A Growing Environmental and Health Crisis, Requiring a Diversified and Scaled Response.

Last week, we reviewed with you our accomplishments in 2023 (see our email from last week in case you missed it!). This week we're excited to share our major goals and actions planned for 2024 as we continue on our commitment to mitigate the growing water crisis in our region. Your support has also been crucial, and we're excited to have you by our side as we strive to reach further and make an even greater impact in 2024. Let’s take a look to see where we plan to focus our energy. 

At Caminos de Agua we are not able to do any of this work alone. All of these incredible accomplishments are only made possible by a true community of support, with each collaborator playing a critical role.

Since late 2020, Caminos de Agua (Caminos) has embarked on what stands as our most ambitious project over our 12 years of existence. Together with our core community and organizational partners – including INANA, A.C., CUVAPAS, SECOPA, and the San Cayetano Community Center – we've persistently expanded access to clean water through rainwater harvesting, sanitation, and water filtration solutions for those most affected by our region's water crisis. Over the course of three years in our collaborative project, "Agua y Salud" (Water & Health), we have collectively worked across a total of 76 communities – constructing an astounding 780 large-scale Rainwater Harvesting Systems, which can produce more than 290 million liters of clean water storage over their lifetime.

At the heart of our impact is our educational programming – a robust foundation that goes well beyond workshops and lectures. Our dedicated team of community organizers and educators tirelessly spearheads initiatives that not only seek to impart information on our shared water crisis, as well as technical expertise to build solutions, but also foster a profound sense of community engagement and solidarity.  Read more here.

The evolution of our, first anywhere, GTS spans over seven years. This collaborative venture started with Caminos’ technology development team working hand-in-hand with university partners, academics, and other technical experts to first design and prove the technology in laboratory settings. Read more here.

This week, we are excited to introduce you to one of our own, Alexandra "Allie" Alvarez, the Director of Technology at Caminos de Agua for the past 4 years, and share her incredible journey as a young civil engineer making a profound impact on complex water issues in Central Mexico. Allie's story underscores the importance of young professionals becoming engaged in transformative projects, especially as we grapple with pressing issues like the water and climate crises.

Today, we are thrilled to introduce you to the inspiring story of Luz Villafuerte, a key collaborator of Caminos de Agua for more than 10 years, and the founder and dedicated leader of CUVAPAS – a grassroots community organization, representing dozens of rural communities, in the heart of the Upper Rio Laja Watershed in Northern Guanajuato, Mexico. Over the years, Luz’s work has helped to organize communities, provide educational programs around health and water, build movements throughout the region, and, in partnership with Caminos de Agua and others, bring life-sustaining water solutions to families most at risk in our watershed. 

Today, we would like to introduce you to two such remarkable individuals: Chip & Lucy Swab, who have been deeply engaged in social causes in San Miguel de Allende and beyond. Chip & Lucy are among our earliest and most dedicated supporters at Caminos, and their vision and efforts have greatly strengthened our organization.

This talk was originally presented live in San Miguel on November 26th, 2022. After an extensive fact-checking and review process by the TEDx community, we’re excited to be able to bring this talk to you now. So, when you have about 13 minutes to spare, we hope you’ll take a look and reflect.