Days 17-19
Cochabamba, Bolivia
Sustainable Bolivia - CONSES and Gaia Pacha
The pollution haze settling over Cochabamba - air pollution is just one of the region's problems
Cochabamba was made famous for the its water crisis. Movies like Tambien la Lluvia and documentaries like Our Brand is Crisis and Leasing the Rain have illustrated Cochabamba's lack of water and the government's attempt to privatize water. And water continues to be the city's greatest challenge. The city's lake, the city's river, are nearly running on empty. In the southern part of the city water is shut off without notice and many poor people must make due with buckets of tepid water (if they're lucky to have them).
On Friday I had the great opportunity to visit two organizations in Cochabamba. First, I met with Julio and several others from CONSES. CONSES constructs ecologically sanitary toilets. According to CONSES nearly 50% of Cochabambinos do not have access to the city's water and 40% does not have access to sanitation services. To combat this problem CONSES's civil engineers developed a toilet that does not require water. The toilet's require no water and convert waste to fertilizer. Many children face extraordinarily risks to their health and physical safety as they have to travel several hundred feet to outdoor, public latrines. Julio and his team are looking to build more toilets and bring them to those in need in the most impoverished barrios of Cochabamba. Take a look at CONSES website for more info as well as the video below for more info. Spread the word ...
The eco-friendly latrine
Feces is treated with lime to kill the odor - you really can't smell anything
The solar even (seen here on the right) is used to heat up and kill pathogens
A close-up of the oven and the poop bucket inside.
Make Shit Better - how eco toilets can revolutionize a neighborhood
Later on in the afternoon I met with Gaia Pacha's Executive Director Rodrigo Solaria. It's difficult to know where to start when talking about Gaia Pacha. The educational foundation works on so many levels. Gaia Pacha advocates for change through the power of education on the primary, secondary, and university level. Rodrigo and his dedicated staff both in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz (Bolivia's biggest city, which is located in the Amazon region) gives young people the agency to take on issues such as: global climate change research, climate change education/activism, the trafficking of exotic animals, urban forests, and so much more. I spent a couple of hours with Rodrigo and walked away completely impressed by the breadth of Gaia Pacha's work. Next year we'll be collaborating with Rodrigo and his team by sharing podcasts and class projects related to environmental justice, climate change, and sustainable development.
PC with Rodrigo outside of Gaia Pacha's office
A video on Gaia Pacha's work on climate change as an environmental justice issue.
Cochabamba is a beautiful city. It has a lot of NGOs based within in it, which creates a really vibrant climate for ideas. You can also find the largest statue of Jesus Christ in the world (El Cristo del Concordia) and South America's largest open air market called La Cancha.
Outside the beautiful Palacio Portales in Cochabamba
A peak inside the Palacio Portales
Look familiar? An illustration from an art gallery in Cochabamba
Cochabamba at sunset
It's hard to believe that I am nearing the end of my trip in South America. There will be one more wrap up post. Until then, nos vemos.
I think finding ways to help people in Cochabamba have a more sanitary environment is important. Lots of diseases and illnesses are caused by poor sanitary methods. I had a similar experience, but in a less drastic measure. In front of the Bryant Hill Community Garden I volunteered at, there's a lot of poop and that attracts flies to the garden. It's really important that the poop is cleaned up because flies bring diseases, which is bad for the garden. I think that this project with the ecofriendly latrine is important.
I find that educating people on change is necessary because some people in other countries are not aware on how they can improve their environment and the different systems that are available to take these measures. When I was in Nicaragua doing the CAP project I realized the students would just throw all their trash on the ground and eventually they had a mountain of trash which is terrible for the environment. They did not know that they can come up with a recycling system in order to make an improvement to the school and the environment around them. Also, the eco friendly toilets is such a creative idea and a great way to make the environment a better place for the children!
I would like to start off by saying that you have one of the best influences and excitement for the work that you do and the interests that you have. The world doesn't seem to have an understanding in the need to change the actions of humans to prevent the loss of life. Earth doesn't need us to survive but we do. If all humans were to go extinct, the planet would live on and thrive other species of life. Sustainability of life is essential because of the way we are poisoning our planet. Educating people on the necessary elements of humans and nature coexisting with each other rather than dominance. It's great to see that there are people in the world who care and hopefully it makes a significant impact.
