Oaxaca May update

It has been a much too busy week and a half here in Oaxaca. We arrived on Sunday night the 13th for what we hoped to be a full day of meetings with the head of the state water commission (CEA) and then a follow-up meeting with Sr Cajiga (the Finance Minister).  On the up-side ½ of the agenda happened.  We were not surprised as this is the way schedules and meetings go down here.  Typically, you have a meeting scheduled with someone or something perceived as more important comes up and the original meeting is canceled.  This happens all the time and you cannot take it personally (except that it shows you are lower on the priority list).

We came to Oaxaca specifically to meet with the head of CEA (Ruben), Adriana (from the finance minister’s office) and the Finance Minister Sr Cajiga. Our goal and purpose is to finalize and sign several contracts to help the state government analyze the health of many of their wastewater treatment systems and develop a framework and process for the Finance Minister’s office to follow when evaluating potential public works projects.  In the month prior to this trip we had been talking with Adriana who is the head of investment for the Finance Minister.  She helped us re-scope our proposals and arranged our meetings with the water commission and the finance minister.

Our flights were good and uneventful.  We left Seattle at about 7am on Sunday 13 May and arrived safe in Oaxaca by about 10:30pm.  Firdaus Jhabvala (Dr. J) had arrived about an hour earlier and was already checked into our regular hotel when we got there.  It was late but we stretched our legs with a walk to the Zocalo while strategizing about our next few days in Oaxaca.  Our first meeting was with Adriana at the INSO offices to formally meet her and prepare for the afternoon meeting with the state water commission.  Adriana informed us that we would NOT be meeting with Sr Cajiga because he was called out of town.  Thus, we knew the entire process would take much longer then she had planned.

Our first meeting with Sr Ruben (the head of the state water commission - CEA), went as we expected.  He was not receptive to our proposal, as it would take work away from him and potentially change the way he does business.  Dr J was GREAT as he called Ruben’s bluff and then Adriana jumped in and told him he needed to play by the Finance Minister’s ideas.  We left the meeting agreeing we would meet again on Wednesday to hopefully come to an agreement.  Adriana then treated us to a great lunch and we got a chance to socialize and talk some business.

We then got back to work modifying our proposal and budget to reflect the potential lack of support from CEA.  This included enlarging the scope of work and including time and budget to train and gather all the background data that CEA says does not exist!  We then met Adriana for breakfast on Wednesday morning.  We went to a great café that is a coffee co-op and helps coffee farmers improve their crop and value.  Adriana was very interested in the other work we are doing in Bravo Ahuja (rain harvesting) and our potential work with The Hunger Project.  After talking about these projects for awhile we got down to business.  I must first say we were the benefit of being more important. :)  Adriana initially said she had to leave by 9am to attend another meeting.  To our surprise she canceled it to stay with us.:)  We spoke about our new scope of work and the increased budget.  She was happy to hear our plan, and was not put off by the increase in the budget.  The rest of the day we cleaned up the proposals and we found a mistake in the budget spreadsheet we were working on close to midnight the night before!

We all gathered at 6pm at the CEA offices just outside of town to have our second meeting with Sr Ruben. This one went better than the first as we think he was told he has to go along with our plan as proposed by Sr Cajiga.  Still the meeting went for several hours until Sr Ruben agreed to our proposals.  We left with Adriana tasked with trying to find and secure a meeting with Sr Cajiga.  We knew this would take 3-5 days, but as it turns out it will be longer.

To help Adriana better understand exactly what we will provide, we took the CEA proposal and went line by line detailing the differences in our proposal and the CEA proposal.  The CEA proposal was basically a plan to raise and rebuild 99 treatment plants without understanding if they are repairable or the root cause of failure.  We have come to learn that CEA does not feel any responsibility for the failed plants and they are incentivized to build new ones vs fixing or developing a new process to ensure plants continue to work after they are built.  Adriana was very happy to receive these reports, as this will help her in talking with Sr Cajiga.

Dr J left to return to home to Houston on Thursday morning.  Adriana’s original idea about staying through midweek to finish up was much too optimistic.  Since our last meeting, we have been trying to put the proposals in their final form with the latest changes and in the format expected by CEA and the Finance offices.  We’re putting together our best guesses with the information that we have.  We are on hold with Adriana and Sr Cajiga waiting until he is available to meet with us.  Right now, we hope to meet with him on Tuesday 29 May, after we return from Mexico City (D.F.) from our meetings with The Hunger Project.

