El Porvenir

Annually, we partner with approximately 35,000 rural Nicaraguans on wells, water systems, school handwashing stations, fuel-efficient stoves, hygiene education, latrines/toilets, and watershed restoration activities. These specific initiatives are focused on achieving universal water and sanitation coverage in the 5 municipalities where we carry out projects.

El Porvenir is uniquely qualified for this work because of our mainly Nicaraguan staff, 33 years of experience, the evaluations we’ve learned from, and our track record of success.

Organization's Goals:
Empower rural Nicaraguans and communities to achieve better health through comprehensive clean water projects. We will partner with rural Nicaraguans to develop and implement:
-Lasting clean water and sanitation projects looking to universal coverage (access to water)
-Environmental and Hygiene Education (quality of water)
-Protection of water sources (quantity of water)

Additionally, we are working to
• Improve our educational outreach and behavior change program: Health benefits multiply substantially through participation in hygiene education. Outreach will include
o Menstrual hygiene training
o Messaging via text messages, television, national radio and/or social media
o Municipal and national alliances to promote healthy and environmentally friendly behaviors through public health campaigns

• Increase women’s participation for greater effectiveness and more sustainable projects by
o Encouraging women to create social water and sanitation enterprises
o Encouraging women to take a greater role in project management

• Include health posts in project implementation to promote better health for all

• Prepare for an increased demand for toilets rather than latrines

To ensure project sustainability, communities are screened to determine their commitment to the project. The community must be willing to play an active role, providing labor and 5-15% of project materials, while El Porvenir provides technical assistance, tools, and other materials for project construction. Once the infrastructure is built, the community is responsible for ongoing maintenance and repair of water and sanitation systems. Local governments contribute 10-15% of project costs as well. Many of these communities are isolated and only accessible by foot, horse, or motorcycle. Access increases during the dry season, so most project work is done then.

In addition to water and sanitation coverage, we address watershed protection to increase water flow, promote aquifer recharge, and increase food security. According to a three-decade long study done by the University of Vermont, “increasing the number of trees by a third near the source of watersheds in rural areas could improve water sanitation as effectively as installing indoor plumbing or toilets.”

There are four components to El Porvenir's work:
1. Project preparation done by the community.
2. Construction of water & sanitation infrastructure with the community.
3. Health and hygiene education to reduce water and sanitation related illnesses.
4. Reforestation to increase water infiltration and aquifer recharge to protect the watershed as well as prevent landslides and soil erosion.

El Porvenir has 33 years of experience working with rural Nicaraguan communities to build appropriate technology as well as provide communities with the tools they need to manage their water, sanitation, and forestry resources. El Porvenir’s methodology is based on three key principles: (a) community empowerment through active participation and ownership in the project, (b) creation of sustainable organizations in the community to manage resources in the long term, and (c) focus on appropriate technology made from low-cost, locally available materials that can be maintained easily and cheaply by the community.

El Porvenir is uniquely qualified for this work because of our mainly Nicaraguan staff, 33 years of experience, the evaluations we’ve learned from, and our track record of success.

To date, EP has partnered with over 271,000 rural Nicaraguans to build 6664 community water projects, build 14,848 latrines and toilets, plant over 1,670,000 trees, construct and educate all community partners in health and environmental issues.

In the words of our partners:
Karla remembers when they used to drink water directly from the river; she knew this wasn't good for them, but it was their only option. “We were motivated to build this project because there are people who had to carry the water for a long time, and there are elderly people who have to carry the water from the well to their house in carts.” --Karla, El Hato

For over 30 years, Ivania spent up to three hours each day retrieving water from a well miles from her home. All those years, Ivania walked and waited for water. Now she and everyone in El Hatillo realized their dream of clean, safe water for their community. "I cried when I saw water come out of our tap," says Ivania.

Salvador used to bring water home in buckets from a spring 2 kilometers uphill. "The water was not reliable; we brought it home unchlorinated and dirty," said Salvador. Now 65 houses are connected to a community water system with a tap at each household. "We are happy because we no longer carry water, and we have clean water. Residents are now healthier," he said. “Now, we have available water. We don’t have to walk far anymore; we go out to the tap, put the bucket under, and have clean water pouring out.”

Teodoro and his family used to walk 2.5 kilometers to carry water—by beast, on foot, or by cart—all to have a little water in the house for chores and drinking. "We walked more than an hour there and an hour back. It was very tiring," he said. The new drilled well in his community directly benefits 15 families by bringing clean water close to their homes. “This project was very good for us because our lives have changed. The time we used to bring water from afar can now be used to do other things and to be with family.”