Tierra Nueva

After much time and effort, below is the most recent version of The Water Project Proposal, which I'm currently distributing throughout various organizations and individuals I think will be interested in supporting such a beautiful cause. See below for more details, and feel free to lend a hand in supporting this great work!

Best wishes,

Fede

The Water Project for San José (Petén)

Federico Guillermo Machon

Physical Address:

Primera Calle Septima Avenida, Zona 2, San José, Petén, Guatemala, C.A.

fede.machon@yahoo.com

Background:

a) Past Experience:

Beginning in 4^th grade, my passion for agriculture has never ceased. Since that young age, I’ve spent my free time tracking down books, watching television programs, and seeking out any other means to gain more information about sustainable living by the means of farming and producing the fruits and vegetables that give me life. This passion became tangible when I came into the possession of two properties in San José, Petén, Guatemala. The smaller of the two has been my home for the past eight years, which has given rise to ideas of how my personal interest and love for permaculture could benefit the community surrounding me.

b) Current Projects:

In the past eight years, two projects have come to fruition as I work the land I call home. My vision has produced first the TierraNueva Project, which incorporates volunteers from around the world in the sharing of my knowledge of sustainable ways of living. The intention behind TierraNueva is to demonstrate the tangible possibility of humans living in harmony with the earth, rather than destroying it. The Project includes maintenance of the garden, which is overflowing with various fruit trees (papaya, lime, lemon, orange, coconut), root vegetables (cassava), herbs (cilantro, cilantro, garlic), and more. Through maintaining the garden, the volunteers learn how they can create and sustain their own food sources, create their own compost and soil, as well as my many tricks to benefiting the plants they hope to grown. Throughout their stay, I also share my knowledge of making our own candles, soaps, cheeses, wine, and more.

Along a similar line, I hope to transform this same property in a learning centre to teach the youth of San José the handling techniques of living sustainably through a project I call vivero dedo verde. These techniques include learning creative skills to transform all kinds of waste to produce different products. In particular, how to take organic waste and produce new ornamental plants, bio gas, and compost with which we feed earth worms to create new earth. This new earth is in turn use to feed the plants of the garden which in turn feed us, thus completing the cycle of sustainability. The vivero dedo verde project offers the potential for sustainable living skills to be passed on to the next generation, and prepare the future for more harmonious living.

The property available for the two projects has a partially constructed two bedroom house, a nearly completed bio digester to provide sustainable fuel, and a very modest house. All the grounds of this land are cultivated or destined for the above purposes of teaching those who come. There is also potential for a restaurant that will serve customers directly from my garden, showing them how practically and well they can be sustained by fresh produce grown on a personal rather than corporate scale.

Problem:

My dream is to share the idea that sustainable living is not only possible for one person or for a single family, but instead that living sustainably can be a way of life for entire communities. This means providing jobs, food and other necessary resources to the community as a whole. However, San José has been impacted by inconsistent rain, frustrating attempts to support sustainable living on a large scale; the larger property currently in my possession is an example of failed attempts to grow organic produce in this region. The expense and lack of ability to pump sufficient amounts of water to support large farms destroys the potential for large scale sustainability here in San José. Local authorities do not have the resources to pump the necessary amounts of water due to the cost of fuel, which is 35.00 Quetzales (3.5 Euros) per gallon (less than 4 liters).

Proposed Solution:

In response to the lack of sufficient water, I’ve developed a new project that I have named The Water Project for San José. It will ultimately incorporate 35,000 square meters of land, and is intended to benefit the families of the Nuevo San José community, which is comprised of approximately 500 households. The community is on the North side of Lake Itza, which is 22 kilometers long and 12 kilometers wide. This proposal is for the initial trial of the Project, which is an area of 686,000 square meters. The area selected for the initial stage of The Water Project is located North of Nuevo San José, and its success will provide financially for the subsequent spreading of The Water Project design to the rest of the region.

