Construction on the Ruta del Cacao between Bucaramanga and Barrancamerja in the Colombian department of Santander, has made it possible for the Social Infrastructures program to provide to provide the more than 2,800 residents of these communities clean water. Their numbers will no longer belong to the harsh figures of the 2.1 billion people in the world who lack potable water.

The construction of small sewage treatment plants and viaducts to improve access to drinking water wasn’t the only thing the project consisted of. The Ruta del Cacao highway has involved other measures. As the line of asphalt snaked over the wet slopes leading to Magdalena, a new school was being built for the 30 children of El Tapazón in the municipality of Betulia. Abarco, guayacán, gualanday, cedar, samán, and nauno trees were conserved.

In addition, road etiquette workshops, training activities in the communities, recreational days at schools, and workshops on protecting fauna and flora were held at educational centers. Meanwhile, the Ruta del Cacao continues on its path, and the Suarez River follows its path to the north.