Empowering a Mayan Family: Help Us Finish the Fish Farm Project
- Laura LaBrie
- May 21
- 3 min read
Well, Monday we went out to Leona Vicario hoping to be able to install the pump in the filter. The filter is the center of the fish farm system we are redesigning and rebuilding for this Mayan family. However, the plumber had not finished the work we asked him to do.
If you don't know the back story about Eugenia, the hurricane, her broken marriage and the fish farm, please take a minute to read about it. https://www.mayaharmony.com/post/rescuing-a-dream
These little setbacks feel frustrating and make me sad. But we have become accustomed to them. And really it is ok. It is better that we are there with the plumber and the family to do this part of the job.
Perhaps the Universe was helping us to prevent a mistake.
So today we will meet with them and work on putting up the tenaco (huge water tank). It is going on top of the filter (which is cement) and will provide gravity fed tiny waterfalls into the growing tanks below. This adds vital oxygen to the water. The design is new. We took what had been built 20 years ago and modified it.
I am excited because the electricity bill will eventually be non-existent! These are the important things to create sustainability for this family. They don’t have much cash and they live in a tiny Mexican town. We must make this fish farm as easy and cheap to run as possible while making it healthy and productive at the same time.
Believe me, it isn’t easy.
Originally the system would have had 4 tanks and would not have really “filtered” the water but only exchanged it. Now the filter has 3 compartments. The first uses two types of sponge and natural bacteria, the second uses porous stone, and the third is where the clean water is then pumped UP into the tanaco so that it can then “fall” back into the tanks below, breaking the surface tension of the water, which adds much needed oxygen back into the water.
The dirty water (super rich in nutrients) will run through pipes and out into the land behind the tanks where it will fertilize local plants we are growing (chaya and possibly a few others) so they can make their own fish food!
It's all a lovely plan, but boy has it been slow moving!
We need your help to get to the finish line.
There are two ways you can help.
1. You can share this blog post on your social media with friends and family.
Sharing raises awareness and helps spread the word. It is vital and means a lot to us!
2. You can donate to this project. Give Back | Maya Harmony
We just bought the pump a couple of days ago! That’s a big YEY!
We need to pay the plumber for all of his work.
We need to go to the state of Tabasco to meet with the research scientist who is donating his time (but we have to pay for travel, food, and such).
We need to buy the baby fish! Probably to start we will buy 200!
We need about $2,000 USD to make all of this happen. I have been donating out of my own pocket and a few people have been super generous and helped us. Every little bit counts. Every time we go out to the project it is about 30$USD in gas and electrolyte drinks (the heat is super intense) So even $30 would pay for us to be out at the project for a day!
Imagine this was your dream, destroyed 20 years ago and now only a heartbeat away. Imagine this was your family coming together to create a sustainable way to feed themselves in the future. Or imagine it was you, sitting on your phone or computer, reading this right now, and knowing how good it feels to know you are making a difference in someone’s life.
Yes, you can. Together we can.
Help us help them,
Hugs and butterflies,
Laura
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