No Bike No Planet

Courtesy Ciudad Mujer

By sending bikes into remote areas and even crowded city streets around the world, we solve one problem of transportation but create yet another challenge. Many areas where our donated bikes end up lack the infrastructure to support wide bike use.

Many of our donors and supporters recognize the immediate need for helmets to keep riders safe, but often overlook the need for safety and maintenance classes for new bicycle owners.

Not only does our Salvadoran partner CESTA appreciate the value of training new bike owners, encouraging them to ride safer and keep their bikes in perfect working order, but they see the bigger picture too. CESTA also knows the value of bringing safer streets to the neighborhoods where these bikers live.

This spring CESTA launched a national campaign called No Bike No Planet which aims to raise awareness and sensitize the population about the importance of cycling as a means of transportation in the country. CESTA is an environmentally based organization that is focused on protecting the Earth and empowering people to live greener lifestyles. A bicycle is an important tool to their mission.

The No Bike No Planet campaign leaves no stone unturned. CESTA, working within the community, is hosting forums unveiling the impacts of climate change and stressing the importance of the bicycle to counteract global warming. Their message: 'a bike is a valuable transportation solution that helps reduce environmental pollution.' The campaign is committed to reducing air pollution in the capital of San Salvador where the health of residents is impacted. CESTA is bringing this conversation to several communities and forcing it into the media where it will reach an even greater number of people. 

CESTA signed an agreement with the Ministry of Public Works to work together to bring affordable, eco-friendly transportation to the country. In order to promote this means of transportation, both sides realize an effort to keep cyclists safe on the roads is in order. They are working to bring more cycle lanes to busy, crowded roads, more respect among drivers, and incorporating bike use in driver education.

For cyclists, CESTA is working within the school system to introduce bike use to students. They are hosting many workshops around the country that will focus on bicycle repair in hopes that some graduates will take this new skill to create repair shops in their communities. In addition to promoting cycling, this model would also generate employment in mechanics and business.

CESTA brings their message to students at grade schools and universities. With an education platform, bike use is pushed as a sustainable solution to keeping our planet clean and healthy. CESTA trained mechanics show students how to change a flat tire, grease a chain, or do minor bike repairs. In some schools, CESTA has also hosted large group rides to help spread the bike word.

Bringing Together Like Minds To Benefit The Future

These are the kids of the future. The students of Centro Escolar Caserío El Porvenir, seen here, are working to change their community in El Zapote. El Zapote is located within the appropriately named hamlet of Porvenir, meaning Future.

El Zapote school is run by two brothers Hector and Jonathan Morales, who, in an effort to protect the environment, in turn saved their town. By implementing self-sustaining practices into the school curriculum, the Morales brothers harnessed the creativity and ingenuity of their students to provide food for lunches, income to support their many environmental projects, and even practices to protect neighboring species from extinction. Read more about the school and the many projects students are performing.

Five years ago Hector Morales approached Bikes for the World hoping to include a bike repair aspect to his growing list of sustainable activities introduced to his students. Since that time, Bikes for the World has developed a strong relationship with an environmentally based organization located in distant San Marcos. That group known as CESTA also added a bike repair aspect to the many activities they support.

When Bikes for the World visited CESTA in 2014 both groups sat down to explore how they may be able to work together using the bikes donated by Bikes for the World. Within months of our visit, CESTA hosted ten students from El Zapote who came to the city for a couple weeks where they stayed at CESTA and learned bike mechanics.

Edgardo, seen here, lives 3 miles from school and uses a bike to commute every day. When he was selected for the program he was excited to learn more about bike mechanics. The students enrolled in the program all ride a bike to school or use one for errands in town. Most of them do not own their own bikes and need to borrow one from a friend or family member.

