Group from Mexico helps Nipissing First Nation build rainwater harvesting unit

A delegation from Mexico is visiting Nipissing First Nation as part of a project to build rainwater harvesting units.

Many hands made light work Tuesday as a group worked to get eavestroughs and pipes installed on a small cabin on Charles Street in the Nipissing First Nation.

Helping with the build was a group of 13 people from three communities from Mexico.

The group is building a rainwater harvesting unit that will be ready by the next time it rains. It will collect and store runoff from the cabin roof for future use.

It’s part of the One Water Project, an Indigenous-led initiative aimed at enhancing water resilience for First Nations communities in Ontario.

“This is all about building relationships across nations to achieve water resilience,” said project coordinator Jose Torcal.

Through a partnership between the Nipissing First Nation and the Mexican delegation, a friendship was formed.

It’s funded by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The group is here to share their knowledge of water management.

“Mexico has very extensive experience with rainwater harvesting. Isla Urbana, which is a social enterprise in Mexico, has done over 40,000 systems,” Torcal said.

Maribel Gallardo, who came all the way from Oaxaca, Mex., is lending a hand.

Water is a right

Through a translator, Gallardo said it’s important to share knowledge and expertise to help others who might not have access to clean water.

“Human access to water is a right. It’s something that we need,” she told CTV News.

“It’s a necessary thing to have water.”

The partnership started in June 2023 as part of a two-year pilot project. In August of that year, a group from the First Nation flew to Mexico to learn about the water harvesting system in that country.

“In Ontario and in this part of the world, we have an abundance of water. We really take that for granted,” Nipissing First Nation manager Curtis Avery said.

“We’re hoping to use this as an example to show that we can put these units on other cabins in the forest, for instance, to help our people when they’re harvesting in the forest, or even if members are interested in putting one on their house themselves.”

Avery said the First Nation community is hoping this project will be an example for other Indigenous communities in Ontario struggling to get access to clean water or that are under boil water advisories.

According to the Government of Canada, there are currently 26 long-term drinking water advisories in 25 communities in Ontario, while 77 advisories have been lifted.

“We’re trying to be a seed for the idea of harvesting rainwater to not only combat some of these issues for other First Nations but also to make us more resilient in the face of climate change,” Avery said.

This is the second rainwater harvesting system to be installed at the First Nation. The first was erected at Nbisiing Secondary School last year.

Gallardo said she has enjoyed her time in Canada and is “grateful for how well we’ve been received.”

“This is an amazing experience that we’re having,” she smiled.