Our Partnership with El Porvenir

The need to protect and restore watersheds that supply vital water to rural, subsistence farmers is growing in importance in Nicaragua. As Nicaraguans face both sudden and slow onset climate change, trends like prolonged drought are pushing the agricultural frontier into previously forested or preserved land. The village of Posolí is in a region where just 32% of people have access to potable water, and 53% have adequate sanitation facilities. Inadequate access to clean water increases rates of diarrhea and skin infections. In addition, the responsibility of fetching water usually falls on women and children, who must travel farther to bring water to their homes without adequate access close by. Unfortunately, Government resources are often not available to rural villages to mitigate these obstacles, due to economic conditions.

One Day’s Wages is partnered with El Porvenir to bring clean water to 65 homes in Posolí by a new piped water system, to build latrines for families without adequate sanitation, to construct fuel-efficient cookstoves, and to support increased hygiene and watershed knowledge through education. The watershed restoration component is crucial to longer-term food and water resiliency and mitigates climate change. El Porvenir partnered with Posoli residents to replant and protect forests so that residents can live, grow food, drink and use water, and raise cattle in such a way that people downstream can do all of those things as well. El Porvenir has over 30 years of experience partnering with rural Nicaraguan communities to build appropriate technology and provide communities with the tools they need to manage their water, sanitation, and forestry resources. Only with clean water, improved sanitation, and healthy habits can individuals improve their living standards.