PEAKS Ecuador · Cordillera del Cóndor

Shuar community

COANGOS
PROJECT

Water, life and tourism.

An initiative alongside the Shuar community of Coangos to build, with them, a sustainable solution for safe water access.

With the community

Coangos, in pictures

Shuar community of Coangos
Activities with the families of Coangos
A day in Coangos
Games with the children of Coangos
Activities with the children of Coangos
Children of the Coangos community
Meeting the Coangos community
With the families of Coangos
Coangos community
Community gathering in Coangos
Activities with the Coangos community
Shuar community of Coangos

We are not here to tell the story of Coangos' problem.
We are here to build a solution together with Coangos.

01 — The territory

Coangos, a Shuar community

Coangos is a Shuar community in the Cordillera del Cóndor, in the access zone to the Cave of the Tayos. It has its own territory, culture and knowledge.

The project is built with the community, recognizing its identity and its right to decide. We don't portray Coangos through scarcity, but through its land, its people and its future.

02 — The water

Safe water
for Coangos

The core of the project is water access and quality. The first stage is not to build: it is to research and document the problem before proposing a definitive solution.

Data being gathered

What we will determine

  • Where the water currently comes from.
  • What contamination exists, and its microbiological and physical-chemical quality.
  • How it is captured, stored and distributed.
  • How many families and people depend on the system.
  • What infrastructure exists today.
  • Which health or nutrition issues could be water-related — without assuming causality before we have evidence.
  • Which solution is technically, economically and environmentally sustainable.
  • How the community itself can operate and maintain the system.

What we found

The water infrastructure, today

A visual record from the first visit. We document the source, the intake and the storage exactly as they are — to start from evidence, not assumptions.

Water spring in the jungle
The spring: one of the water sources in the territory.
Buried conveyance pipe
Existing conveyance line toward the community.
Sediment build-up at the intake
Sediment build-up at the intake source.
Open intake box
Intake box: open-air storage.
Water entering the tank
Water entering the storage tank.

03 — The impact

A high-impact social project

Water is the foundation of development and life.

For the guardians of the Cave of the Tayos, sustainable tourism is their source of development. Solving water opens the door to a bigger project, built with the community.

The project's goals

Health
Tourism
Lodging
Food
Crafts

First we measure, then we state: data is gathered in the field, together with the community.

04 — The solution

Designed from evidence

The technical solution will be defined by the diagnosis. It must be technically, economically and environmentally sustainable, and above all operable and maintainable by the community itself. The design will be documented here as it progresses.

Front 01

Technical & social pre-project

A multidisciplinary team: environmental, civil, hydraulic or sanitary engineering; water and sanitation; health and nutrition; project management; audiovisual communication and community experience.

Front 02

Funding & sponsors

A solid project to present to companies, foundations, universities, NGOs and cooperation. Not asking for donations: problem → evidence → solution → budget → impact → transparency → results.

Front 03

Communication & community

Documenting the project from diagnosis to execution: calling in professionals, adding allies, making resources transparent and raising awareness.

05 — The community

With its own voice

The people of Coangos are the protagonists of this story, not its backdrop. Participation, autonomy and community decision at every stage.

The communication respects their identity and culture. The narrative centers on land, dignity, community, collaboration and solution.

Roadmap

The project phases

Phase 1

Pre-project

Before we build, we design. We bring together a technical team to study the source, intake, purification and supply of the water, and to propose a sustainable solution the community itself can operate and maintain.

We're looking for

  • Architects
  • Civil, hydraulic & sanitary engineering
  • Water intake & purification specialists
  • Construction & design experience

Phase 2

Outreach

For the project to grow, it has to be known. We document and tell the story of Coangos to gain allies, call in professionals and raise awareness.

We're looking for

  • Communicators & journalists
  • Content creators & influencers
  • Photography & video
  • People with social reach

Phase 3

Sponsors

A solid project needs backing. We're looking for those who support with funds, supplies or raw materials —pipes, cement, iron— and donors who contribute through crowdfunding or foundations.

We're looking for

  • Companies & foundations
  • Cooperation & institutions
  • Material donors
  • Individual gifts / crowdfunding

Phase 4

Execution

With design and backing in place, we build. Technicians who visit the community, train the families and raise the safe-water system together with them.

We're looking for

  • Technicians & site foremen
  • Construction trainers
  • Technical field volunteers
  • Community operation & maintenance

06 — Join in

How do you want to help?

Three clear doors. Message us on WhatsApp and we'll tell you where we are and how you can contribute.

Door 01

I'm a professional

Engineering, water and sanitation, health, nutrition, project management, audiovisual communication, technical volunteering.

Door 02

I want to sponsor

Companies, foundations, universities and cooperation. Sponsorship in funds, materials, transport, lab analysis, equipment or professional services.

Door 03

I want to help

Outreach, contacts, volunteering or a contribution. Every bit helps reach safe water.

Professional / technical Corporate sponsor Foundation / NGO University Volunteering Communication / media Donation

07 — Transparency

Everything in the open

Budget, contributions received, use of resources, progress, documents and results will be published on this page as the project advances. Transparency is part of the project, not an appendix.

Section under construction — it will go live with the first diagnosis and funding stage.

Coangos Project

A river is not a community.
But a community and a river are.

A water-intake system alongside the Shuar community of Coangos. We're looking for professionals, allies and sponsors.