Current/Recent Projects
Community Description:
Nueva Rosa is a small, predominately Haitian community comprised of 15 houses and approximately
90 inhabitants. It is situated some three kilometers from the turnoff located at kilometer 68 on the national highway that runs from Barahona to Pedernales in the Southwest corner of the country. There
are no electrical power lines in the community and no water system. Community members buy water
from a water truck which enters the village weekly.
Perhaps more dire is the fact that there are no latrines in Nueva Rosa. Community members defecate
on the outskirts of their village. Stomach aches, headaches and diarrhea are universally reported.
In November Hermandad, Inc. launched a Health and Hygiene Project in Nueva Rosa. The components
of this project are water filters, latrines and a possible water collection tank but more importantly
than what we do is how we do it. As in all Hermandad projects, our goal is development, not charity.
The men and women of Nueva Rosa have formed two community based organizations, one focused
on improving health and hygiene and one focused on improving the sanitation infrastructure of the
community. While these two goals are inseparable and membership overlaps, they are both serving in
distinct ways as catalysts for positive and life saving change in their community. Hygiene practices have
made a stunning turnaround, and the residents of Nueva Rosa are excited about the progression that is
taking place.
Location:
La Guama is located in the sector of La Montiada, on the main road from Cambita Garabito to Los Cacaos in the Province of San Cristobal.
Funded by: Sisters of Charity
Implemented by: Hermandad, Inc., the Community of La Guama.
Construction Description Summary —
This gravity-fed, potable water aqueduct was completed in nine months. The structural components include a well protected spring box, a 4,121 gallon concrete block tank (15.6 cubic meters) and 21 private tap stands mounted on steel reinforced concrete columns. The labor was provided by the men
and women of La Guama, who worked together in one brigade for two days every week. The system’s design, as well as organizational supervision and technical oversight were provided by Hermandad, Inc. personnel.
Community members laid 1.6 kilometers of 2” PVC piping from the source to the tank; 250 2-inch and 170 1.5-inch diameters. La Guama benefited from four weeks of hygiene workshops, tippy tap hand washer installed in 10 homes, four weeks of construction training and 6 months of formal meetings.
Water Committee —
The Water Committee, which is responsible for the maintenance of the system, consists of five
members. These individuals, working with Hermandad, Inc. personnel, wrote a user contract, statutes,
opened a bank account and collected an initial quota from each beneficiary. The user contract describes
the agreement between the head of household and the water committee; stating the benefits and
obligations of each. The statutes detail the specific standards of use and the consequences of deviation
from those standards. The Water Committeeís bank account was opened under the supervision of
Hermandad, Inc. personnel on Monday, the 23rd of August with a balance of $241 dollars (RD$8,700).
All of the 21 men who labored on this system learned how to connect and seal PVC piping, as well as
change faulty pipes. They also learned how to attach and detach high pressure steel pipes. Ultimately
there were two individuals who took a keen interest during the construction and learned more than
others because of their willingness and natural talent; these were: Libardo Rodriguez and Julio Pena.
Training/ Workshops —
During the construction of the spring box eight people were trained to construct a typical intake of a
small gravity-fed water system.
During the construction of the block tank, at least four men learned how to build block structures; at
least seven people learned how to manually mix concrete. 21 people acquired experience in pouring
concrete. The brigade was present for 15 days of the tankís construction.
Hermandadís Country Director gave a series of five health and hygiene workshops in La Guama. Topics
ranged from the importance of hand washing to latrine maintenance. Between 10 and 20 women
attended each workshop as well as many children and some men.
In addition, the Country Director also gave two workshops on the use of the ěTippy-Tap Hand Washing
Deviceî which employs a foot pedal to pour water, thus avoiding recontamination of the hands. He also
supervised the construction of 10 ěTippy-Tapsî in La Guama.
Location: La Cabuya is located in the Province of San Juan, within the municipality of Las Matas de
Farfan.
Source: +18 59' 3.58ě, -71 25' 21.19ě
Tank: +18 58' 49.48ě, -71 25' 6.12ě
La Cabuya can be seen using this URL with above coordinates
http://maps.google.es/maps?q=18.980412,-71.418368&num=1&sll=18.985397,-
71.420703&sspn=0.009455,0.021136&ie=UTF8&ll=19.235957,-
71.564941&spn=4.832464,10.821533&z=7
Funded By: Fund for the Poor
Implemented By: Hermandad Inc., the Community of La Cabuya
Construction Description Summary —
The La Cabuya Water System distributes water to the communities of Los Barreros, La Cabuya and
La Cabuyita from the natural spring known as, ěLas Tres Cruzesî. It provides 20 gallons of clean
water per minute, or 28,800 gallons per day, to 530 men, women and children. This quantity
translates to over 54 gallons per person per day.