The Water Project has the ability to counteract the issues of inconsistent rain and excessive expenses due to high fuel and pumping costs. I am currently producing my own fuel called bunker (derived from petroleum waste), a fuel that requires preheating for burning on a diesel-engine. The cost of producing this fuel is 12 Quetzales (1.2 Euros) per gallon from waste petroleum products that are available locally, in comparison to the 35 Quetzales (3.5 Euros) fuel that is currently used.

The idea is to pump water from Lake Itza to the communities on the northern side of the lake with bunker to provide water to all land-holders in order to satisfy their agricultural watering needs. The reduction of cost and increase in available water creates the possibility of three to four crops per year, instead of the current one to two crops per year. This will generate an overabundance of produce and meats that the community regularly consumes. This excess will produce the opportunity to train and educate a force of the local people to handle, process and package these goods for later consumption and distribution. This will lead to self-sustainability of the San José community, as The Water Project will enable organic farming to feed the community, while simultaneously creating jobs in a community that currently lacks employment opportunities for the youth.

Further, there is not a risk of harming Lake Itza with the increase of water consumption by means of The Water Project. Removing just one inch of water from the lake’s surface would provide 750,000 cubic meters of water. To take this much water out is requires twenty 8-inch pumps working 24 hours per day for one year; this past rainy season, the lake gained lake 60 centimeters (24 inches) of water in 5 days. With that being said, The Water Project does not run the risk of over-taxing Lake Itza’s water resources.

The Water Project also contemplates the training of the agricultural workers and land-holders to a more sustainable way of farming and the increase of organic fertilizers as well as appropriate animal handling techniques that will take into account the needs of the planet to achieve sustainability.

Timeline:

In order to have an effect on this year’s crop, we would like to begin pumping water on the first day of June. This goal is primarily motivated by the fact that the price of corn in September 2011 was 250.00 Quetzales (25 Euros) per 100 pound bushel and expecting this price to equal or higher this September of 2012. However, adhering to this schedule isn’t possible without funds. I expect that if we start in the first trimester of this 2012 we can easily meet the June 1st deadline.

In the beginning, we plan to charge those who are able to pay for the water pumping service and provide the water without charge to those who cannot for first six months. After this time, all beneficiaries will be required to pay for the fuel and maintenance of The Water Project. The people who are able will be asked to provide the pipe required to reach their land and will also be asked to provide The Water Project manager for the cost of this piping. This cost can be discounted from their monthly consumption. In theory, we want to pump with a four-inch pipe that would provide enough water to irrigate by aspersion 6.23 acres according a calculation that was made by a hydraulic engineer.

We know this to be one of the most wasteful ways to irrigate. And the hopes of The Water Project are to change it into a drop-watering system that would probably triple the area to be irrigated. This is just the first of three ambitious The Water Projects, with a plan to make similar The Water Projects in the towns of Jobonpich and San Pedro and later the community of Corozal and La Pasadita (San Andres). This is planned to happen within five years.

Purpose:

The Water Project has massive potential to improve the living standard, as well as the general environment of the region. Here is a list of some of the most significant gains to be seen.

a) Community Benefits:

The Water Project will have an immediate impact on the community by generating jobs. At the moment, most high school students have very few career choices to be able to work within the community. However, The Water Project will create an excess of food and the need for its processing, allowing for young people to choose from careers as industrial food handling, industrial engineering in addition to electricians, accountants, delivery personnel etc…within their home community. All of the food generated by The Water Project is intended to first be distributed in the local community stores offering at a savings the same products manufactured from the processing of the agriculture products. These products will include much of what the town’s people already consume such as sugar, bread, rice, beans, corn, eggs, poultry, beef, chicken, fish, tomato sauce and so on.

The Water Project’s focus on educating the people of San Jose on how to live sustainably is also a significant benefit to the families of San José, as it may improve their wealth, their ability to be independent from outside food and job sources, and to have reliable access to healthy, organic food sources. Further, youth will have the opportunity to become educated here in San José and in turn to use this knowledge within their own communities due to the increase in available jobs in the food industry. Last, families will have a consistent, affordable means to access water.

b) Financial Advantages:

First and foremost, pumping water will open the opportunity to farm and raise cattle in a more harmonious way with nature. The additional growing periods brought about by the increased availability of water will end the need for large extensions of land. The possibility to begin reforesting areas that are currently destined for sustaining cattle at a rate of only two cows per acre will opened.

