Location
Chum Kiri district, Kampot province, Cambodia
Community Description
Chum Kiri, founded in 1993, is the newest and poorest district in the southern province of Kampot. Khmer Rouge forces did not concede defeat in this area until as late as 1998. Due to the prolonged hostilities in the region, development has been extraordinarily slow compared to other districts in Kampot province.
Chum Kiri is located 40 km from Kampot town, 150 km from Phnom Penh, and 12 km from National Highway 3. The majority of families survive on subsistence agriculture and, until recently, few had ventured outside of the district due to the decrepit roads.
Within the past year, two massive road projects have greatly improved access to the district. This road improvement has opened many new opportunities for the district’s inhabitants. It has also brought many new people who want to settle in the area. This has placed a further strain on the already overburdened schools. These changes are even reaching the outlying communities, like Angmotreysatram, which is a farming village located about 10 kilometers from the only town and market in the district.
Project Description
This project will install a new rainwater storage tank system, composed of 6 tanks, at the school. A similar project was successfully completed at Ang Chak High School with aid from Appropriate Projects.
The tanks will be made from readily-obtainable one-meter-diameter pipe sections stacked on end on a poured concrete slab. (These pipe sections are also used to build latrine tanks in the area and can be bought cheaply and easily.) The joints will be grouted and the interiors painted with rubberized sealant to make waterproof tanks.
PVC piping will connect the tanks together at the bottom so that they make a single system. These tanks will be fed by supply pipes linked to the rain gutters of a school building. They will feed a system of small-diameter PVC piping that will run to various areas that need water and provide the head pressure to force water through this delivery system.
The rings will be 1 meter in diameter and 60 cm tall. Five of them will be stacked, making tanks that are 3 meters tall.
The total capacity of the system will be just under 15 cubic-meters (= 15,000 liters). The design accomplishes the specific purpose of supplying head pressure to the water delivery piping that feeds the latrines, garden, and other needs. It will save the labor previously needed to carry water from the wells or ponds.
The water will only need to be treated when it is used as drinking water. The school has a filtration jar for this purpose.
The concrete work will be performed by the stonemason who has built latrines on 4 prior occasions (and the Ang Chak High School water tanks) using Water Charity funds. The remaining work will be performed by school staff and village members.
Appropriate Projects funds will be used to buy the cement, concrete pipe sections, PVC piping, sealant, and rain gutters, as well as for paying for the skilled labor.
Project Impact
Angmotreysatram Primary School serves 414 students (grades 1 to 6) with 8 staff members.
Peace Corps Volunteer Directing Project
Bruce Kelsey
Comments
Bruce previously completed the Hun Sen Ang Chak High School Latrine Project – Cambodia, the Samarky Primary School Well Project – Cambodia, the Angmotreysatram Primary School Latrine Project – Cambodia, the Ang Chak High School Well Project – Cambodia, the Prey K’Cheeay Primary and Lower Secondary School Latrine Project – Cambodia, the Angmotreysatram Primary School Water Project – Cambodia, the Ang Chak High School Rainwater Storage Project – Cambodia, and the Ang Andet Primary School Latrine and Pump Project – Cambodia.
This breaks by four the record for the number of projects completed in partnership with Water Charity for a serving Peace Corps Volunteer.
This is a great technology, producing a system with a large capacity at a very low cost. It is hoped that this and the prior project will encourage others in Cambodia and elsewhere to apply this methodology.
Dollar Amount of Project
$555.00
Donations Collected to Date
$555.00
Dollar Amount Needed
$0.00 – This project has been funded through the generosity of the Paul Bechtner Foundation with the help of friends and family of Peace Corps Volunteer Bruce Kelsey.
We encourage others to continue to donate using the Donate button below, and we will notify Bruce of your donation. Additional funds will be used to fund the next project by Bruce and/or those of other PCVs in the country of service.
This project has been finished. To read about the conclusion of the project, CLICK HERE.