INDONESIA, Poopoh Village, North Sulawesi - January 2005
Village-scale fresh well water system in exchange for the establishment of a 500-acre no-take forest reserve
Poopoh is a small coastal village in North Sulawesi with a population of about 320 families. The community is desperate for a reliable fresh groundwater supply to meet the minimum water requirements of the village. The villagers are willing to turn approximately 500 acres of intact hill forest into a permanent no-take zone through a legally enforceable village ordinance. This protected forest is directly adjacent to the protected forests recently created by neighboring Kumu and Teling Villages (both supported by Seacology). In exchange for this sacrifice, Seacology will provide Poopoh Village with a new village-scale fresh water system. *
UPDATE July 2005 - Villagers formalized the no-take zone by official village ordinance and installed signage and boundary markings for the forest no-take area in March and April 2005. The first two sets of four wells and water tanks have been completed and the last sets are expected to be constructed by the end of 2005. Poopoh Village members are working together with Kumu and Teling Villages to collaborate with Indonesia's Department of Forestry to ensure long term forest protection against illegal logging activities.
UPDATE January 2006 - Construction of two water containers has been completed and two pumps have been purchased. Water is being supplied to a portion of the village as of December 2005. Plans for 2006 include constructing two more water containers and purchasing two more water pumps.
UPDATE June 2006 - Construction of two water collection tanks was completed in late 2005. The original plan to drill four separate wells had to be abandoned after several drilling attempts could not locate a second and third water site. Instead, they concentrated their efforts on one well already found, drilling to a deeper depth to ensure that enough water could be distributed to the village using the two constructed collection tanks, two pumps, and four 1,100 liter water tanks with 16 water taps positioned throughout the village. The project was scheduled to be completed at the end of May 2006.
UPDATE January 2007 - Construction of four water collection tanks with 12 water taps was completed in 2006. Water pressure was reported as good as of November 2006 with the exception of one tank where some damage to a pipe had occurred. The break was fixed and pressure was restored. The small expense of running the water pump is currently being paid by the village government but plans to charge a monthly rate per household will be implemented in 2007.
*Support for asterisked projects is provided fully or in part by: 
