Defying the heat so a village has water

The following article was published by Developing World Connections in their monthly newsletter.  It is my thank you to them for allowing me to be part of this amazing project. I post it here so that I can share my thoughts with you.

Defying the heat so a village has water

Ray Fowell and his team went to one of the hottest, driest parts of India, Rajasthan, at one of the hottest times of the year: May. Despite temperatures reaching 50C, they worked full days to ensure a water-retention structure got built. Here is Ray's perspective. Rajasthan, Udaipur, Bargatua Kella, May 2016. Unless you have been there, unless you have experienced the heat and seen the dry arid land, it is hard to imagine how the village farmers exist in Rajasthan. Having been there and seen it, I still find it hard to imagine. They rely on one precious source provided by Mother Nature, but only if she feels like it. Rajasthan sits at the tail end of the monsoons. They race up from the south sometimes causing havoc on their way, but as they get further north they curl to the west over the parched lands of Rajasthan depositing the remnants of a once powerful storm. In 2014, there was very little rainfall, followed by a very poor 2015. Not enough to re-charge the wells that support the villages and irrigate the land. The life source depended on by the farmers is currently in short supply while they hope for a better result in 2016. When the rain comes, it rushes across the land so fast there is no time for the water to seep into the earth and reach down to replenish the water table and the wells. This is where a sub-surface dam comes into its own, holding back the water long enough for it to be of use to villagers and farmers alike.   Having had the privilege of working alongside the local people of Bargatua Kella, with a team of volunteers from DWC, having seen the smiles and laughter, the anticipation and hope that this dam will bring them the water they so need and deserve, after all the hard work that has been put into this project, I have no doubt this was the trip to be part of. If not only for the fantastic hospitality, the many laughs created through a non-common language, the songs, the dance, the many visits to villagers homes to meet their family to drink their chai and eat their snacks, the smiling faces, the colour of the women's saris, the hard work put in by everyone in the village to reach a common goal, if not only for that, then the fact that these beautiful people may have a better year after the monsoon, water for their wells and crops in their fields, all because a team of international volunteers appeared in their village, willing to pitch in and help them build a dream. And what do the volunteers gain from this experience? Unimaginable memories, new friends, a greater understanding of life outside their comfort zone, the chance to travel to parts of the world tourists will never see, and some they will. To be part of the change, to try something new, gain experience, develop skills, improve their career prospects, build confidence. The list is endless and the only way to find out what it will do for you is to go do it. Thank you Developing World Connections for allowing me to be part of it. Ray Fowell

View from a Volunteer Team Leader: The Monsoons arrive in Bhinder Rajasthan

View from a Volunteer Team Leader: The Monsoons arrive in Bhinder Rajasthan: They have arrived....... The monsoons.......  I am not sure how long they will last or how intense they will be, but for the villagers of  ...

The Monsoons arrive in Bhinder Rajasthan

They have arrived....... The monsoons.......  I am not sure how long they will last or how intense they will be, but for the villagers of  Bargaton Ka Kheda it is a joyous time. 

As you will remember, In April this year my team of intrepid adventurers and I set about helping the people of this village build a sub surface dam to help refill their wells and irrigate their land. Supported and organised through Developing World Connections based in Canada and their partner Sahyog Sansthan in Bhinder.

You may also remember that we had to leave them with a couple of weeks work left to complete.

And they did, with splendid results..

Well now you can see the results of our and their labours, the rains have come and the dam is performing well. Their wells are being replenished and water is seeping into the ground to irrigate and support their crops.  

The pictures show the same scene, before and after. In previous years the rains would have swept though the village and over the land, disappearing and dissipating long before it did any good for the villagers or the land.

Before

After

Life will be different from now on, it will still be hard, it will still bring droughts and dry river beds, The wells may run dry in the summer. But the villagers of Bargaton Ka Kheda now know that when the next rains come, life will improve once again.

But that's not the end of the story. Bargaton Ka Kheda is only one small village in one of the biggest and driest States in India, Rajasthan. There are thousands of villages like Bargaton Ka Kheda in need of help and support. In need of water harvesting technology.

