Community members Bertoni, Luther, Jonny, and Wichie (left to right) dig beside the water tank. The space will be where people fill up their buckets with clean water exiting the tank.

Gran Sous construction bosses Paulfis(left) and Erilus(right) building the stairs that will take people down to the faucet area.

The stairs are finished.

The faucet area is finished and ready to receive its first visitors. The area includes natural drainage and tough faucet heads that spring close when released in order to not waste treated water.

Three children pose by a diverted pipe we will use to create a more accessible area for residents to come and wash their clothes.

Belang, a community volunteer, holds in place the end of the piping that enters the water tank. A valve, placed just outside the tank, can be open and closed to control the flow of water.

In the front, a cover is protecting one of the three valves controlling the flow of water. In the background, two girls sit on the steps that lead visitors down from the main path and into the protected tank/faucet area.

A look inside one of the three covers protecting the valves used to control the distribution of water (eg. to the tank, to the washing area, etc.).

Engineer Rodin standing beside the massive wall the community built to protect the work they had done at the spring from heavy rains during the rainy and hurricane seasons. They designed it like the hull of a boat which they recognized as being a form that effectively diverts water away from whatever may be behind it.

Community volunteers Luther and Locha, and construction bosses Jorab, Erilus, Dimon, and Amerit, construct the final section of the protective wall enclosing both the tank and faucet area. In the past, hurricanes and heavy rainfall have caused damage to all different types of structures left unprotected.

With the help of Gran Sous resident Kenze, Bosses Amerit and Erilus work on building a shelter above the water tank that will be used to protect the tank opening and the materials used to mix the chemical product into the water.

Gran Sous committee members Jonny, Locha, and Bertoni, assembling the device that disperses the treatment solution into the main water tank.


The device was created by Wilson Smith, a member of the Roots of Development Advisory Board.

Captured spring water pours in from piping on the left as it is treated with a solution dripping in from a small tube on the right.

The device responsible for making the chemical product used in treating Gran Sous's water. The machine is made by an Ecuadorian company called Clorid (www.clorid.com). Using just water, salt, and solar electricity, it is both easy to use and very sustainable.

The single arm of the Clorid device as it begins to create chloride by using solar electricity to mix two very basic ingredients, salt and water.

Gran Sous water project committee members, Rodin and Jeanda, speaking with Chad about the solar-powered device that produces the treatment solution used in the project.

All of us celebrating the clean drinking water exiting the faucets for the first time. Wichie, a great friend of mine and the hardest worker in Gran Sous, drinks his bit from inside...deep inside... a bucket.

Chad, Locha, Stevenson, and Erilis host a group of friends visiting Gran Sous from the States. The group spent time visiting the site of the water project in order to have a firsthand look at the final product.

Haitian engineer Ives and agronomist Adermus working with calculations from the topographical study they carried out for the community. The study was done in order to find the best location for the cistern.

Engineer Ives works with residents of Gran Sous to evaluate the best location for the tank in which the water will be captured and treated.

As soon as the topographical study was complete and Gran Sous was told where they could build the tank, many residents came out to start digging the area.

Community members digging to unearth the old piping that was recently replaced with new galvanized-iron piping.

The area recommended for constructing the new tank included a section of the old fountain area, and was therefore included in the removal.

The digging continues.

Gran Sous resident Wilford cutting off an old pipe so that the new pipes can be installed.

The digging continues.

Ecuadorian engineers Javier, Jaime, and Andres (left to right) arrive to La Gonave and jump on a truck that will take them to Gran Sous.

Andres, one of the Ecuadorian engineers, enters the enclosed spring with community member Dikens in order to evaluate the best way to capture the spring.

Construction boss Erilus laying a layer of rocks and gravel underneath the area where the tank will be built. These two layers will serve as natural drainage under the tank.

Community members get in line to pass buckets of concrete to the construction bosses.

Gran Sous construction bosses Erilus and Amerit lay concrete for the foundation of the tank.

Engineer Jaime working with the Gran Sous construction bosses as they put up the wooden forms to create the wall structures for the tank.

Community members get dirty passing buckets of concrete.

Community members passing buckets of concrete. The concrete is poured to form the walls of the tank.

Construction bosses Dimon, Amerit, and Erilus construct the inner wooden structure that supports the very heavy covering of the tank.

Community members Richie, Bertoni, Billie, and friends having fun while mixing the concrete mixture.

Volunteers connect the new piping that will replace the old and damaged piping.

The new galvanized-iron piping as it snakes around hard-to-remove rocks and tree roots.

Gran Sous water project committee members Medila, Guerlande, Madam Minfort, and Noulie cooking food for the volunteers helping with construction.

The bosses taking a break after finishing the construction of the floor, walls, and covering of the tank in just five days. The tank will now be left to harden completely for about a month before the pipes are connected and water begins to fill it up.