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Water, Sanitation and Socioeconomic Situation in Two Communities in the Cayapas River, Ecuador

Abstract:

The current research was carried out under a descriptive survey approach, using 123 dwellings as the statistical population in the Loma Linda and Zapallo Grande communities, both from the San José del Cayapas parish, on the banks of the Cayapas River, Ecuador. Both communities are self-identifying Chachi indigenous ethnic groups and the main access route is by canoe across the river. They do not have access to drinking water. Their main source of supply is the river and rainwater. They identify the quality of the water as a probable cause of various diseases when drinking it without treatment. It was identified that the main source of income is agriculture, which is used mainly for food, together with unfavorable housing conditions, access to social security, and low participation in social and political spaces. The statistical analysis defined relationships between socioeconomic variables such as the number of families in the home, the number of family members, level of participation in social and political spaces, economic activities and destination of income in the way they dispose of solid waste, the type of toilet and shower, the way they drink the water and diseases that affect them.