When Dona Teresa Ixtacoc Sis was a child, there were only 10 houses in the community of Chixolop. The surrounding mountains were covered in a lush forest, water flowed from springs in the ravines, and there was an abundance of life. She recalls harvesting small fish, frogs, crabs, and snails, from the perennial streams that flowed from the mountains.
Today, 60 years later, there are 525 households in Chixolop, and the creek beds are dry. Most of the trees in the surrounding mountains have been cut for lumber or firewood. The exposed soils have eroded to the point where it’s challenging to plant trees, grow crops or graze animals.
As the impacts of climate change intensify, many Central American communities are suffering from drought and crop failure. Households in Chixolop receive less than 50 gallons of municipal water every 15 days. Most families have wells, but even those are running dry because the aquifer is not sufficiently replenished during the rainy season. In the interim, trucks from neighboring communities pass through the town selling 1,000 liters of water for Q50, equivalent to $6.50, or a day’s wage. One thousand liters of water lasts one family three days and families in Chixolop are spending upwards of Q500 (US$65) a month on water from these passing trucks.
Conflict and Climate Change
One community leader shared a story that exemplifies the connection between war and climate change. In the early 1980s, during the worst years of Guatemala’s armed conflict, as a “protection measure”, soldiers ordered the villagers to clear-cut a 100-meter strip of trees from either side of the road that winds down the mountain into the village of Chixolop. The wood was then “given” to the community for firewood and for lumber. This traumatic event disrupted the community’s sacred relationship with the mountains and the forests that surround their village.
The Sand Dam Technology
In March, The Garden’s Edge began working with the Community Development Council of Chixolop, to explore the possibility of building Guatemala’s first ever sand dam. This ancient African technology is a simple, low-cost and low-maintenance system for harvesting rainwater in semi-arid conditions. There are over 2000 sand dams in use throughout Africa. In 2015, the technology was introduced to Honduras, where the organization COSECHA, is working with communities to build the dams. The Garden’s Edge brought leaders from COSECHA to Guatemala to meet with the community of Chixolop to discuss their water situation and to see if the sand dam technology would be a viable solution. After locating an ideal site for the dam, and confirming community interest, we organized a delegation from Chixolop to travel to Honduras to see sand dams in various stages of construction and to talk with the communities who built them.
How Does it Work?
A sand dam is a reinforced wall, built across a seasonal river bed or a dry ravine. When it rains, sand is captured behind the wall and water is stored in the sand. A simple filter connected to a tap or a tank allows the community to access the water for domestic and agricultural use. Depending on the size of the sand granules, the catchment area can hold up to 40% water. Rainwater stored in the sand is protected from evaporation and contamination and it recharges the groundwater, creating a green oasis in an otherwise dry landscape. The beauty of this technology is that it can be built and maintained by the community.
Community Organization
The sand dam technology works in communities that are self-organized with autonomous leadership. Its remote location requires that it be built by hand with the mobilization of volunteer labor to clear the site from boulders, rocks and other organic material to expose the underlying bedrock. Simultaneously, the community works together to implement soil conservation techniques and to reforest the surrounding hillsides. The exciting thing about this low-cost technology is that both people and the surrounding environment benefit!
Learn more about sand dams by watching this video from COSECHA in Honduras and stay tuned for more updates on our first Sand Dam project!
