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Naranjo Dry Bathroom Project – Peru
Naranjo is an agricultural community of 60 families located in the highlands of northern Peru. It is situated at over 7,000 feet above sea level in the fertile hills of the northern department of Piura, Peru.
The community has a health post, a primary and secondary school, and a recently-renovated gravity-fed water system. However, it lacks basic sanitation infrastructure.
As is the case with most villages in the district, there is a high level of water and soil contamination resulting from human and animal defecation in the open-air, or in poorly-designed pits. Chronic gastro-intestinal illness and childhood malnutrition are a direct result.
This project is to construct 60 “dry bathrooms”, one for each family in the community. It will benefit 300 people.
Dry bathrooms use no water, do not fill up the way that pit latrines do, and produce usable compost and liquid fertilizers for use in agriculture.
The project has been planned and will be coordinated by a project committee, composed of five dedicated community members (three men and two women).
Peace Corps Volunteer Matt Inbusch will direct the project.
Each participating family will provide the sand, gravel, and rock for the concrete mix, as well as wood beams for the roof, 500 adobe bricks for the hut, and manual labor during the construction phase.
Recipient families will prepare home gardens, micro-landfills, and small corrals for their domestic animals before receiving their construction materials.
Also required will be participation in a series of training workshops regarding various aspects of the project. In this way, the project will encompass more than sanitation alone.
In addition to the public health benefits derived from proper sanitation, the project also addresses the issues of nutrition, solid waste management, and environmental protection.
The participation of Water Charity in this project has now been funded, through the generosity of Six Senses Resorts & Spas as a part of their Clean Water Projects initiative.
Any donations using the Donate button below will go toward additional water and sanitation projects in Peru.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.
This summer the Peace Corps community has an opportunity to be part of an extraordinary effort to improve our communities through volunteer service.
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