Next, the economy within the region will be strengthened due to its growth and abundance of food, jobs, and produce to be sold. As a result, money will become available to finally purchase items that are currently needed. The increase of water producing an overabundance of produce will lead to the sustainability we want to support the agricultural families of San José.

The Water Project also involves the designing of pumps that can be manufactured very easily at a neighboring community, Santa Elena. The pumps’ simplicity is beneficial, as it makes it easy for local peoples with very little training to maintain and repair such pumps; again we see the possibility for job creation within the community. The design is essentially a large-scale, modified syringe with one intake, one outtake, and two check valves. These pumps will be powered by a diesel engine at the lake level and another pump and motor at the highest point to reduce pressure on the pipes in order to lower pipe cost and maintenance. A previous volunteer named Robert is currently creating the drawing of the design. Robert is an engineer from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

The particular topography of the area that has been selected for The Water Project also creates the potential for recuperation of some of the cost incurred by water pumping by utilizing a turbine generating system. The highest elevation necessary to pump the water is only 100 meters, which is the top of a ridge of mountains surrounding Lake Itza. After reaching the climax of the mountains at 100 meters, there is a 40 to 60 meter drop. This drop is where the potential for electricity generation exists by installing a turbine generating system at the discharge end of the water system; this turbine generating system will be an additional cost not included in this The Water Project proposal.

For a detailed drawing and further explanation of the pumping system please contact me by e-mail.

c) Environmental Gains:

As The Water Project seeks to create a sustainable community as a whole, the idea is to sustain the entire ecosystem of San José as a whole. The incorporation of the jungle management project that will subsequently arise will begin by reforesting with 60% wood trees and 40% fruit trees. This excess of fruits in the jungle will immediately create exponential growth of wildlife, including monkeys and other small mammals. The monkeys will distribute seeds throughout the jungle and the effects will be known to anyone’s eye within 5 years of the June 2012 deadline.

The Water Project’s intention of incorporating education will accelerate and increase local knowledge of handling the earth in a sustainable, responsible way. Thus, there will be a reduction in harmful styles of living and agriculture. Further, The Water Project will promote utilizing only organic components, aiding in replenishing rather than destroying the environment here in San José. Last, the use of bunker, as a recycled fuel, eliminates reliance on unsustainable fuels.

Financial Breakdown:

For a similar project with conventional equipment, a hydraulic engineer quoted the The Water Project at 400,000 Quetzales (40,000 Euros). I am currently seeking out this 40,000 Euros to develop a pumping system and work out any initial problems that may arise. This funding will be utilized to develop a nonconventional system, which includes the modified syringe pumping system powered by bunker, as this will best suits the needs of the San José region.

The majority of the money will go towards purchasing engines with transmissions and a differential, pipe for transporting the water to the destined location, and the manufacturing of four steel cylinders with check valves to house the 125 centimeter piston of the pump that will be a 30 centimeter tire of a tuctuc (a three wheel taxi that is common throughout Guatemala, producing a significant amount of tire waste). The wasted tires will be our first piston, in hope that the worn out tires will be the ideal instead of purchasing new tires.

The project also includes the building of a tower at my land, which happens to be the highest point in the ridge. We want to build at least a 10 meter tower to house and hold the second set of pumps. This will increase the drop of the water at the discharge end by 10 meters, which we think will aid by creating suction on the download, minimizing the need for fuel to pump. Of course I cannot design or price this structure until I have completed the pumping system because I am not certain of its size due to the lack of a design on paper. The project has the potential to revolutionize the hydraulic industry, due to the simplicity of the design and the use of recycled waste products.

As I will be experimenting to develop the system, I am unable to put an exact value on each stage of the project to be able to achieve this unique and simple pumping system. However, I would be happy to receive external accounting and auditing to ensure the allocated funds are being utilized properly. Any accounting or auditing may be done on a volunteer basis, with a guarantee of food and board being provided. If it turns out that I can execute the project for less than the estimated 40,000 Euro amount, then the money saved would be invested in either additional pipes to distribute the water, fuel for pumping, or both.

