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A journey to purify Qa Tee' Ya, Our Grandmother Lake, Atitlan
1 February 2024
In the embrace of the volcanoes lies a clear water wonder, which has been the subject of a heated debate for a decade. Shared interest, sparked by cyanobacteria bloom in 2009, in the lake's ecological state, brought to light differences in behavior, in ambitions, in socio-economic status and its power or lack of it, deep rooted pain, disrespect, perceived inequality, trickery, and most of all inability to accomplish what is most desired by all of the parties involved – a clean lake.
Alliance of Ancestral Authorities (Ajpop Tinamit Oxlajuj Imox) of the department of Sololá and Association Amigos of Lake Atitlan share a common goal – to clean up majestic Lake Atitlan from pollution, mainly caused by dumping of unprocessed grey and black water, chemical fertilizer use and soil erosion. 15 years passed since the first major cyanobacteria break out, and clean Atitlan is still a goal, not a reality.
In 2014 Amigos of Lake Atitlan proposed a multimillion mega collector project, members of the indigenous community opposed. 10 years later both parties are in the same positions, only more angry at each other. Amigos of Atitlan want to clean the lake with their mega collector, and indigenous want to be heard and respected as equals by members of Amigos of Atitlan and by the government officials of Guatemala. These human desires blurred the core wish of people to clean up their lake.
It is not clear for how much longer the battle that takes its roots in the 1500's will go on and be in the way of what truly matters. But the Grandmother lake speaks loud, since she is a living being, as the members of the indigenous community state in their declaration, and people who are not busy fighting can hear her.
Declaration of the Alliance of Ancestral Authorities of the Department of Sololá (excerpt):
San Lucas Tolimán, October 12, 2019.
We declare
To water as a living being because there is no manifestation of life on earth that does not need water.
To water as a sacred element, source of life and collective right.
That all people as living beings have the right to water, but without commercial purposes.
Sacred places must be respected and desecration for economic interests is not permitted.
"Atit' Tlán" (Grandmother Lake), a living, sacred being and subject of collective law.
Trees and Flowers in Place of a Mega Collector
Agua Sana Tzununa wants to push forward a pilot project to clean the lake by using plants and soil. This project will address each household, so residence are directly involved in the process of purifying lake Atitlan. This team is a collaboration of three different organizations. They developed a waste water filtration model that is based on a proven septic tank gravel model, which has been used for decades as a waste water purification system in households and small businesses. The focus is to catch waste water at the production point, so it does not require any interference with the lake itself. "The key is to allocate the system near the source. Each GWS [Grey Water System] will intercept 3,000-3,5000 liters per day of flow, and the size of one system will accommodate between 6 and 9 households. We use the mantra: SLOW IT, SPREAD IT, SINK IT!" an excerpt from the Water Treatment Project Proposal. This is a hands on project, that is scalable to all of the communities on lake Atitlan. And "SINK IT" step calls for plants that will help purify the waste water and, in addition, add to the colors of the landscape. As quoted from the pilot project proposal: "Finally, we plant various water-loving plants downhill from or around the trench. These plants act to consume the nutrients and contaminants from the water and use their roots to allow the water to infiltrate the water deeper into the ground."
Thanks to Agua Sana Team, waste management can be under control without the need to build any additional waste processing facilities or to disturb the lake by submerging costly piping into the waters. The underwater piping could potentially lead to an environmental disaster if a tear occurs and waste starts leaking out into the lake. Glastonbury Festival sewage tank leakage in 2014 is an example of this. Festival had around 175,000 visitors plus artists and crew. Sewage was distributed between three tanks, one of these tanks had a rip and leaked for 8 hours. BBC news journalist wrote in his article "Glastonbury Festival admits human waste pollution offence on January 14th, 2016: "During the hearing, the judge was told that 42 fish were killed by the sewage after a "large quantity" of sewage filtered into Whitelake River. Prosecuting, Kieran Martyn said: "The impact was extensive... It extended for at least 4km downstream." Mega collector plans to process waste of more than 300,000 residents and visitors, which is 5 times larger than the waste in one Glastonbury sewage tank.
Chemical Fertilizers To Retirement
And as for the chemical fertilizers solution, a team of young Guatemalan farmers paved the way to successful organic farming over a decade ago. They believe organic farming is self-sufficient farming, and chemical fertilizers lead to dependency on outside companies. "Kok and other young campesinos challenge what agro-sciences teach in the universities of Guatemala, especially when it comes to the use of fertilizers. In their eyes, the use of fertilizers further ties the farmer to multinational companies. But for the farmers, it is about recuperating the agriculture of their ancestors." wrote Jeff Abbott in his article :"Young Guatemalan Farmers Fight For Land Rights, Local Food, and Sustainable Traditions Endangered by Global Trade Deals" published on May 5th 2015 by Yes magazine.