That toilet is so cool! It makes me think of Nicaragua's plumbing system. In the school we did our CAP, their bathrooms were basically a wooden seat w a hole and underneath they had dug a hole where the human waste goes. This is why it's important in educating people on how to find other solutions to adapt to their environment. This toilet seems like an excellent way that people can start.
I find it cool that the people of Cochabamba found a way to make the poop resourceful. They are able to grow vegetables and fruits with the fertilizer, if they can. Even though water is needed in our system to function, healthy diets is also needed, which they are able to have.
Cochabamba seems like such a beautiful place. It's also amazing how there's a toilet that doesn't require water; that's extremely useful for those who can't access sanitation services. It's a very smart invention since you can use it as fertilizer. It saddens me that many of these people are impoverished and can't even have the basic things such as water - it really shows you that you need to be grateful for everything you have no matter how small it may seem to you.
I would first like to say that your trip seems really interesting and informative. Also I would like to say that the amount of people in Cochabamba not having water somewhat irritates me considering that many people like us have clean water straight from our sink and use it freely. It makes me feel privileged for what I have and makes me realize there are more people out there that need more of what we take privilege for. Its just like what I studied at my SSFRP program this summer that many people don't realize that water crisis are real and it can possibly happen to us at a moments notice.
I think finding ways to help people in Cochabamba have a more sanitary environment is important. Lots of diseases and illnesses are caused by poor sanitary methods. I had a similar experience, but in a less drastic measure. In front of the Bryant Hill Community Garden I volunteered at, there's a lot of poop and that attracts flies to the garden. It's really important that the poop is cleaned up because flies bring diseases, which is bad for the garden. I think that this project with the ecofriendly latrine is important.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI find that educating people on change is necessary because some people in other countries are not aware on how they can improve their environment and the different systems that are available to take these measures. When I was in Nicaragua doing the CAP project I realized the students would just throw all their trash on the ground and eventually they had a mountain of trash which is terrible for the environment. They did not know that they can come up with a recycling system in order to make an improvement to the school and the environment around them. Also, the eco friendly toilets is such a creative idea and a great way to make the environment a better place for the children!
ReplyDeleteI would like to start off by saying that you have one of the best influences and excitement for the work that you do and the interests that you have. The world doesn't seem to have an understanding in the need to change the actions of humans to prevent the loss of life. Earth doesn't need us to survive but we do. If all humans were to go extinct, the planet would live on and thrive other species of life. Sustainability of life is essential because of the way we are poisoning our planet. Educating people on the necessary elements of humans and nature coexisting with each other rather than dominance. It's great to see that there are people in the world who care and hopefully it makes a significant impact.
ReplyDeleteThat toilet is so cool! It makes me think of Nicaragua's plumbing system. In the school we did our CAP, their bathrooms were basically a wooden seat w a hole and underneath they had dug a hole where the human waste goes. This is why it's important in educating people on how to find other solutions to adapt to their environment. This toilet seems like an excellent way that people can start.
ReplyDeleteI find it cool that the people of Cochabamba found a way to make the poop resourceful. They are able to grow vegetables and fruits with the fertilizer, if they can. Even though water is needed in our system to function, healthy diets is also needed, which they are able to have.
ReplyDeleteCochabamba seems like such a beautiful place. It's also amazing how there's a toilet that doesn't require water; that's extremely useful for those who can't access sanitation services. It's a very smart invention since you can use it as fertilizer. It saddens me that many of these people are impoverished and can't even have the basic things such as water - it really shows you that you need to be grateful for everything you have no matter how small it may seem to you.
ReplyDeleteI would first like to say that your trip seems really interesting and informative. Also I would like to say that the amount of people in Cochabamba not having water somewhat irritates me considering that many people like us have clean water straight from our sink and use it freely. It makes me feel privileged for what I have and makes me realize there are more people out there that need more of what we take privilege for. Its just like what I studied at my SSFRP program this summer that many people don't realize that water crisis are real and it can possibly happen to us at a moments notice.
ReplyDelete