Past Projects

Odisha (formerly Orissa) is a state in eastern India on the Bay of Bengal, and consists of many tribal cultures and ancient Hindu temples. Despite the rich culture in the region, countless residents in villages did not have access to electricity, which limited many daily activities to daylight hours only and decreased the villagers’ overall quality of life. The local community of Badakamandara, which our chapter partnered with for this project, is one such village, and is home to 750 residents. The Odisha (formerly Orissa) Project started in 2003 and was completed in 2011. We partnered up with the local community Badakamandara and directly benefitted 750 members of the community with this project.
Project Overview & Results: The Odisha (formerly Orissa) Project started in 2003 with the aim of providing the Odisha community with electricity. In 2005, the project team installed a 7.5 kVA generator modified to burn vegetable oil, together with a solar drier, a decorticator, a manual oil press, a rice huller, a spice grinder, and screw oil expeller. All equipment was installed in a newly constructed building to ensure the longevity and safety of the system. When used in a system, the equipment can produce substantial amounts of spices and rice at a much lower cost. A committee was put together by the village with members of different genders, classes, and jobs in order to have designated individuals to upkeep and use the implemented system. This committee was given instructions on how to use the new equipment with additional training being provided later by Oriya speakers and AID Orissa in the project. The Odisha Biofuel Electrification Project closed out after implementation in 2005 and was successful in bringing stable and reliable electricity to several villages and 750 members in the Odisha, India community.

Adu is one of 12 villages in Achi, located in southeastern Nigeria. The community of 3000 people previously relied on a stream 3 kilometers away and rainwater for their main source of water. Women of the community had to make a long trek on foot up to six times a day in order to obtain water. Based on the results of water quality tests collected by the project team, it was also determined that the stream presented a major health risk to the community of Adu Achi due to bacteria and other harmful substances present.
Project Overview & Results: The Adu Achi Nigeria Water Supply project started in 2005 with the aim of providing the community of Adu Achi with clean water. During the first two implementation trips to the community in 2007 and 2008, a 500 foot borehole was dug and two 23,000 gallon reservoir tanks were built. Afterwards, a diesel powered pump was used to fill the reservoirs with water for the community. Later implementation trips in 2009 saw the construction of around 3 miles of pipework, 58 private household taps, and 10 public taps. A tanker tap was also installed so the community could generate revenue during the dry season by selling their excess water. Our chapter partnered with a volunteer agency in the community, the Water Project Management Committee, in order to organize the tanker stand system to allow it to run at a profit for the village. After implementation, the team was focused on monitoring the implemented system and repairing the system when needed. Additional trips were made in 2011 and 2012 to train operators and clerks to manage the finance of the system so the community could be self-sufficient. While building the water system in Adu Achi, the project team simultaneously educated the community on safe water practices to protect themselves from waterborne illnesses and other detrimental effects of improper water storage. All in all, the project succeeded in providing reliable, clean water to a village of 3000 people. This project has won several awards including Best Student Presentation at the 2007 National Groundwater Association’s Ground Water Summit, the EPA P3 Phase I Award, the EPA P3 Phase II Award, and the Mondialogo International Engineering Award.

Socorro is a community in the Suchitepéquez Department of Guatemala. With a total population of 450 people, Socorro’s main source of water is the Chicoy River or a small well found in each household of the village. Because they were limited to these sources, local residents often struggled with gastrointestinal disease due to the poor drinking water quality, resulting in about 100 visits per month to health clinics.
Project Overview and Results: Our chapter began partnership with the Socorro, Suchitepéquez community in 2008 with the aim of improving the quality and sanitation of drinking water and educating community members on safe drinking water practices to prevent health issues and disease from water contamination. This goal was achieved through the installation of 385 biosand water filters across seven communities in the Suchitepéquez region of Guatemala. The project team first worked to design and test a biosand filter that would meet the community’s needs. After designing inexpensive and effective biosand filters, our chapter implemented 385 filters in a total of 183 households in 7 communities, directly impacting the lives of 450 locals. The impact was clearly seen through the 95% decrease in the number of patients with stomach problems visiting the local clinic. Once filters were constructed, we were responsible for monitoring the use and maintenance of filters, and did so by checking for cracks, leaks, exposure of chicken wire, spout size, and the presence of the diffuser plate and lid. Furthermore, some community members were initially skeptical of the filters due to past negative experiences with defunct filters. Therefore, the project team worked to educate the community about how the filters worked and equip them with the knowledge of how to maintain them properly, so as to ensure the reliability and long-term sustainability of the project. Additionally, the local NGO set up clinics in communities to encourage the use of filters. By the closeout of the project in 2010, EWB had installed 385 biofilters in 7 communities, which successfully provided clean water and better health to many households.

