Wells and water awareness in Nicaragua

The mission of the blueEnergy association is to sustainably improve the living conditions of isolated populations. To achieve this in Ethiopia and Nicaragua, the two countries in which it operates, it works on various issues: access to drinking water, sanitation, waste treatment, the promotion of agro-ecology to encourage healthy eating, access to electricity via renewable energies, as well as training and awareness-raising on all these topics.

Concrete projects

In each of these areas, blueEnergy offers local solutions. To promote sanitation, it participates in the construction of dry latrines and wells, as well as the installation of filters. To promote renewable energies, it is installing energy-efficient cookers, individual and community solar systems, and biodigesters. To raise awareness about climate change, it offers an educational programme for the families and communities it supports, and develops volunteer-run centres for them.

Together against poverty

Since 2004, blueEnergy France has been working in Nicaragua, focusing on the poor population living along the country's Caribbean coast. It does so in partnership with its local partner blueEnergy Nicaragua. Over the past fifteen years, the two structures and their partners have promoted the empowerment of the most vulnerable local populations by transferring know-how that will help them escape poverty.

Two new wells in Bluefields

The town hall was planning to build new wells in two outlying areas of the city. With the support of the Veolia Foundation, the blueEnergy technical team will be in charge of the project. With around a hundred boreholes to their name, the members of the association have developed real expertise in the field. The team also has a machine that will allow them to dig up to 40 meters deep for one of the wells and 45 meters for the other. These installations, all equipped, will be built and protected by secure fencing. They will be managed by neighbourhood committees. Two of them will be strengthened with the help of blueEnergy: the use, maintenance and collection of fees from user families will be optimized. Water quality will be monitored by the Ministry of Health.

Awareness-raising workshops will be offered to demonstrate the importance of access to clean water. The municipality of Bluefields, the regional government and the blueEnergy team will be responsible for these activities, which are aimed at families.

A program to secure access to services in 2023-2024

In 2023, a new project will be launched to sustainably improve access to water and sanitation in new Bluefields neighborhoods: Villa Nueva and Punta Masaya. With the renewed support of the Veolia Foundation, an analysis of the water and sanitation needs of the resident population will be carried out. This will be followed by training in best practices in hygiene, health and the efficient use of water resources. Emphasis will then be placed on the Drinking Water and Sanitation Committees (CAPS), the administrators of the wells built by blueEnergy and guarantors of their proper functioning. The association will support and train these CAPS, which can cover one or more communities and are made up of volunteers from each community elected by the community. The program is scheduled to run for two years