Engineers Without Borders - GlobalGiving

Engineers Without BordersCal Poly SLO Chapter

With teams in Thailand, Nicaragua, and India, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is working hard to help communities around the world help themselves.

Clean Sand for Clean WaterHuai Nam Khun, Thailand

The project is located in Huai Nam Khun (HNK), in the Chiang Rai province of northern Thailand. This mountainous village has a population of around 3,000 people and is home to Chinese and Burmese families. HNK has limited access to clean water and basic sanitation, which has led to many health problems.

Joni Morse of Faith International brought HNK to the attention of EWB-USA. Clean water has been HNK’s priority and since 2005 Cal Poly students have been working with the local communities. Most recently, in December 2010, 50,000-liter Slow Sand Filter systems were implemented at six sites providing central access to treated drinking water to six Hill Tribe communities.

The Cal Poly team has maintained a strong relationship with HNK and continues to facilitate sustainable development.

3,000 People with Untreated Water

Huai Nam Khun’s 3,000 residents receive their drinking water from untreated community distribution systems, many with plumbing into their homes. This gravity-fed system provides an adequate quantity of water, but sediment in!ltration and untreated pathogens are cause for great concern. Coupled with poor waste management and little sanitation education illness is rampant, especially during the rainy season.

The Need:

Please contact: [email protected]

The EWB-USA Response: Slow Sand Filters:

Moving Forward:

Slow Sand Filters are a sustainable technology exceeding the World Health Organization’s guidelines for !ltering water. In each of six communities, a centrally located system provides 7,000 Liters per day of treated drinking water to a community spigot. Each system includes one roughing !lter, designed to remove turbidity and suspended solids, two slow sand !lters which use a biological process to remove pathogens and further decrease turbidity, and two storage tanks to provide public access to a reliable quantity of clean water.

Project Cost: $55,000

The EWB team chose Slow Sand Filtration as an appropriate and sustainable technology. All components of the systems are built using locally available materials and do not rely on electricity or any other form of power. The systems require constant maintenance so a healthy and reliable relationship with the community will ensure the longevity and sustainability of the systems. The technology is easily reproducible, the largest barrier being cost, and after a complete technology transfer the availability of clean water will greatly increase.

With six operational systems in place, it is important to further monitor the state of each system and the quality of the water. The continuing relationship between EWB and the HNK community will involve continued technology transfer including proper maintenance training. It is imperative to allow each community to maintain and assume ownership of their systems to ensure clean water in the future.

For more Information:

Healthcare from the Ground UpBarrio Camilo Ortega, Nicaragua The EWB-USA Response:

Moving Forward:

Once the clinic is completed, ATRAVES will sta" and supply the health clinic with local and international doctors and the medical supplies.

To ensure that the constucted health clinic fully meets the community’s needs, EWB Cal Poly will make a follow up trip to Camillo Ortega. Future projects with this community or another community of Nicaragua will then be assessed.

In September 2009 Cal Poly students, in coordination with EWB-USA and local NGO, ATRAVES traveled to Camilo Ortega to complete Phase I of the implementation of a health clinic. During this trip, EWB Cal Poly helped lay the building foundation and construct two retaining walls and the slab. Prior to the trip, the community excavated and leveled the site for the retaining wall footings. In August 2010, EWB Cal Poly completed Phase II by constructing the walls and roof of the health clinic. Community members and the NGO have helped the construction by diging, laying bricks, helping pour the concrete, and carrying cinder blocks down the hill.

EWB Cal Poly is currently designing the !nishing touches on the health clinic, so that it can be utilized by the community. It will have three consultation rooms, a gynecological room, bathrooms, one lab, and a pharmacy. The building shell and roof have been designed conservatively to withstand loads from the high seismic region. The walls of the clinic will be constructed with patients’ and doctors’ privacy and comfort in mind.

Camilo Ortega has approximately 18,000 residents with no access to any form of basic healthcare. The community needs a clean, sanitary, and accessible facility for health care professionals to provide the community members with care.

