Riacho das Almas, Brazil

In Brazil, 48 million people do not have access to clean water. This, coupled with extreme drought throughout the country, has dried access to safe, drinkable water. Habitat Brazil has been active in the Northeast Semiarid region by working with partner organizations as part of the Water for Lives project to provide access to water in drought-prone rural areas.

Since 2012, Habitat Brazil began building 16,000-liter cisterns to collect and store rainwater. This is a local technology that can last between 20 to 30 years. To date, Habitat Brazil has built 615 cisterns. Volunteers will be partnering with a Riacho das Almas community, a town of 20,000 individuals in the state of Pernambuco, by building a single cistern. Volunteers will work alongside contractors and local community members.

Some of the construction tasks include: 

• Preparing cement.
• Constructing cement panels.
• Plastering and painting.
• Installing water pumps.

Volunteers will stay in double-occupancy rooms at a hotel. Single-occupancy rooms are available by request for an additional charge. Please contact your team leader to request a single-occupancy room. Meals will vary slightly from day to day. Breakfast will be provided at the hotel. Lunches will be served on the build site on workdays and dinner will be at the hotel, local restaurant or arranged by the country program.
 

Kate Collinson has volunteered with Habitat’s Global Village program since 2008. She has led 15 Global Village builds on five continents. She is committed to doing the best job possible for the community her team partners with while ensuring volunteers have a safe, broadening and fun experience. To learn more about this build, please contact Kate at [email protected].