MARGARITA ISLAND FOG COLLECTOR UPDATE
Posted by Dianne Paron
(A report to Gerry Duncan from Melissa Rosato on Margarita Island - February 2005)
I have revisited the first collector we have installed and know that I can be assured the materials are suitable (this is the first time we are working with PVC plastic posts); I am in the process of buying the rest of the materials and getting those 8 young men to build the remaining collectors.
I have revisited the first collector we have installed and know that I can be assured the materials are suitable (this is the first time we are working with PVC plastic posts); I am in the process of buying the rest of the materials and getting those 8 young men to build the remaining collectors.
I hope to install at least another one this week and the other 8 within the next 3 weeks. The pace of the project should pick up now, especially since we have already identified all of the sites, have the materials under control and the only thing that is left are the installations. I am fortunate to have my daddy dearest come and give me a hand (he is dying to come and hike these beautiful mountains with me). However a detail we hadn't considered is the fact that it has been an exceptionally wet past few months and, as you can imagine, the desert landscape turns lush green with the slightest bit of rain; beautiful but a pain in the rear when the trails you need to hike get grown over. We went up last week to clear one of the trails and were hacking away with our machetes for about 6 hours, and we still didn't manage to hike up to the 700 metre peak of the mountain.
In response to your questions, any community on the island can definitely benefit from water - it truly is a scarce resource here! I have yet to get specifics for the Eastern Peninsula, I am getting to that this week in fact, but for the Macanao Peninsula I have the following 2 towns in mind:
San Francisco - the only community not located on the shore; estimated population 4,000 (probably more than half are children); average rainfall for San Francisco: monthly 44ml, annually 525ml. The people are very poor, living on less than a dollar a day. There is an elementary school and even a high school in San Francisco. Although this is a larger town than is ideal, many of the houses located closer to the base of the mountain have little vegetable plots that could really use water! Also, the organization we are working with here (Provita) is developing a nature trail and an ecocenter that could also benefit from the fog water. This is part of a really exciting community development ecotourism project that they are undertaking.
El Maguey - estimated population 60; no records for rainfall. Incredibly poor, have absolutely no source of potable water, very isolated town with a quite inaccessible dirt road, especially during the rainy season. There is an elementary school with under 10 kids attending.
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It's a shame that you cannot come for a visit, but in a way I would much rather you come for the next phase of the project when the big collectors go up, that really would be impressive no? I have no doubt that this project has that potential. It is not just you that are planting those seeds for the future!
Well Gerry, I must get back to work, but I am happy to send you the link to my website. I have been updating it as of late although there is no writing and only photos. Please feel free to coy and use them as you need.
http://www.melissamusings.blogspot.com
Keep in touch and take good care. Please send a warm hello to all the Rotarians!
(Thanks to Gerry for sharing this with all of us)
** Be sure to check out the "Photo Journal" (lower right hand corner of web site Home Page where there are more photos from Melissa on the fog collector evaluation project**
In response to your questions, any community on the island can definitely benefit from water - it truly is a scarce resource here! I have yet to get specifics for the Eastern Peninsula, I am getting to that this week in fact, but for the Macanao Peninsula I have the following 2 towns in mind:
San Francisco - the only community not located on the shore; estimated population 4,000 (probably more than half are children); average rainfall for San Francisco: monthly 44ml, annually 525ml. The people are very poor, living on less than a dollar a day. There is an elementary school and even a high school in San Francisco. Although this is a larger town than is ideal, many of the houses located closer to the base of the mountain have little vegetable plots that could really use water! Also, the organization we are working with here (Provita) is developing a nature trail and an ecocenter that could also benefit from the fog water. This is part of a really exciting community development ecotourism project that they are undertaking.
El Maguey - estimated population 60; no records for rainfall. Incredibly poor, have absolutely no source of potable water, very isolated town with a quite inaccessible dirt road, especially during the rainy season. There is an elementary school with under 10 kids attending.
*********
It's a shame that you cannot come for a visit, but in a way I would much rather you come for the next phase of the project when the big collectors go up, that really would be impressive no? I have no doubt that this project has that potential. It is not just you that are planting those seeds for the future!
Well Gerry, I must get back to work, but I am happy to send you the link to my website. I have been updating it as of late although there is no writing and only photos. Please feel free to coy and use them as you need.
http://www.melissamusings.blogspot.com
Keep in touch and take good care. Please send a warm hello to all the Rotarians!
(Thanks to Gerry for sharing this with all of us)
** Be sure to check out the "Photo Journal" (lower right hand corner of web site Home Page where there are more photos from Melissa on the fog collector evaluation project**