Clearing rocks from the road to be able to pass - the road is turned to a river as the rain keeps falling.
The trusty pickup gets us anywhere!
Having finished construction work in Limones/Villadora Tom and I took a much needed break from the non-stop work. I went back to the UK for 10 days to go to a friend´s wedding attended by the whole bunch on friends from school (was that really 6 uears ago?) and took the chance to see the boyfriend and family. Tom went cycling in Ecuador (see his blog: www.ecuador-tom2010.blogspot.com). The way the days worked out and the coincidence of a national holiday in the same period meant we were not in Intag for 3 weeks. The Day(s) of the Dead, where people celebrate with their deceased loved ones, seems to me a more meaningful alternative to Halloween, and here people have a five day weekend to celebrate!
When we were last in Intag in mid-October people were distressed because the rain hadn´t arrived. Rain is expected at the start of October to be able to plant "Morocho" (a type of maize) and Frejol (beans), and for the young crops to be watered thoroughly fo the following 2 months.
Measuring the pipeline in Limones back in October amongst bare fields, prepared for planting, just waiting for rain.
In Ecuador there is no social security so people are heavily reliant on their livelihoods (as well as the family unit). There is a lot of talk of climate change here. There is concern for their crops as last year the seasons were reversed, with a rainy dry season and a dry wet season. Similar concern is felt for the water supply, that the springs will dry up and they will be left without water.
The last few days I could really relate to that panic. As the water is often not captured well at the source, surface water enters the system. Especially at times of heavy rain, like we have seen this week, mud, sediment and whatever else can fit down the pipe arrived at the PRODECI house in Nangulvi where I was staying. Having a shower suddenly lsot it´s purpose when it was mud coming out the shower head! More seriously, cooking and drinking became a big worry.When Tom and I go to Intag we take bottled water but most people don´t have that luxury, so if they want to drink they use what comes out of the tap. At least the water was flwoing - in the community of Apuela today one of the spring capture points was blocked with leaves and the remaining flow rate was only sufficient to serve around half of the community- leaving around 60 households without.
Apuela is our next project and the first few days there have been very interesting.