All ten student mechanics enrolled in the program at CESTA reported similar experiences. None of the guys had much experience working on bikes so the mechanics at CESTA started with basic care and maintenance and worked up from there.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the program was the friendships that formed in the workshop. Getting to know fellow students and working side by side with CESTA mentors left a huge impression on these young mechanics. For a country fighting against an alarming gang presence, these positive role model experiences are a priority among youth organizations.

Once they finished the two week program, all the mechanic trainees were very familiar with all the parts of the bikes and now know how to build a bike up from the frame. They hoped to take these skills back to El Zapote where they will train other students to do the same work. Because of their extensive background in environmental studies through their school at home, the guys know how important bicycles are not only as affordable transportation, but as a non-polluting transportation option.

Marlon graduated from the CESTA program and took those skills back to El Zapote. He hopes to become a doctor or teacher once he is finished with school.

For now, he will teach other students in the workshop El Zapote set up at the school in the spring of 2015.

As a pilot effort, El Zapote bought many of the bike specific tools mechanics need to repair bikes for their student workshop. They also acquired a dozen bikes that the student mechanics repaired and community members are now using to commute more efficiently.

Spotlight on El Zapote: The Future

In stark contrast to the tough streets of inner city San Marcos,  beautiful beaches and tranquil shores define  the western coast of El Salvador. Here, palm trees and fishing poles replace gang signs and guns.

El Zapote is a small community bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Guatemalan border to the north. Garita Palmera and Barra de Santigo are two nearby fishing villages. 'Nearby' is a relative term. In Barra de Santigo kids attending school in El Zapote would have to hop a 2 1/2 hour truck ride to get to school. While the two towns are close in distance, they are separated by an inlet of the Pacific Ocean (think Ocean City MD with no bridge). To cut the commuting distance, kids living in Barra de Santigo use a combination of canoes and bikes just to get to school.

To say these small coastal villages are isolated is an understatement. The infrastructure of a town is non-existent. Despite the absence of violence and gang activity notorious in El Salvador, these communities continue to struggle. With little economic opportunity within the community there is little hope for a productive future for many youths, who opt instead to leave.

When Bikes for the World visited El Zapote in 2014 we observed several coyotes (human traffickers) waiting on the edge of town to transport 'customers' to the nearby border. The week before we arrived, El Zapote lost three students ages 14, 10, and 8 to this illegal emigration.

The local school in El Zapote is run by two native brothers: Hector Morales, Director of the school and Jonathan, lead teacher. Together they are bringing change to Centro Escolar Caserío El Porvenir-- Porvenir meaning Future. In an effort to protect their community and build a better future, Hector looked within his own school for a solution.

Hector Morales

Now, the students are engaged in a wide variety of activities, many focused on sustainability and protecting the environment. Hector first introduced hydroponic gardening to the students over 6 years ago. They are using this skill to help feed the kids during lunch, with the excess being sold in the community to help fund the project. 80% of the kids took this skill home and implemented within their families.

Next, they added tilapia ponds and shrimp ponds. Other kids were taught weaving skills and now make hammocks that are sold to tourists. "When one has problems you weave and weave. You end up concentrating on the task and you forget your problems," says Luis, student weaver at El Zapote School. Luis looks forward to this activity that often spills over outside of school.

One parent noted, "I see kids doing really diverse activities like art, sports, and outreach. Before these things were very limited or didn't exist at all."

Hector Morales expands on the program, "The environment is a vital part of the curriculum at El Zapote School. As a school we think it is important to engage in several projects aimed at minimizing people's impact on the environment. We hope to transform our students into well rounded individuals with values and habits necessary for a peaceful, harmonious co-existence with the earth."

Because students are responsible for maintaining these sustainable projects at the school that require constant care, they are often going back and forth between home and school. Several years ago Hector approached Bikes for the World to inquire about receiving bikes for those students.

Find out what happened when Bikes for the World, El Zapote School, and bike beneficiary partner, CESTA, all sat down together in 2014...

