Cobremayo
Latrine Construction and Health Education
Project Summary
Cobremayo is a rural village near the city of Oruro in the Altiplano. Eighteen families live without access to basic sanitation facilities and are in need of health education. As a result, the residents use the fields as bathrooms, increasing their risk to illness, exposing ambling pigs to trichinosis and contaminating the river that provides drinking water. To reduce the spread of illness and disease and to improve the quality of life, TERRA will help fund the construction of 18 dry-compost latrines and provide education seminars. In agreement with the community, half the latrines will be constructed in 2006, the other half the following year.
Pit latrines have not been build in Cobremayo because of a lack of financial resources and
under-education in basic sanitation. Residents use the fields as bathrooms, the same fields where animals graze and children play soccer.
It is not surprising that diarrhea and parasitic infestations are chronic maladies. Constructing easily maintained latrines
and providing sanitation education will provide a large social return
for a small investment: health will improve, benefiting the physical
development of children, children's attention span and labor
productivity. In addition, improved health reduces medication costs,
which can be a significant percentage of a family's income.
TERRA will work with the community of Cobremayo to build eighteen dry-compost family latrines and provide basic sanitation education. Dry-compost latrines separate human waste into bins that facilitate decomposition. Workshops in basic sanitation will be provided for the entire community.
- Project Brief
- Title:
- Cobremayo - Latrine Project
- Status:
- Not Funded
- Location:
- Community of Cobremayo, Provincio Poopo, Oruro, Bolivia
- Participants:
- TERRA Resource Development International and the Community of Cobremayo
- Cost:
- $4,400 USD
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