Sustainable Forest and Water Management


Conserving and Improving the Availability of these Natural Resources

Context and partners

The project promoter is the Yirtrak Foundation, a legally established non for profit and non governmental organisation based in San Cristobal de las Casas (www.fundacionyirtrak.org).

The main objectives of the Foundation are:
  • to create and develop holistic education centres where children can enjoy cultural, social and educational exchanges.
  • to improve the living conditions of all human beings under a perspective of cultural and social inclusion.
  • to promote care, respect and balance between all living beings.

Faced with the difficult economical and environmental situation of several Chiapan communities and convinced that natural resources are public and should not be privately owned, the Foundation has designed and created a two year long term project which will benefit 4 disadvantaged local communities where forest and water are at the moment largely insufficient and will develop an environmental education campaign.

Needs and elements addressed by the project:
  • The four communities lack both forest and water resources.
  • There is a need for awareness raising and environmental education both in the communities and the state of Chiapas.
  • Yirtrak and its members know how to build accessible and simple water collection and forest conservation systems.
  • The communities involved in the project are willing to participate and actively contribute to the project implementation.
Other partners of the project are:
  • “Pre- scholar and maternal care centre Pinguin@s”, San Cristobal de las Casas.
  • The elementary school “I. Zaragoza”, Alcanfores.
  • The communities of Alcanfores (San Cristobal de las Casas), Crucero (San Juan Chamula), San Isidro (Zinacantan) and Amho (Teopisca).

It is finally important to notice that all community members involved in the project take part in the working and management activities and that all the manual work is done by local people and volunteers

Aims

  • To work for a better quality and higher quantity of water and forest resources.
  • To train the population on sustainable water and forest management and to impulse a cultural and behavioural change.

Objectives

  • Design and implementation of rain water collection systems for families and communities.
  • Design and implementation of wood saving devices and forest conservation systems.
  • Development of a new environmental culture inside the communities and the participating schools.
  • Development of new best practices in the field of water and forest management both inside the communities and the participating schools.
  • Promotion of a cooperative network of water management committees in communities that independently manage their water sources .

Main expected results

  • Designing and managing 4 tree nurseries
  • Growing and planting 5000 trees
  • 50 wood saving stoves
  • 10 solar stoves
  • 21 solar eaters (water)
  • 26 eighteen cube meters water tanks and systems
  • 3 one hundred cube meters collective water tanks and systems
  • 2 educational kits about sustainable water and forest management
  • 6 educational workshops with community members
  • 50 educational workshops in the 2 participating schools
  • 12 workshops with students’ families
  • 8 exhibitions of art and literary works produced by community members and students
  • 2 video documentaries about the project and the experience of the community involved in the project

Calendar

The project will be implemented between June 2008 and June 2010.

Nataté

Nataté supports the project through:
  • the management of voluntary service projects and the involvement of Mexican and international volunteers in the activities;
  • the photo and video documentation of the project;
  • fund raising and project promotion.

If you want to take part in the activities or you would like to financially support the project, do not hesitate to contact us!

We are looking for volunteers and supporters all year long!