Dear friends of the CASA Collectives:
First and foremost, CASA wishes to share two bits of very exciting news! Political prisoner and friend of CASA, David Venegas Reyes, was released on March 5th, after being held under false charges for nearly a year. Thanks to all of you who pressured the Mexican government for his release. And on March 11th, CASA Chapulín volunteer Kath Golub gave birth to a baby boy! The CASAs have much to celebrate this Spring.
In honor of World Water Day this month (March 22nd) CASA dedicates this newsletter to water issues in Mexico. Just like in many places around the world, water is a scarce resource most of Mexico. CASA Chapulín, along with most of our friends and neighbors, often lack water for several days a week during the nine-month dry season. There are parts of the city and other regions of the state and country that suffer much more from the water scarcity. Our personal frustrations—not being able to flush toilets, wash dishes or take showers for several days a week in a house where at least fifteen people pass through every day!—led us to look into the water problems that face Mexico and publish some of those findings in this newsletter.
Besides looking into water issues on a national level, we’ve done what we can to address scarcity at home. At CASA Chapulín we now recycle all gray water (the water we collect when we take showers or wash dishes) and a few months ago we hosted a 5-day intensive learn-by-doing workshop on our rooftop to construct a composting toilet. While traditional sanitation programs have been important for reducing disease by improving water supply, these disposal solutions also lead to other problems. Nutrients and organic matter that could be used productively are wasted and large amounts of water are needed to carry waste elsewhere for chemical treatment. The idea of ecological sanitation (in this case, composting toilets) is recover nutrients by recycling human waste safely while conserving water and preventing disease.
We began by collecting trash: 600 plastic bottles. Then we filled them with sand to be used as bricks, and filled in the cracks with adobe. We made the walls from bamboo-like material and now sport the bathroom with one of the best views in Oaxaca! And, we have notably less water problems since its construction. We discovered that there are many different models, but selected a separator model (which separates pee and poop). Every few days we change the pee basin, using a part as a natural fertilizer for the plants in our rooftop garden. The poop basin fills up every few months, and is left to sit for several months, in which time it turns to compost, and can then be used to fertilize trees. For more information about the process or on composting toilets, please contact us! (casachapulin@gmail.com)
Water privatization is also a growing concern in Mexico. The theory of water privatization (if water could be moved and distributed freely through free markets, it would be transferred to regions of scarcity and higher prices would lead to conservation) doesn’t take into account the ecological limits set by the water cycle or economic limits set by poverty. In fact, what we’ve seen in many countries is community-controlled water eroded by the state, now eroded by corporations—with citizens having absolutely no voice in its management.
CASA de la Paz volunteer Monica Wooters investigated Coca Cola’s role in privatizing water in Chiapas. Former president of Mexico Vicente Fox was also former president of the Coca Cola company and it seems that there’s no coincidence that Coca Cola has been granted privileged access to Mexico’s water while at the same time thousands lack access to clean water.
Water conflicts plague Oaxaca, and can sometimes be masked as political conflicts. Bilgesu Sumer met with friends of an assassinated local authority in Huayapan, a municipality near Oaxaca City, to inquire about the nature of his assassination, which appeared to friends to be related to his unwillingness to sign water rights over to a private company.
There are, however, successful examples of resistance to water privatization, such ans in Bolivia, and of cooperatively-controlled water management, such as in Cuajimoloyas, Oaxaca, which has linked with surrounding communities to sustainably manage and distribute drinking water in the state.
In Chiapas, after two months of rehearsals, the group Zapayasos performed their first play. The play, titled “Aguas con el Agua” makes its public reflect our varied uses of water. The Zapayasos are currently touring in Zapatista communities and caracoles.
What will you be doing for World Water Day?
Splashes in Solidarity,
CASA Chapulín, Oaxaca
CASA de la Paz, Chiapas
