Tribewanted: Vorovoro

As some of you already know, our biggest building project to date on Vorovoro has been the dam that was completed in April of 2009. Once completed, the dam was to hold enough water to easily provide year round water for bathing, watering the gardens, and drinking water for our chickens and pigs. The first rains after the dam’s completion were met with excitement and anticipation, only to find out that the dam had a leak. The water was coming through from somewhere under the dam, and then continuing its journey down the rocks to the waterfall, and on out into the sea.

With the heavy rains following the hurricane this past March, we noticed that the waterfall shower was running on and on, with no end in sight it seemed. This prompted a good look at the dam, and what we saw there caused many a smile. Our dam that had been leaking quite swiftly in the past seemed to be holding water.

Upon closer inspection we were able to determine that it was in fact still leaking, just at a much more slowed pace. It appears that the silt from the run-off of the past year has worked to slowly stop the leaking problem. The slow leak also provided an added benefit of a longer lasting waterfall, as the leaking water continued to trickle down to the beach.

This was a much-celebrated discovery, and everyone took the opportunity to take as many “free” waterfall showers as we could squeeze in. Free from the worries of using up our water supply, and free from the confines of the lovely crafted walls of the bucket showers!

The rains have stopped for now, and the water behind the dam has dried up, but not before we were able to fill all of our holding tanks to a max capacity, and enjoy washing off many a times beneath the cliffs of the waterfall.

Now we enter into a dry season with more water in the tanks than we have had before, and the comfort of the knowledge that when the rains do come next, our dam will be ready to aid us in our collection efforts.

Here’s hoping for some more rain! Until next time…..

Jimmy