 Just because we have not yet met with Sr Cajiga does not mean we are sitting around partying!  We have been meeting with officials from Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla (SDBBE), the filter company (working to install the filter system at the school at SDBBE), a representative from the Pura Vita coffee organization, The Oaxaca Hub, and Juan Jose (INSO) to plan how to manage the upcoming work with Sr Cajiga’s office and CEA.

Around town the city is at the beginning of the annual teachers’ strike which blocks most of the streets surrounding and including the Zocalo.  Nelly tells is this can go on for 3- 15 weeks!  First, it is TOTALLY PEACEFUL and it is sort of a huge street party.  Because there are teachers from all over the state, there are a lot of different craft vendors selling their wares.  Next, there is lots of GREAT street food on almost every corner.  The bummer is that the already bad traffic is even worse!

Our tickets to return to Seattle are for Wednesday 30 May.  At this point Stan will return as scheduled and Rick will stay another week or two in the hope of finalizing the contracts and securing the advance so we can start working on these important projects.

Stay tuned for more exciting news ( as we have time to write about it) :)

Rick & Stan

From Oaxaca at noon on October 19th

The Rotary Club meeting was changed from 8 PM, Monday (October 17), to 9:30 PM and the day with Mara on Tuesday was cancelled because there was not enough room in the vehicle for all of us and the equipment.  Instead, we met with Juan Jose when they are off collecting water samples.

We arrived at the restaurant for the Antequera Rotary Club meeting at 9:15 PM, thinking that we were fifteen minutes early.  The meeting was already in session, however, so we tried to quietly join and wait for Nelly’s arrival.  The club though was ready to give us the floor immediately and we asked if they preferred us to speak in English or Spanish.  Since they decided on Spanish, we asked if we could wait for Nelly.  Nelly arrived before our 9:30 planned time and then we began.

Antequera Rotary Club with Nelly, Rick and Stan

We thanked them for their support and told them how that support had a positive impact on us obtaining the grant for the School Water Filter Project from the Bremerton Rotary Club.  We then gave them a status update about the project.  The water filter is for the Valentin Gomez Farias Elementary School in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla.  The update included information about the school itself, the water testing process, the filter selection & purchase process, filter installation & testing and operations & maintenance.  Initial water tests have already been done.  Additional testing will be done by the university (UABJO) and, possibly, a commercial laboratory, if UABJO cannot run all the tests we need.  We are working with Industrial Mass in Mexico City and our Board Member, Dr. James Fox in Seattle, to make the filter selection.  It will be purchased from Industrial Mass.  Local community members will be trained so they can do the testing, operations and maintenance.  Club members asked a number of questions about this project and other things that we are doing in Oaxaca.  This gave us an opportunity to explain Secretary Cajiga’s initiative and our involvement with it.  They thanked us for our work in Oaxaca and told us that we could depend on them for any help that was needed.  They even said that we could bring receipts for this particular project to them and they would reimburse us.  That is good to know, in case our actual expenses run over our $500 grant.  They were very excited about our work in general.  Rick and Stan are scheduled to visit the school on Thursday.

Tuesday we met with Juan Jose at 11 to discuss how to proceed with Mr. Cajiga.  Nelly is in daily contact with Ileana Sotomayor, his assistant, to get us on his schedule.  So far, no firm date/time has been set.  INSO’s  year long initiative, A Common Plan for the Common Good, consists of a very general agreement with specifics added via addenda.  In our case, however, we all think that it should be a specific contract.  We will get some guidance from the secretary’s office.

Rick suffered through the morning with nausea and an upset stomach.  He could not eat anything and took the rest of the day off to recuperate.  Stan and Nelly went to the Tuesday evening appointment with the head of the Villa de Etla.

L-R: Rumeriz, Stan, SDBBE representative

We arrived by our 6 PM appointment time, were warmly greeted at 6:10 and ushered onto a meeting room with Daniel Rumeriz Rumeriz, the head of Villa de Etla.  Shortly afterwards someone from Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla joined us.  He was Maria’s (the former administration head) environmental representative and the head of the committee that protected the dump from additional illegal dumping.  We had a very frank discussion about the possibility of selecting Villa de Etla as the pilot site for a constructed wetland in the Central Valley.  We explained about Water for Humans involvement with Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla since 2009 and Dr. Jhabvala’s involvement since 2010.  We then explained how the extent of the project has changed from a specific single constructed wetland for Villa de Etla to a pilot for the Central Valley and for the state.  We then explained that the selection process for the pilot site would be based on ideal conditions for the technology, the environmental impact and the social collaboration & impact.  We told him that socially and politically they had a long way to go before we would select them as the pilot site and that the selection would not be made for a number of months yet.  We also told him that the dump was a separate project and that because of it, more land may be needed for the project.

