ClearWater in Ecuador
ClearWater is bringing clean drinking water to indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon. By building rainwater catchment systems, ClearWater works with communities to provide viable clean water solutions.
The Nor-Oriente Amazon
The Amazon rainforest produces 20% of our water. In the Ecuadorian Amazon, the water sources are contaminated by decades of reckless oil operations and 30,000 people are suffering a health crisis due to the toxins in the water. ClearWater is partnering with five indigenous tribes to directly address this crisis.
Cofán
Cofán Dureno
Centuries ago, the Cofán people moved down from the foothills of the Andes Mountains to inhabit a large territory in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon. The Cofán have been inspiring protagonists in the 19-year legal battle against the oil companies, yet they continue to suffer from the devastating contamination in their communities, most significantly the lack of clean water.
Cofán Dureno & ClearWater
- 52 Rainwater Catchment Systems
- 350 people benefitted
- 4 community technicians trained
The ClearWater project broke ground in the community of Cofán Dureno in November 2011, when 52 rainwater catchment systems were built, providing 350 people with much-needed clean water.
Meet Gonzálo Criollo
Gonzálo Criollo is the son of renowned Cofán shaman Rufino Criollo, and brother of Cofán musicians Silverio and Claus Criollo. Culture and arts run in his family, but Gonzálo has chosen another path: working with his hands. As a senior technician, Gonzálo brings tremendous support to ClearWater.
Secoya
The Secoya suffer heavily from oil-related contamination. Rivers have been contaminated, making much of the water unsafe to drink or bathe in; traditional subsistence activities like hunting, fishing, and growing edible crops are at risk.
Secoya & ClearWater
- 73 Rainwater Catchment Systems
- 500 people benefitted
- 10 community technicians trained
Despite the challenges, the Secoya are highly organized and dedicated to building clean water solutions for their people. Over the months of July and August 2013, ClearWater installed an additional 56 rainwater systems in Secoya territory.
Meet Hurlem Piaguaje
Hurlem is one of the three young community technicians of ClearWater. Energetic and always smiling, Hurlem keeps everybody on their toes. His work has shown that he is a quick learner and highly adaptable. He looks forward to the future, where he hopes to become a senior community technician and work in other communities — and hopes that by then, people will have better access to clean water.
Siona
Like the Secoya, the Siona currently suffer from oil contamination, African palm production, deforestation, and expanding colonist settlement in their territory.
Siona & ClearWater
- 20 Rainwater Catchment Systems
- 100 people benefitted
- 4 community technicians trained
ClearWater began installation in the Siona community in October 2012, and 20 rain catchment systems were built, benefitting over 100 people. Siona technicians working for ClearWater are dedicated to improving living conditions for all Siona community members by providing them with clean drinking water.
Meet Celio Piaguaje
Meet Celio Piaguaje, Siona technician from the community of Sototsiayá. At age 40, Celio stands as one of the most experienced workers in the group. Dedicated to agriculture his entire life, Celio truly knows the meaning of hard work. Every day during construction, Celio takes a 45-minute ride on his dugout canoe to be a part of the ClearWater project.
Waorani
The Waorani were the most recently contacted of all Ecuadorian indigenous peoples. Since first contact in 1956, the Waorani have experienced a rapid and difficult insertion into mainstream Ecuadorian society. Their territories have been greatly reduced, and their remaining lands impacted by logging, oil extraction, and colonist settlement. Oil activity and the construction of oil roads has been severely detrimental to Waorani lands.
Waorani & ClearWater
- 13 Rainwater Catchment Systems
- 75 people benefitted
- 4 community technicians trained
ClearWater began a pilot project in the Waorani communities in March 2013, using a new design for metal catchment system frames that will last five times longer than wooden frames. 13 systems were built, benefitting 75 people.
Visiting Yawepare
It’s a long trip from the Amazonian city of Coca to the Waorani community of Yawepare on the edge of Yasuní National Park in Ecuador — much longer than the actual distance would seem to indicate. After almost an hour at high speeds along a paved portion of the Via Auca, the first road in the region built by Texaco when the company initially began operating in the area, you turn off onto the Via Pindo.
Kichwa
The Kichwa of the Amazon are the most numerous of Ecuador’s indigenous Amazonian peoples and have taken cleaning up after the oil companies into their own hands, painstakingly remediating the environmental mess the oil companies have left behind.
Kichwa & ClearWater
- 53 Rainwater Catchment Systems
- 350 people benefitted
- 4 community technicians trained
Installation of 53 catchment systems began in the Kichwa village of Rumipamba in May 2013, benefitting approximately 350 people. ClearWater will also be working with other Kichwa communities in the near future, ensuring clean water for all oil-affected indigenous communities.
Engineers Without Borders
Today, we travelled to the village of Rumipamba, home of the Kichwa people. The mission is to observe firsthand the extent of oil contamination in the region and to inspect existing rainwater catchment systems in the area. Going in, we all have some preconceived notions about exactly what this looks like — but we are not prepared for what lies ahead of us.