The Filipino word agos means “flow” and best illustrates our commitment to water stewardship. The Agos Program provides poor communities with access to safe water, supports watersheds, and educates communities on the importance of conservation in order to ensure that water continues to flow for life.
Through our simple water systems, we link households to water sources so they can have sufficient water for daily needs such as drinking, preparing food, bathing, and more.
While many of us take water for granted, about 15 million Filipinos in remote communities need to walk for several kilometers each day just to fetch clean water. This program was designed to provide water access to these underserved communities. By making safe water accessible to more families, we also reduce the incidence of water-borne diseases, ensuring that residents can live healthier, happier lives.
Communities
Households
This project aims to provide a year-round supply of water to small farming communities, allowing farmers to grow more and better quality crops and increase their income potential.
Agriculture accounts for 80% of freshwater consumption in the country. However, many farmers do not have access to this vital resource, and initiatives like Agos aim to alleviate this problem.
To ensure the long-term viability of this project, our program partner Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation, Inc. (AIDFI) first conducts participatory development planning sessions with stakeholders. Here, problems are defined, priorities and opportunities are highlighted, and past successes and failures are reviewed, which leads to better project implementation.
AIDFI also provides capacity-building training to small farmers’ associations, additional skills training for farmer households, and assistance in implementing supplementary livelihood projects.
Communities
Households
We are returning to schools where we have built classrooms as part of the Little Red Schoolhouse project, to ensure that safe water flows from their faucets.
While about 91% of Filipinos have access to basic water services, reach is inequitable and access in poor areas can be as low as 62%. The inequity affects schoolchildren too. Without sufficient water, students do not have potable water to drink and cannot wash their hands nor use proper toilets – hygiene practices that curb the spread of disease.
In partnership with PBSP, we are upgrading the schools’ water systems so that the students and teachers are assured of clean and adequate water for drinking, handwashing, and sanitation. Through this basic solution, we help keep students in good health and in the classroom.
schools
schoolchildren
Watersheds play an important role in supplying clean water to communities. That’s why we engage in efforts to protect these sanctuaries, such as adopting watersheds, rehabilitating denuded areas, and supporting conservation research.
Over the years, we have partnered with local governments, professional organizations, and fellow corporate foundations on various watershed conservation initiatives.
Most recently in 2016, The Coca-Cola Foundation (global), Coca-Cola Foundation PH, and Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines entered a five-year partnership with WWF-Philippines to help conserve the 263-hectare Sapang Munti Micro Watershed in the Ipo Watershed in Bulacan. The project will help ensure that residents within the watershed and in Metro Manila will have a sustainable water supply now and in the future.
trees planted
Donated to the Boy Scouts of the Philippines Watershed Rehabilitation Fund
Partnered with San Miguel Foundation and La Tondeña to co-fund the Bacolod (BACIWA) Watershed Project
Reforested two hectares in the PMAP Forest at Marikina Watershed Reforestation of 10 hectares of watershed in Maasin, Iloilo.
Reforested 10 hectares of the Mahuganao Watershed Forest Reserve in Cagayan de Oro City.
The Coca-Cola Foundation (global) awarded a grant to WWF Philippines for the Ilagan Watershed Conservation Project in Isabela
Piloted integrated water resources management in the Santa Rosa Watershed in Laguna, a 5-year project with WWF-Philippines
Donated to the Boy Scouts of the Philippines Watershed Rehabilitation Fund
Partnered with San Miguel Foundation and La Tondeña to co-fund the Bacolod (BACIWA) Watershed Project
Reforested two hectares in the PMAP Forest at Marikina Watershed Reforestation of 10 hectares of watershed in Maasin, Iloilo.
Reforested 10 hectares of the Mahuganao Watershed Forest Reserve in Cagayan de Oro City.
The Coca-Cola Foundation (global) awarded a grant to WWF Philippines for the Ilagan Watershed Conservation Project in Isabela
Piloted integrated water resources management in the Santa Rosa Watershed in Laguna as part of a P25M, five-year project
Donated to the Boy Scouts of the Philippines Watershed Rehabilitation Fund
Partnered with San Miguel Foundation and La Tondeña to co-fund the Bacolod (BACIWA) Watershed Project
Reforested two hectares in the PMAP Forest at Marikina Watershed Reforestation of 10 hectares of watershed in Maasin, Iloilo.
Reforested 10 hectares of the Mahuganao Watershed Forest Reserve in Cagayan de Oro City.
The Coca-Cola Foundation (global) awarded a grant to WWF Philippines for the Ilagan Watershed Conservation Project in Isabela
Piloted integrated water resources management in the Santa Rosa Watershed in Laguna, a 5-year project with WWF-Philippines
The Coca-Cola Agos Program uses the ram pump designed by the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation (AIDFI). The AIDFI ram pump is a perfected model of a 200-year old technology: the hydraulic ram pump. It uses the energy of falling water to lift a portion of this water to a higher elevation. It does not use fossil fuel nor electricity and is ideal for projects in upland communities.
The ram pump technology pushes water, normally sourced from springs, streams, and rivers, to fill reservoirs located on higher elevations. From the reservoir, pipes are installed to distribute water to community tap stands. Each household beneficiary is given a ceramic filter for their drinking water needs. The AIDFI ram pump has the proven ability to drive water up to an elevation of 240 meters.
Gravity-fed water systems have been used by communities for centuries. In some communities, the natural force of gravity may be the simleple solution to their water needs if there is an abudant source of water located above them. The Coca-Cola Agos Program installs gravity-fed systems to bring watre from uphill springs to communities located on lower grounds.
The gravity-fed systems directs water from the uphill source through pipes to fill community reservoirs downhill. From the reservoirs, pipes are installed to deliver water to community tap stands. While the system is simple, important considerations regarding its feasibility include distance between the source and community, slope of the incline, and type of terrain.
In areas that have no access to fresh water from ground or surface sources, the Coca-Cola Agos Program installs rainwater harvesting systems which collect rainwater that falls on roofs and flat surfaces and stores this water in containers like jars and cisterns. Rainwater harvesting is a practice that dates back to earlier civilizations. Today, it remains an important water source in island villages which are ironically, surrounded by sea water but deprived of fresh water. It is also a good option as a supplementary water source in communities where rainfall is abundant.
A simple rainwater harvesting system is composed of catchments installed on roof gutters, piping that leads to a storage tank, and community or household faucets. Water for drinking is filtered through household water filters which are made of a combination of sand and gravel.
