A Rotary Travel Journal- Destination Guatemala

Panajachel (Pana) is a town in the southwestern Guatemalan Highlands, less than 90 miles from Guatemala City, in the department of Sololá. It serves as the administrative centre for the surrounding municipality of the same name. The altitude is 1,597 metres (5,240 ft). The population is 11,142. The town of Panajachel is located on the Northeast shore of Lake Atitlán, and has become a centre for the tourist trade of the area as it provides a base for visitors crossing the lake to visit other towns and villages.  (from Wikipedia)

We had an opportunity to observe the work of Guatemala City’s Vista Hermosa Rotary Club’s collaborative (with U.S. Rotary clubs) water and sanitation projects. These projects provide materials for stoves to be built by village members.  

Additionally, the project focused on water sanitation. For centuries the local villagers have been using rocks on the lake to clean clothes. This, as you would expect along with secreted human waste has a profound impact on the lake water. So, they have built pilas (washing stations) for the villagers to wash clothes and, in turn, irrigate plants and filter water back to the lake.

At this time the Vista Hermosa Rotary along with other Guatemala City Rotary Clubs and US Rotary Clubs are working together in a project entitled

“Todos por el lago” (All for the lake). It is a major effort to save Lake Atitlan which as been impacted by lack of proper sanitation, water management and the impact of US corporations putting fish in the lake that negatively impacted the ecological balance.