The Rotary Club of West Seattle sponsored a trip to Guatemala in May 2026.
The team departed on May 21st returning May 31st. We worked in the village of Caserio Esperanza Blanca Flor in the Barillas region of Guatemala. We are working with our NGO Hands for Peacemaking Foundation which has its Guatemala headquarters in Barillas.
Our work was the installation of 120 Rainwater capture systems. Currently during the dry season, the villagers walk 2 hours roundtrip from the main village to a small muddy spring to gather water. The rainwater collection system is a simple platform with a corrugated roof feeding into a gutter/pipe system to a 630-gallon (2,500 liter) tank. The tanks are plastic coated on the outside with UV protection and anti-bacterial coating on the inside. These tanks should store enough water for the families to get by during the dry season. We also installed 10 tanks at the school which will provide 6,300 gallons of storage for school and village use. This will supplement an existing cistern of about 3,000 gallons.
Typical rainwater system in use now: A wooden box lined with plastic, open to the elements, full of debris and animal waste, leaky and inefficient.
Bringing water from the spring; containers weigh 40-45 pounds full. Blanca Flor is in the mountains, and the trails to the villagers' homes are steep and rocky. It takes an additional 20-30 minutes from the main village to reach the homes. Total travel time 2.5 hours or more every day. This task frequently falls on the women and children robbing time from work and school.
This photo of a man and his two young sons was taken just after 05:30 at the main village which means they have been on the road since 03:30 to gather water. They are heading up the steep trail to their home.
The spring, low flow and muddy. Shared with other nearby villages
Completed rainwater capture system. It is placed on a reinforced concrete pad with concrete support posts. The pad is of sufficient height to fit a 5-gallon Eco-Filter bucket under the tap.
We have also raised some additional funds which were used for supplies for the teachers, books for the school, and other projects needed by the villagers.