The water system is composed of 2,175 sections of 19 foot high pressure PVC pipes and is 12.65
kilometers long. It includes a 10,000 gallon stone and concrete water storage tank with two out-
takes; one providing for Los Barreros and one providing for La Cabuya and La Cabuyita.
Each of the 134 families has a private tap stand located between 10 and 30 feet from their house.
This model private tap stand is comprised of a metal faucet mounted on a 3 foot high reinforced
concrete column anchored in the ground. Connected to the base of the column is a basic washing
station complete with a drainage system.
Water Committee/Organization ó
The water committee is active and working well. The yearly elections will be held in May. Each
household is required to pay 15 pesos (43 cents) monthly to the water committee. This money
is used for the upkeep of the water system. Failure to pay the monthly quota could result in a
stoppage of service order from the water committee as per the water committee statutes.
Three members of the community were trained as aqueduct technicians. Two of those were
chosen by the water committee to be responsible for the maintenance of the La Cabuya Water
System. They are paid a monthly salary of $500 pesos ($14.29USD) and their responsibilities
include fixing broken tubes, rebuilding damaged tap stands, locating and removing air and
sedimentation blocks and cleaning the tank.
Past Projects (a partial sampling)
Rancho Francisco is a small farming village outside of San Jose de Ocoa made up of 42 families. Hermandad funded and constructed the original aqueduct in Rancho Francisco in 1990. Over the past 28 years, this village has seen many destructive tropical storms and hurricanes. Hermandad Inc., in partnership with Peace Corps & Fund for the Poor, are currently working with Rancho Francisco to repair the original system, build 26 new latrines, and educate the community on reforestation.
Hermandad Inc. and Hermandad Dominicana (our sister organization in the DR) are now working directly with the First Lady’s organization, “Progresando,” on a housing project in El Seibo. This project is also in conjunction with a new block building technology by Habitech, which builds hurricane-proof housing.
We are now close to completion with the first section of 10 houses with which home owners are very proud to have participated. Four are completed and turned over to residents, three are substantially completed and the remaining three are on wall construction and should be completed before Christmas.
All these houses have three bedrooms, one bathroom with a shower, combination living room/dining room and kitchen. The new residents are so very pleased with them because this is the first time in their lives that they have lived in a house with indoor plumbing, concrete walls and floors as opposed to tin walls and dirt floors.
See pictures here.
Hermandad has been working with the assistance of Rotary, the Sisters of Charity, Fund for the Poor, and Oxfam, to bring potable water and health education to Francisco Mateo and the surrounding area. The project was design to address health concerns as well as the endemic flight of families to nearby cities. Phase one of the project, the design and construction of a clean water system, has been completed. Phase two, now underway, includes the educational component, with the roles of community health, system maintenance, and gender issues addressed.
A recently completed village aqueduct project which included over 40 families, Palo de Caja's comprehensive program included a critical educational component focusing on such subjects as finances, maintenance, gender equality, health, and water conservation.
In the wake of tropical storm Noel, Hermandad reacted quickly, and by the end of 2007, had repaired ten water systems that were severely damaged by Noel. Funds for this repair work partly came from our emergency solicitation at our fall gala in October 2007, for which we were grateful. Additional funding was provided by Fund for the Poor.
Hermandad successfully implemented and completed a 4 community aqueduct system in Los Cacoas, which now brings potable water to each family in these communities. Photos from 2 of the 4 communities can be seen by clicking Francisco Mateo or Palo de Caja. These families were educated in healthier practices, as well as better hygiene in their use of this new source of clean water. This completed system consists of 4 newly constructed water storage tanks, more than 20 Kilometers of tube lines, 3 electric pumps, 2 spring boxes, 4 break pressure boxes, and more than 200 taps, effecting over 240 individual families. All labor was done by the communities benefiting from the system. This is an amazing accomplishment.
In the community of Soana Mani, Hermandad completed a repair project of an existing water tank, as well as modification of an existing water pump due to the lowering of the local water table.
Hermandad’s Field Coordinator, Rafael Custodio, has currently completed his second session of assisting in training new Peace Corps Volunteers in water and sanitation. Hermandad has now been involved with this training for more than 8 years, in partnership with ENTRENA, which has had an impact in spreading our technology countrywide for the benefit of low-income communities.
Al Campo Inc., an alliance of twelve communities formed with Hermandad's assistance, currently partners with Hermandad in the implementation of a wide-reaching integrated rural development program supported by various national and international institutions. Al Campo is an evolving entity and is the embodiment of sustainable development at work. The various project components involve Hermandad's competencies in:
• adult education
• agriculture
• health and nutrition
• housing
• local institution-building
• natural resource management/conservation
• sanitation
• water systems
Hermandad has been involved with numerous projects over its 30 year history. Besides building water supply projects, Hermandad has also been involved with water filtration projects, irrigation projects, housing, and community self-reliance reinforcement. |
