9-15-2010 -- The UNM student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) went to Bolivia in August for an assessment trip to investigate the feasibility of improving drinking water access for the Tsimane region. The Tsimane are an Amazonian forager-horticulturalist group inhabiting a vast area of lowland forests, and savannas east of the Andes in the Beni department of Bolivia. Approximately 9,000 Tsimane live in about 80 small villages. None of the villages have running water or electricity. The Tsimane people currently get their drinking water from a local river that has been severely degraded by upstream cattle grazing, mining, and clear cutting.
The students tested water quality from rivers and wells in the Beni Department of Bolivia. The EWB group is now undertaking an engineering design process with the goal of returning to Bolivia in the next 12 to 24 months to begin implementing a drinking water project.
Participants in the trip included project leader and recent CE graduate, Kelly Isaacson; UNM-EWB President and mechanical engineering student, Sara Eatman; and CE assistant professor and project advisor, Dr. Mark Stone.
Engineers Without Borders - USA (EWB-USA) is a non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. This partnership involves the implementation of sustainable engineering projects, while involving and training internationally responsible engineers and engineering students.
The activities of EWB-USA are completely funded by the generous donations of our members and sponsors along with the fundraising efforts of our chapters. Each student and professional chapter is responsible for the funding of their project. On site contributions of materials and labor by community members are an intergral part of the project process.
Here at the University of New Mexico, EWB is giving students and faculty great opportunities to volunteer in bettering the underprivilaged community. For more information on EWB at UNM, visit http://www.unm.edu/~ewb/index.html