Gregorio Ferro-Cement Tank and Rainwater Catchment Project - Brazil

Gregorio village has 321 families, comprised of 1100 inhabitants. Queimadas has 16,000 residents. The villagers suffer from water shortages, and are dependent on water trucks that come to deliver water.

To get a graphic image of the water crisis in the community, and the need for a water storage system, CLICK HERE

The tank will be built beside the College Renato Gonçalves Martins. The site was selected by an association of villagers and heads of the school to serve the school and the surrounding community, and meets the approval of the municipal secretary of development and education.

This project, Water Charity’s first in Brazil, will be implemented by Instituto Diamante Verde (IDV) under the direction of our friend Rosângela Araújo, who serves as its Vice President.

The ferro-cement tank will have a capacity of 30,000 liters, and will hold water collected from the rainwater catchment system. The tank can also be filled from water trucks during the dry season.

The rainwater catchment system, comprised of zinc gutters, will be fabricated by a specialist on site. The gutters will be attached to the roof of the school, and will capture water from the 360 square meter roof. Water will flow through a PVC pipe into the tank, and will be available on demand.

A master builder, with experience in this tank technology, will supervise the construction. The residents of the community will provide the labor.

There will be a capability for filtering the water, if necessary, utilizing the seeds of Moringa trees. The trees are already being grown under a separate project being carried out by the community with the assistance of IDV.

The project will directly benefit the 180 students registered at the school, plus approximately 400 additional villagers, comprised of relatives of the students and neighbors of the school.

This project has now been funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.

We encourage additional donations. Any donations using the Donate button below will go toward additional water and sanitation projects in Brazil.

This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.

Conclusion of Gregorio Ferro-Cement Tank and Rainwater Catchment Project – Brazil

This project has been completed under the direction of Rosângela Araújo, Vice President of Instituto Diamante Verde (IDV). To read about the beginning of the project, CLICK HERE.

The project was to build a rainwater catchment system and ferro-cement tank in the village of Gregório.

Rosângela reports:

It took 5 months to complete the project, under the direct supervision of Professor Manuela, now elected head of the Association and representative of the Instituto Diamante Verde in Gregório.

This year something really amazing happened in Queimadas/Gregório village. During the summer season 2010/2011, the news showed the tragic scene of 22 villages facing water shortages due to a lack of rain. However, due to the adoption of a program to build ferro-cement tanks, Queimadas had the capacity to capture sufficient rainwater to fulfill the basic consumption needs of the communities that make up the municipality.

The pictures show the proven construction techniques that resulted in the completion of the collection and storage system in Quemadas. As a result, 580 people now have an adequate water supply.

The completion of this project makes possible additional development efforts, under the direction of IDV, for the benefit of the community. These include a tree nursery and erosion control program as well as a gardening program to grow organic vegetables, legumes and fruits for the consumption of the students. Finally, moringa trees are being planted around the natural water source. This not only prevents evaporation but also produces leaves and other components with significant nutritional benefit.

We wish to extend our thanks to Rosângela for carrying out this great project, and creating a model to follow for similar projects in the municipality.

We again wish to thank Six Senses Resorts & Spas for providing the funding for the project.