Mr Rumeriz said that they were very interested in being the pilot site and that he was calling for a meeting of the Elders in the Villa de Etla next Tuesday to discuss the matter.  We explained that we are looking at other locations but would monitor the social and political situation there from both Villa de Etla’s perspective and SDBBE’s perspective.  The SDBBE representative was cautiously happy about Villa de Etla’s ‘changed attitude’ and said that they would have to see if actions follow.

All in all, the meeting turned out well.  Villa de Etla seems to be genuinely interested in being considered as the pilot site and they know the important factors that will influence our selection process.

We returned to Oaxaca and Nelly showed Stan her favorite tamale place, a street vendor, close to the zocalo.  Stan bought two tamales for less than the price of one at our favorite tamale restaurant, ate them at home and gave them two thumbs up (at a great price).

Rick was doing much better and had zeroed in on the cause of the nausea:  lemonade. It turns out he is allergic to citrus, and this was compounded by consuming a lot of lemon-lime juice (at most meals).  After some strong antihistamine he is back “with the living.”

Later today we will meet with Jess Perry who is interested in doing a film project about water and sanitation in the face of climate change.  She  contacted us well over a year ago and we look forward to meeting her and learning more about her project. She is very interested to learn about INSO’s work, our collaboration with them and how our joint work could become part of a film. Following this, we will go to the HUB to meet with Megan, one of the founders, and Bravo Ahuja to see the ongoing work on their rain catchment systems.

News update as of 17 Oct 2011

Blog as of 17 Oct

The weekend could not have come soon enough! Last week was like 2+ weeks crammed into one. It seemed like most days started early and did not end until well after 11:30 PM. There was never a break or siesta! Many days lunch came well after 3PM, which was typically short and then back to work until late in the evening with a short break for dinner. Both Stan and I rejoiced in sleeping in and not having to get up and do much of anything. We did work a lot on the very long blog post (posted Sunday night). Both Stan and I agree the Blogger interface could really use some upgrades. Inserting photos and getting them in the correct place takes a really LONG TIME! In compounding the problem Google thought that because I am in Mexico the interface should be in Spanish. It was only after Stan figured out how to change it to English that the editing went better. For one thing the Spanish interface has even less functionality, which makes editing even slower and more difficult. We both agreed that the post is way too long, but so much happened in just a few days that we felt we needed to get as much of the story out to you as we could. We were both happy to be back at our normal lodging spot at Rosalinda’s. It is much lower key then the fancy hotel, and more our style. We are the only guests so we have the run of the place.

For me (Rick) the weekend was spent cruising the city, doing some shopping, hanging out at the zocalo and taking several siestas. On Saturday there was a large youth orchestra with well over fifty kids in it playing in the zocalo. I hung out and listened to them for quite a while as they sounded really good. In my shopping adventures, I did score a new leather brief case which holds my netbook in-style, and some very comfortable sandals, along with some groceries for breakfast. I also stopped by a glasses place to see if they would be cheaper here vs in Seattle. They would cost about the same as in the States so I did not bother with them here. I find it strange that some things are really discounted and other items are at US prices. The weather has been overcast with some light rain, but warm by Seattle standards. On Saturday it was mostly sunny and nice. On Sunday it was cooler and overcast. When I was downtown, I had a very lightweight pile jacket on (unzipped), and I saw several folks with puffy down jackets (all zipped up). This is the coolest part of the year. The weekend had its typical noises with many fireworks, loud bangs and marching bands. On Sunday it seemed like every time I would nod off during my siesta, I would be startled awake by a big bang!

Monday brings the bimonthly status meeting at INSO that lasts most of the morning and includes all of the INSO staff. The meeting is all in Spanish so Rick excused himself to start on this blog update. The meeting began by getting everyone’s input on Friday’s Water Forum to find ways to make future forums better. Other topics included the meetings with the Finance Secretary, the visit to Villa de Etla, an upcoming Expo on Sustainability at the end of this week and many other projects going on at INSO. By the end of the meeting, the entire staff was up to date on all ongoing projects.

Last week Nelly suffered from an infected wisdom tooth that is coming in. Friday, it hurt so much she did not attend the breakfast with us and the Minister, as she swung by the dentist to get a Novocain shot to calm it down for a few hours. Today, Monday, her tooth is better (the dentist can’t remove it until the swelling and infection goes away), however, she has a touch of a cold (I think last week was too stressful and long for her). Luckily for all of us, this week will not be so intense and stressful.

