Who They Are
Melecio Villalta Ortez, age 55, and his wife Azucena Asuncion Colindres Morazan, age 49, have lived together in the community of El Retiro for the past 16 years. 6 other family members live in the house in the El Retiro neighborhood of La Acerradera with them: son Orlin, age 24; daughter Everly, age 21; son Romario, age 18; daughter-in-law Carla, age 21, granddaughter Helen, age 9; and grandson Jose David, age 2. They also have two other daughters and one other son who live with their own families in nearby communities. Their family largely earns their income through working in agriculture. The males in the family farm corn and beans, and all members of the family work cutting coffee during the harvesting season.
Their Water Story
The Villalta-Colindres family does not currently have immediate access to water in their home as the area they live in has never 
been part of a centralized water system. In order to bathe, all family members travel to a steam close to the house; the women also carry their laundry to this stream in order to wash the family’s clothes. In order to have water for use directly in their home, the women of the family travel to a spring in a nearby hillside. Every other day, the women take turns making up to eight trips to this water source, collecting and carrying water back to their house in a 6-gallon bucket. Each trip takes about an hour, so they can easily pass an entire morning bringing water to their house for domestic uses, including drinking, cooking, cleaning, and washing dishes. Since so many people share the house, Azucena says they use about eight of the 6-gallon buckets a day. They store their water in the plastic buckets they carry it in, and store drinking water in a clay jar. They do not treat their drinking water prior to consumption, which can put them at a greater risk for contracting waterborne illnesses.
Azucena is an elected member of the El Retiro Water Council, holding the position of Vocal 2. Melecio is also working on the project with Water Brigades to earn a connection to the new water system that will put a faucet right at their house, giving them access to a consistent supply of treated water.
