Peru Fall 2019 (Part 2)

The GA2030 team of Roger and Rob continue down the Amazon for a second week. They are traveling with Conapac, a non-profit based in Iquitos, Peru.

Roger and Rob joined up with out sponsors and small team from Conapac. Conapac is a local non-profit who’s mission is to promote conservation and social development through education in the rainforest. The work they are doing is very impressive for such a small and agile organization.

The team arrived at Santa Maria de Fatima, walking up the silt banks, across the soccer field centered in the village, to the open air community building. A couple members of the Conapac team had arrived early to layout fourty-five filter systems and pre-drilled buckets. The gracious and welcoming families filled the perimeter bench of the building. After some quick introductions, the team led forty-five families through the assembly of their filter systems, usage, and maintenance practices. It was well planned and well received. They day quickly ended after playing with the kids on a make shift spring board, running in the field, and sharing the perfect bowl of chicken soup in a families home.

The next morning, the kids from Yura Yacu were excited to perform in their bird costumes. This was one of several brilliant programs developed by Conapac. This one was developed with Cornell University to promote the conservation of birds through knowledge. It was great to see the larger impact Conapac is making all founded on education.

That afternoon was spent in Uco Mirano where the team researched water gathering and filtering systems—how did they perform? how long did they last? When did the fail? Why did they fail? The team dissassembled a few and gained many insights. This environment and it’s resources are beyond challenging on these systems.

After a quick stop in Llachapo where Roger and Rob visited the school to understand their infrastructure, they traveled to Tres de Mayo to field test filters for E.coli. The team interviewed families regarding their routines, how water was gathered, and how the filters were being used to understand challenges that cannot be anticipated from an office.

Since the river was at its lowest, the team made the long hike across the flood plane into LIDA with over one hundred degree temperature and one hundred percent humidity. In LIDA, the team ran field tests, visited the school, and interviewed families about experiences with water gathering and filtering technologies. To refuel for the hike out, the team was treated to a traditional lunch of Shirui, Boquichico, and Carachamas.

After lunch in Capironal, we tested several systems and got tours of plumbing and rainwater collection solutions. It was apparent that rain water was accepted as safe despite contamination during every stage of collection.

A long beautiful hike down a paved path led to Sapo Playa where the team was greeted by a gentleman who gathered fresh coconuts to rehydrate our sun drenched team. The Conapac team evaluated the water tower while the village kids leveled the fields grass with machetes. This was a nicely set up solution with a large storage capacity.

The next location required a bit more travel. The team took a boat to the town of Indiana, took a motocarro ride through the jungle to the far end of Mazan on the Napo River, then hike into Timicurrillo. The team got to see a remote water tower that was just serviced by Conapac.

After two weeks in the jungle, our team returns eager to access our research and apply it to product selection and best practices for implementation.