This week will include one or more meetings with Mr. Cajiga to hopefully finalize a contract for our work, along with meetings with community leaders and the Rotary Club. Tonight, we will meet with the Rotary Club to bring them up to date on the status of our school water filter project in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla (SDBBE). Luckily for us the meeting will start at 8 PM, not 10:30 PM, like the other club in town. Tuesday we will go with Mara and her students from Bard College to do some water sampling and then have a 6PM meeting with the municipality head of Etla. Wednesday has no meetings scheduled until 5 PM when we go to Bravo Ahuja to meet with Ines to see the ongoing work to install her rain catchment system. If we have the “day off”, we hope to go shopping with Nelly to get items for our upcoming auction. Thursday, we will meet the school administrator at SDBBE and perform a water pressure test for the filter system. Friday, is currently without meetings. Of course, this schedule may have to be rearranged once we hear back from Secretary Cajiga.

Oaxaca - as of October 14th

This our update on the meetings with Mr Cajiga as of 14 Oct. 2011

Secretary of Finance Cajiga

The last three days have been a flurry of activity. After our arrival on Monday night, we have been in what seems like constant meetings with the Oaxaca State Government. Tuesday afternoon was our first meeting with the Finance Minister (Mr. Cajiga) and some of his team. After a short very late lunch (4pm) we were back in the INSO office working on our presentation for the next day and worked on several documents we needed to have ready to print off to hand out to the participants. The documents provided everyone with a description of who WFH is and what we do, along with several letters from the community leaders we are working with. Wednesday morning came early since we needed to finish the documents and get
them printed before the driver came to get us at about 9am. Nelly has been extremely helpful in making sure all the translated documents are correct and she has helped us write several new documents in preparation of these meetings. On Wednesday we were in meetings with the Minister and his staff for most of the day! The meetings are taking place in a new large office campus about 40 minutes outside the city. This complex was built to house all the government offices. On the upside for the public it is a one stop get everything done in one place type layout. On the down side it is way out of town. Luckily for us we have a driver with a minivan (7 passengers) that takes us everywhere we need to go.

R-L: Juan Jose, Dr. Jhabvala, Josefina, Carlos

Like most of the meetings they started 45 minutes late, but when the minister arrived we jumped into action. We discussed the state of wastewater treatment plants throughout the Central Valley, and after some heated discussions the group agreed to form a team of government agencies and INSO & WFH to review the viability of the existing treatment plants. Erik Marnitez (UABJO) was able to attend the meeting and added some very good background on a number of plants that he and his students analyzed for their water quality parameters and overall health. Dr. Jhabvala (Dr. J) also made some significant contributions to the meeting. After explaining how constructed wetlands can be part of the solution, there was a dissenting view expressed about the ability of wetlands to clean up wastewater at all and that activated sludge plants

clean 90% of wastewater. This gave the ‘good’ Dr. an opportunity to further explain how properly designed and implemented constructed wetlands all over the world, including Mexico, clean well over 90% of waste and how activated sludge plants clean water up to 90% but leave massive amounts of contaminated sludge that then needs to be dealt with and normally just piles up. This turned out to be a good education for the dissenter as well as everyone else in the room.

The minister fully understood that his internal team does not have the wherewithal to fully analyze the state of the current plants fairly. Thus, WFH with the help of Dr J (and hopefully Tressie Word) will oversee the work of the minister’s staff to provide an objective analysis of the situation. Nelly provided us with highlights of the conversation. She took great notes (in Spanish) which we were able to understand. The verbal conversation goes by way too fast. This situation reminds Rick of when he was first working in Germany and all the meetings there were in German.

When the discussion turned to the possibility of establishing a certified testing lab in the state (to analyze the quality of waste water), the initial comments were in favor of turning that over to CONAGUA (the federal water commission) and CEA (the state water commission). However, Erik spoke about the work that he has done at the university and the possibility of setting up an independent certified laboratory. We would like to be able to have an independent (or part of UABJO) lab that is not located on campus since UABJO seems to be closed more than open due to protests. Erik stated the lab could be located off campus and be a joint effort with UABJO. In addition, we don’t like the idea that it would be run by CONAUGA & CEA because this is like the fox guarding the hen house.

