Saturday, January 18, 2014

MZ village project pictures

This is the village we call "MZ" (Nov 2013)

For 2013 the big project in MZ village was constructing an irrigation pipeline to move water 1/2 a mile from a mountain spring to the middle of the village.  We really got to know the community well by working through plans and challenges in this project.


Below is the site of the check dam that diverts the mountain spring into a small reservoir for funneling to the pipe.  We built this carefully, with spring floods in mind.  Breaking through the rock to make a sure foundation was a huge challenge, but the men were able to a 50cm-30cm foundation, without dynamite.  Progression of this site is seen counter-clockwise from the top-left.  


Below is the other view of the dam and reservoir as it progressed (again top-left, clockwise).  It took two blasts of dynamite to open up space for a small (1.5 meter x 2 meter) reservoir.  The dam diverts water to one side of the valley, down a short canal to the reservoir, which functions as a settling tank before water enters the pipe.


Below is the construction of a suspended valley crossing.  We couldn't afford to lose the elevation in cross the valley, so we reinforced the pipe and hung 42 meters of it like a suspension bridge.  Putting this up in one piece was a nervous day, but we were successful.

Below is some pics of the community members and workhorses of the project.  No one can say that this was our organization's project, because without these men, it would not have happened!

If you want to read some of the narrative stories of this project, just click on the labels "Agriculture" or "Irrigation" below this post or on in the Labels list in the right-side column.

1 comment:

  1. Great projects completed, Congratulations to you and all the men in the villages that helped in the construction. It is amazing what man can do if he is determined and puts all his effort into it and work together with his neighbors.

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