Spotlight on San Salvador: Miracle in San Marcos

Life in El Salvador outside a gang is hard to imagine for many youths, especially those living within San Salvador. Operating a small business without paying a 'tax' to gang members is practically unheard of. Walking the streets after dark alone, not recommended.

Public safety became a concern in El Salvador in the late 80's after the Civil War. While much of the war took place in the countryside, gang violence erupted in the city and never left.

Crime skyrocketed in 2002 and continued for about a decade. In 2012, with government influence, a truce was established and respected by the two most notorious gangs, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and the 18th Street Gang.

During the next two years, crime in the city dropped, including homicides. But in 2014 that truce began to fall apart and the killings began again. In 2015 the homicide rate in El Salvador reached 6,650, almost double that of the year before, making it one of the most violent countries in the world.

Organizations such as CESTA, located in San Marcos, San Salvador, fight back by lifting kids out of the street and giving them a productive safe haven where they can hang out after school, away from the threat of gangs and crime. Through the EcoBici program offered by CESTA, kids have the chance to build social skills while learning bike mechanics in the repair shop. Being part of the strong, positive community at CESTA, at-risk youth are given alternatives to gang life and access to job opportunities.

Since 2012, Bikes for the World has donated nearly 4,500 bikes to this effort. BfW Director Keith Oberg met with Silvia, the Principal of Centro Escolar Milagro (Miracle School) in 2014.  Miracle School has been connected with CESTA for over six years now, during which time Silvia has noticed a huge impact on her students.

Silvia tells us, the kids need activities to keep them occupied and away from the gangs. She sees CESTA as practically a second campus for the kids of the school. They are engaged in many of the activities CESTA has to offer, from leadership programs, gardening, and of course the bike mechanics program.

Many students either bike or walk the 1-2 miles to Miracle School. Over 20% of her students bike to school. They have a safe place to store their bikes during the school day and can access them after school to attend various activities.

The school itself also offers a number of after school activities for the students. She stresses that more than 90% of the student body has some connection to gang life, whether it be directly or through some family member. Keeping kids  engaged after school is helping to keep them safe from gang activity. CESTA is an excellent outlet for these students.

Silvia continues to explain the importance CESTA has on her students: at CESTA, kids from all different backgrounds are brought together on what could be described as neutral ground. Rival gangs and feuding neighbors leave their troubles at the door and focus less on their angers and stereo-types while learning more about what they actually share in common. Many former and current CESTA interns speak highly of the relationships that form over a can of grease by a bike stand or while truing a wheel.

The kids at Miracle School have changed since working with CESTA. Their grades are improved. They attend classes more regularly. They receive a balanced, nutritious lunch provided by CESTA which helps them focus and concentrate. What Silvia notices most is the discipline and structure that CESTA introduces into their lives. On the streets and at home things may be stressful and chaotic, but within the CESTA workshop there is calm and camaraderie. At CESTA these kids are learning how to build bikes, build relationships, and how to fight to rebuild El Salvador.

Spotlight on El Salvador: CESTA

In the fall of 2014, Bikes for the World visited El Salvador to evaluate the progress of bike beneficiary partner CESTA, the El Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology. In 2015, CESTA became one of our largest recipients of donated bikes for the year. During our visit in 2014, we dropped into CESTA in San Marcos where they receive our bikes and train mechanics in the workshop. We also interviewed several interns, several key bike beneficiaries, and visited a couple schools to learn more about growing up in El Salvador.

Bikes for the World added CESTA as a beneficiary partner in 2012. Since that time we have donated over 4,300 bikes to the project through our efforts in the DC Metro region. Just last year in 2015, Bikes for the World assisted in placing more than 2,000 bikes in El Salvador through sister organizations in Chicago, St. Louis, and a group in Wisconsin.

CESTA's goal is to promote the empowerment of community organizations and municipalities in El Salvador to improve their quality of life in harmony with the environment. Their primary areas of work focus on transportation, health, and the environment. Our donated bikes support all three areas.

