AC 2010-1962: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & ENGINEERING:PERSPECTIVES ON INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS IN HONDURAS

Dan Baker, The University of VermontDaniel Baker is an Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Community Development and AppliedEconomics at the University of Vermont. He specializes in participatory and collaborativeprojects between academic institutions and community groups -- in international, regional, andlocal settings. With a background in technology transfer, agricultural economic and businessanalysis, he is engaged in numerous projects throughout Honduras. He is also a PI for amulti-year grant investigating agricultural labor practices in Vermont.

John Merrill, The Ohio State UniversityJohn A. Merrill is the Director for the First-Year Engineering Program at The Ohio StateUniversity College of Engineering. His responsibilities include operations, faculty and graduatestudent recruiting, curriculum management, student retention, and program assessment. Dr.Merrill received his Ph.D. in Instructional Design and Technology from The Ohio StateUniversity in 1985, and is a two-time recipient of the College of Engineering’s Boyer Award forExcellence in Teaching.

David Munoz, Colorado School of MinesAssociate Professor, Division of Engineering, and Director of Humanitarian Engineering atColorado School of Mines (CSM). He also holds the Ph.D. and MSME degrees from PurdueUniversity and the BSME from the University of New Mexico. Dr. Muñoz has taught numerousthermal-fluids and design engineering courses. He has advised several hundred undergraduates insenior design projects that include hybrid electric vehicles through potable water and waste watertreatment systems for Honduras. His research interests include issues of energy systems andengineering design related to global sustainability.

© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010

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DRAFT

Community Development & Engineering: Perspectives on

interdisciplinary projects in Honduras

Introduction

Sustainable community development is complex and dynamic. Engagement in the practical

aspects of this field presents great challenges and opportunities for academic institutions.

Addressing the needs of rural communities requires high-levels of interdisciplinary coordination

and integration, as well as the commitment of time to understand the context of particular

problems and the impact of interventions. The challenge and opportunities of rural development,

particularly in the developing world, attract faculty and students from higher education, who then

must address the real constraints faced by engaging in long-term trans-disciplinary projects. This

panel discussion summarizes the experience of three university service-learning programs

engaging in community development in rural and peri-urban Honduras from different

disciplinary starting points and who have shared information along the way. The program at the

University of Vermont started as a series of community development and added engineering

components and expertise over time. The Ohio State University and Colorado School of Mines

began their respective work through the College of Engineering and encountered challenges

requiring the “soft-skills” of community development disciplines. The latter developed a minor

called humanitarian engineering to help prepare interested students for the practicum to follow.

Over time the programs have sought to learn from each other’s experience and move toward

more trans-disciplinary approaches. The lessons learned and challenges gained through these

experiences will be summarized in this paper.

Context, Objectives and Approach

This paper considers three case studies describing the integration of engineering and community

development. The first two cases were implemented through engineering programs and over

time have sought out the skills of community development. The third case presented is a

community development program that has increasingly developed an engineering orientation.

Over the course of ten years the projects have moved through different project phases illustrating

the interplay between the disciplinary skills.

The desire of engineers to apply their skills to the problems of international development has

gained momentum in the past decade This is supported by the substantial growth in both the

number and size of what might be called “engineering for development” programs, including

large, multi-institutional programs like Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and Engineers for a

Sustainable World (ESW), as well as programs primarily located within a single institution, such

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as the Engineers for Community Service (ECOS) program at The Ohio State University included

in this paper.

Recognition that “engineering for development” will require interdisciplinary approaches has

been growing within the engineering community. For example, it is argued that successful

technical innovations introduced by engineers require social development including improved

governance systems, training in entrepreneurship, access to credit and a supporting policy

environment to facilitate adoption, diffusion and sustainability10. In a recent study by Richter and

Paretti, the authors analyzed papers presented at the 2007 American Society for Engineering

Education conference and found 86 papers considered interdisciplinary issues12. The authors

conclude that the complexity of contemporary engineering projects require skills that go beyond

those of a single discipline and require that engineers develop expertise in interdisciplinary work.

Furthermore, in a study conducted by the authors engineering students were found to have

limited appreciation for the contributions of disciplines outside their own, and weren’t able to

conceive how different disciplines could work together to solve complex problems.

