They are the ha'kanules that protect the cenotes of Yucatán

See how they protect the cenotes, the great treasure of Yucatán 2:54

(CNN Spanish) -

Ha'kanules means, in the Mayan language, guardians of the water.

And this is exactly what Bacab does, an organization in Yucatán that is dedicated to protecting, through environmental education, the greatest treasure of these lands: the cenotes.

In Yucatan there are approximately 8,000 cenotes.

They are the only source of fresh water in the state.

But they are much more than a resource: they have enormous cultural and even religious value for the community, Yamili Salazar, general director of Bacab, tells CNN en Español.

However, they are "in latent vulnerability to contamination" due to the actions of human beings, Salazar explains.

The cenotes suffer the consequences of the bad practices of many inhabitants and also the impact of tourism.

And that's where Bacab comes in.

This association arose more than seven years ago from the actions of volunteers, mainly from Mérida, who sought to serve a resource about which at the time there was not as much awareness as now.

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To fulfill their objective of promoting environmental education, they train children, young people and more members of the communities to carry out their own monitoring of water quality using portable laboratories.

The work to preserve the cenotes has an extra challenge, explains Salazar, and that is that it is an underground water course that cannot be observed with the naked eye to a great extent.

• See more of Guardians of the environment

As an example of the way in which the quality of water in the region has deteriorated, Salazar recalls that just over a decade ago, people who had a well in their house drew water and drank it directly.

Today they cannot do it because of the possibility of getting sick.

Although there is no specific data on how many cenotes are contaminated, Bacab already works in 17 small communities to keep them clean.

They do it especially in the Ring of Cenotes Geohydrological State Reserve, the main water recharge zone in Yucatan.

And his work is based on the premise that "in addition to being the main cause of environmental problems, we are also the main solvers", explains Salazar.

Portable laboratories to measure the water quality of the cenotes

Community is a key word of the project, because what they want is "to strengthen the capacities of the people of the communities who, after all, become agents of change and creators of solutions," Salazar explains.

"Is it important to take the quality of the water?"

The answer, obviously, is yes, that is why they monitor physicochemical and bacteriological parameters.

But it is not the only thing.

"It is also important to generate social awareness," he explains, and portable labs allow people to be more fully involved in the process.

"Normally people come to take the samples, but they take them to the laboratory and then the results don't come back. Instead, if the same people get involved and are part of the process, they start generating data that also becomes relevant (... ) and that also helps them to become aware, "he explains.

In addition to monitoring water quality, Bacab organizes cleaning days.

In 2021, they removed more than five tons of garbage from 24 cenotes.

Bacab is much more than an organization dedicated to monitoring the water quality of cenotes and other related activities.

It is "a family of guardians, protectors of the water," says Salazar, and constitutes a lifestyle that must be maintained every day.

A style that currently has more than 150 active volunteers.