Through community bike rides, CESTA promotes a healthy lifestyle alternative that in turn is also beneficial to cutting pollution and protecting the earth. They work within local jurisdictions to bring safety and visibility to riders, specifically in the urban setting of San Marcos.

The bike project, known as EcoBici, helps introduce more bikes to the city and surrounding towns while creating mechanic training programs for at risk youth in a dangerous city.

EcoBici provides internships in bike repair to low-income youth. The interns are typically 'employed' for three months while they learn technical skills for maintaining and repairing bicycles. Some interns are invited to stay longer if they exhibit advanced interest or skills in bike mechanics. Interns receive an allowance for food and transportation. Some students who live in more distance towns are also offered a room in the CESTA dormitory. Student mechanics also earn a small wage for every bike they repair during the internship.

Many trainees in the program cite the camaraderie among participants as a strong motivating factor of the project. CESTA, through it's many programs supporting the environment, also provides a much needed alternative to gang involvement to area youth. CESTA works with youth on conflict resolution tools and provides a pathway to more productive leadership roles in their own lives and their communities.

Central America Trip: El Salvador

The Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology (CESTA) was founded in 1980 in El Salvador. Bikes for the World began shipping to them in 2012. Sister organization, Bikes Not Bombs has been donating bikes to support the project since 2000.

From BNB:
CESTA imports over 4,000 used bicycles into San Salvador each year, and these bicycles get refurbished in the EcoBici program that supports young people at risk of gang membership to build skills in bicycle mechanics, to gain a strong and positive community within CESTA and to access job opportunities at CESTA refurbishing the bicycles for sale. CESTA’s youth programs also build pathways for young people to access paid leadership roles within the program and organization.

CESTA

CESTA's goal is to promote the empowerment of community organizations and municipalities in El Salvador to improve their quality of life in harmony with the environment. Their primary areas of work are: energy and transport, agro-ecology, community health, solid waste management, forestry, and biodiversity. The bicycle program conducted with bikes from BfW contributes to the energy and transport sector by promoting bicycle as an economical and environmentally-friendly means of transport.

The bicycles CESTA receives from BfW (and other groups such as Working Bikes, Cycle North-South, and Bikes Not Bombs) are generally sold to the public, either direct individual retail or wholesaled in small lots. A smaller number are donated to community groups to be raffled for funds, or directly benefit disadvantaged individuals. Others are retained by CESTA as a fleet for school campaigns to raise awareness about cycling and the environment, and provide healthy activities for at-risk youth.

ECO-BICI

Eco-Bici, the school repair shop, specifically provides internships in bike repair to low-income youth. The interns typically stay for 3 months to gain skills, although some who exhibit special skills or needs stay for a year or more. They receive an allowance for food and transportation and earn a small sum for each bike repaired. Some students and interns from more distant towns are lodged in CESTA's own dormitory.

Many of the interns go on to work in bike repair or open their own shops afterwards. The school repair shop also operates a showroom where the bikes are sold (usually for $20-65 depending on the type of bike). Small-scale merchants can purchase bike wholesale either in "as-is" condition, or after Eco-Bici mechanics make repairs. These small bike shop owners then re-sell the bikes in their communities and continue to repair the bikes as needed.

ANTONIO

Antonio buys bikes from CESTA and repairs them himself. He currently sells the refurbished bikes in front of a friend's store but hopes to soon have his own bike shop. Antonio sells the bikes he repairs for $50 each and lives solely off the money he makes on these sales. After repairs Antonio makes $10-15 off each bike he sells.

Antonio used to work in the packing industry but was unable to maintain that position after developing a disability that prevented him from the manual labor required in his previous job. Antonio has been selling bikes for the last three years. When he starts his own shop he will supplement his income with bike repairs.

