Our implementation 

Implementation is done in partnership with grassroots organizations and community coalitions –  following the initiative of local leaders. Community members provide thousands of hours of volunteer labor and make all decisions regarding project organization, beneficiaries, and locations. In this way, our water solutions strengthen existing community processes — contributing to stronger, better-organized, and more resilient communities. Community partners and organizations include: Pozo Ademado Community Services, The San Cayetano Community Center, El Maíz Más Pequeño, and United Communities for Life and Water — a coalition of 21 rural communities in the most impacted region of our aquifer.

Our process 

Our proccess is accompanied by comprehensive educational programs and followed by an extensive monitoring and evaluation program that allows us to measure our success, as well as our failures, and better adapt to the needs of local communities. We combine installations of our water systems with trainings and community-led workshops, supported with our appropriately-designed educational materials and technical supplements. A well-designed monitoring and evaluation program informs the inevitable changes necessary to improve our technologies, methodology, and consequently, our impact, over time.

Rainwater harvesting 

Today, 3.6 billion people live in water scarcity conditions, and as groundwater and surface water resources continue to dry up, that number is only expected to grow. These traditional water sources are also becoming increasingly contaminated. Groundwater can contain naturally occurring heavy metals and minerals (like arsenic and fluoride), and surface water and shallow wells are becoming increasingly contaminated with organic chemicals from agricultural and pharmaceutical runoff as well as industrial dumping due to inadequate regulations. Long-term exposure can cause numerous cancers, development disorders, interference with the endocrine and reproductive systems, and a host of other health problems.

Finding new water resources is critical for the health of our planet. The solution becomes infinitely easy when we simply look to the sky and begin to view rainwater as a resource, instead of a nuisance.

Rainwater is immune to water table loss, and is also inherently free of chemical contaminants like arsenic, fluoride, pesticides, and other agricultural or industrial runoff. Caminos de Agua’s rainwater harvesting programs improve community health, reduce environmental stress on over-extracted aquifers, and give people control and consistency over their water supply. These programs leverage community organizations and volunteer labor. Rainwater isn’t just the solution for our region, it’s a solution for the world.