- 190 FAMILIES. Two communities in San Juan Lalana will have drinking water and sanitation in their homes thanks to small water supply networks, residential water purification and dry toilets
- RESILIENCE. The program will restore aquatic and forest ecosystems to improve adaptation to climate change and promote economic activity
- INCLUSIVE ECONOMY. The project is supplemented by measures to boost local agriculture and the production and processing of plant fiber
acciona.org has launched a comprehensive community development project for 190 families in San Juan Lalana (Oaxaca, Mexico). ACCIONA's corporate foundation will provide drinking water and sanitation; a program to restore the area's aquatic and forest ecosystems; and various initiatives to develop the local economy. The plan is funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
acciona.org's comprehensive approach in the area will help to improve these communities’ climate resilience and generate activities that ensure long-term development.
Water management will begin with the sanitation of natural water sources used to supply the two communities. High quality water will be supplied through a combination of small water supply networks, rainwater harvesting and filtration systems, and community storage tanks.
Household systems will include the filtered recovery of gray water (from kitchens and bathroom sinks) to be reused for irrigation of home gardens, mitigating water stress in the area and improving self-sufficiency. In addition, this will prevent wastewater from contaminating natural aquifers.
Effective sanitation will be achieved with dry toilets (one per household) that will generate fertilizer for home and community gardens through the safe composting of organic matter.
The project will be expanded with two additional lines of action: the restoration of ecosystems and the promotion of productive activities.
GLOBAL APPROACH
The planting of two hectares of native trees for timber and fruit production, as well as plants for the production of ixtle, a highly resistant plant fiber, will help to settle and expand the aquifers and mitigate the effects of climate change in the area.
These plantations will provide food and raw materials (for the communities’ own use and local trade). Two nurseries with capacity for 20,000 plants will also be created. All this will contribute to the restoration of the environment, the consolidation of food security and the revitalization of the economy.
The increase in ixtle production through the new plantations will generate enough volume to allow a quantitative leap and the launch of a mechanized processing center for this type of fiber. Training workshops for women will be set up to develop this activity. The center will make it possible to increase production of handicrafts and utensils for sale in regional markets.
The boost to agriculture and local harvesting will be supplemented by training in production and processing techniques. In each of the two communities, a plot of land will be created to grow corn, beans and ixtle plants, taking advantage of the greater availability of water and the generation of organic fertilizer.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE COLLABORATION
The San Juan Lalana project is funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) with €890,000. Prior to this, acciona.org has received support from the agency for the implementation of several of its programs in Mexico, Peru, Panama and the Philippines, as well as in Ethiopia, where they have worked in partnership with other Spanish organizations.
Between 2013 and 2020, acciona.org and AECID were partners, together with the government of Oaxaca and AMEXCID ─ AECID’s Mexican counterpart ─ in the public-private alliances for development that launched the programs Luz en Casa Oaxaca, for access to basic electricity services, and EncASa Oaxaca, which provides access to drinking water, proper sanitation and safe cooking in addition to electricity. AECID also subsequently co-financed the first scaling-up phase of EncASa Oaxaca.
Thanks to these initiatives, as well as others developed in collaboration with other public and private partners in Oaxaca and other states, acciona.org has helped some 37,500 people in Mexico with its services.