Agua Limpia para Zipolite: A Simple, Natural Solution Inspired by the Maya

By Tina Winterlik | Zipolita | Adventurez In Mexico Blog

In the beautiful, wild heart of Zipolite—especially in Playa del Amor—many of us know the struggle to get clean water. Whether you’ve lived through hurricanes, fires, or just high rent from expensive water delivery, you know how precious every drop is.

But what if I told you that over 2,000 years ago, the ancient Maya invented a system to purify water using volcanic stones—and we can do the same today?

As I prepare to return to Zipolite this September, I’ve been researching how we can create simple water filters using local materials—things like lava rock (zeolite), sand, and charcoal. These materials can turn rainwater or tinaco water into clean, drinkable water—without needing to buy plastic garrafones or spend hundreds of pesos on deliveries.

How It Works

• Rainwater collection (from roofs or tarps)
• A simple gravity-fed filter made of gravel, sand, volcanic rock, and charcoal
• Then solar disinfection (leave the water in clear bottles in the sun), or boil it

Why Build This in Zipolite?

• Lots of rain from June to October = free clean water
• Volcanic rock is available in Oaxaca and often sold as garden rock
• It’s healthier and cheaper than bottled water
• Less plastic. Less cost. More dignity.

How to Build It at Home

• 2 large buckets or clay pots
• Gravel, lava rock (zeolite), sand, and charcoal
• Drill drainage holes or ask a friend with tools
• Optional spigot or tap

I'll soon share an illustrated guide in Spanish to show each step. You can build it with neighbors or friends as a community effort.

How to Make Sure It’s Safe

• Filter first, then disinfect
• Boil the water, or
• Use the SODIS solar method: 6 hours in clear plastic bottles under full sun
• Optional: Use Microdyn or SafeHome test kits

I Want to Help in Person

When I return to Zipolite in September, I’d love to help build some of these filters—especially in Playa del Amor, where access is harder and delivery is expensive.

Resources & Links

• Smithsonian – Maya Water Filtration
• Manual: Captación de Agua de Lluvia (PDF - Cántaro Azul)
• SODIS – Solar Water Disinfection Method
• Safe Home Water Test Kits

Let’s Share and Connect

Please share this post with friends in Oaxaca or Zipolite who could benefit from a cleaner, more affordable water system.

Message me or follow me on Facebook: facebook.com/zipolita

¡Nos vemos pronto!
Tina Winterlik / Zipolita

Zipolite, Ohm Playa, El Boheme & The Movie Mystico Fantastico!!

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Blog post by Tina Winterlik
http://adventurezinmexico.blogspot.com
Mar 2/2011



With this big storm about to bare down on us in Vancouver, I think we could all use something to take our mind off things for a bit. So check out this video.

From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playa_Zipolite

Playa Zipolite is a beach community located in San Pedro Pochutla municipality on the southern coast of Oaxaca state in Mexico. It is located between Huatulco and Puerto Escondido and is part of the “Riviera Oaxaqueña” area.[1]

Zipolite is best known as being one of Mexico’s very few nude beaches and for retaining much of the hippie culture that made it notable in the 1960s and 1970s.

The name Zipolite, sometimes spelled Sipolite or Cipolite probably comes from the Nahuatl word sipolitlan or zipotli, meaning "bumpy place" or "place of continuous bumps or hills".[1]

However, some claim the name means “beach of the dead” in either Nahuatl or Zapotec because of dangerous underwater currents just offshore.[2][3][4]

The beach is currently popular with foreign tourists, especially backpackers, who stay in one of the many rustic cabins or camping spaces that line the beach.[5][6]Read More Here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playa_Zipolite


Archeological finds at the east end of the beach shows that the area has a long history, but for the first half of the 20th century only one family lived here.[2] In the 1960s and 1970s, counterculture hippies began to congregate here in part due to the beach’s isolated nature. At the time, there was little law enforcement, and drug use became common.[3] In the 70s and 80s the beach gained a reputation in Mexico and among foreign travelers as a free-love paradise. Read More here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playa_Zipolite

Zipolite is a nearly pristine about forty meters wide and two km long, with medium grain gold colored sand. The water is clear with tones of blue and green.[6]

This was one of the beaches featured in the Mexican blockbuster movie “Y tu mamá también.”[13] It stretches from a small isolate cove called Playa del Amor on the east side to the new age Shambala retreat on the west end which is partially sheltered by rocks.

Behind this is, sea cliffs rise. The beach is lined by palm trees and rustic cabins, hotel rooms and hammocks with a few more sophisticated lodgings on the west end.[10][17] This beach is part of the Riviera Oaxaqueño, which includes the nearby beaches of Puerto Angel and San Agustinillo.[1]

This beach is favored by foreign tourists, most of whom are backpackers and by the Mexican middle class,[5][6][13] especially during Holy Week vacation in Mexico.[4]

The beach’s appeal stems from being one of very few beaches in which nudity is tolerated, however it is mostly practiced on the sheltered far east Playa del Amor and the far west end.[10][12][17]
Rocks on the far east end with crosses on them Read More here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playa_Zipolite

Swimming is practiced here but caution is strongly advised. Waves are strong in the afternoon, which is good for surfing and undertow is always strong. The ocean just offshore has strong currents that flow in circular patterns, some of which push swimmers toward shore and some which can pull swimmers out to sea.

These currents are strong but not very wide.[10][12][18] Swimmers have regularly drowned, prompting the creation of a volunteer lifeguard team and a flag system to indicate where and when it is safest to swim.[3]

The lifeguard team was founded in 1995 and trained by local charity Piña Palmera and U.S. citizen Joaquin Venado.

In 1996, drownings at this beach were cut in half.[18] The lifeguard service currently has ten lifeguards, an ATV, a jet ski, radios and other equipment provided by the state government.[11][15]

From 2007 to 2009, there have been no drowning deaths at Zipolite, a record, but there have been 180 registered rescues.[11][19] Read More here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playa_Zipolite

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While were were there in the winter of 2008/9 they were filming a movie. It's World Premiere starts tomorrow, see this link!!

http://adventurezinmexico.blogspot.com/2011/03/world-premiere-of-mystico-fantastico.html

Mystico Fantástico! from anita doron on Vimeo.