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On a small bluff overlooking the Pastaza River sits a small indigenous community of called Santa Ana. The indigenous language, culture and traditions are still very strong; most families continue to make their livings by fishing and their chakras, a form of traditional sustainable agriculture. They get their water from rain barrels or nearby streams but these sources are both unreliable and unsafe. Santa Ana has been working for years to get a potable water system up and running. Most of the infrastructure is in place, but they continue to face many challenges due the climate and lack of resources.
As the main care-givers and water providers for their families, the women of Santa Ana have set up a cooperative to produce and sell their traditional ceramics and jewelry to fund the water system.
Latest Update
In the most recent trip during June of 2008, Kendra and two other MIT students, Fatima and Cassie, brought chlorine and coliform testing equipment and trained the water board and operators how to use them.
Santa Ana is extremely proud to be able to assess the quality of not only its own water sources but also those of neighboring communities.
The three MIT students were also able to help Santa Ana improve the
slow sand filter, and the community reports that the system has now
been working reliably for the last month. At the end of July, Tera visited Santa Ana to purchase more traditional ceramics and jewelry along with 500 liter rain water collection tanks for the remaining ten
families who live too far away from the town center to be connected to
the distribution line.
