We flew in to Kochi on August 1 (Andrea and Eli from Delhi,
Christina from Hong Kong), met Mr. Sylas (a Ph.D student in
environmental science) at the airport and made the two hour drive to
Mahatmas Gandhi University outside Kottayam.

After breakfast the next morning, we drove Achinakom village, the
project site, with Mr. Sylas, Dr. Thomas (former director of MGU
School of Environmental Science), Prof. John, and Dr. Ramasamy
(current School director). We sat in on a general body meeting (all
in Malayalam; we were pretty lost but had some translation) with the
future system users, local committee members, and us from the
university. Although construction deadlines are approaching, the
atmosphere was pretty relaxed, with plenty of joking and smiling.

This was followed by a local committee meeting with the two
Panchayath (local government body) members from Achinakom, four
village representatives, and Suma (the women's self-help group
secretary). They set out a construction schedule for the system over
the next three weeks, with material delivery later this week and
building beginning on the ninth. It is expected to take twelve days
to finish construction and allow all concrete to cure. They also
agreed to open a bank account for project expenses in the name of
“Rainwater for Humanity – Achinakom.” Suma and a Panchayath
member will be signatories.

We all walked over to the system site. Taking advantage of local
conditions, it is situated in an abandoned canal, approximately 2m
deep, 5m wide, and 20m long. They have divided it in half to use one
side for the storage tank and the other for drainage. Local engineers
have advised that a silpaulin membrane tank will be unable to
withstand existing hydrostatic pressure from the (very high) water
table, so a rigid tank lining is required. They plan to mortar the
sides of the canal (simultaneously pumping out groundwater) and then
build a reinforced concrete shell. As per our proposal, there will be
an elevated wall around the outside of the system (sloped 5°)
and corrugated sheet metal roof (most likely galvanized iron).

When completed, the system will store about 120,000 liters (1.2 lakh) of
water (entirely contained within the subsurface canal). This will
provide 16 neighboring families (approximately 72 people) with water
over the course of the year. The primary desire is to have 20 liters
a day available per family during the dry season (from December to
April, about 38,400 liters). The current estimated cost is Rs.
135,000 (about US$2,700), and local masons estimate a lifetime of 50
years. Compared to Rs. 0.2 per liter of drinking water from private
vendors (a common source during dry months, when well water is
unusable), this is a factor of ten savings over the system lifetime.

Before building begins, we plan on gathering first-person
background information on the social and technical impact of the
system. We will interview villagers, visit the local health clinic,
and test water samples from current sources to learn about current
water use practices and issues. This baseline information will be
crucial to measure Rainwater for Humanity's impact on concrete health
metrics. We also plan to meet with consulting engineers at MGU and
the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) and
local masons in order to understand how local construction techniques
have adapted to deal with difficult building conditions.

On a lighter note, we were able to stop by a supermarket
yesterday afternoon and finally managed to find some plain, bland,
non-spicy food. Corn Flakes for dinner was a welcome break from dosa
and chappati.

Please comment below if you have any questions or feedback! We
are especially on the lookout for affordable, quick on-site water
testing kits for e. coli. Our current lab procedures are rather
tedious and time-consuming.