Meeting with the Finance Minister

The next topic discussed was about irrigation water quantity and quality. Both the state and federal representatives gave their perspectives on the situation. What was both sad and somewhat funny is that the state water commission representative who has worked in several different states talked about a “great program” he implemented, but was stopped because the aquifer went dry! The minister rolled his eyes, as he fully understood this was not a good strategy. Then another government representative spoke about his program and how great it was until the region suffered from increased desertification. Again, the minister understood that this was not a good strategy. Juan Jose led the discussion for both INSO and WFH, since all the meetings were in Spanish. Juan Jose spoke about the potential of using new and innovative techniques to better capture rain water and help manage stream & river flow rates that
will increase the availability of irrigation water. In addition, he spoke about how to implement changes in irrigation practices to increase water productivity. We finally left the office complex about 3:30 pm and were driven back to the city to have a late lunch.

Etla Treatment Plant, R-L: Nelly, Erik, 3 Etla officials

Thursday was a day for us to look at three potential sites for the possible repair or replacement of existing treatment plants. First, we went go out to Etla and met with the new Municipality head. As you may know, the political situation in Etla is challenging. We waited for well over an hour and a half (one hour is customary) and the Municipality head would not receive us, so we decided to go to the treatment plant and see the work that Etla is doing to rehab the inadequate system. Shortly after we arrived at the plant the Municipality folks all showed up! From what we understand the Minister told them to respect our time and meet with us to learn more about our ideas for this site. We spoke
for a good 45 minutes and agreed to continue the discussion next Tuesday at 6PM.

Tlacolula Treatment Plant

We then drove to the other side of Oaxaca City to Tlacolula (population 20,000) to see the plant there. Eirk could not join us. However, he did his Master’s thesis on how to incorporate a wetland at this plant several years ago. This is the one that Tressie and the Engineers without Borders group from Eurika, CA, worked up a full redesign on and did not implement due to political issues in the town. We had difficulty finding the site because the map Erik gave us was inadequate. Thursday is “Market Day” and the roads we were directed to go on were blocked by the market. After wandering around for a while we went to the municipal offices to get directions around the market to the plant. We made it to the plant and looked around. The system is minimal at best with two large facultative lagoons. On the up side there is a lot of open land
around the plant. On the downside it a very large community and we would not be able to implement many of our other ideas at this scale right out of the box.

Biggest Tree in the World

Because we lost a good 45+ minutes getting lost trying to find the treatment plant we did not have time to visit the last site. However, on our way back to meet with Juan Jose for a 7pm meeting, we stopped off at what is said to be the “largest and oldest tree” in the world in Tule. We had a great seven year old girl as our guide and she pointed out all of the animal-like features of the grand tree.

Working on the proposal

Upon arriving back at INSO at 7pm we started work on a proposal to present to the minister at our breakfast meeting Friday morning. Earlier in the day before we went on our tour, we started drafting our ideas. We worked well past 10:30pm on our proposal which was based on action items the minister brought up throughout our meetings.


We decided on a four part plan that will take six months to complete. It covers the following:
1. A vision-/strategy for water and sanitation for the Central Valley
2. A review team that will evaluate the existing treatment plants and divide them into three categories.
a. Fixable
b. abandoned/scrap/not worth fixing
c. More extensive research required.
This team will work with CEA (the state water commission) in an oversight and advisor function.

3. Produce a process document that municipalities will follow to justify their request for water and sanitation improvements.
This report will outline a basic process for doing economic analyses that includes the engineering, social and environmental effects. The minister is an economist and wants to have a way to objectively evaluate potential projects so he can prioritize them correctly.

4. Pilot project development.
This will cover the planning and pre-implementation costs of pilot projects that reinforce our strategy and show that some of the innovative recommendations are both valid and cost effective.

Some of the pilot projects we are planning for both urban and rural locations are:

• “Family ecosystems”
• Storm water management
• Industrial and household water use reduction program (education and equipment)
• Dry latrines and ultra-low volume flush toilets
• Greywater treatment
• Rainwater Harvesting.

This joint proposal is expected to cost $1,000,000P ($80,000 USD) over a six month period.

Friday was our last day in the fancy hotel and the day of the 31st INSO Water Forum (Foro Oaxaqueno del Agua-quarterly meetings sponsored by INSO to discuss water and sanitation issues in Oaxaca). We had a very brief breakfast with the minister. He had to leave early for a meeting with the governor. However, we did have the opportunity to present our proposal to him and it was well received. Mr. Cajiga said his initial impression is that the structure and costs are in line with his budget and expectations. He then said he would like to make the INSO &WFH group his “think tank” for advice on water and sanitation. With that said he directed his assistant to arrange a meeting for next week to finalize the proposal.

