MEXICO

Although Tulum is a major tourist destination, situated 1.5 hrs south of Cancun, just minutes away from the luxury 5-mile strip of hotels, shops and restaurants local residents lack clean drinking water. Many decades ago, the Mayans who are indigenous to this region used to drink water from the underground cenotes that can be found all around the peninsula. But today with population tourist boom even the cenotes are being polluted and the water that is piped into homes and public facilities, such as schools is not potable.

The Waterbearers led an international delegation of women team leaders to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico to partner with Michele Clark-Dougherty and Life Source Retreats to provide a demonstration of the clean water system to a Mayan community. Clean water filter systems were demonstrated and distributed to three generations of women in the surrounding villages. In Tulum, the team visited School Ford 198 to educate 400 children ages 5-13 about the importance of drinking safe clean water. The group created a catchy song in Spanish, and when the demonstration of a filter attached to a bottle of dirty water children jumped off their seats screaming with excitement to line up to taste the water and fill their water bottles. The filter system is now at the school providing clean drinking water for its students and faculty.

LOCATION Tulum, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

DATE May 2016 Project completed

REACH 30 Filters with a potential reach of 3000 people with access to clean water