ZMBB 2008 Grant Update

[Dechristo]

Ben Mapes, the 2008 recipient, has posted photos, videos and a discussion of his gravity-fed potable water system built near Cotopaxi Ecuador. He, and Engineers Without Borders did a spectacular job. Below are links to information from Ben and articles written on there AAC Website, Climbing Magazine and Urban Climber.

 

1) The AAC website for the 2008 recipient

http://www.americanalpineclub.org/pages/art/4/381

2) An article in Climbing Magazine

http://www.climbing.com/news/press/zack_martin_breaking_barriers_grant_helps_bring_water_to_needy_village_in_ecuador/

 

3) An article in Urban Climbing

http://www.urbanclimbermag.com/411/industryspray/zack_martin_breaking_barriers_grant_helps_bring_water_to_needy_village_in_ecuador/

 

4) Video of the water system construction from Ben

http://www.h2opurification.com/Ecuador/video/'>http://www.h2opurification.com/Ecuador/video/

5) Picasa Website Photos from Ben

http://picasaweb.google.com/ewb.ben/Ecuador2008?authkey=5i0oFqpO6DA

6) Video of the water system construction from Ben

http://www.h2opurification.com/Ecuador/video/

7) Engineers Without Borders Website

http://www.ewbdenver.org/

8) A similar article was placed in the Barrow County News In Georgia near Zack's home.

 

Ben's comments on the system

 

"This was an exciting trip. As I described in part I of the ZMBB application, we were working in Malingua Pamba, Ecuador, which is an area with about 600 residents. In a general sense, our work there covers two broad areas: 1) a gravity-based potable water system, and 2) irrigation water system.

 

On the potable water side, we had already conducted a site assessment and decided that a number of water tanks were needed for on-demand storage, pressure break, distribution, and sedimentation control purposes. To that end, we designed a reusable concrete form system made by a company in Denver, and transported it to the village. Since our work is a partnership with the locals, we worked side-by-side with them and trained a group (called "maestros") to use the form system to build these water tanks. We were able to build 2 tanks in 6 days, but what's most exciting is that since the forms are reusable, the maestros can build them themselves from now on, and perhaps when that's done, even form a small tank-building enterprise for other villages in the area that are in a similar situation.

 

Most of the photos I sent you are of the tanks in the construction process. The local term for a communal construction project is "minga" - so you can see the minga in the photos. Note the women with pieces of the concrete form on their backs, hauling them from one tank site to another. (I can say that carrying equipment like this was great training for Cotopaxi!). There is a strong sense of community in Malingua Pamba, which makes it especially rewarding.

 

In addition to the tank building, we also ran underground pipes to a number of local homes all the way to the point of distribution, creating new lines in some areas and repairing lines in others, so we can say that some homes that did not have water before now do.

 

One the irrigation water side, this is more complicated. We are still in an assessment phase in this regard, trying to understand both the supply-side and demand-side of the equation. On the supply side, we built a device called a flume which is an artifical channel placed at the natural spring (the water source) that allows for an easy flow measurement by reading a scale on the side. We've trained a group of local schoolchildren to read the flume and record data and send it to us via a few relay points, the first being a 9 mile walk to a nearby village.

 

In addition, we also mapped many argicultural plots with GPS to try to understand the area we're talking about and their locations in the valley. This work is ongoing.

 

So, that's a summary of the trip but of course the project is quite involved and I could overwhelm you with data but will refrain from that. It was particularly rewarding on this trip when at the end, the village president, Paulino Sacatoro, said that in the past the government has come and tried to help and they do little things and leave with little interaction. He said that when we come, the fact that we partner and teach is extremely valuable, because now they can create progress on their own. We feel a lot of pressure to go in that direction and to get that unsolicited feedback was great.

 

Thanks for your consideration of our project and please contact me if you have any other questions. Our group is meeting tomorrow night and I expect to get more pictures then that I can send if you're interested.

 

Thanks,

 

Ben"

 

Benjamin Mapes, B.S. Chemical Engineering, Univ. of Colorado at Boulder.