La lagrima purificadora

Organizational background

As a member of la Red de Guardianes de Semillas (the Seed Savers' Network), a grassroots Ecuadoran organization dedicated to the preservation of the traditional seed and the culture that it sustains, the Centro Orgánico Finca Sarita serves as a seed saving center for coastal Ecuador as well as an educational model in sustainable farming and ancestral living in its region.

Greywater filtration system

Along the lines of serving as a sustainable model within their community and region, coordinators of Finca Sarita were looking for a low-cost, model greywater filtration system built from local materials that could be easily maintained, repaired, and mimicked. Considering the region’s abundance of native aquatic plants and its plethera of dirt and rocks, it seemed only appropriate to utilize a greywater marsh design to fill the coordinators’ desires, this and no other center in la Red has incorporated this design into their model.

What’s in a name?

Like la lagrima (the tear), this greywater system will purifica (purify) the very essence of that which sheds it. In this case, la lagrima purificadora (the purifying tear) will not only physically purifica the water leaving this thirteen sided kitchen, but it will also metaphorically purify the heart of this center, its hearth. In line with this ideology, this system's very shape is in the form of a teardrop.

Initial System

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The center’s initial greywater system, like that of many, consisted of a simple PVC pipe from the kitchen sink’s drain to a mulched area. The smell wasn’t horrendous, but clearly breading ground for unhealthy bacteria.

New System: La lagrima purificadora

In planning this system, the users of the kitchen estimated a daily water usage of approximately 50 gallons of water per day, a very high estimation. This estimate includes all boiled drinking water and water for cooking, cleaning, and washing dishes.

Our goal was to have the kitchen’s waste water sit for at least 72 hours in the greywater marsh. Considering that approximately 35 gallons might go down the drain per day, we needed our system to be able to hold 105 gallons of water at any given time.

Construction

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Considering the layout of the proposed site, completely flat, and in order to maximize irrigation distance, it was clear that we would need to construct an above ground pond in order to gain any gravitational benefits.

The Base

With a plentiful supply of Holy stones and a good source of clay based soil, we went to work on creating a solid foundation. And why Holy, one might ask? The stones, which consisted of primarily urbanite (concrete and brick rubble) were salvaged from the recent demolition of the community church. With the new church well underway, it was commonly joked that holders of old stones will bless whatever they use them to construct, hence Holy stones.

The clay based soil was tampered into place in order to secure it and the lower rows of stone, forming a solid base from which to construct the walls.

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With the foundation set, the exit pipe was put in place. The exit pipe is of 3 inch PVC and leaves the marsh from the lowest place in the pond. The final height of the exit pipe will ultimately determine the water level of the marsh itself. The idea is that with one pull of the exit pipe, the entire marsh is easily drained, allowing for oxygen to reach the roots of the aquatic plants.

The Adobe

In order to strengthen the internal structure of the upper walls, an adobe like plaster was applied. Local grasses and clay based soil were hand harvested and feet mixed in order to create a natural fibrous plaster.

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This plaster was then applied as a structural coating to what would become a pool-like vessel awaiting its filling.

The Pond

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Using the ancient method of leveling by the string and the eye, the pond’s water level was determined. In order to secure this level, the exit pipe was cut at the desired height.




With an old salvaged, hole-less piece of doubled over plastic, an impermeable membrane created the pond base. From here a thin layer of sand was applied to cushion the weight of the following layers of gravel and stone.

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As an experiment, large stones were placed towards the entry point, about one quarter of the pool, while gravel filled the rest. Our question is, in which medium do the roots of the aquatic plants prefer, the tight gravel or the loose stone?

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