MORE PHOTOS FROM OUR VISIT TO CESTA

Featured Volunteer: Phil Loar

Courtesy EyeCare International

A Featured Volunteer with Bikes for the World not only goes above and beyond in our organization but often lives and breathes the same values in life. We often find those special stand outs helping us reach our mission are also reaching lives in many other ways. Phil Loar is no exception. All those in favor, say EYE.

Phil has helped at collections and loadings over the years and he still brings a group of Jet Blue co-workers out for a day of service with us, the latest at this year's ECARE event in Arlington. But his efforts go far beyond just bikes.

The history does, in fact, begin at ECARE where he used to help manage the event at the turn of the century back when he worked for Arlington County. This is when he met Keith Oberg, who was then the local chapter's volunteer organizer of Pedals for Progress. The relationship between Keith and Phil continued over the years and the two brainstormed on several projects bringing change to ECARE and eventually El Salvador.

The actual year Phil and Keith met is up for discussion but it's safe to say it was over a dozen years ago. As mentioned, both Phil and Keith were working Arlington County's recycling day event...still one of our biggest collection points every year (twice a year to be exact!).

Phil would pull aside the aerosol solvents and penetrating fluids from the household hazardous materials dropped off and pass them over to Keith. So if you are wondering why it seems like we are always  at the end of a can of WD40, that's why; most of our cans are donated leftovers.

The two collaborated to expand ECARE, bringing in BfW partner Art for Humanity, for household good for Honduras and EyeCare International, an organization Phil had been involved in since 1995,  for eyeglasses for El Salvador.

Courtesy Eye Care International

Phil is now the Director of EyeCare International and leads the effort to bring eye glasses and care (including complex surgeries) to Salvadoran villages annually. The 2014 mission is based in the port of La Libertad. 2013 took them to Perquin where the surgical team performed close to 100 surgeries. Typically, over 5,000 patients will travel to these two week clinics in need of eye care.

Most of their necessary supplies, such as medical equipment and thousands of eyeglasses, sorted and examined in the US months before the mission, are shipped via airfreight. In 2012 Bikes for the World was shipping a container of bikes to El Salvador to our new partner CESTA. When Phil learned of this shipment, he and Keith coordinated efforts to ship about half of EyeCare International's supplies in our container, making use of some of the corners and crannies bike frames create. The boxes helped pack our container tight and the shared shipping helped save a ton on freight costs for EyeCare International.

Courtesy Koji Ukai

Phil also introduced the connection between Keith and Koji Ukai. Koji was a Peace Corps volunteer working in El Salvador in 2011 when he helped Phil as a translator during an EyeCare mission.

Koji was working on a water meter project to help make water more accessible to villagers in remote areas in El Salvador. But they were having trouble raising the money for the necessary meters.

"I contacted the Water and Sewer Division of Arlington County and asked if they had some old water meters still in good shape. They had plenty since they were replacing all their meters with a new type of meter. Keith offered to ship them to El Salvador and CESTA facilitated the customs process (aduana) in El Salvador. It turned out to be a great opportunity for everyone, " Phil Loar.

Courtesy CESTA bike project

BfW was honored to ship donated meters for this project, again, in boxes tightly tucked under our bikes' bottom brackets and heaved into the 'troughs' created by our packing method.

Phil continues to volunteer with Bikes for the World when his busy schedule allows, but his involvement with our organization is much bigger. He's helped stretch our reach beyond a youth bike project; we assisted in bringing water to villagers, and the gift of sight to Salvadorans daily.

Affordable transportation is one thing, the ability to see beautiful landscapes and the smiles of  loved ones: pricelss. Phil Loar, in our eyes, is a true champion.

We Did It!

In the past four weeks Bikes for the World handled close to 10,000 bikes. It wasn't so long ago when 10,000 bikes was an entire year's work! But I did say handled, which includes shipping as well as receiving. So basically in less than a month we filled up a warehouse then emptied it back out again. Really.

