2 pm: Geek and Coffee, Fabrica Aurora
Pre-register: info@caminosdeagua.org
Price: 200 pesos. Proceeds to be donated to Caminos de Agua (www.caminosdeagua.org) See below for additional World Water Day programming, including educational programs for adults and kids
Join local artist Rebecca Peterson in this celebration of water with art. Celebrate water as feminine agency, flow, power, and connection. Honor water by reflecting on water in our daily lives, and where and how we might become more conscious, and more reverent, of the waters both within us and sustaining the whole Earth.
Wear comfortable clothes for banner painting, bring a journal or sketchbook, your favorite drawing and writing implements, and an art apron if you have one.
The Banner created will be gifted to the women of SECOPA on the visit to SECOPA on Friday, March 23 (See WORLD WATER DAY TRIP TO POZO ADEMADO on our website for more info).
Most art materials and some aprons will be provided. Delicious coffees, tea, snacks available for purchase at the wonderful Geek & Coffee. Drinking water provided: bring your refillable water bottle!
Proceeds from World Water Day activities benefit Caminos de Agua, a non-profit organization focused on empowering at-risk communities to obtain adequate supplies of safe and healthy drinking water. Caminos de Agua staff will be present at the event to answer answer questions from the workshop participants and the general public.
Money raised will go towards rainwater harvesting systems and the construction of cisterns. One cistern will easily fill during the rainy season and will serve 15 people for an entire year — they are designed to last a lifetime. Each system also contains two filtration systems, a pre-filter as well as ceramic water filters systems that remove bacteria and pathogens.
Many of the smaller communities surrounding San Miguel have severe water quality and scarcity issues. Arsenic and fluoride levels are more than 10 times World Health Organization limits, and community drinking wells are quickly going dry. These high levels are a toxic cocktail known to cause unsightly dental fluorosis in children, painful skeletal fluorosis, developmental and mental disabilities, organ failure, and cancer with long-term consumption. Children are at greatest risk as their growing bodies absorb these minerals at a much higher rate, and exposure to high fluoride in utero has shown severe impacts on mental development later in life. Caminos de Agua has already supplied a couple of hundred systems for but have many more to go — let’s help them get there!
Rebecca Peterson is a long-term San Miguel resident, for proposing this interactive space to celebrate water. Rebecca teaches art workshops embellishing tin nichos (boxes) and in visual journaling based in C.G. Jung’s Red Book. Her current doctoral research is based in dream work and connections with nature.
Additional World Water Day events organized by Caminos de Agua
Thursday, March 22
“What’s in Your Water?: Santa Ana Theater
11 am: Join Caminos de Agua, i3 and the Center for Global Justice for a one-hour presentation of “What’s in Your Water?” You’ll leave understanding water quality and availability issues and solutions you can apply. Proceeds go to local rainwater harvesting projects.
“What’s in Your Water?”: Geek and Coffee, Fabrica Aurora
2 pm: Art & Water Workshop: Caminos de Agua, Ser Mujer and artist Rebecca Peterson partner to celebrate water with art and reflection. 200 pesos Limited space.
4 pm: Art & Science for Kids: Caminos de Agua invites kids of all ages to drop in to upcycle ceramic water filters and learn about water with our volunteer engineers. Free
2 pm-6 pm: Drop-In Info Table: Caminos de Agua staff members are available to answer all your questions about water quality and access. Free
Friday, March 23
Women Take Action: Solutions to Water and Health in Rural Communities
9:30 am- 3:30 pm Caminos de Agua and Ser Mujer partner for this day-long excursion. Be inspired to by the collective of women at SECOPA. Travel to the rural community of Pozo Ademado to see how these women make a difference in their community through their alternative health center, water education programs and rainwater harvesting installations. 500 pesos. Preregister: info@caminosdeagua.org
Saturday, March 24
10-2 pm: Drop-In Lab Visit: Caminos de Agua opens the doors to its laboratory. Stop by to ask questions and learn about research. Free