Before intervention, the Tsimane tribe had no clean source of drinking water. This was a major issue because their lack of clean water caused them to have as many as 3 parasites living in their body simultaneously. The Tsimanes knew about an aquifer underground, so we manually dug a small hole to reach the aquifer. Once we accessed it, we placed a long pipe within the hole and connected it to a motorized pump, the only piece of modern machinery the Tsimanes know how to operate. We then linked the pump to a water tank using another pipe. With this, the Tsimane tribe gained a source of clean drinking water.
This is standard Tsimane housing, made of wooden planks and leaves.
Tsimane man standing near the river that served as the source of water for the tribe before we built the well.
Using 10 meter metal rods, I manually drilled deep into the earth to access an aquifer.
Here I am in a Tsimane home.
Me and a Tsimane man dug a canal to put a pipe for the well underground. The Tsimanes were excellent to work with.
The Tsimane children were very curious about our cameras. Having spent their whole lives in their village, they had never seen cameras before and were fascinated by them.
Here I am with the Tsimanes drilling to reach an aquifer.
Using saws, I cut ridges into the pipe that would serve as the access to the aquifer. The ridges were cut very small as to not allow dirt to flow through the pipe and clog it.
By testing the stream of water pumped form the aquifer, it was clear that we had succeeded; the water was crystal clear.
The Tsimane people gathered in their town hall.
This is me amongst the Tsimane people, gathered in their town hall.
Here I am with the Tsimane Chief testing the well. We had a wonderful experience working together.