About El Corralito
El Corralito is a large community with a population of 600 people in the
municipality of Oropolí. Prior to Global Brigades' arrival, community
members in El Corralito suffered from a lack of proper water, hygiene and
sanitation infrastructure, healthcare, and education. Diarrhea, dengue fever,
and asthma were common. Few homes had concrete floors, properly
functioning latrines, proper water storage, or efficient stoves with chimneys,
which further exacerbated their health problems. There is a health center in
El Corralito, but it is rarely staffed nor does it have a sufficient supply of
medicine available to treat all ailments. School is only offered until sixth grade,
at which point most children begin to work in agriculture to help their families
or walk to nearby communities to continue their education. Most families
work in agriculture and the cultivate corn, beans, and plantains.
El Corralito's Water Challenge
Prior to Global Brigades' arrival, the community of El Corralito benefited from an 18 year old project originally built by SANAA. Like most older projects, the system drew water from a source (a spring) using a small dam and a gravity system. There are two central “mother” pipes that ran on opposite sides of the community’s dividing river. Also, like most older projects, El Corralito’s system could no longer handle the growing population. After Hurricane Mitch, the piping from the dam to the tank (5,000 gallons) was changed from 3 inches to 2 inches due to a lack of funds. During the summer, many higher houses did not receive any water due to insufficient water capacity and low pressure. Additionally, most of the new houses in El Corralito did not have direct connections. 92 houses had water rights and 23 did not have them. Also, about 50% of the houses lacked water storage facilities. More positively, El Corralito reportedly used chlorine to purify their water at all times. Each house paid 10 Lempiras monthly, much of which was used to pay the plumber.
| Project Overview | |
| Beneficiaries | 600 |
| Volunteers | 113 |
| System Type |
Gravity |
| Project Cost |
$11,000 |
| Pipes Installed |
N/A. |
| Hours of Education |
18 |
| Storage Tank Volume |
5,000 gallons |
The Water Solution for El Corralito
Water Brigaders from 8 different universities worked in El Corralito from March 2009 to May 2009. During that time, these volunteers worked with community members to:
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