Processing Part 2 - No Water

I wrote this during April when Drew and I had returned to the valley.  Just another perspective from Ulpan as I continue to process all that we experienced.

No Water

The last few days in the valley we had a unique experience given our activities over the past year.  We were out of water.  The water system on the side of Benitzul where we live is one of the most difficult to operate of all the systems we have installed.  In the dry season the two springs that feed our half of the system typically go dry and there are no other sources that can feed this area by gravity.  Folks before our time here in the valley installed a solar pump to push water to our side so that we and the homes around us would continue to have water in the dry season.  Something is wrong with the system at the moment and our lines are empty. We find ourselves in the development catch 22 - if we go fix it we take away a growth opportunity from the water committee - but to wait for the water committee to fix it means we wait for several days.  This conundrum is fodder for another reflection, but the thought for now is life with very little water.  It is an odd irony that we have experienced life much as those here without a good water system in our last week.  Our situation was complicated by the fact that we had a team of eight here during this week so our demand was much greater.  

We have a rain collection tank here at the house.  It is plumbed so that when the water system is not functioning it supplies water to our spigots.  So we relied on our rain catchment, but with eight extra people it was not large enough to last a week.  We had rain two nights, and I can remember saying a prayer of thanks for the rain, it was currently our only source of water.  We pulled out two fifty gallon plastic barrels and put them under points on the roof to collect extra water, but to use this water we have to walk outside and fill up a bucket much as many of the women in this area go to local springs to get water.  To say the least it has been inconvenient and a little worrisome.  It is still hard to imagine living like this, but in the midst of trying to fix this situation we had not really experienced their plight.  We are not washing clothes before we leave because we don't have enough water.  We are prioritizing our water use for filtered drinking water first, cooking second, then dishes.  Water begins to consume our thoughts and our time.  Water is life.  Easy water is peace and industry towards other ends.  

Unrelated photo of Little Monkey taking a bath at a hotel with no bath tubs.

For our time in April - Drew and I took occasional baths from a rusty 55 gallon barrel.