Bolivia Project Details

Project Number: BOL 0455

Name of Project: Kerani Water Project

Bolivia: The Land, the People and the Economy

Bolivia, located halfway down the continent of South America, is a land of mountains, high plateaus, and great natural wealth in the form of mineral deposits and natural gas.These resources are hard to obtain, however, and harder still to get to world markets. This is because this landlocked country, bordered by Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Peru, has no seacoast for shipping.

Three primary languages -- Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara -- are spoken by the population of 7.5 million people. More than half of the people are Indians, mainly of Quechua and Aymara language descent. There are also some 50 tribes of forest Indians. The mestizos, of mixed Indian and Caucasian heritage, make up almost 40 percent of the population, while the remainder are of European descent, mainly Spanish. Most of the largely rural native Indians live in poverty on the bleak altiplano -- a high plateau located at 13,000 feet.

While 90 percent of the nation’s export income comes from minerals, almost half of the work force makes their living by farming.This is difficult since much of the farming area lies in extremely high, cold and dry regions of the country. Centuries ago, the highland Indians of Peru and Bolivia learned how to make a living under these conditions.They domesticated the llama to supply meat, milk, hides, fuel, and wool. They also developed hardy food plants such as the potato, a staple in their diet, and the highland grain crops, quinoa and canagua. Irrigation canals were built, which brought water to their fields. These traditions have continued today.

KERANI WATER SYSTEM

The Kerani Drinking Water System project, located in the Third Section of the Province of Los Andes, Department of La Paz, began its implementation in 2004. The project was coordinated and funded by the following parties, the Kerani community members, local municipality of Batallas, executing non-governmental organization, Suma Jayma, Water Engineers for the Americas, Maryknoll Lay Missioners, and Water for People.

During the implementation of the drinking water system in Kerani the following technical aspects were successfully completed:

• Spring box Catchment No. 1, with chain-linked fencing and exit piping of 1” diameter
• Spring box Catchment No. 2, with chain-linked fencing and exit piping of 1” diameter
• Small Collection Tank No. 1, with 11⁄2” exit piping
• Break Pressure Tanks No. 1 & 2, with 11⁄2” exit piping
• Small Collection Tank No. 2, with 11⁄2” entrance and 2” exit piping
• Spring box Catchment No. 3, located near small collector tank No. 2
• Main supply pipeline, connection of springs to main water collection tank
• 25m3 Main Water Collection Tank, with housing and chlorination accessories located above the tank, enclosed with chain-linked fencing.
• Distribution pipeline, connection of main water collection tank to household tap stands.
• 131 household and public tap stands (including 126 benefiting families, and 5 tap stands for the following public institutions: 2 tap stands for the junior high and high school, 1 tap stand for the elementary school, 1 tap stand for the health post, and 1 tap stand for the market vendors located in the principal plaza of Kerani).
• 6 additional household connections (domestic service up to the cutoff valve only)

The drinking water system has been designed and constructed for 20 years, accounting for an annual growth rate, in accordance with the Bolivian Standards and Regulations for Water Systems Construction in Rural Areas. A water quality analysis of the three water sources was performed by the Universidad de San Andres, La Paz, Bolivia to verify the water quality before project approval.

Before the project implementation, the community members, mainly women and young children, dedicated most of their day to water collection for basic needs, such as cooking, washing clothes and personal hygiene. Most of these water collections sources were contaminated streams and open wells. With the implementation of the project, the community members have direct access to a safe and reliable water source and an improvement to their health by reducing water-related illness.

The community members attended health and hygiene workshops presented by the staff members of the local municipality of Batallas Health Center. The community members were trained in the proper administration, operation and maintenance of their water system by the executing NGO, Suma Jayma during the duration of the project implementation. A Water Committee was elected by the community members and manages all aspects of the water system. A tariff was selected by the Water Committee and the community members and will be paid monthly for the future maintenance of the water system. All training and workshops of the community members were presented in Aymara, the native language of the community members, to assure that all benefiting families were involved and understand the importance of the educational component of the project.

Currently, the NGO partner is finalizing all trainings and project completion details. A final report with photos is forthcoming. The success of this project is possible due to the continuous supervision and monitoring of the project by the executing NGO, Suma Jayma, the community’s support and the collaboration of the local municipality of Batallas, Water Engineers for the Americas, Maryknoll Lay Missioners, and Water for People.