Breaking the Cantaro
A woman filled a large cantaro to the brim with water, placed it on her head and proceeded to smash it on the floor.
I was invited to the inauguration of a water and sanitation project in Dolores, Intibuca last fall. I’d like to start out by describing the event that surprised me the most: the breaking of the “cantaro.” A cantaro is a traditional ceramic water jug that has been widely used to carry water from the water source to the home. During the ceremony, a local woman filled a large cantaro to the brim with water, placed the cantaro on her head and proceeded to smash it on the floor. The Dolores community decided that this ceremony was a strong representation of the project’s seismic impact: no woman in Dolores will have to carry water from the river ever again. The ceremony was very emotive for everyone in attendance and a strong reminder of the large human cost of lacking water systems.
‘PEOPLE DO NOT VALUE WATER’
Mr. Flores stands out among other water leaders I’ve interviewed because he vehemently opposes a commonly held sentiment that people do not value water and are not willing to invest enough in water services to keep them running.
In his experience as Catholic Relief Service (CRS)’s director, he found that communities value water so much that they are willing to work for years in harsh conditions. He invited me to witness for myself at the upcoming inauguration.
12 YEARS TO COMPLETION
Dolores is surrounded by high hills and terrain so rocky and irregular that communities are separated by one to two hours walking distance. Before arriving in Dolores, it wasn’t clear to me why this was system would be more challenging than others. This terrain made it clear as day.
The Dolores Intibuca water project is designed to serve 1,700 people in the four communities of Azacualpa, El Borbollón, La Laguna, and San José, all of which were historically excluded from water coverage. In the 12 years since the project had started, it had faced countless structural and funding challenges and no with was complete.
Each family in the community was asked to volunteer an able-bodied family member to work on building the water system. The workers were tasked with laying down 35 kilometers’ worth of 6 centimeter pipes through mountainous, rocky terrain. From both an engineering standpoint and a community investment standpoint this project is extraordinary.
The mayor noted that many men had toiled for years and died before they saw one drop emerge from a faucet.
These families had invested over 3.7 million lempiras’ (nearly 160,000 dollars) worth of working man-hours to the project, adding to the estimated 17 million lempiras (734,5000 dollars) of funding from the SANAA, the InterAmerican Development Bank, the Dolores municipality, community organizations and the community people themselves.
In addition to this massive human capital and financial investment from the community, micro-meters, often demonized in the past, have been installed to ensure good use of the water source by making people are aware of the water they are consuming. The local water board unanimously decided that every household should have a micro-meters and should pay according to consumption.
This illustrates a clear understanding of the value of water and directly contradicts this dangerous assumption that people won’t invest in their own water services.
The Importance of Hen Soup
After the inauguration ceremony, we were invited to a “gallinada” at the local school where community members prepared traditional hen soup and nance juice to celebrate. The gallinada is a regular tradition in Dolores with these lunches happening weekly or monthly and was a really special opportunity to speak with people who were involved in project in different ways. The community invited CRS staff as a way of showing gratitude for steadfast support and dedication to the project.
It is clear that CRS’s considerable effort to strengthen the social aspect of the project by building community relationships with the local church, school, municipality and other organizations had paid off. This strong community network created an environment of trust and cooperation — all challenges were faced together.
Tying It All Together
I was honored to be a part of the inauguration because it was a historic moment for the communities involved and it was a privilege to witness the culmination of such incredible efforts. From a research perspective specifically, it was really an eye-opening experience for me because it marked a stark departure to experiences echoed by other actors in the sector. Before attending the inauguration and hearing first-hand how hard the communities worked for their water project I had only heard how, by and large, Honduran people do not value water. The great majority of actors espoused the notion that water projects (of any scale) are difficult to maintain because Hondurans hold the fundamental belief that water should be free and are therefore unwilling to pay/work for it. Listening first-hand to the stories of communities that worked tirelessly for 12 years to build a water project dispelled that notion for me and added another dimension to the research.
About the Author
Jennifer Vargas received the Archimedes Project’s 2017 Frontier Social Entrepreneur Fellowship. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon, Jennifer believes that innovation, creativity and close interaction with affected communities are the key to unlock potential for change.
About the Frontier Social Entrepreneur Fellowship
12-week opportunity for an aspiring entrepreneur to examine the existing clean water and sanitation market and search for human-centered solutions to this challenging problem. Learn more at archgrp.org/fellow.