Ntisaw is a rural village located in Cameroon, West Africa, with a population of approximately 1500 people. The villagers in Ntisaw live in mud brick houses with tin or thatch roofs. There are several streams that originate and run throughout the village and animal grazing lands, and these act as the source of water for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. However, fecal contamination of these streams – as revealed by water quality testing – have led to serious health issues in the population, including frequent cases of stomachaches and diarrhea. Moreover, the community lacked clean water during the dry season that stretches from November to March.
Project Overview & Results: Since Fall 2008, the purpose of the Ntisaw Village Water Project (NVWP) has been to provide clean drinking water to Ntisaw, Cameroon. In 2011, the project team completed implementation, which consisted of the installation of spring boxes and water taps in the densely populated areas of the village, which would provide enough water to the community members if rationed effectively. In 2014, our chapter implemented another water system as well as ventilated public latrines to supplement the amount of clean water flowing through the existing water distribution system and improve sanitation in the village. Throughout this process, our team also made sure that the community had the information and skills to address any technical issues from the system on their own after the closeout. Technical skills were taught to the appointed maintenance team, who monitor the system each week, for long term maintenance and repairs. A tax system was also established to pay the maintenance team for their work and for supply costs of the repairs. In order to keep the tax system running smoothly, people who were well-respected by the villagers were appointed to collect the taxes each month. Additionally, we met with local schools to teach them about health and hygiene, specifically about the role of bacteria and how they can be harmful. In summary, after working in the community for several years, our chapter was able to provide the people of Ntisaw access to clean water, proper sanitation, and better fecal waste management. Overall, the project was successful in fulfilling its purpose of enhancing disease prevention through better water management.

Soppo Likoko is a community in Cameroon consisting of approximately 50 households, each with 5 to 10 people. As a result of their lack of access to electricity, the community’s daily routines are limited by the presence of sunlight, and their education cannot remain “current”. Subsequently, the lack of opportunity resulted in a large outflow of locals.
Project Overview & Results: Our chapter began partnership with the Soppo Likoko community in 2013 via the Soppo Likoko Bridge Project. However, after an assessment trip in January 2014 revealed that the government had plans to construct a bridge in a similar geographical location, it was decided to switch over to a new electrification project, after identifying electricity as the community’s second greatest need through discussion. The project aimed to supply the community with constant source of electricity that meets their current and future demands by constructing and implementing and electrical grid tie-in system. The Soppo Likoko Electrification Project was officially completed in Summer 2020, after two phases of implementation – phase 1 which extended a local transmission line to the village and installed a transformer, and phase 2 where electricity was made available to each home. This construction and implementation of an electrical grid tie-in system supplied a constant electricity flow for more than 50 households as well as 4 local schools. Furthermore, this project was able to educate the community on electrical best practices which focuses on sustainability, efficiency, and cost-management.

Chichimuch is a small village in the mountains of southwestern Guatemala overlooking Lake Atitlan. The local water supply was becoming increasingly inadequate in terms of both quality and quantity for the 374 inhabitants of the Chichimuch community, which had been afflicted by intermittent droughts and inconsistent rainy seasons for a few years prior to the project. Namely, the community on average relies on a water supply of around 10.3 gallons per minute, but only 6.13 gallons per minute were provided in the most recent (before implementation) dry season by existing infrastructure.
Project Overview & Results: In 2014, the Guatemala Project team formed to help the Chichimuch community gain access to cleaner water by locating a new water source and providing the infrastructure to transport the water. The design that the project team settled on was a springbox apparatus installation over a water source at the bottom of a ravine. The springbox collects water and then pumps it through over 220 vertical feet of PVC pipe to the main water supply tank at a rate of 5 gallons per minute using a simple 220-volt water pump. As of the latest checkup in Fall 2020, the project has been successfully distributing far over the required 50 gallons of water per person per day with 99% community satisfaction. The design continues to operate and provides water to Chichimuch to this day, ending the hardships of locals brought on by water shortages.

The Paraje los Méndez community is in the Huitancito Village of the Huitán Municipality. Comprising 125 families, the community’s primary economic output consists of cultivating corn, beans, potatoes, and other vegetables. As the village’s population grew over the past few decades, its schools expanded in size. Consequently, the bathrooms from when the school was built lack the capacity to support the growing student body.
Project Overview & Results: The project objective is to replace the current bathroom system. The project will involve building 8 flushable modules: 7 toilets (3 for girls, 1 for female teachers, 1 for male teachers, and 2 for boys) and 1 urinal. A 10-faucet handwashing station will also be built outside the bathroom housing and 1 private handwashing station for the female teacher restroom. As the current bathroom facility does not have running water, a solution to run water to the bathroom will also be implemented, with 3 water storage tanks on the roof of the building. The project will implement a biodigester septic tank and infiltration well to route the black and grey water coming from the toilets, urinal, private handwashing station, and the external 10-faucet handwashing station. The goal of this new bathroom system is to assist the students’ physiological development and well-being and overall improve hygiene in the school.