 You may recall how excited we were to move into our new location more centrally located in Arlington. We had big plans. More volunteers, another volunteer day, dual shipments....We loved the idea of having electric and restrooms. We'd be Metro accessible. We had a covered dock and multiple doors...

We took possession of the facility in late April and immediately started bringing collection bikes into this warehouse. In fact our Operations Manager, Nick Colombo loved driving right into our storage location so much, he began bringing ALL of our bikes here, even the ones from Maryland (which would normally go to King Farm).

This new warehouse was going to make this year's DICK'S Sporting Goods promotion run as smoothly as a high performance track bike! We were expecting over 5,000 bikes from the national retailer and we were ready.

We hired a part time staff. Devised a busy but reliable weekly unload schedule and in turn a comfortable, nicely paced shipping schedule. We put out the call for volunteers and started scheduling corporate groups to help us load.

And the bikes came pouring in, as we predicted. In just two weeks, our warehouse was filling up fast. We had decided not to ship earlier in the month to focus on bringing in, unloading, and processing bikes. In hindsight, this might have been a mistake.

What that meant was, we expected over 6,000 bikes in this location alone, counting the local collections in addition to the nationally collected DICK'S bikes. No problem, we had this warehouse until at least the end of July, probably longer.

May 31, 2013.
This is when we got the call. Even though we anticipated a late summer move, our lease with Vornado was month to month. And there was movement on the property. The grocery store chain moving into this location wanted to be in by 2015 and they still had to tear down the old BMW place we called home for a month.
We had to move. 3,000 bikes. In a month.

Luckily the warehouse right next store was empty and Vornado offered it to us as an alternative. We stopped bringing bikes into 1200 S Eads immediately and for the next three weeks we brought the remaining DICK'S bikes into the adjacent warehouse 1420. We also diverted two trucks to Chicago's Working Bikes and St. Louis Bicycle Works...there was plenty to go around.

This would ease our stress to ship in July because we would have the use of this new location through the end of the year. But we had 4,500 bikes sitting next door and they had to be gone by July 1st. Time to rework the shipping schedule!

We started June 14-15 with a container for Barbados. The corporate group from PBS did such a great job loading it we actually had to cancel the group coming the next day because we didn't have enough left to do. This made us rethink the rest of the schedule.

The following week we scheduled THREE containers in ONE week. The next, FOUR! We invited PBS back and they didn't disappoint. The group from GMU/US State Department (seen left) finished the first of the last four containers and started another one at the same time for Kenya. Then we did another Kenya and finished up with one heading to El Salvador.

The bottom line is we had an impossible job to complete...and we did it! We moved a ton of bikes in those last two weeks of June. Over 50% of the bikes we've donated so far this year have been shipped from this 1200 S Eads warehouse. 4,637 bikes total. Besides one container for Costa Rica that was loaded in May with 506 bikes, we did it all in the month of June. Over half the bikes we've shipped this year (8,013) happened in the last two weeks of June 2013. Monumental to say the least!

Somebody call Guinness, if it's not a world record it's at least worthy of a toast! My Goodness. Brilliant!

How The Bike Is Helping People SEE Better In El Salvador

CESTA is a partner in El Salvador bringing more than just bikes

We told you back in September about some of the other unique items we have included in our bike shipments. Computers, crutches, braillers for the blind... Well last fall we were at it again.

Through BfW partner, Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology (CESTA) American groups doing similar work as BfW (helping change lives) were able to ship in supplies to carry out their missions in El Salvador. We are proud to be able to support these causes by slipping in boxes of supplies between our bikes, which actually helps hold our bike cargo in place and minimizes damage to wheels and derailleurs.

Courtesy: EyeCare International El Salvador

Last time it was water meters from Arlington County that were being installed to help bring water to villagers in Los Limones. In an update on our blog we brought you photos of the actual meters we shipped in place in the initial installation.

