From freeing women from labour-intensive water collection to enabling communities to better care for the environment, green technologies are having transformative effects on life in Mexico in more ways than one.
These scientific and technological innovations improve everyday processes, such as water collection and sanitation, and help create a sustainable environment. They also provide alternative options for carrying out domestic tasks, taking into account the ecological conditions of each region and reducing negative impacts on the environment.
Since 2009, FEMSA Foundation and Fondo Procuenca Valle de Bravo have worked together to foster development in the Amanalco-Valle de Bravo watershed through access to water, improved sanitation and other services. With green technologies, inhabitants not only fulfil their basic needs but get involved in the execution of the projects and develop skills that can be used in other aspects of their lives.
These ecological solutions help reduce human impact on the health of the watershed – the land from which water drains into streams, lakes and rivers – which is a strategic resource that supplies 40% of Mexico City’s demand.
1 Rainwater harvesting systems
Local women of all ages are in charge of approximately 90% of the housework, such as collecting firewood and water, and often have to walk long distances to get the latter. With sophisticated rainwater harvesting systems, it is possible to ensure water supply, even during drought seasons.
Everything starts in the roof, where a gutter collects rainwater that passes through a sand filter before being stored in a 10,000 litre cistern. People can manually pump water into a pool with a capacity of 1,500 litres to have access to it. These systems also include laundry sinks connected to stabilisation ponds that filter wastewater. The whole infrastructure is painted with a nopal cactus-based pigment. The paint also includes cement, salt and lime, which helps to reduce the growth of algae and other microorganisms in the storage tank and pool.
Rainwater harvesting systems provide easy access to a vital resource a few steps away from the house, allowing women to repurpose the time they previously spent collecting water for work or to attend school.
2 Dry toilets
Proper sanitary waste management and hygiene practices are essential to avoid gastrointestinal diseases. Nonetheless, in rural communities it is still a common practice to defecate in the open air and hygiene practices, such as hand-washing or regular showering, are not widely rooted.
The sanitation facilities built in the watershed consist of dry toilets that include a system to separate solids and liquids. These remain in an underground composting chamber so that they can be turned into natural fertiliser used in backyard gardens. In these gable roof rooms, people also have a space to shower using buckets with water collected from the rainwater harvesting systems.
Building dry toilets helps prevent groundwater contamination due to improperly disposed fecal matter, reducing the pressure that humans put on the watershed. These technologies also dignify people, provide them with effective and comfortable methods to stay clean, and decrease the rate of diseases related to poor sanitation and hygiene.
3 Firewood-saving stoves
Made up of a table, a furnace and a chimney, these stoves reduce firewood consumption by 50%. The table holds a 2.40 metre oven and a combustion chamber to reduce the amount of fuel used. It also has a gravel fill which helps keep the heat in, and a smokestack that draws the smoke from the kitchens and allows for space to clean the soot.
Using the firewood-saving stoves helps reduce deforestation, preventing erosion and the problems that come with it, such as a low infiltration capacity of the watershed. They also prevent air pollution, and lower the possibilities of respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
4 Backyard gardens
In order to foster community development it is necessary to promote food safety. Backyard gardens are the fourth green technology installed in the valley of Mexico to boost family economy. These small greenhouses of 10 sq metres consist of living wall terraces, supported by arches made with rod and hoses, and protected with plastic covers. These systems enable people to cultivate up to 15 different vegetables.
Green technologies can make multiple positive impacts simultaneously. By doing everything from improving human health to protecting the environment, they foster community participation to achieve sustainability in the watershed.
For more information on this project or any of FEMSA’s other water and sanitation technologies, click here.
Content on this page is paid for and provided by FEMSA Foundation, a sponsor of the Guardian Global Development Professionals Network.