Water Forum Sign

Water Forum Head Table with Secretary Cajiga

Mrs. Ines Avelina Barroso

We then rushed off to the 31st Water Forum, in which the minister opened the forum and anno-unced the formation of a yearlong project (A Common Plan for the Common Good) with INSO to further the work they have been doing in the valley for the past 20+ years. Then, he briefly spoke about the proposed partnership with INSO & WFH. The minster then slipped out to go to Mexico City. Juan Jose gave the keynote presentation at the Water Forum: ‘A Common Plan


for the Common Good’. He introduced the idea and highlighted that it would include technical, environmental and social aspects to all future plans for water and sanitation in the Central Valley. Towards the end of the forum Mrs. Ines Avelina Barroso made a presentation about the rainwater harvesting program in Bravo Ahuja (which WFH is helping to fund). We met her after the forum and arranged to visit the site on Wednesday at 1700. Maria, the former head of Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla also attended the meeting. We spent several minutes after the meeting with her to get her views of the situation with the wastewater treatment plant in Etla. We are looking forward to next Tuesday’s meeting there. The forum ended about 12:45 and we went back to INSO to wrap up our work for the week.

L-R: Stan, Maria, Santa Domingo official, Rick

We are very much looking forward to a “weekend off.”

Rick and Stan

Global Washington: Changemaker- Rick McKenney

Clean water, social justice, and sustainable business: Rick McKenney of Water for Humans

By Anamika Ved;;;A
social entrepreneur, mechanical engineer, a physicist, material scientist and a keen advocate of social and economic justice are few words that describe RicMcKenneyey, thcofounderer of Water for Humans. Having started his career as a budding entrepreneur during his high school days, Rick’s passion for implementing social change eventually gave birth to the non profit social venture enterprise that is called “Water for Humans”.

In 2006, while traveling in Mexico during the summer, Rick noticed the elderly struggling with water jugs, people getting drinking water out of five-gallon jugs and trucks carrying jugs of clean water. He realized that people understand the value of clean water; they recognize that drinking tap water can potentially lead to serious medical problems and even death. With multinational companies and other private enterprise mushrooming in the profitable business of potable water sales and distribution, Rick saw people spending 25% of their income on buying expensive bottled water. Those with less financial means were drinking water that was insufficiently treated and not safe for human consumption.

He also saw raw sewage flowing directly into the sea and onto farmers’ fields polluting the ocean and human consumption crops. With fields getting flooded by raw sewage, farmers could only grow animal feed commodity, which has less financial value than human consumption crops. His exposure to this socioeconomic reality made him decide to work towards saving people from the deleterious effects of these unsafe water and sanitation practices.
Born in Southern California, Rick was imbued with both the business and engineering skills to start a private enterprise. While in high school he started and successfully operated his own business, a small manufacturing outfit, before he sold it to pursue his undergraduate degree in Solid State Physics and Mechanical Engineering.

After working in military industrial complex where he was “conflicted by the lure of science and the application of technology,” he joined Boeing as physicist and materials scientist. During his eighteen years at Boeing, he worked on many classified projects; however, he wanted to do something in line with his core values. He wanted to give back to the society. As a first step, he went to Vancouver, B.C. and for four years worked at Ballard Power Systems developing hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

Rick was interested in social entrepreneurship from social justice perspective. He wanted to use his engineering and business skills for environmental, economic and social causes. He wanted to do, as he says, “Business for good.” With that thought in mind, he joineBainbridgeBainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) in the fall of 2004 to get his MBA in Sustainable Business Practices in June 2007.

and unemployment. He also studied social justice and business and started lBainbridge some ideas relating to it.

In his effort to start a social enterprise for safe drinking water and sewage, Rick was greatly supported and encouraged by Gifford Pinchot, the co-founder of Bainbridge Graduate Institute. Gifford connected him to Paul Hudnut, a social entrepreneur and founder of Envirofit, an enterprise-based model that represents a more sustainable approach to tackling the global IAP/cook stoves problem.

Rick also drew inspiration from Fabio Rosa, a Brazilian social entrepreneur whose initiatives focused on rural electrification and the use oPinchotinable energy resourBainbridgear to Rosa’s “The Sunshines for All,” which delivHudnutow cost electricity to millions of ruraEnvirofitans, Rick decided to come up with what he calls “a reliable, low cost, culturally acceptable technical solution that could provide sustainable sewage treatment systems, and access to clean water.” This, he thought, would reduce pollution for people of all economic classes. He also understood the importance of proviSunshinesnancial mechanism via a social venture enterprise. A social venture enterprise, according to him, was important to ensure that infrastructure, such as sewage treatment systems, have adequate financial resources to provide continuous operations and maintenance for areas where local governments do not have the capacity to deliver such services. This led to the birth of Water for Humans, a social enterprise that strives to insure local public control of water resources and the deployment of low cost water purification systems to the 1.1 billion people in the world who lack safe drinking water.

