The Southern Illinois University Carbondale Chapter of Engineers Without Borders is proud to be starting a program that will help the people of Janco Marca, Bolivia. The community has had issues with water availability during the dry season. They have constructed small dams and water tanks to collect water but have been unable to resolve the issue resulting in student migration. Our chapter will work on finding a sustainable clean water source and helping to design and build a system to transport this water to the people of Janco Marca if necessary. Engineers In Action, a locally-based NGO, will be providing logistical and technical support for our chapter throughout the implementation of the program.
These images were provided to us to show the issues that the people of Janco Marca, Bolivia are experiencing.
If you have any questions pertaining to the program feel free to contact us at ewbsiuc@siu.edu
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In May 2018, our chapter sent a team of four students, one Southern Illinois University Carbondale faculty mentor, and one professional mentor to the community of Janco Marca in Bolivia. This was our first time stepping foot in the community and seeing the current problems they were facing. While there, we learned the community is spread out over 5 square miles and is separated into 7 different estancias (clusters of homes), each having its own way of getting water. Several estanicas have dug private, shallow wells and installed rainwater catchment tanks, while others are located near more public sources like small, spring fed streams, a shallow but very wide lake, or dams that catch mountain runoff. However, all of the sources they use go dry by the end of the dry season leaving them without water for several months of the year. When these sources go dry, some people are forced to drink from watering holes their livestock use and risk becoming ill or must migrate to a larger stream fed river about a two hour hike through the mountains. This takes them away from their homes and also away from the access road.
While in the community, our team focused on assessing the current water sources they use, the current problems they are encountering with these sources, and what solutions the community members would like to see. After hiking to all of the sources and discussing with the community members, we established that the community’s main concern is the quantity of water. They would like the water to last the entire year instead of their sources drying up. As a team, we decided the best solution for this community will be multiple projects that work together to supply the water. We do not think one solution could satisfy the needs of the community because it is so spread out and distributing the water would be very costly for the community. So, our group presented three different solutions to the community that we will implement in steps: drilling wells, installing more rainwater catchment tanks, and capturing water from the lake so it isn’t lost to evaporation. At this time, we are discussing with the community and Engineers in Action (our in-country partner) the best project to begin with. We hope to impact the most people at once within the community with our first project.