural to improve access to food and generate income for local families. The project is currently moving into its third phase in the development of an organic chicken cooperative that will include the production and marketing of meat, eggs, and chicken manure. Access to water will be essential to the success of the business model of the cooperative that is based on the ability to grow grains for chicken feed locally. The improvement of the water system will also permit the reactivation of the family garden systems and strengthen the family’s self-sufficiency in the production of food for the family diet.
The pump infrastructure (capitation tank, water lines, and pump casing) was installed by the community in 2009 with funds from Hasta La Coesha. The budget presented in this proposal reflects the purchase of a new “Ram pump” and the shipping costs. The Diocese of Olympia has donated $2,500 toward the pump and our current fund raising goal is $2,800.
