Juana Flores, our newest promoter in Palomas, at her home garden.
Juana Flores, our newest Palomas promoter, came on-board this spring to coordinate projects funded by our grant from the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC). She heads the crew that is installing greywater reuse systems in the homes of Palomas gardeners. These systems divert washing machine water to the gardens to irrigate the home crops.
Juana and her crew have already installed 21 such systems, after beginning production in April. These yield significant improvements by:
- boosting plant growth in our harsh desert environment
- diverting water that would normally be lost to the sewage system
- preventing increased utility bills by diminishing the fresh water needed for irrigation
- conserving the precious natural resource of water–particularly important during this time of severe drought.
These photos illustrate that the water reuse systems, coupled with our compost soil augmentation system, are producing remarkable results:
Juana Flores in garden: April 18, 2012
Juana Flores garden: May 11, 2012
In a few weeks, the plant growth is significant. The graywater reuse collection system is visible in the May 11 photo (above): note the blue barrel next to the house, toward the rear of the garden. The technology is not complex, so the cost is reasonable.