Purpose
Combat community food insecurity and improve water availability during times of drought.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
Community members from San Bartolome Jocotenango report the following impacts:
Declining crop yields
(e.g. corn and beans) from unreliable rainfall
Increased deforestation
for sellable wood as an alternative to farming
Dwindling water resources
due to intense heatwaves and unpredictable rainfall
Increased migration
to other regions or countries to look for employment
Activities
Initial project planning and design
Construction of two greywater filtration systems
The systems consist of two concrete basins used to capture greywater, and layers of charcoal, ash, sand and rock, that filter debris in combination with nitrogenating plants. The filtered water is collected in a large barrel and connected to a drip irrigation system on the property, where it is used to grow vegetables.
Construction of three additional systems
in Las Cuevas and Chota’aj communities.
project outcomes
project design
While households in San Bartolome Jocotenango lack access to irrigation, piped water is available for household use such as drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc. With rainfall dwindling, and crops suffering as a result, community members in collaboration with a Peace Corps volunteer designed a project to establish greywater filtration systems that enable users to safely and efficiently re-use water to irrigate home garden plots. This intervention will ensure that farmers have a consistent supply of water regardless of rainfall, and help to conserve water thereby reducing pressure on other sources of freshwater.
Farm plots before project completion, project participants testing new irrigation system connected to greywater filter
