Infrastructure: Clean Water, Sanitation & Stoves

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Ecological Sanitation
Wood-Saving Stoves

Clean Water Systems

When tens of thousands of refugees returned to El Salvador in the early 1990s after ten years of exile, many former highland dwellers resettled in the more fertile agricultural lands near the Lower Lempa River. The area had virtually no infrastructure whatsoever: roads, electricity, schools, clinics and water systems were all scarce. (Read more about this history.) Our organization was founded to help support local initiatives for peace and community self-sufficiency. One of our top challenges, since our beginnings, has been to help each community access clean, reliable sources of drinking water.

So far, thanks to a long-term collaborative effort between EcoViva, our local partners at the Mangrove Association, Engineers Without Borders, Rotary International, and Episcopal Relief and Development, 13,670 people now have access to clean drinking water. These water systems have been built through the concerted labor of local residents working with EcoViva volunteers. Through this collaborative partnership we will be building additional water systems in the next two years benefiting an additional 1,024 people.

While we are proud of what we have accomplished in the last decade, we are also all to aware of what remains to be done, as thousands of residents in the communities surrounding the Bay of Jiquilisco continue to lack access to reliable sources of clean water. We will continue our work to expand water systems to the most remote village areas. This is one of the most effective means to improve local quality of life and reduce infant mortality.

Ecological Sanitation

Indoor toilets are almost nonexistent in rural El Salvador, as are septic systems and sewage treatment. Most families use a pit latrine or simply go out to their cornfields to do their business. In an area that is regularly overrun with floods, this results in a dangerous situation in which untreated human waste washes into all local waterways. Read more about local water and sanitation issues.

Composting latrines can be an effective solution to the problem of untreated human waste. Families who build their own latrines gain a safe, private and virtually odorless toilet which, when used properly, neutralizes and transforms human waste into a rich soil conditioner for plants and trees. With our Salvadoran partner organization the Mangrove Association, EcoViva has helped local families build over 550 composting latrines in rural El Salvador since 2001. We have worked with student groups from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and the Yale School of Public Health to assess the installation of these latrines and ensure that families can use them effectively.

Wood-Saving Stoves

Traditionally, people in rural El Salvador cook on open pit wood fires inside their kitchens because they can't afford anything else. All family members, but especially women and girls, are exposed to dangerous levels of smoke and pollutants, contributing to severe respiratory health problems and early blindness.

Open pit fires are very inefficient, burning through up to ½ a cord of wood per month (close to 100 cubic feet). Very often, children will have to dedicate a significant part of their time to gathering wood, instead of going to school. The burning of so much wood contributes to deforestation and global warming. Near the Bay of Jiquilisco, a significant portion of firewood comes from cutting down mangrove trees.

Since 2001, EcoViva has supported the installation of over 460 wood-saving stoves in rural households through our partner organization, the Mangrove Association. These concrete and tile stoves contain the fire and concentrate it onto a a burner and a plancha, the griddle which is used to make the tortillas and pupusas which are traditional to Salvadoran cuisine. The smoke is channeled into a chimney, significantly reducing exposure to smoke inhalation. Over the last two years we have worked with Engineers without Borders at Clemson University, the Monterey Institute for International Studies and the Yale School of Public Health to improve the design of these stoves and assess the effectiveness of their use.

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