And you know what? you can help. You don't have to get your hands dirty on one of my teams, although that's a great way to experience the real India and understand exactly how you can impact upon the lives of others. But you can also donate to any water harvesting project you can find, although as you would expect, I would suggest you donate to Developing World Connections. And make that difference in the world. Just click on the link below for more details on how you can help.

https://developingworldconnections.org/dwc-global-village/ 

#developingworldconnections #waterharvesting #volunteering  

View from a Volunteer Team Leader: Now onto Nicaragua, Las Penitas to be exact.

View from a Volunteer Team Leader: Now onto Nicaragua, Las Penitas to be exact.: With Rajasthan behind me, Although the memories of that project are still so vivid in my mind, I move onto the next one which will be a hom...

Now onto Nicaragua, Las Penitas to be exact.

With Rajasthan behind me, Although the memories of that project are still so vivid in my mind, I move onto the next one which will be a home building project for The Fuller Center for Housing.

I am currently building a new team of intrepid adventurers to go with me to Las Penitas. That is near Leon in Nicaragua. Situated on the coast, it is apparently a surfing area but not being a surfer I doubt that will enter my consciousness at all. It is also a fishing area and most of the local inhabitants are employed on a temporary basis in the fishing industry. 

 

We are not talking great big trawlers here, we are talking small boats with a couple of guys and a net going way out to sea at night and catching whatever they can. Their market is the local restaurants and villagers that can afford a bit of fish now and again. But the guys who risk their lives to catch these fish are not the ones selling them, that would be the chap who owns the boat. And as you would assume he keeps the lions share of the booty.

Some men go away to work in neighboring countries or into the coffee plantations to earn money and return home to their families once every 3 or 4 months. To say the least, they don't earn a great deal, maybe enough to scratch by and keep food on the table if they are lucky. What they really struggle to do is keep a roof over the families head. Mostly they live in shacks made from corn stalks with plastic sheeting stretched over to keep out the rain. What it doesn't keep out is the cold, the damp, the disease, the mites and bugs that live in the corn stalk and mud floor. All those sorts of things that endanger the children's health.

They cook on open fires. You need to read my blog on Guatemala to understand what that does to the health of the family. I just hope that at some point we can also start to install eco-stoves here, but at the moment there is not a manufacturing facility nearby. Who knows maybe another project to be looked into.

So what am I doing to encourage new team members to join me?. Whilst the Fuller Center has the trip details posted on its web site, I have been mailing my many many followers who receive email updates about upcoming trips, contacting previous team members and advertising wherever I can for free or a negligible sum. Last year I advertised on a UK website called Gumtree and received a load of enquiries which amounted to nothing. I realized I had not worded the add in such a way as to explain exactly what I was looking for. I thought I would give it another go this year and make sure I worded it properly. Whilst the response has been minimal, it has been quality, in fact one person signed up, that makes it all worthwhile on its own. But I have had another call which also sounds as though it will materialize into a new recruit. Fingers crossed. I have also had great results from friends on Facebook sharing my post and their friends sharing so as to spread the word. 

I am currently at the 50% mark with members from the US Canada and the UK. Also plenty of people hovering on the outskirts of commitment. And still plenty of time to go before cut off.

After I finished in Guatemala last August, I traveled to Nicaragua to meet the team of dedicated "Fuller" guys and girls who hold it all together down there. They are an amazing team and I am so looking forward to working with them in November. They took me out to the project area to see exactly what they had been doing to date and what was still required I met families who had already received the benefit of a Fuller home and those who were still waiting. It didn't take much for me to commit to a project there. The need is so great.

So what can you do to help? Spread the word for me, tell everyone to visit my page at the following address and hey.... why not get involved yourself..... now that's a radical thought

http://fullercenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Ray-Fowell-Nicaragua-Nov.-16-2.pdf 

Or drop me an email to rayfowell@gmail.com 

That's it for now. More updates to follow soon.

A Fuller Center House in Las Penitas