Filed under: Activism, Arts and Culture, Learning, Paddling, Asia, Maldives, Ecotourism, Consumer ActivismKunahadhoo Island-- On a very hot, very typical, mid-morning in the Maldives I walk the streets of this tiny island just north of the equator.
Most of its 800 residents had gathered at the shoreline to greet visitors from a nearby island. While they focused on a first-of-a-kind beach clean-up along the rocky coast, accompanied by a drum band and dancing, I took a small walking tour looking for something the Maldives doesn't have much of: drinking water.
(A late morning visit to its elementary school provided another interesting glimpse into island life; while most of the students raised their hands said they knew how to swim, yet virtually none had ever worn a mask and snorkel, so had no idea of the rich life that surrounded their island home.)
It was quickly evident from the jury-rigged plumbing systems fitted to the exteriors of most of the one-story cement homes that the options for delivering clean water were few. Some homes had barrels for collecting rainwater; others had wells dug into the rocky island terrain. Most of them, they admitted, leaked.
Everyone on the island also admitted that if it weren't for the arrival of the weekly cargo boat, and its bottles of water in plastic, they wouldn't last a week on what they had in storage.
A recent news story from another Maldivian island group exemplified the problem, reporting that a dozen islands had nearly run out of water completely.Continue reading Bowermaster's Adventures: Running out of water in the MaldivesBowermaster's Adventures: Running out of water in the Maldives originally appeared on Gadling on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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