In late October of 2012, Bikes for the World shipped again to CESTA a container of bikes that came (in part) from long time supporter collections from Beth El Congregation and Knights of Columbus in Damascus.

Included in that shipment were supplies destined for the EyeCare International El Salvador. Program Coordinator Phil Loar is a long time supporter/volunteer of Bikes for the World and approached BfW to help with the delivery. BfW shipped over 57 boxes for the mission, which was just completed in Perquin.

EyeCare International worker examines patient

From their blog: EyeCare International provides vision care to the underserved population of El Salvador. It was founded by Dr. William Brinker in 1995 to bring ophthalmology, optometry, and optical services to areas of El Salvador outside of metropolitan centers. Typically, 5,000-7,000 patients travel to the annual two-week clinic to have their vision checked. They may receive eyeglasses or undergo surgery for cataracts or pterygium removal. Approximately 20 artificial eyes are fitted each year. Each patient is asked to donate one dollar (if they can afford it). However, there are no fees for eyeglasses, surgery, or medications.

Courtesy: EyeCare International El Salvador

From Phil Loar:

We were able to see more patients than we anticipated and still get to dinner on time. Our surgical team performed 92 operations and finished before dark every day except the first. But the real measure of success is the fact that our friends in Morazán can now see better to care for their families and to enjoy the lovely landscapes and beautiful people they encounter every day.

One pair of glasses may not change the whole world but it will change that person's world forever.

You can follow their progress on facebook.

Delivering More Than Just Bikes

Jose and Rosa Hernandez

Jose and Rosa Hernandez and their children live in the community of Los Limones in northeast El Salvador. The family lives off $2/day, does not own any land, and has no access to electricity. Not a single family member has a middle school education. However, when Koji Ukai, a local Peace Corps volunteer, conducted a survey in 2011 and asked for their opinion as to the most important need in the community, the family answered that access to potable water was a clear priority.

Los Limones is fortunate to have a water system, but after 15 years of use it no longer meets the community’s needs. Of the community’s 132 homes, nearly 70 are not connected and must borrow water from neighbors or use nearby rivers. In the dry season, even the houses that are connected experience shortages. The current arrangement of dividing the community into six different sectors, each receiving two hours of water per day, has put an abnormally heavy strain on the system’s piping, creating maintenance issues and disputes between community members and the water committee.

With these problems in mind, Koji and the community’s water committee began a year-long process of petitioning help from local NGOs. In February 2012, they finally succeeded with the signing of a bilateral agreement between the NGO World Vision and the local municipal government, promising $80,000 in funding to upgrade the water collection system, tank, and network. With the support of over 3,000 hours of organized labor provided by the members of Los Limones and detailed blueprints from students at the University of El Salvador-San Miguel, construction is nearly 90% complete as of November 2012.

Arlington County VA meters

Members of this 'potable water mission' all quickly agreed on the importance of water meters for success. Potable water administered via the use of meters would allow the water committee to transition from a sector-based system to a one with 24-hour access.Unfortunately, Salvadoran culture dictates that the future beneficiary pay for the water meters, which can cost as much as $45 each. Realizing the potential for failure in a crucial portion of the project, Koji was introduced to Bikes for the World. We worked in coordination with Arlington County, Virginia to find and ship 150 used water meters to El Salvador in a container of bikes that went out this summer to partner program CESTA (The Salvadoran Center for Appropriate Technology).  . Arlington recently replaced all the meters in its system with meters which can be read remotely and donated the old meters to this project.

Old Arlington meters in use in El Salvador

The Los Limones water project looks very promising at this point. At least 140 of the 150 donated meters are working properly and are more than adequate for rural El Salvador. One provisional meter has been installed and average water consumption has been tracked in preparation for community-wide installation. By January 2013, Los Limones will have access to 24-hour potable water in a safe and sustainable form. More importantly, 70 more families, such as that of Jose and Rosa Hernandez, will have the dignity of having potable water access for the first time in their lives.