According to Rick, “the strength and vitality of a community is based on its ability to provide food security and economic vitality to its citizens.” In order to accomplish his vision to bring about social and economic justice, Rick wants to ensure the safety and quality of the local food sources and help local economies thrive.

Rick also stresses on the importance of collaborative working model, which resonates with one of Global Washington’s four principles of aid effectiveness i.e, local ownership. According to Rick, collaboration or partnership with the local communities, NGOs, and government has been the mainstay of their organization’s success. “Strong and deep connections to key community partners have allowed us to grow and increase our impact,” he says. Their most recent project, aimed at designing and building a constructed wetland for sewage treatment in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla, is an example of such collaboration. In this endeavor, Water for Humans isNGOstnering with a local internationally-recognized NGO, Instituto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca (INSO). The goal is to develop this watershed project 20Km NNE of Oaxaca City, as a model that communities throughout the world can study and emulate. In addition, they are also working onSantoinwater catchmenBajodEtlaer treatment, and composting latrine program within Oaxaca City. There many sections of Oaxaca City that do not have adequate water aInstitutotden sNaturalezand theSociedadrdeng hard with the community to implement a cost effective solution to this chronic water shortage issue.

Rick emphasizes partnerships between small non-profit organizations and agencies like USAID and thinks that Global Washington can help make such connections. He appreciates the role played by Global Washington in increasing the “visibility of the member organizations.”

Excited about launching the first watershed project in the Oaxaca Valley, Rick continues to work towards implementing social change, using his scientific skills and strong belief in social and economic justice. Let’s wish him success in this laudable objective as he fulfills his dream to “affect people in the most positive way.”

Saludos (Hi) from all of us at Water for Humans!

The families of Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla and Victor Bravo Ahuja district of Oaxaca City have come to Water for Humans for assistance in securing clean safe water access.

Today, we are calling for your action to make a difference!

Imagine your child having to drink Coke in place of safe water.

That's what many Oaxacan families resort to.

The primary school in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla has foregone buying school supplies in favor of providing expensive bottled water for its students.

They've come to us to ask for help to install a water filtration system instead.

Meet the students of Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla and Prof. Rosendo Barragan Mendoza

Professor Rosendo Barragan Mendoza teaches grade 6 at Valentin Gomez Farias Elementary School located in the village. Prof. Mendoza said, "Sometimes when we run out of water jugs and children are still thirsty, they have to drink water from the tap and this causes many diseases." He tells us that clean filtered water would allow the school to stop buying expensive bottled water - and spend the money instead on school supplies.

How is Water for Humans helping the children, and the school?
In continuing collaboration with INSO, Water for Humans will install a water filtration-purification system on the elementary school's water tank.

Estimated Project Cost: $500

How to Help

1) Spread the word about our efforts:

via our new site. Invite your Facebook friends and email contacts to join in our funding efforts (by clicking the icons to the left of the "Donate" button on the crowdrise webpage).

Crowdrise is a fast growing engagement tool/network that is helping many great causes fund the work that needs doing. If you have any question about how to join or set up a Team on Crowdrise, please Contact Us.

2) Give to Water for Humans directly at our site.

Thank you!
You are a person who cares about the world we live in and you have demonstrated that by supporting Water for Humans. Our new friends in Oaxaca's Central Valley say, "Muchas gracias!"

PS: Learn how your generous support will impact lives in Oaxaca and elsewhere by following the Water for Humans' Blog, our You Tube Channel and looking for updates on Facebook. We invite you to join the nearly 300 people who are "Followers" of Water for Humans on Facebook!

You can always donate directly at

Joint working agreement with UABJO Oaxaca

I am pleased to announce a new joint working agreement with Instituto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca (INSO) Water for Humans and Universidad Autonoma Benito Juarez de Oaxaca (UABJO).  Professor Erik  Martinez Torres of the Chemical Engineering Department will formally join our efforts to help educate the community and government on the need and technology for natural waste-water treatment.  Erik's laboratory will be more involved with our ongoing water analysis of both drinking water and black-water.

We look forward to working more closely with UABJO as our plans for the design and construction of a natural waste-water treatment plant in Villa De Etla, and Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla.

Water for Humans Spring Newsletter: April 2011

Saludos from all of us at WFH (which means “Hi” in Spanish)!

