Water Management Internships

Water management internships are available in Ecuador in CRACYP’s “green progress” projects in the subtropical foothills of the Andes, focusing mostly on water use for organic agriculture. 

CRACYP (which stands for Rural Reforestation and Progress Network Corporation, in Spanish) is a non profit organisation working in over 200 communities on the borders of the Cotopaxi, Bolivar and Los Rios provinces inEcuador.  CRACYP’s aim is "Progreso Verde" or "Green Progress" - conservation of the environment and economic and social development of local communities.  We aim to transfer appropriate technology and sustainable alternative agricultural methods, in exchange for community participation in reforestation.  This process also increases the production alternatives and resources of the communities involved, improving their quality of life.  

Our sugar cane farmers’ cooperative sells fair trade, organic alcohol, produced on around 300 farms in 26 communities at altitudes varying from 300m to 1400m above sea level.  To distill the alcohol, the farmers need sufficient flow of water on each farm throughout the year.  No water = unable to distil alcohol = no income.  Solving water supply issues makes the difference between seasonal poverty and a fair income all year round.

One aspect of the water management needed is an analysis of water use on each farm to evaluate efficiency and recommend improvements.  E.g. Where is water being wasted? How can losses be minimized? How can the water be reused? Is it possible to get the same results with less water?  The intern will recommend and design solutions such as cooling ponds, etc.

Another option is to evaluate water flow in the streams on each farm, analyse those with water shortages and those with ample water supplies, and identify the factors causing the abundance or absence of water.  For example, is the problem seasonal? Is it due to lack of rainfall, or just a lack of infrastructure to capture or store water?  What can be learnt from the farms with abundant water supplies, which could be copied elsewhere?  The intern will recommend and design solutions for farms with water shortages, which might include engineering solutions such as channels, pumps or storage ponds, and/or natural solutions such as planting more trees in watersheds.  (A forestry intern will identify the most appropriate species, in this case).

This is a great opportunity for those studying water management to gain practical field experience in a developing country.  Interns will participate in monthly development workshops and may help with a range of environmental and development projects as well as carrying out their own water management project. 

Water management internships are available for 4 to 12 weeks, any time between February and November.  Interns will be based mostly in the organic sugar cane farming communities in the western foothills of the Andes, a beautiful area with a subtropical climate. 

More details: Download the intern information pack and water management information sheet or water use analysis information sheet from www.progresoverde.org/internship.html or email internship.ecuador@yahoo.co.uk.  Please quote reference SDWatNov12 when you apply.