From the Field: The Gift of Time
Mechanical rice threshing machines facilitate women’s work and increase food security and self-sufficiency. In BOSAWAS, the Indigenous peoples practice small-scale agriculture, cultivating small plots cyclically within the forest reserve and some larger fields in open spaces along the river. Staple crops include cassava, rice, beans, corn, and other tubers. Rice is the base of the local diet. Women and girls are largely responsible for hand-pounding the rice for several hours each day to prepare it for cooking.
To reduce women’s work and support local food consumption, a small-scale rice processing machine was purchased and piloted in the largest community in the region, San Andres, in 2022. Between October 2022 and May 2023, approximately 200 families from seven communities (San Andres and surrounding smaller villages) utilized the service and processed 170 quintals (1 quintal = 100 pounds) of rice. Most of the rice is used for domestic consumption; however, a small amount is sold commercially in the community, and another portion is saved as seed for the coming year.
The majority of rice-thresher users (70%) are women and girls, as they are traditionally responsible for preparing the rice. Feedback was very positive regarding the reduction of the domestic workload: what previously took up to six hours each day, now takes about 20 to 30 minutes per week.
The rice thresher in San Andres continues to operate, particularly in harvest season. Users pay a small fee, often a portion of the rice, to cover the cost of maintenance and operation. The machine is owned by the community government and installed in a community property.
Based on these positive results, four more threshers were purchased to benefit the following communities: Pamkawás, Shiminka, Tuburús and Walakitang. The four new machines were distributed in September 2024. The rice harvest occurs from late September to mid-October. The four mechanical rice threshers are serving communities with a total of about 1,200 families, or 85% of the communities have benefitted from the machines to date. Each rice thresher serves about 300 families per month. Rice for about 25 households can be processed in one day.
From the Field: Water for Walakitang
Safe water is a challenge for the Indigenous Peoples living in the remote BOSAWAS Reserve in North Central Nicaragua. This is a UNESCO biosphere reserve of approximately 20,000 km² in size, nearly 15% of Nicaragua’s total land area, and is the second largest rainforest in the Western Hemisphere, after the Amazon.
The Indigenous Territory of Miskitu Indian Tasbaika Kum (GTI-MIKT) is one of the self-government indigenous territories located in the BOSAWAS Reserve and has a population of about 25,000+ living in 35 communities. There is no road access; communities are accessed by dug-out canoes.
While the region has a tropical monsoon climate characterized by distinct wet and dry seasons, year-round high temperatures, and heavy rainfall, water for domestic uses is still a challenge. Clean water sources are far from the villages, as many of the rivers have been contaminated by illegal artisan mining and cattle raising. Some villages have water systems with storage tanks and pipes to the houses, however, lack of capacity to maintain the systems and extreme weather events frequently damage the infrastructure.
The water system built in the Walakitang village in 2003 was no longer functioning. Community members were consuming water directly from two local rivers, both of which present evidence of extensive contamination. Given its large population of over 4,300 people in over 700 households, it represented the most extreme need in the entire region.
In response, Change for Children first rehabilitated the water system and water tank, followed by the replacement, repair, and installation of pipes to transport water from the tank to the houses, the school, two churches, and a health centre, thus fully rehabilitating a water system that has been inactive for more than 10 years.
In 2024, eight schools in Chicaman, Guatemala were equipped with 1 RACHEL Plus, 1 Smart TV, 1 UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to regulate electric energy, and 20 Chromebook computers. The RACHEL is an off-line server developed by Mundo Posible (World Possible). The Mundo Posible team worked with Municipal Education coordinators to identify the schools that could most benefit from this project. Selection criteria included degree of need, commitment of the school staff and parents, and capacity to maintain the equipment. The schools selected for support are located in isolated rural communities of the Municipality with very little infrastructure and access to resources. A total of 87 teachers and about 1738 students now have access to high-quality educational resources for improved learning.
The teachers seem very committed to the progress of the project. Train-the-trainer methodology has been used in these schools so that the knowledge always stays in the community. Mundo Posible facilitated training workshops with School Directors and teachers on the use and maintenance of the equipment in each of the schools before the equipment was officially handed over to the school Directors as their responsibility.
Mundo Posible staff made a follow-up visit to the schools in October 2024 and again in February 2025, and witnessed the equipment being fully used by teachers and students. Additional training was provided to teachers at this time. MP staff are also always available for phone and virtual consultations and support.
Work on two school WASH projects in Chicaman, Guatemala began in November 2024 in two very remote schools in the mountains: El Amay and San Pedro Beleju. These projects include construction of latrines, hand-washing stations, and rain-water collection and purifying systems. Construction was delayed in September and October due to the heavy rainy season. The road conditions made it impossible to transport materials during the rainy season. Buena Semilla Cooperative of Chicaman, the entity implementing the project, indicates that construction will be complete by mid-March 2025.
Several improvements are in process in the Pre-primary and Primary schools in San Pedro Beleju. In the Pre-Primary school, a water distribution system was installed with a submersible pumping system to provide water from a tank. Handwashing sinks were also constructed at the Pre-Primary School. In the Primary school, hand-washing sinks were installed and the water collection system, which was also in poor condition, was rehabilitated. Connections between the roof, the tank, and the sinks were constructed, and additional training was provided to the school authorities to ensure adequate maintenance of the system. In the school in the village of El Amay, a concrete water storage tank has been constructed to collect rainwater from the school roof. The project has connected the water from the tank to the sinks to ensure that water is available for handwashing.
The Comitancillo School WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) project was developed by CFC’s local partner, AMMID, together with the Municipal Education Coordinators and School Directors. Seven schools with critical conditions were identified for construction and/or rehabilitation of handwashing and latrine facilities. These schools serve 1056 students and 66 teachers. Construction was planned for September 2024 through February 2025. Unfortunately, the project initiation has been delayed until February 2025 due to the heavy rainy season and difficult road access for transporting materials. The project now started in February 2025 and is to be completed by July 2025.
The municipality of Comitancillo, in the department of San Marcos, is a region characterized by a mountain climate and a dependence on subsistence agriculture. Climate variability and limitations in access to drinking water sources represent significant challenges for local communities, particularly due to the high altitude. The municipality is supplied with water through aquifers that come from neighboring municipalities and only 15% comes from water springs in their own communities. This results in water scarcity throughout the municipality, specifically in the dry season from December to April. Only 23% of the population has access to water in their homes through a reliable piped supply.
In response to this problem, AMMID, our local partner organization, facilitates the implementation of rainwater harvesting and collection as a demonstrated sustainable and efficient solution. This project not only seeks to satisfy the demand for drinking water, but also improves the quality of life of the inhabitants and strengthens the community’s resilience in the face of climate fluctuations. By collecting and storing rainwater, an accessible and safe source of water can be used for domestic consumption and small-scale food production.
A preliminary study was carried out to identify the communities with the greatest need for access to water and determine the technical feasibility of installing rainwater harvesters. Factors such as the amount of annual precipitation, the topography and the structures available for water collection were considered. This needs assessment identified 37 families from 2 communities to participate in the 2024 project: 28 for the community of Tuichilupe and 9 for the community of Chiquilá Buena Vista.
Based on the diagnosis, rainwater harvesting systems adapted to local characteristics were implemented. These systems include catchment roofs, gutters, filters and Rotoplas-type storage tanks with a capacity of 2500 liters. The units were installed in the homes of the participating families. Two training workshops were held for members of the groups benefiting from this project on the installation, use and maintenance of rainwater harvesting, as well as on the importance of sustainable management of water resources.