March 21st, 2009

1. Building green technologies through Women training for water provision, rural sanitation and environmental protection Horacio Bonfil Sánchez Valle de Bravo Basin Fund Mexico March 21st, 2009

2. The Amanalco-Valle de Bravo Basin • 70 000 Ha in surface • Exports 6m3/s of water to Mexico City and Toluca´s Metropolitan Areas • Provides water for two million people • Also an important water supplier for industries • Part of Neovolcanic Axis Bioregion: 1% of global biodiversity map

3. Some social indicators of Amanalco-Valle de Bravo Basin Source: Inegi. NationalPopulationCensus. 2000.

4. Among the most important social problems at the Basinare: • Social indicators below State and National Averages • Extreme poverty in rural communities • Lack of basic public services such as running water and sewage • Health problems: gastric, malnutrition and respiratory illnesses • About 6000 families without basic services of water and/or sanitation Mexico • 106 Million inhabitants • OECD Member • 50% of its population lives in poverty • 15%-25% lives in extreme poverty

5. Water quality instreams and lake. February 2004-2008 Among the four annual samples, those of February present higher data consistency and reveal punctual pollution in the Basin´s lower part FPCVB, 2008

6. Most important environmental problems in the Basin The Valle de Bravo Basin Fund (Fondo Pro Cuenca Valle de Bravo) • A reduction in the water amount in rivers and springs • Non-planned urban growth • Land use change • Soil erosion • A reduction in the quality of forest that remain in the region • Deforestation • Wild life habitat fragmentation and destruction Local SCO created in January 2000 The Board includes Municipalities, State Ministry for the Environment and Federal Ministry for Environment with a majority of civil society representatives.

7. Holistic Project towards sustainability Objective: To improve livelihoods while protecting the environment with women involvement and participation from phase one of the process

8. What do we do? Setting up: • Rain harvesting systems • Dry toilets with urine diverters • Small water reservoirs • Wood saving stoves • Small kitchen gardens • Digestors (periurban areas)

9. How do we do it? By working and training villages’ women because: Women are the primary stakeholders in water and sanitation sectors Gender consıderations are at the heart of providıng, using and preserving water resources Time spentin water provision and wood harvesting Through a planning process that starts at community or village level. Participation is never compulsory but always out of good will.

10. How we do it? • Women decide –from a variety of green technologies that we can train them to set up and partially finance- what is important for them according to their needs. The most important part of to project: to assure female appropriation of devices • Weekly visits by our monitors (mostly women trained in early years of the project) to demonstrate weekly stages for constructing green technology devices • Women learn the procces of autoconstruction of sanitation, wood savıng, agriculture and water provision devices. • At the end of a 4-6 months training process, they build theinfrastructure and are fully capable of using, repairing and replicating devices. • Ownership is achieved.

11. Water provision systems • 10000 Lt cisterns with rain roof caption system and a simple- but efficient after-use treatment device • Come with small water reservoir and rope pump Rain Water harvesting systems Small water reservoir Set up in communities with occasionalwater supply 1500 Lt ferro-concrete reservoirs Laundry and dish washers Results

12. The kitchen level Small Kitchen Gardens Wood-saving stoves Reduce indoor pollution and therefore respiratory illnesses Reduce time and physically extremely demanding work on wood harvesting Reduce pressure on ecosystems Save up to 2.2 tons of wood per year and family Improve health for all Improve women dignity • 1X10 m rustic greenhouse • 15 varieties of vegetables • The most important green technology for health and environmental education. • Improves nutritional levels

13. Sustainable Sanitation System Dry toilet with urine diverter Results Better health for all Better services provision More privacy and security for women Reduction of water pollution Basic sanitation at family level • Human dignity, quality of life and environmental security must be at the core of any sanitation approach • Decision making must involve participation of stakeholders, especially women

14. Results as of December 2008 • Green technologies in 50 communities or small villages (25% of total). • Public, private and local financing • Cost for training and construction material for all devices per family $1300 USD (EUR 1000) / six months In the last five years, 1016 families have profitted from the project

15. Results as of December 2008 In the last five years, 1016 families have profitted from the project

16. Next steps • Community level water quality assesment • Monitoring of all devices set up ın the past five years • Wood savıng assesment • 600 women trainned each year • In 8 years we can achieve total sanitation and water provision in the basin

17. Divides that were bridged • Communities’ deeply rooted distrust • Lack of basic skills in building these technologies • Lack of Government interest at local and federal levels • Short term scenarios: OSC and community involvements last longer than Government administrations. This allows for a long term social and environmental process to occur. • Almost complete absence of funding for water provision and sustainable sanitation in rural areas of Central Mexico • Women empowerment • Capacity building • Private sector investement in a low budget scenario in Government´s gender programs

18. Most important results • 1016 families have been part of the project as well as 3 schools and one health centre • The project offers a viable strategy to tackle basic sanitation and water issues in a sustainable way. • Female participation is the key point in appropriation of the devices. Long term sustainability relies on women’s participation and the solution of their needs. This is also true for replicability. • Mixed funding from Governments, private and social sector Acknowledgements

19. TEŞEKKÜR EDERİM