Electricity only reached the town in the last decade, when people from the town carried the cement cable posts over from the main town on their shoulders. One man died in the process. Private telephones were first installed in homes in the Spring of 1999. Homes are usually constructed of a few sticks or planks loosely bound together and covered by a corrugated cardboard roof. Those who are a little better off have cement block walls, but most still have dirt floors.
Cooking is done on a fire on the floor.
There is no refrigerator, so many dishes are reheated and stirred continually. A meal usually consists of tortillas, beans and coffee and on special days cheese or a little pork or chicken. Water is regulated by committees in each neighborhood who keep it chlorinated, but there is no way to makle sure in dry months that there is water at all. Clothes are generally washed in cement wash basins or in the river, even in winter. The clinic serves some 6,000 people, including some of the surrounding towns, but has only one doctor and two nurses.