Klavdia Debelova
In the embrace of the volcanoes lies a clear water wonder, which has been the subject of a heated debate for a decade. Shared interest, sparked by cyanobacteria bloom in 2009, in the lake's ecological state, brought to light differences in behavior, in ambitions, in socio-economic status and its power or lack of it, deep rooted pain, disrespect, perceived inequality, trickery, and most of all inability to accomplish what is most desired by all of the parties involved – a clean lake.
Alliance of Ancestral Authorities (Ajpop Tinamit Oxlajuj Imox) of the department of Sololá and Association Amigos of Lake Atitlan share a common goal – to clean up majestic Lake Atitlan from pollution, mainly caused by dumping of unprocessed grey and black water, chemical fertilizer use and soil erosion. 15 years passed since the first major cyanobacteria break out, and clean Atitlan is still a goal, not a reality.
In 2014 Amigos of Lake Atitlan proposed a multimillion mega collector project, members of the indigenous community opposed. 10 years later both parties are in the same positions, only more angry at each other. Amigos of Atitlan want to clean the lake with their mega collector, and indigenous want to be heard and respected as equals by members of Amigos of Atitlan and by the government officials of Guatemala. These human desires blurred the core wish of people to clean up their lake.
It is not clear for how much longer the battle that takes its roots in the 1500's will go on and be in the way of what truly matters. But the Grandmother lake speaks loud, since she is a living being, as the members of the indigenous community state in their declaration, and people who are not busy fighting can hear her.
Declaration of the Alliance of Ancestral Authorities of the Department of Sololá (excerpt):
San Lucas Tolimán, October 12, 2019.
We declare
To water as a living being because there is no manifestation of life on earth that does not need water.
To water as a sacred element, source of life and collective right.
That all people as living beings have the right to water, but without commercial purposes.
Sacred places must be respected and desecration for economic interests is not permitted.
"Atit' Tlán" (Grandmother Lake), a living, sacred being and subject of collective law.
Trees and Flowers in Place of a Mega Collector
Agua Sana Tzununa wants to push forward a pilot project to clean the lake by using plants and soil. This project will address each household, so residence are directly involved in the process of purifying lake Atitlan. This team is a collaboration of three different organizations. They developed a waste water filtration model that is based on a proven septic tank gravel model, which has been used for decades as a waste water purification system in households and small businesses. The focus is to catch waste water at the production point, so it does not require any interference with the lake itself. "The key is to allocate the system near the source. Each GWS [Grey Water System] will intercept 3,000-3,5000 liters per day of flow, and the size of one system will accommodate between 6 and 9 households. We use the mantra: SLOW IT, SPREAD IT, SINK IT!" an excerpt from the Water Treatment Project Proposal. This is a hands on project, that is scalable to all of the communities on lake Atitlan. And "SINK IT" step calls for plants that will help purify the waste water and, in addition, add to the colors of the landscape. As quoted from the pilot project proposal: "Finally, we plant various water-loving plants downhill from or around the trench. These plants act to consume the nutrients and contaminants from the water and use their roots to allow the water to infiltrate the water deeper into the ground."
Thanks to Agua Sana Team, waste management can be under control without the need to build any additional waste processing facilities or to disturb the lake by submerging costly piping into the waters. The underwater piping could potentially lead to an environmental disaster if a tear occurs and waste starts leaking out into the lake. Glastonbury Festival sewage tank leakage in 2014 is an example of this. Festival had around 175,000 visitors plus artists and crew. Sewage was distributed between three tanks, one of these tanks had a rip and leaked for 8 hours. BBC news journalist wrote in his article "Glastonbury Festival admits human waste pollution offence on January 14th, 2016: "During the hearing, the judge was told that 42 fish were killed by the sewage after a "large quantity" of sewage filtered into Whitelake River. Prosecuting, Kieran Martyn said: "The impact was extensive... It extended for at least 4km downstream." Mega collector plans to process waste of more than 300,000 residents and visitors, which is 5 times larger than the waste in one Glastonbury sewage tank.
Chemical Fertilizers To Retirement
And as for the chemical fertilizers solution, a team of young Guatemalan farmers paved the way to successful organic farming over a decade ago. They believe organic farming is self-sufficient farming, and chemical fertilizers lead to dependency on outside companies. "Kok and other young campesinos challenge what agro-sciences teach in the universities of Guatemala, especially when it comes to the use of fertilizers. In their eyes, the use of fertilizers further ties the farmer to multinational companies. But for the farmers, it is about recuperating the agriculture of their ancestors." wrote Jeff Abbott in his article :"Young Guatemalan Farmers Fight For Land Rights, Local Food, and Sustainable Traditions Endangered by Global Trade Deals" published on May 5th 2015 by Yes magazine.
Klavdia Debelova
