ABSTRACT
La Mojana inland delta in northern Colombia is an area of about 5,600 km2 where three major rivers, the Magdalena, Cauca, and San Jorge, converge. It has 405,625 inhabitants and 83.8% of the population is classified as poor. Although they are surrounded by rivers, communities in La Mojana do not have access to potable water for domestic consumption. For this reason, the inhabitants of La Mojana, and particularly women, engage in everyday activities to secure and treat water for domestic consumption. They have developed different knowledges and practices to access water. The chapter argues that securing water for domestic use does not only entail technical processes but also bodily ones. In fact, sensorial experiences inform water’s classification, uses, and treatment. Informed by its taste, smell, feel, and color, women classify water as fresh, thick, thin, blond, and clear. Based on this assessment, they use it for different purposes. Women in these townships have a bodily relation with different waters not only by carrying different them through distances and storing them (which requires physical effort) but also by using their senses to know and classify them. Describing and acknowledging women’s roles as water managers and providers is important to understand the intersections of gender, development, and the environment. It is also relevant to develop accurate water policies concerning water management in rural areas of the Global South.
