I’m back from my first outing into the rural communities with Fundacion Cantaro Azul to document the rollout of their Salud en tus Manos project. I went with Emily and Ian on their trip to do a set of surveys, meetings, and talks with the families living in the rural area of Comondu in central Baja. The goal of this trip was to start to evaluate whether hand sanitizer would be a good intervention to improve hand hygiene in these rural desert communities. Assuming that the project will go forward, the team was also gathering feedback on the educational program that is being planned for rural schools.
For 2 days we rolled along bumpy dirt roads while I marveled at the raw beauty of the Baja backcountry, and the incredible stamina of the ranchers who can scratch out a living from this very hot and dry place. It was really and eye-opener when we found that a two family ranch that we visited makes about 30,000 pesos at year ($3000). It really helps to put things in perspective.
I’m really enjoying working with Cantaro Azul documenting this project, combining my public health training and photography career at the same time. I’ll be heading out again for a 3 day trip tomorrow, and will be able to post more at that time. Until then, here are a few photos from the trip.
Here’s a typical (good) road, and a view of the picturesque canyons in the Sierra region of Comondu.
Hand sanitizer introduction at the ranches…
More photos to come when I get back from the field on Wednesday!
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