ONE Dream

Guadalajara, Mexico is experiencing water scarcity at an advanced stage. Lake Chapala, Mexico’s largest lake, is currently drying up. Guadalajara receives water from Lake Chapala where diminishing water, rampant pollution, and rapid population growth combine to create increasing scarcity. The communities I plan to work with are at a critical point in fighting the construction of the Arcediano dam which will force the dislocation of one community and severely threatens the health of the other.

 

The dam is intended to provide drinking water to three and a half million people (in a large city, growing rapidly), yet water quality of the river is extremely poor. The government refuses to prove it can be treated to a potable level. In fact, the government actively covers up the river contamination by silencing scientific and medical evidence. Communities face forced relocation and suffer from health related issues due to the River Santiago's severe contamination.  A viable solution for residents of Guadalajara that is fair and just remains to be seen, however alternatives have been proposed by community organizations.

We are traveling to Guadalajara, Mexico in September to research community water management with the Mexican Institute of Community Development (Instituto Mexicano para el Desarollo Comunitario). In a quickly growing city with a quickly depleting water supply, water justice is an important component of the solution. Our project focuses on three communities actively engaged in water policy and water management both internally and regionally.  Not only is Mexico our neighbor, but they are also experiencing water scarcity at a further along stage then we are here. In learning how these communities interact with and organize themselves in the face of crisis, we hope to bring these lessons and models for change back to the US.

 

When the Mexican Institute of Community Development (IMDEC) agreed to work with us, they said they most need a documentary to gain exposure.  With the documentary experience of myself and my team, we feel deeply compelled to make this a reality.  In addition to creating a documentary, we are creating a web based platform with documentary shorts and photojournalism pieces.  This media will be available for any use in support of preserving access to clean water as a basic human right. The multimedia and web based components of the project our intended to strengthen the grassroots movement for clean drinking water internationally. We hope to build reciprocity and share solutions as water scarcity increases in our neighboring countries.

So far we've raised enough funds to purchase our documentary film equipment and six Flip cameras.  We plan to distribute the Flip cameras to community members and people associated with our partner organization in Guadalajara.  We leave for Guadalajara on September 29th, and soon after we'll begin placing documentary shorts on WiserEarth and our Adapting to Scarcity website.

Resources we are looking for: