Water Project

Hello friends and family!

Eight of us worked on the "water project" this morning. The water project is a relatively new project of the Mission. Its purpose is to bring water farther up the mountains so that the land can be cultivated and lived on (there is currently no irrigation at the higher elevations, rendering the land useless). This project is very important to the Mayan people that own that land. 

We helped dig trenches that the pipes will be laid in. One pipe will carry water from Lake Atitlan to the tank at the top of the mountain, and another pipe will go down from the tank to the houses on the mountain. 

Before we began, we hiked up to the top of the mountain to see where the tank will be. This area is very rocky; stonecutters have been working diligently (using a chisel and hammer) to break up the boulders and remove the rocks. Then, we set to work, digging the trenches 75 cm deep. Over two hours, we added approximately 60 feet to the trench.

Andres was the local man who oversaw the project. He explained that the Mayan people performed a ceremony to ask a blessing to open the land and build the trenches. This helped us see the importance and relativity of the indigenous culture.

There were other local men working alongside us. One of them was 14-year-old Juan Ronaldo, who told us he worked 5 days a week on the project. I worked closest to him in the trench, so he and I talked about our families. Although it was a brief conversation, I felt a closer connection to him, the people working on the trench and of San Lucas, and the land itself; this showed me the importance of solidarity with the people here. On our way home, we ran into a man who owns land on the highlands and who will benefit from the water project. He thanked us repeatedly for our work and reassured us God would repay us. This tied the project together for me and showed us all how valuable water is to the people of San Lucas. 

Con mucho amor (with much love),

Katie