Our Projects

Location: Manda, Tanzania

It is our pleasure to inform you that the EWB-WWU chapter has been approved for adoption of a water supply project in the community of Manda, Tanzania! The community of Manda is located in the Njombe region of Tanzania, along the shores of Lake Malawi. We are excited about the opportunity to work with the individuals in this community with the help of our NGO partners at Participatory Development Concern (PADECO). We anticipate travel to Manda, Tanzania this coming summer for a preliminary assessment of the project scope and feasibility. Stay tuned for more details!

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Location: Gisenyi, Rwanda

As our Peru project comes to a close, we are excited to announce our new project. We have been approved to design and implement a water system that would provide safe, potable water for the Kanembwe Batwa community in Gisenyi, Rwanda. We will partner with the Hand in Hand Development organization as well as other community-based organizations in order to meet the needs of the Kanembwe Batwa people.

Our first trip to Gisenyi will be in August, 2019. The goal of this trip is to build a relationship with the Kanembwe Batwa community and Hand in Hand Development, as well as to collect important information on how to move forward with technical aspects of our project goals.

Update: Unfortunately, due to complicating circumstances involving the threat of Ebola and guerrilla incursions along Congo-Rwanda border, our team was forced to cancel the project in order to move forward. It was with sadness that we had to make this decision, as our partners at Hand In Hand for Development were looking forward to connecting us with the community in Gisenyi.

Location: Walla Walla, Washington, USA

The EWB Local Team spent the 2018-2019 academic year designing and building a conveyor device for removing plastic ducks from Mill Creek. Every year, the Exchange Club hosts a fundraising event in which local businesses and residents pay to sponsor these ducks as they race down the creek. The first ducks over the line win a range of prizes, all sponsored by local businesses. Since there are usually about 20,000 ducks in the race, an efficient means of removing them from the creek after the event is very important. In the past, it’s been an exhausting operation involving nets and bins, and lots of hard work. This year, the conveyor system dramatically improved the efficiency of the duck collection and packaging.

Location: Labramani, Cusco Region, Peru

EWB-USA’s Walla Walla University (WWU) Chapter has partnered with the community of Labramani and the local municipality to find a portable energy solution for this small community located almost 15,000 ft above sea level high up in the Andes mountains of Peru. Click the button below to learn more.

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Location: Walla Walla, Washington, USA

Walla Walla University’s chapter of EWB-USA partnered with Habitat for Humanity to research energy saving solutions for their home designs

Location: Japura, Cusco Region, Peru

EWB-USA’s Walla Walla University (WWU) Chapter partnered with the community of Japura, Peru, and the local municipality to build a total of 76 individual photovoltaic (PV) systems for individual homes and the community’s school. The PV systems provide power for operating two to three lights and two electrical outlets, one AC and one DC. Each system is able to provide lighting for 10 hours each day along with a small amount of power for other appliances such as televisions, radios, and cellphone chargers.

In addition to installing the system, we trained a select group of community members who had been elected to serve on an electrical committee. These community members are responsible for basic maintenance of the system, educating the community, and for the long-term lifespan of the systems. Our goal, as engineering students of WWU and as representatives of EWB-USA, was to provide a sustainable and functional PV system for each family by educating them on proper operation and maintenance of the system, constructing the system using local parts, and by guiding the community through the implementation process.

As a result of our work in Japura, families now have the opportunity to start and expand small businesses, which will allow them to achieve financial independence and support their children. In addition, children will be able to study at night whereas previously they had only an hour or so before sunset to do homework after returning from school. The local primary school also will be able to implement technology in the classroom, including small laptops and multimedia projectors. As one teacher explained, “The children will not have to draw their lessons.”

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Location: Japura, Cusco Region, Peru

In 2015, EWB-USA’s Walla Walla University Chapter (EWB-WWU) partnered with the community of Japura, Peru to address the need for electrical power in the community. This project spanned two years and consisted of two attempts to address the energy need in the community. The first year, we focused on using a hydroelectric system to generate electricity. The system would have been powered by a few streams that flow nearby the community. After a full year’s worth of research, communication, and deliberation, we determined that a hydroelectric system was infeasible in this community.

Although this phase of the project did not turn out as we had hoped, our time spent considering a hydroelectric system was not wasted. During this year, we gained knowledge that was essential to finally address the energy need in the community. We strengthened our partnership with the community and we developed strong communication channels with our project partners. The student team working on the project worked hard, learned a lot, and had a great year working on the Japura energy project.