Your steadfast support has made a big difference to people in Oaxaca, Mexico – mothers and fathers who are looking to WFH for help in giving their families safer homes and healthier lives.

They send their thanks and we join them: WFH exists because of you!

Some of you have asked me what WFH has achieved so far in 2011. The answer is…a lot!

Meet Ofelia Carrada Maribel Lopez

Last year, your gift provided key seed funding to plan a new sustainable water treatment facility in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla. Until we reach that important goal, WFH is working in small ways to help the community access clean water.

Professor Ofelia Carrada Maribel Lopez teaches 3^rd grade at Valentin Gomez Farias Elementary School, located in the village. Prof. Ofelia said, “Sometimes when you run out of waterjugs and children are still thirsty, they have to drink water from the tap and this causes many diseases.” She tells us that clean filtered water from the tanks already in place would allow the school to stop buying expensive bottled water – and spend the money instead on school supplies.

How is WFH helping Ofelia and her students?

WFH, with full participation from INSO, is raising funds to install filtration systems on the elementary school’s water tanks. Estimated Project Cost: $500 

Meet Ines Avelina Barroso 

Donations like yours are making it possible for WFH to reach into new communities. Ines is a new community partner in the Victor Bravo Ahuja district of the municipality of Santa Lucia del Camino in Oaxaca City. She wrote to Water for Humans and INSO and asked for our help solving her neighborhood’s chronic water shortages.

This is what Ines told us: “Our neighborhood was a landfill and quarry before becoming a residential district. Originally, water service consisted of two spigots; over time, the delivery system was expanded. Now, due to the population growth it is extremely insufficient.  Last year, during the dry season most residences received water only two times per week for few hours per day. The water…is not potable.”

 

How is WFH helping Ines and her family?

Together with INSO, we have designed 8,000-gallon rainwater catchment systems – a pilot project to be tested in eight homes in the neighborhood homes. WFH submitted a grant proposal on May 2 to the Seattle International Foundation to fund this innovative, low-tech, sustainable solution. Estimated Project Cost: $6,000

On the ground with Nelly, WFH staff in Oaxaca

Your contributions in 2010 made it possible for WFH to hire a half-time staff member in Oaxaca – Nelly Fernandez Tellez. We are grateful (and Nelly is, too)!

Nelly gives WFH a human face – something difficult to do when an organization is headquartered thousands of miles away. She makes sure that community partners in Oaxaca – organizations like INSO and individuals like Ofelia and Ines – have someone they can talk to. Nelly also provides us with critical, on-the-ground updates about the changing situation in Oaxaca.

Recently, Nelly told us:

• The election of Daniel Ramirez in Villa de Etla means the treatment plant project will go forward.
• The newly elected mayor of Santa Domingo Barrio Baja Etla, Severo Jesús Santiago Ruíz, is a close confidant of the prior mayor, Maria Soledad Diaz Gonzalez, one of WFH’s greatest champions in Oaxaca.
• Ex-mayor Diaz met with State Water Commission Rolando García Rodrigo Varela to bring him up to speed on status on replacing the derelict treatment plants in Santa Domingo. During the meeting, he committed his support for our approach and project, which is another key milestone for us.

In Seattle with Rick and Stan

Your assistance motivates WFH’s co-founders, Rick McKenney and Stan Brown to keep focused on the mission: provide low-cost, clean water solutions to underserved populations while ensuring that water remains a local, public resource.

Rick reports, “Seattle University law students, Misha Sandusky and Joe Helt, are working to complete our Federal IRS 501(c)3 paperwork, as part of a course led by Judy Andrews on nonprofit legal issues.” This is an important step in WFH’s growth and stability (although we continue to be gratefully to our fiscal sponsor, A.W.I.S.H).

Stan adds, “We have recruited eight board members, twelve advisers and nineteen dedicated volunteers (in the areas of translation, marketing, development, economics, web development, public health, environmental engineering and cultural affairs).”

Want to volunteer and help the people of Oaxaca? Just contact Rick RickM@WaterforHumans.org or Stan StanB@WaterForHumans.org

What’s next for WFH?

Watch your email inbox in the coming weeks for an important announcement: WFH is partnering with crowdrise.com, an online social networking and philanthropy website, in an innovative fundraising campaign to make sure that Ines and Ofelia’s dreams come true.

Thank you!

You are a person who cares about the world we live in and have demonstrated that by supporting Water for Humans. Our new friends in Oaxaca’s Central Valley say, “Muchas gracias!”

 PS: You can stay in touch with the Water for Humans team by reading our blog or following us on Facebook – almost 300 people already “like” WFH!