| Project Detail |
The aim of this project is to guarantee clean drinking water and water for agricultural production for 8 indigenous communities located in the indigenous territory, Raposa Serra do Sol, in the state of Roraima, in the Northern Brazilian Amazon. It will drill a new artesian well within the indigenous community of Sao Francisco, and thoroughly clean seven polluted wells within the surrounding communities, where the water quality has become too poor for household and agricultural use. The artesian well will be deeper than the home-made style wells typical of the region, and can reach deeper water sources throughout the year, meaning that it is more resistant to droughts. These new and rehabilitated wells will bring safe, sustainable sources of clean water to families living in these communities, improving their health and allowing them to use the water to make a living (such as maintaining small-holdings, agricultural development and raising livestock). The need for a new well in Sao Francisco has been identified through consultations between the community and CIR, as the current well is so deteriorated that it no longer fully functions to provide clean and consistent water throughout the year. Communities have reported cases of diarrhoea, kidney problems, and without clean water to guarantee basic hygiene, this is increasing risks of COVID-19 transmission within these communities. Children have also been adversely affected by these problems. Communities’ crops of corn, beans and cassava have been affected by the lack of water during the extremely dry summer period. To guarantee consistent water sources for subsistence farming would also prevent communities from traveling to the big cities risking further COVID transmission during the pandemic. This project comes at an important time as not only is access to a clean and reliable water source essential to the communities in the long term, but it is important within the context of the COVID-19 outbreak to maintain hygiene standards and keep people safe. Even before the pandemic, SESAI (The Special Secretary for Indigenous Health) had not sufficiently prioritised providing access to clean water for communities, which is more important than ever to keep people healthy and protected. |
