Oregon Direct Action

Incatambo is also sometimes spelled Ingatambo or Inkatambo.

It is possible that the highland lagoons could serve as a potable water source with pipes flowing to many communities, although this would be a major infrastructure of 10s of km of pipes. For the time being it probably makes sense to focus more on small-scale distributed options.

20 households (HH) and the primary school get water from a piped system with an enclosed spring box. The remaining 50 drink from untreated surface water. 2-3 HH capture a few springs and channel them into a pond. Water is then delivered in pipes from the pond to the households. Most people drink from ‘puqueos’ (shallow surface water holes) or ‘quebradas’ (streams or gullies). Some people boil the water because a health promoter told them that the surface water is dirty.

Community groups include: Programa Juntos, Comedor Popular, Ronda Campesina, Asociacion de Productores and now the Frente de Defensa de las Lagonas.

There is a milk cooling plant (gas-fired) that the teacher rents to Nestle. Each morning 4 milk trucks deposit the fresh milk into the plant. Milk production is basically the only income of the community (80 cents of a sol per liter, each cow produces 5-10liters per day). There is no public transportation other than getting a ride on the milk truck. 

Electricity options

Strangly, there is a TV tower in this village without electricity. The tower does not work because they don’t have gas for the generator.

There is a river 3-7km away, apparently 4 times the size of the other river in Regalado (where ITDG is installing a micro-hydro). Gilberto from ITDG will visit the site to see if there is potential and if it is feasible to power the town at this distance. Otherwise, wind power seems like a good option. ITDG-GE are currently applying to a foundation for a 500w wind turbine for the secondary school.