Day 4 - Pampa Cocha y Chuchurras

The start to the day looked a little different than our usual journey to Chuchurras in two ways:

First, with help from Camilo (our driver) per the request of Rena, we listened to Amazon cumbia (traditional music of the Amazon region) on our morning commute. It's a little different than what's on the usual radio stations back in the States, but I have no doubt that we will find a way to get it on our Spotify playlists.

Second, instead of stopping once we arrived in Chuchurras, we continued on for another 30 minutes to the community of Pampa Cocha. This visit was a unique opportunity for introductions with the community of Pampa Cocha and our team, as Pampa Cocha is the next community that our team will be partnering with. We were received with a warm welcome of speeches from the leaders of Pampa Cocha, traditional dances performed by the primary school children, and gifts of pineapple, sweet limes, papaya, and bananas.

After introductions, we were able to see and learn more about the existing systems and infrastructure in Pampa Cocha. Similar to Chuchurras, Pampa Cocha is looking for help in designing and building a clean and reliable water system. While this visit provided the opportunity for introductions, the majority of planning and design will take place during a separate Assessment Trip in the future. We answered some initial questions about the process and then said our goodbyes before heading back to Chuchurras.

Once back in Chuchurras, the team set out on their different tasks. Brian and Brian met with Aron from the Municipalidad de Palcazú, who oversees the water committees in the region, to discuss the system as well as continuing the Operation and Maintenance training with the JASS. 

At the well house, Chris and Derek were hard at work continuing to make small adjustments to the pump controls. They most likely saw a handful of different insects and bugs that have made their home there. Usually, there is a new one that gets discovered with every visit if you look hard enough. 

Rena and I met up with the community working on trench preparation and pipe install. We are fortunate that the community has been involved with the pipe install over the past few years. While we were in Pampa Cocha, the community of Chuchurras was able to start on the connections to the existing valve on the south side of the main road, which is the start of the final stretch of pipe.

In some ways, it's hard to believe that we are in the final stretch of pipe. There's still a long distance to go, but to be at this point seemed hard to imagine a few years ago. The people of Chuchurras are now the experts in pipe installation, and it's been rewarding to see them take the lead.

Hasta mañana y ahuerren,

Paige

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