I will be including in the project a salary for a hired hand of 1,200 Quetzales (120 Euros) per month, due to the fact that I will be unable to tend my garden while I am occupied by the pump project and therefore unable to do it myself. The person who will be chosen for this maintenance position is a San José local, Alberto. He currently works picking up trash at the dump along with his wife and children to pick up rubbish; sometimes I am able to purchase garbage from him. He also works for me occasionally when I have money to pay him, paying 50 Quetzales (5 Euros) per day to feed his wife and nine children. He certainly needs this maintenance job. I will also be including a 600 Quetzales (60 Euros) per month salary for myself to provide for transportation and food cost.

The amount of money that I am asking is quite meager compared to what would likely be asked by another considering the number of beneficiaries from the project. I am frightened the project will not receive the attention it deserves due to the small amount of money I am asking. However, this brings a sense of beauty; that the project can be provided for by everyday people, just as I am, wanting to live in a better world.

How You Can Help:

Some of the information in this document was provided by the hydraulic engineer who sells water pumps and irrigation systems in Santa Elena, a nearby community. He says he can provide a system with regular pumps, high pressure pipes, and diesel motors to generate electricity for electric motors to power the water pumps, including a twenty-five year warrantee on the pumps for 400,000 Quetzales (40,000. Euros) including tax, title and license. I have asked him to deliver a written quote, but I have not yet received it at this date. Currently I am looking for ways to finance The Water Project. As stated before, the money that I am looking for is not for a traditional system, but instead to develop my own due to its simplicity and low maintenance requirements.

One avenue of funds may be Small Loans, but I am also submitting this The Water Project proposal for consideration to people and organizations that we hope might be interested in helping. The project will allow us to learn, and apply these lessons in other poverty stricken areas, leading the people in to a peaceful independence from a system that seems soon to collapse.

Because of the magnitude of The Water Project, opportunities are open for long-term volunteers in specialty areas such as engineering and landscape architects (with special knowledge in permaculture). I am also looking for someone to assist in Public Relations, to answer e-mails and to organize volunteers. If you have a special talent for kids or wish to assist in the education and care of my two daughters, you are welcome to visit and meet us. The living conditions are somewhat rough, with no electricity and partially completed structures for living, so keep this in mind before apply for long-term volunteering.

We also welcome all kinds of short-term volunteers and any assistance with daily tasks such as cooking, dish-washing, house-cleaning, gardening, compost-turning, harvesting, weeding and eating the garden. Things to learn are cheese-making, bread-baking, health, chiropractics, wine, plant-reproduction of all forms, personal defense, nutrition, exercising, cardio-vascular functioning and usage of the body and so on. You can decide when and how long you want to stay.

Curriculums/applications for long term volunteers accepted at fede.machon@yahoo.com.

Thanks to all who have already been here and assisted. All of you please remember if you just wish you could be here or wish you could help me you are already doing exactly that.

If you would like to read references from people how have already visited or have worked on my property, please see my account on couchsurfing.org under Flores, Guatemala. Also, if you have any questions or would like to contact me for any other reason, please write or call me at my address and number below.

I would like to invite a special person to come, a man or woman, who is reading this and may think that they have no place to go or they are worth nothing; to those I want to say, come now with no reservations or previous notice required. Just show up, and remember it doesn’t matter what you did before you arrived. It’s all about what you do once you get here.

Best wishes,

Fe de

Federico Guillermo Machon

Primera Calle Septima Avenida, Zona 2, San José, Petén, Guatemala, C.A.

fede.machon@yahoo.com

Pages

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Noticias de la semana pasada

El arte de sembrar es un acto de amor

Friday, February 3, 2012

The water project proposal

Best wishes,

Fede

The Water Project for San José (Petén)

Background:

a) Past Experience:

b) Current Projects:

Problem:

Proposed Solution:

Timeline:

Purpose:

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Vermaculture finished!! Water project NOW

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