Testimony of Christian Dupuis, volunteer in Estelí, Nicaragua
Christian Dupuis is an Agricultural production counsellor
“The Earth is loaned to us by our children. It is our duty to protect it.”
I boarded the plane in 2006, on Saint Jean Baptiste Day (June 24). In my pocket was a two-year contract for work as a counsultant in agricultural production. I was on my way to work in international cooperation for the first time. Destination: Estelí in Nicaragua, a country in Central America, probably the poorest in Latin America. I would be working in agriculture, in a dry tropical environment.
“Don’t worry”, I said to myself, “you speak fluent Spanish, you are an agronomist with a degree form McGill and you have over 30 years of experience in biological agriculture (No, really! I turned sixty last year, international cooperation doesn’t have borders or age limits!). And here you are, involved in the PECAN* pilot project, established by the One Drop foundation and realized by the Oxfam-Québec field team and its partners.” What an innovative project this is, incorporating culture and theatre into international cooperation! And what an eye opener for this agronomist, to realize onsite how dependant people’s lives are on WATER!
First terrifying prospect on arrival: the water table in the town of Estelí receives 50 million gallons of ground water recharge a year, and the local population uses approximately 80 million gallons in that same period! It was clear to me where the problem lay. There was a serious water shortage in the surrounding towns and communities where we were setting up the project.
The two main objectives of the PECAN project were to improve the food safety and increase the revenue of the local population. I was surprised to find that when there is so little water, wether it is contaminated or not, it is women and children who are responsible for fetching enough water to meet the needs of the family, to sustain the animals they use for transportation and then, with what little is left over, to grow crops. It is the barest form of survival!
As for increasing the revenues of the families, there are many ways in which this can be done. But I quickly realized that if the people were sick less often because of contaminated water, they would have to spend less money on medicine and would be more available for work. I thus supported the PECAN in installing 1,200 water filters to clean up the drinking water, and more filters to treat the waste water, in order to minimize the impact of waste on the environment and to recuperate the partially treated waste water (defatted and with the soap removed), which could then be used to water gardens.
Where water was available, I worked as a consultant overseeing the installation of a drip irrigation system. Installed by agricultural technicians and partnership organizations, the aim was to ensure the survival of the 1,200 small family gardens. With this system, the water was used more rationally. Because there was little wastage or contamination, the surplus water could be used by families to grow their gardens. It was a pleasure to see the joy in the faces of the recipients and their pride when they could offer me vegetables and fruits grown in their own gardens. The PECAN project increased food safety for the local families and helped increase their revenues, by ensuring that they had food at hand which they never had before, or had been forced to buy. Now they had a surplus which they could sell to their community and in local markets.
A second solution for dealing with the water shortage in the rural areas is to dig ponds and reservoirs to catch the rainwater from watersheds. My work with the PECAN project consisted of supervising the digging and installation of a drip irrigation system at 120 sites, each with a capacity of approximately 1,500m³. The recipients of the 120 reservoirs will be able to substantially increase their income because the local families can cultivate their own fields. In addition, they will be more likely to stay in the area and stop emigrating to the cities to try to find a better income. It also allows other families to follow suit after seeing the positive results the recipients of the ponds and reservoirs had through the PECAN project. I sometimes dream that the social impact of agriculture can allow for a community to find its way and carry itself with pride and joy. Just a few small drops of water from the PECAN project can make a world of difference!
This opportunity is far too short to truly comment on almost two years of work with Oxfam-Québec, but this World Water Day, I’m writing to tell you about the joy every individual has felt here, and how every family has blossomed simply because they could take charge of their water. The change it has made to their physical and mental health is astounding. Every little action we take on a daily basis has contributed to supporting the poorest people in this country and has brought them hope for generations to come!
* Projet pour l’Eau, la Culture et l’Agriculture au Nicaragua
