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IN THIS ISSUE:
UPCOMING EVENTS
2006 Regional
Workshops: Sept/Oct/Nov 2006
Arrangements are being finalized for
fall workshops. Plan ahead as space is limited!
Columbia
University Workshop: September 29-30-October 1
Washington University at St. Louis Workshop: October 20-21-22
Georgia Tech Workshop, Atlanta: November 3-4-5
NEW West Coast Region
Workshop, University of California, Santa Barbara October 13-15
2007 International
Conference: April 12-14, 2007
The
2007 International Conference will be held April12-14, 2007 at the University of Massachusetts
- Amherst.
Early Registration will be available soon! Space is limited.
Project of the Month
The village of Kumudo is nestled at
the top of a gorge in the Arsi Negelle district of Ethiopia,
about 225 miles south of the capital Addis
Ababa. Below the town runs a muddy river that is Kumudo's main source for water. Villagers use water
from this river to irrigate the quarter-hectare garden they energetically
tend. But at its current size, the garden is too small for to adequately
feed and nourish the community. The limiting factor is water. An
irrigation system relying on hydraulic power is needed. The Ascend
Alliance, an NGO that works in the Arsi Negelle District, identified this problem, and also recognized
that the community of Kumudo would eagerly
contribute to any effort to build such an irrigation system.
Approximately 2100 residents rely on produce from the
quarter-hectare community garden as the primary source of vitamins and
minerals in their diets. This nutrition source is important because it is
sustainable-unlike nutrition pills and other supplements that are in short
supply. Unfortunately, plans to expand the garden have been limited by the
difficulties in bringing water out of the 90 foot gorge through which the
river runs.
In fall 2005, the local NGO, Ascend Alliance (formerly the
Engage Now Foundation) contacted EWB-USA about the need for a diversion dam
and irrigation system for the Kumudo community. EWB Princeton University
applied for the project, and since then, the chapter's team of roughly 20
undergraduate and graduate engineering and humanities students has been
designing a sustainable and environmentally friendly dam and pump system to
be installed in summer 2006.
In spring 2006, a team of three Princeton
undergraduates visited Kumudo in preparation for
the implementation trip. Under the guidance of the Ascend Alliance, the
group members familiarized themselves with the area and got to know the
community. In addition to surveying the gorge and assessing the challenges
they will face during implementation, the team sampled soil and water in
the area. They discovered that water from the stream is laden with
"too many bacteria to count." Though sand filters are effective
in removing these bacteria, it is difficult and time consuming to filter
all water. This additional need inspired the team to amend the design plans
to include a sand filter that will clean water in excess of that needed for
irrigation.
This summer a travel team of nine students and a Princeton alumnus are returning to Kumudo to install the diversion dam. A ram pump, which
uses hydrostatic pressure rather than fossil fuels, will pump the water
into storage tanks built by the team in town. Some water will be used for
irrigation and expansion of the community garden, while the rest will be
available for public consumption after treatment with a rapid sand filter.
The project although not yet been completed, has inspired EWB
Princeton to begin thinking about the development of projects for the
future. The most appealing project at this point is a widespread expansion
of the rapid sand filter system that is already in place, which will
provide an improvement in water quality over
a large area at a low cost and with a minimal environmental impact.
Potential for projects abound, and this summer EWB-Princeton will look into
possibilities for open projects in other nearby communities.
Fundraiser
Announced
EWB-USA, One World
Fundraising and Silver Canyon Coffee are proud to introduce you to the
world of fine coffee. Silver
Canyon Coffee is located just
north of Boulder, CO, high atop a mesa surrounded by open
space where rabbits, foxes, coyotes run wild and eagles soar overhead. The
company started from a workshop in the mountains and has grown into the
most experienced and knowledgeable coffee professionals in the state.
"The recognition
of my coffee by culinary professionals was almost immediat,"
says Gene Kay, Founder and Roastmaster.
"Soon, however, I learned that the coffee business was not just about
coffee, but that service and relationships were equally important. Over the
years, my consistent focus has been on quality and integrity in all facets
of business. The fine reputation that Silver Canyon
enjoys in our community is a reflection of these values."
Says Tom Thomas of One
World Fundraising, "The need to fundraise is increasing. At the same
time there is a growing awareness of the effects our purchases have on
individuals and on the global community. By promoting Fair Trade and
Organic commodities we insure that products are of the highest quality and
have been cared for from seed to sack, and we contribute to the well-being
of the producers and their families and villages."
All coffee benefiting
EWB-USA chapters is fair trade certified. This guarantees a higher
price to the growers, helping them to rise above the cycle of poverty and
improving the quality of life for them and their communities. Fair Trade
encourages the use of ecologically sustainable agricultural methods. As
more groups use Fair Trade products for fundraising it increases the demand
for that product. This allows the grower to continue to farm, send his
children to school, and contribute to the community. These benefits attract
more growers to this model of cultivation and distribution, which is
ultimately good for all of us.
