Today, Lázaro can take the boat to Naranjal, which takes half an hour, walk an hour to the road and then go to Chaglla by car. The entire journey takes no more than three hours.

　　Residents, including children, travel aboard a community boat on the Chaglla Reservoir.

　　The difference is felt most clearly during the farming season. Beans provide relatively quick returns, but getting crops out of the mountains used to be a major obstacle.

　　The community boat now carries farm produce, while another boat is used for livestock, including cows and pigs. During harvest periods, the boats may carry more than 100 sacks of beans a day, each weighing about 50 kilograms.

　　The service also carries teachers, health workers and relatives visiting family members. For residents, the boat is not simply a faster way to cross the reservoir. It makes it possible to go to a farm in the morning and return home in the afternoon, to seek medical care without losing several days, or to attend an important family gathering.

　　"I am very grateful to the Chinese management team because we still have work here. We have even improved the service by purchasing new engines - two 100-horsepower engines and one 60-horsepower engine. This allows us to provide better transport for all residents in the communities," Cierto said.

　　At first, the boat could carry only eight people. Now it can carry 40. "During the harvest season, we transport 100 50-kilogram sacks of beans a day. Over a week, that amounts to 500 to more than 600 sacks. I believe that in this way, we are also contributing to the development of the local communities," he said.

　　Friendship built around a reservoir

　　From the very beginning, the boat service was introduced in response to a practical problem created by the reservoir itself.