Cangallo & Sol d'Oro Water Projects

Background to Water Projects

About fifteen years ago the ‘mountain’, now called Cangallo, was invaded. The people set up their little shacks and dug their sites and pathways out of the rocks. As time passed others came and the second level of Cangallo went through the same process. They were followed by a third group and their wooden, wicker, and cardboard houses have reached the top of the ‘mountain’. Now there are over two hundred and fifty families living in the area. In all there are more than 1,500 people in Cangallo. Many of these houses have two and sometimes thee families.

Part of Sector One, down below, has a water service but the rest of the community have no water and of course no sewerage. Hauling water is a constant and painful task.The Peruvian Water Authority says that there will be no definite water in this area until after the year 2020. This distant date has moved the community to come together to find a solution.

This type of project has been done in other places in the parish and has been very successful. The bucket is no longer banging against the knee; the bar is no longer across the shoulder.

The Water Project in Cangallo involves:
1. Design of water provision systems, number and location of tanks, tubing routing, number and size of water pumps required – local engineer involved in design.
2. Purchase of materials to build tanks
3. Purchase of reliable water pumps with good maintenance agreements.
4. Preparation of land for housing water tanks.
5. Preparation of territory and laying of pipes (organised groups of local volunteers)
6. Implementating three phase power supply systems for pumps
7. Building of tanks by locals and installation of pumps
8. Ongoing local management of water supply.

Estimated costs of construction for Cangallo and Sol de Oro are 15,000 euros.

Water Projects have been completed in Santo Toribio, José Olaya, and Jórge Chavez.
Future projects are likely in Diez de Marzo and Los Unidos.

It has taken several months of preparation to reach the stage of being ready to start the construction. There has been community work every Sunday morning for months. Over seventy people have been working from six in the morning to take out rocks, make pathways and prepare the way for pipes. The territory is anything but friendly.

Photos below show the work being carried out by the local community preparing the sites where the lower and upper tanks are being built.

One of the families that will benefit from the water project in Cangallo

Due to the steepness of the hill and the bad road conditions the sand needed for building the water tank at the top of the hill could not be brought up by van. Instead it had to be carried up using a human chain consisting of all of the members of the community.

Taking a break from the thirsty work of carrying the sand up the hill.

Community at work carrying up sand to the second tank.

Community at work carrying up sand to the second tank. The road was too steep for the truck to make it all the way up so human chains passing bags full of sand were used.