EWB-USA chapters will
earn $3 per bag of coffee sold. Every bag of coffee is custom roasted
and vacuum sealed after orders are placed. Typically coffee is in the
hand of the consumer within 3 days of roasting. Chapters can
capitalize on the over $10 billion spent on specialty coffee a year.
If your chapter is interested in participating, contact Carole@ewb-usa.org for
details.
Have a newsworthy tip? Email news to news@ewb-usa.org
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Water
Kit for Rent
EWB NYC Professional Partners
bought a sophisticated water test kit for their project in Kenya. As
it worked well and they do not have a current need for it, they are
offering to rent it to other EWB Chapters. This is a wise alternative
to buying new kits!
The main (most expensive)
component of the kit is a Hach DR 850 Colorimeter.
A description of the test kit is available
at www.usalamaproject.com in a post titled "Site Assessment -
Equipment" The kit offered by EWB-USA-NYC professionals can be rented
for a reasonable $300/month fee. The kit cost $1200 and the tests expire
(used or not) after about three years.
Water test kit
in use in Usalama, Kenya
For more information
contact ewb_ny@yahoo.com.
Call for
Abstracts
CYCLE INTO EXCELLENCE
2007 CWEA ANNUAL CONFERENCE . ONTARIO,
CALIFORNIA
APRIL
17 - 20, 2007 - ONTARIO
CONVENTION CENTER
FINAL
DATE TO SUBMIT ABSTRACTS IS AUGUST 7, 2006
http://www.cwea.org/
For information and requirements, visit the California Water Environment
Association website conference page
http://www.cwea.org/et_attendees_conferences.shtml
In the News
MSOE's Jill Stephany
and sophomore Nate Theobald
were featured on WUWM's At 10 show. Go to
this address, click "listen here," and fast forward to time of
16:40 to hear more. http://www.wuwm.com/view_at10.php?articleid=97
The earlier WUWM interview is at http://www.wuwm.com/view_at10.php?articleid=76
and the
Journal-Sentinel article is at
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=414601
Florida in the news for Macedonia Project.
Open
Letters to Members
From Peru: The
Power of Place
Before joining Engineers
Without Borders-UCSB, my picture of life in Peru was vague at best. I
did have the advantage of joining a team that had been to the village of Araypallpa
the summer before, so I heard about the fried guinea pigs and the rickety
busses, the vast landscape of Andean altiplanos.
I heard about the closest city, Cusco,
with Spanish cathedrals perched on perfect Inca stonework. We laughed over
our fellow team member's little dilemmas- for example, when a villager
offers you chicha out of a filthy glass, do you
accept out of politeness or politely refuse, as part of promoting good
sanitary habits? I heard a lot before going. So much, in fact,
that I thought I knew what to expect.
Our whole raison d'ętre was installation of a slow sand filter for the
community's domestic water supply. I was working on a thorough community
assessment with my teammate, trying to accurately gauge their health,
sanitation, and water use habits. We had spent days in the lab,
thinking and deciding, meticulously designing and re-designing the
surveys. We wrestled with how to ask them if they washed their hands
before eating, and the best way to quantify their water use. We asked
ourselves if they'd be comfortable talking with us about their
diarrhea. We went through the possibilities in so much detail that
again, I felt I knew what to expect before stepping on the plane.
When we arrived in Cusco, we eased around for a
day or two, getting used to the thin air (Cusco's above
11,000 feet). At that altitude, I was fine, as long as I was
stationary. The air is dry and hard, and each breath invariably feels
a little shortchanged. We got inured to trekking around after all,
though even a small altitude gain (e.g., a flight of stairs) was still a challenge.
In the midst of this, I started feeling that I was almost
"there." I was getting a feel for the land, and making those
dizzyingly gradual realizations that come with truly knowing a place.
Sure, you can learn facts: when the dry season is, many Peruvians speak
Quechua, quinoa is a traditional grain- but somehow the knowledge comes
easier when you're sipping starchy quinoa soup in the cool dry sun, soaking
up the conversation of the old Indian couple next to you. You don't
have to ask, or even try. The knowledge just slips right in.
And so it was in our work in the village. We survived the arduous bus
ride to Araypallpa and quickly got settled in,
touring the village and strategizing about our work. The next
morning, my partner and I split up to go door-to-door administering
surveys. Before noon we were- well, not back on the drawing board,
but there were definitely some things that weren't going to work. For
one, villagers were telling us they boiled their family's drinking water "always,
100% of the time" while watching their children drink water directly
from the tap. Bear in mind, we had tried to make the questions
foolproof and unequivocal. We didn't count on "100%"
meaning "100%, más o menos1."
Granted, while surveys have well-researched and predictable nuances,
details like this one made personal experience in the place an integral
part of the project. As engineers, we're used to hard data,
re-testable and reliable data. For this project, without personal
experience, observation, and- yes, I'll say it- subjective judgment about
what was going on, analyzing our data would be like trying to build a tower
out of pudding. And slowly, as we adapted our approach and pieced the
real story together, we realized that some knowledge can only be gained in
the field. To really understand, you just have to.be
there.
Lisa Murawski
is a graduate student at UCSB and traveled to Peru last summer.
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