Overview:
Working in central Bali, our partners have been helping poor villages access clean water and health care for over ten years. Each village has unique needs, with some having no ready access to clean water, relying only on unhealthy rice field run-off that disappears in the dry season. Other villages may have water available but no system for sharing it evenly among families. This project will partner with a village in the north of Bali with no nearby access to clean water. It will build a water storage tank close to four mountain steams 3kms higher up and pipe it to a storage tank in the village for distributing to each home via smaller pipes. Training in how to maintain the infrastructure is also a component of the project so that it will be viable for years to come.
What we like about it:
Our partners are working with villages who are keen to improve their current situation. The strong local buy-in gives the project much greater sustainability. Careful planning goes in to developing solutions for each unique situation, instead of attempting to roll out a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. By training locals, the means are there for maintenance and sustainability long after our partners are gone. In addition, community members will supply the labour for the project and some of the building materials – there is a real desire here to invest in their future!
Budget: $23,000. This will purchase tanks, pipes, water filters and material to enclose water sources to keep them pure, as well as wages for the local project manager and trainer. All labour and some materials are provided by the villages themselves.
The Need:
Central Bali is not wealthy, and the villages chosen are extremely poor – even within the local culture, relying on agricultural run-off is uncommon. Access to clean water is one of the most basic needs for humans. Lack of clean water leads to illness, decrease in earning capacity and ability to attend school and a reduction in disposable income. The village being supported barely has enough water for cooking and cleaning, let alone for gardening or raising livestock. The source springs are the last ones available in the area and if the village does not access the water soon, it will be bought and used by others, one of which is a water factory that wants to package and sell the water.
Life Change: