No Wonder Isabella's First Word Was "Agua"

Have you ever thought about the role "agua" (Spanish for water) plays in our daily lives?  In N. America, most of us don't need to give it a second thought, because it's always available in a seemingly endless supply (even if my fellow treehuggers know better that water is precious and should be conserved).  In Senegal, we have to be so intentional in our use of water, because it is not only scarce, but it often shuts off without a moment's notice.  Here's part of a routine that has become second nature to me over the past five years.

 

First thing in the morning:

1. Fill two kitchen basins with water:  We use these to wash and rinse our dishes.  When the wash water has accumulated enough grease and bits of food, we use it to flush our toilets.  We then transfer our rinse water to the wash water basin and fill the rinse basin with clean water.

2. Defrost yogurt containers full of ice: These will go in a cooler to make cold water to drink throughout the day.  When the power goes out (which is quite frequently), grabbing a bottle of chilled water from the fridge is a big no-no.  This allows us to keep cold water on hand without opening our fridge and risking spoiling its contents.





Our cutie helping with the dishes at a friend's house

Before bed:

1. Bathe Isabella: She hops in a big basin and splashes around to her heart's content.  When we've cleaned her up for the night, we save the water to flush the toilet with.

2. Fill the water filter: It takes a while to filter down, so it's important to fill the night before so it's full and ready by morning.

3. Take our showers: It's so dusty in Senegal that the minute you step outside, your feet get pretty funky.  You don't want to take that filth into your bed.  I've been known to shower while standing in a big basin in order to catch the water.  What do I use it for?  You guessed it!  To flush the toilet with!  Our maid also uses the water she mops the floors with for the same purpose. 

 

During a power and water outage: Rather than using up the limited supply of reserve water, we make a few additional steps to conserve water:

1. Set up a hand washing station: One basin contains soapy water, and the other bleachy water. With these we wash our hands when necessary. 

2. Bucket showers: Mastering the art of proper bathing while dumping plastic jugs full of water on yourself is no easy task.  My one consolation in such moments is that, because we have a gas stove, at least I can heat up some water and have a warm bucket shower.

 

Let me conclude by telling you that we have it easy.  Those less fortunate in our city typically wake up at 3 AM to get to the well to draw water.  They carry big basins on their heads with their precious liquid cargo, and try to use it as sparingly as possible.  Despite these challenges, the Senegalese are very clean people.  Most shower at least once, if not twice a day, no matter how much work they have to go through to get their water supply.  When I see what many in Senegal go through, I find it a lot easier not complain about the little inconveniences I go through to keep our household running and hydrated.