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Location: Walla Walla, Washington, USA

After scouring the valley for potential projects and carefully considering each of the eight projects we found, EWB-WWU partnered with the Walla Walla Children’s Museum. The project team consisted of 8 diverse engineering students, ranging from sophomores to graduating seniors, who were tasked with redesigning the museum’s grounds. By the end of the academic year, the goal was to have a master plan for the backyard, and have constructed at least one new exhibit while fixing up some of the others. Here are some preliminary ideas we had modeled by our consultant industrial designer.

Location: Pantineque, Pampachiri, Cusco Region, Peru

Pampachiri is a small community that sits at around 14,500 feet above sea level. This community has some distinctive geographical features that make it unique in its own way. The dwellings that make up this community located in the ravine that works its way up the mountain side, are separated into two main clusters. At the upper most point of the ravine, there are several naturally occurring springs that come together to form a small stream. This stream flows down the ravine until it reaches the lower valley where it joins up with one of the tributary streams to the river Urubamba.

The issue that this community faces is one of health. Clean water can be hard to come by especially when it is found on a ground that is covered in animal feces. The spring water is clean, but when it comes into contact with the unclean environment it becomes a health problem, especially if this spring the only way to obtain water in this remote region.
EWB-WWU has a plan that is already taking shape, and that is to design a gravity fed water system for this community. This water system will not only ensure that the water is clean, but also that there will be enough water for the current population and some possible growth that the future might have in store. By helping the community build this system, EWB hopes to instill a sense of ownership for the community members. it is this sense of ownership that plays a key role in the sustainability of the project.

Location: Pucutuni, Cusco Region, Peru

The goal of this project was to implement a new water system while also developing the current source and protecting it from contamination. The community of Pucutuni is comprised of 11 families and approximately 80 people. Before the implementation they were spread out along an approximately half kilometer ravine.

ADRA, the community of Pucutuni, the municipality of Pitumarca and Engineers Without Borders WWU had signed an MOU that defined project roles and responsibilities. The Implementation Agreement and Budget were reviewed and approved by the municipality.

The program started in September 2013. The first assessment trip was completed in September 2013, which is when a MOU was signed and a brief survey of the site was completed. A second assessment trip was completed in March of 2014. During that trip, the team collected more data to compare with that already collected in September of 2013, discussed our design with the municipality, organized logistics and investigated the training and education currently carried out by the Municipality. While the community had expressed interest in a sanitation system (restrooms), solar electricity, and solar hot water these projects were left to be considered upon successful completion of the first stage, i.e., potable water.

Location: Nueva Suyapa, Honduras

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras, destroying thousands of homes and leaving 14,000 people dead or missing. Luis Garcia is a town about 30 kilometers south of San Pedro Sula that was settled by a community of refugees displaced by the hurricane. The population consists largely of factory workers and their families. In 2006, the community came together and raised 45,000 lempiras ($2500 US) to build classrooms. The municipality donated the land and the community members built the school, all with their own resources and labor. The school had six classrooms, nearly 400 children, and was at maximum capacity. To help with the capacity issues, they had to teach in two shifts. Approximately one out of every four children attended school.
The community requested that WWU students and faculty support them in the design and construction of new classrooms for the elementary school children of Luis Garcia.
In March, 2010, EWB-WWU partnered with the community of Luis Garcia and the Municipality of Villanueva on the construction of five classrooms for the community.

Location: Luis Garcia, Honduras

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated Honduras, destroying thousands of homes and leaving 14,000 people dead or missing. Luis Garcia is a town about 30 kilometers south of San Pedro Sula that was settled by a community of refugees displaced by the hurricane. The population consists largely of factory workers and their families. In 2006, the community came together and raised 45,000 lempiras ($2500 US) to build classrooms. The municipality donated the land and the community members built the school, all with their own resources and labor. The school had six classrooms, nearly 400 children, and was at maximum capacity. To help with the capacity issues, they had to teach in two shifts. Approximately one out of every four children attended school.
The community requested that WWU students and faculty support them in the design and construction of new classrooms for the elementary school children of Luis Garcia.
In March, 2010, EWB-WWU partnered with the community of Luis Garcia and the Municipality of Villanueva on the construction of five classrooms for the community.

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