Todd Luke - December 2021 Update
“Lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great”
Many water projects build or deliver the infrastructure and then give it to the poor. Our cistern ministry takes a different approach. In Mexico, projects that give away materials and infrastructure tend to have an overall negative impact. In search of better outcomes, we trust skin-in-the-game partnerships between families, neighbors, and communities to solve the clean water problem in our region.
We build a cistern and then give immediate ownership to the family who helped build it. But we don’t simply give it away. Before construction begins, each potential cistern-owner family agrees to pay back, over time, the entire cost of the materials used to build the cistern. Based on our intimate knowledge of the local economy (because we live here), we recommend that a family makes annual loan payments equal to about $50 U.S. dollars annually. We also offer incentives for families to pay back sooner.
We know and appreciate the importance of contracts, collateral, and interest rates; but our local situation has convinced us not to use these normally efficacious financial tools to enforce loan repayment. We want to help families own their own cisterns. We want to avoid any issues involving breach of contract, interest rates, repossession, or foreclosure.
Jesus said, “Lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great.” Because we are Christian cistern builders sharing the gospel, we are grateful that our circumstances nudge us toward following this divine wisdom. In so doing, this helps us focus on building an excellent product that will serve a family’s needs for decades. We also strive to form good relationships with every cistern-owner family.
A spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving encourages families to make loan repayments. We do have a couple of methods to encourage repayments that involve self-interest. A family that pays off their loan may request another cistern for themselves or a family member. And we will honor that request as quickly as possible. On a community level, we also make it clear that we factor in a village’s repayment record when we decide where we will work in the future. Since most families have relatives or good friends in their town, this provides an incentive for families to encourage their cistern-owner neighbors to make annual loan payments.
Does it work? Do people repay their loans? Are families drawn to look outside their own interests to consider those of other families in their community?
Surprisingly, the answer is yes. There are many villages where most of the families make an annual repayment. Some villages approach 100%. There are a few other communities where the annual repayment rate is much lower.
Regardless of whether a community has a good repayment record or a bad one, a family that makes faithful repayments does receive a couple of rewards. Each family has a loan account. In a sense, that account is like a family savings account. We reinvest some of the repayments into the family’s cistern. We can draw from the funds in that account to clean, paint, and replace parts or make repairs for the family cistern. That’s a big deal. Some cistern owners live hours away from the nearest hardware store. For example, in 2021 we painted over 200 cisterns owned by families who have been making faithful repayments. In addition, a small amount is removed annually to purchase cistern building equipment. In this way, every family making loan repayments is also helping the ministry that builds cisterns for dozens of families every year. This is why we call the cistern-owner families our “partners.” Those who don’t make repayments, don’t have access to these services—but they will if they start making loan payments.
We don’t just reward families who repay, we also reward communities that have a high repayment rate among the cistern-owner families in their town. Each year, we decide which villages will receive new cisterns. Families from across the region, in dozens of villages, let us know that they are ready, willing, and able to work with us. We are clear every year: we return to work in villages where most or all of the cistern-owner families are making annual loan repayments. If a village wants us to return, the families there need to encourage those current cistern-owners who have fallen behind or stopped making repayments to do so once again.
Every year, during the two weeks or so after Thanksgiving, the Calakmul cistern ministry schedules a meeting for the cistern owners in each of the villages where we have built cisterns. We use this opportunity to make sure the cisterns are functioning well. If there is a problem, we can come back and fix it. Normally, all the cisterns are fully operational and full of rainwater. Then, we get to work collecting loan repayments.
The average family in our region earns the equivalent of between $2,000-$3,000 U.S. dollars a year. It makes sense to expect that not many people would show up at the meetings. Or if they do, they’re not very happy. However, folks show up and are normally in a good mood. A spirit of thankfulness and gratitude prevails at these meetings. Folks are thankful for the gift of water they have received. Thousands of gallons of rainwater accessible 365 days a year is a big deal. Do you know who else shows up at these meetings? Families who would like to become a new partner by working with us to build their own family cistern. A bunch of thankfulness seasoned with several dashes of self-interest is a good recipe for a joyful gathering—even when loan payments are at hand. Here is a snapshot of what I’ve witnessed these last couple of weeks:
folks with big smiles and warm handshakes for Victor Guzman—the foreman of our cistern building crew and herald of our loan repayment tour
owners making payments for the first time in nearly or over a decade
owners gleefully making their final repayment
several families attending the meeting to see if they can get on a reserve list for a cistern
cistern owners talking with prospective owners at the meetings to discuss how best to encourage non-attendees to resume making loan payments
a daughter making a payment on behalf of her father who is currently in jail
a husband who surprises us with a $2,000 peso payment when we know his wife is experiencing costly health issues
two villages that turned the event into a party by inviting us to eat hot tamales and drink delicious corn atole (hot corn- and masa-based beverage)
a husband who usually does not attend the annual meeting (his wife typically comes), standing up and sharing with everyone that he is so excited to hear that his annual repayments and those of others in his town help others get a new cistern
Grateful for your partnership in this life-giving cistern ministry,
Todd Luke