Community-Driven Conservation of Peru's Dry Forest

Dear GlobalGiving Donors,

We’re delighted to share the latest news and progress from our community and urban greening and water and sanitation initiatives across Lobitos and Piedritas in the Piura province of northern Peru. Your continued support remains essential to our mission of protecting these unique and fragile ecosystems while sustaining the livelihoods of local communities.

“Train-the-Trainers” for La Onza & Waves4Water community water filters

The upcoming El Nino climate event and associated rains will bring challenges for the local community in Lobitos. Among others, a lack of clean drinking water supply is expected. We joined a local grassroots movement for prevention of this risk organized by La Onza, which aims to distribute water filters from Waves4Water to vulnerable families and households in Lobitos. We provided training to their volunteers on how to set up and use the Sawyer 0.1 micron filters so they can in turn distribute and train family users. They have just started distribution; eventually a quarter of Lobitos households should have their very own to ensure safe household filtering of drinking water for the toughest times ahead. You can find out more by watching this video!

Tree Planting

Our weekly planting days are still going strong in Lobitos, with staff and volunteer interns all getting involved 3 times a month to promote neighbourhood greening, provide shade, and spread awareness and education about the local ecosystem and native plant species. Our volunteer interns and the reforestation team as a whole take painstaking care of each seedling in our nursery, from seed germination to final planted destination. We also provide useful information to the beneficiary families to ensure they know how to best take care of their adopted tree and reuse their household greywater in a meaningful way. Since the 26th of July, we have planted 22 trees through this program, with the majority of these being native plants. Currently, we are awaiting a new batch of seedlings from the Sullana tree nursery. The reforestation team also did a lot of maintenance and upkeep of the reforestation site in the old Villa Militar neighbourhood, including watering, applying compost and mulch and repairing information signs there.

Testing Output From The Biodigester and Harvesting Dry Toilet Compost

Last month, marked enough time since the first sludge purge of the recently installed community biodigester in Lobitos, in order for it to dry up and complete the treatment process. We took a sample from the sludge pit and sent it to a laboratory in Lima for analysis. This biodigester was provided free of charge to the local community and installed by students from the Global Engineering Module of Newcastle University, as explained in our last report.

The laboratory results indicate that the treated dry sludge had undergone substantial hygienic stabilization after approximately four months of drying, with fecal coliforms below the detection limit reported, and no E. coli, Salmonella, or parasitic/protozoan forms detected. These microbiological parameters help us to ensure that the batch is now safe to be harvested and used in our reforestation and soil-improvement efforts. Regular biodigester monitoring inspection visits will continue to ensure the project’s long-term success.

Additionally, back in July, we harvested seven full wheelbarrows of compost from the EcoSwell House Dry Toilet! We recycle this dark richness straight back into our local soil where it helps nourish the soil life soil food web in the ecosystem. The vaults and seat have also been swapped to keep everything in top condition. Both of these methods allow us to safely recycle nutrients back into nature, turning ‘waste’ into a valuable resource while keeping our environment clean and green.

A Heartfelt Thank You

Your generosity continues to inspire and empower our efforts. With your support, we are promoting ecological awareness, advancing water and sanitation initiatives and contributing to better public health in Northern Peru.

We are truly grateful for your ongoing dedication to our shared mission.

Warm regards,

Diego Almendrades