The Need:

Following Up:EWB Cal Poly returned in March 2011 to seal the windows, paint the walls, and tile the #oor. This trip served as an assessment trip for the future installment of septic tanks and water run-o" systems.

Project Cost:$70,000

For more Information:Please contact:

[email protected]

Engineering at Himalayan HeightsSainji Village, Uttarakhand, India

The community of Sainji rests at the base of the towering Himalayas. Left largely to fend for themselves, the community members have strong roots in terraced farming agriculture, but many lack basic sanitation and practices. Health issues, such as diarrhea, are prevalent in Sainji and current sanitation practices contribute to poor health. In addition, the community has su"ered a dramatic decrease in rainfall, resulting in poor crop yields and unbalanced diets.

In September 2009, EWB Cal Poly accepted a request for assistance from an NGO working in Sainji, the Garwhal Organization for the Upliftment of the Needy.

The village of Sainji, a subsistence farming community in rural northern India, relies heavily on its corn production as a food source. Corn is eaten on a daily basis year round. To remove the kernels of dried corn from the stock, locals pick them by hand. This process takes an unnecessarily long time and the repetitive motion of dekernelling causes long-term disabilities. A dekernelling tool will help alleviate discomfort and joint pain.

Additionally, several families in Sainji lack household toilets; therefore, open defecation is practiced by approximately 25% of the population of 300 residents. Implementing household toilets will eliminate the need for open defecation and increase the village’s overall health.

The Need:

The EWB-USA Response:

Potential Projects:

Moving Forward:

The student team designed and constructed bamboo tools to aid in removing kernels from dried corn stocks. These devices were made available to the villagers during the summer trip in 2011. A toilet and sanitation project is being researched for implementation by December 2012.

After a successful implementation, the team will continue to monitor the villagers use of the corn dekernellers. Using local materials, our team was able to come up with a device that makes this task signi!cantly easier and faster. The devices are simple and easy to manufacture which will hopefully inspire them to continue use and production of these devices.

The results of the soil and water testing from the summer 2011 assessment trip conclude that toilets are a feasible option for the community of Sainji. This year, the team will focus on household latrine research, design and construction.

Last year, our team prepared a wooden device that we planned to construct in the village. After initial testing during the summer 2011 trip and demonstrations with the locals, we redesigned the device on location, replacing the wood with bamboo. Bamboo is lighter and its shape makes it easier to hold. It also grew locally on their land so it is easy to access and much cheaper than wood. We also assessed the land through soil and water testing, as well as site surveying to determine whether toilets are feasible.

Project Cost:$70,000

For more Information:Please contact

[email protected]

Corporate Sponsorship Bene!ts Platnium Sponsorship: $3,000 and up Recognition at all EWB Cal Poly promotional activites including fundraising events Engraved plaque to recognize contribution Recognition with logo during all bi-weekly chapter meetings Recognition in press releases, project presentations, and publications As well as all the bene!ts of Gold, Silver and Bronze

Gold Sponsorship: $2000 Company logo on EWB T-Shirts As well as all the bene!ts of Silver and Bronze Company logo featured on EWB Cal Poly website Recognition in tri-annual newsletter As well as all of the bene!ts of Bronze

Silver Sponsorship: $1000 Company logo featured on EWB Cal Poly website Recognition in tri-annual newsletter As well as all of the bene!ts of Bronze

Bronze Sponsorship: $500 Company logo on EWB website Customized giving plans also available.

Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA) supports community-driven development programs worldwide through the design and implementation of sustainable engineering projects while fostering responsible leadership.For more information, contact [email protected] or call 303-772-2723

We would like to thank you for considering giving a gift to sponsor EWB Cal Poly to help underprivileged people help themselves.

All Donations can be sent to: Engineers Without BordersCal Poly Chapter1 Grand Ave. IME Dept. 192-223San Luis Obispo, CA 94507

For further information, please contact Gabriela Igel, our Corporate Fund-raising Coordinator, by email at [email protected]

Engineers Without Borders -USA, Cal Poly Student Chapter

1 Grand Ave.

IME Dept. 192-223

Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 93407

www.ewb-calpoly.org