Summarized in “Service-Learning Engineering in your Community” are the challenges of

interdisciplinary work facing engineers6. They write that “Engineers tend to remove the social

and political aspects from problem solving to make the process easier and more efficient.” The

authors note that this approach may actually set back projects because this process of

simplification may distort the definition of the problem and result in appropriate solutions. This

actually understates the problem. In addition to inappropriate problem definition, lack of

participation leads to a lack of community “ownership”, wasted resources and a discouraged

community

If the necessity of interdisciplinary work has been well established, the process by which it is

accomplished remains poorly understood. For example, in a textbook intended to guide

engineering students in the design of community-based service-learning projects instructs

students that “.. people should be involved in the engineering process. You should always know

your community partner, your stakeholders …. and their needs and desires. Frame your

engineering project within these parameters, and work with these groups throughout the project.”

The text goes on to talk about understanding the project from historical, cultural, ethical, societal,

educational, ecological and technical perspectives6. What it doesn’t say is how these things

should be accomplished. The text points to the need for partnerships, but doesn’t provide future

engineers with guidance on how that might be accomplished.

The challenges of interdisciplinary work are magnified when projects are located in developing

countries. In addition to substantial language, and cultural differences that must often be

bridged, complex ecological and environmental inter-relationships make it challenging to focus Page 15.295.3

on just one area of development. Furthermore, when working with poor communities the margin

for error is narrow and impacts of failure can have long-lasting repercussions. Many

communities have low levels of literacy, adding additional complexity on top of technical

communication issues when planning international projects.

Participatory research involves local partners in the design, implementation and evaluation of

research projects. It fundamentally seeks to change “the alignment of power within the research

process2. Participatory action research (PAR) is defined as investigations that focus on “the

information and analytical needs of society’s most economically, politically, and socially

marginalized groups and communities, and pursues research on issues determined by leaders of

these group11.” PAR should develop and maintain relationships that build social equity,

participation, understanding, and that enhance lives, and should always be collaborative between

the researcher(s) and community partners15. Authors often cite PAR as being rooted in the work

of Paulo Freire, who advocated re-thinking traditional, top-down education in favor of

transformative, empowered “co-learning”4, 7, 13 .

This paper begins with proposition that engineering programs seeking to engage in humanitarian

and sustainable development will require interdisciplinary skills. In that sense it tests the theory

that there is value in preparing engineers to engage in teamwork with partners trained in different

skills and that view projects through diverse lenses and methodological frameworks. Through

triangulation of the experiences of three different programs the validity of recent

interdisciplinary theory will be evaluated.

A second area of investigation considers whether there is a particular compatibility between

engineering and community development. This paper postulates that between humanitarian

engineering and community development the synergistic effects for promoting the goals of each

are greater than would be possible independently.

Finally, this paper proposes to extend the current knowledge about interdisciplinary work by

sharing experiences gained through the pursuit of participatory research. These common

experiences begin to outline best practices for educating engineering students who want to

engage in sustainable international projects. An important conclusion is that a narrow focus on

project evaluation that evaluates only the outputs of engineering projects in less developed

countries largely avoids the real issues affecting the longer term sustainability of the project.

Often, a longer-term interdisciplinary view shows that projects are likely to fail for both

technical and non-technical reasons. Integrating engineering with applied social science can

identify and address these issues both before and after project implementation. Expanding

evaluation of the project to include “process” as well as “product” can help capture the real

benefits that accrue from engineering projects. Furthermore, separating the community

development process from engineering in developing countries can turn good projects into

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wasted effort. This paper argues that the success of projects can be improved when engineers

partner with community development specialists in the design, implementation and follow-up to

engineering initiatives in low-income regions.

Methods

This paper uses a case study methodology to synthesize the three institutional experiences in

Honduras. The case study method is appropriate to use in evaluation of the experiences of these

programs given the importance of context to the research, and particularly the importance of

process to understanding the outcomes of the work. Given relatively few data points, e.g. water

quality tests and many variables, the case study method enables triangulation with multiple

sources of evidence to evaluate the common lessons and challenges experienced by the

programs.

The multiple case study approach follows a “replication logic” in which each case study is

viewed as its own experiment, with unique sets of conclusions17. The results from these

independent experiences are analyzed to find common elements that support or contrast with

current theory Yin further states “A case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a

contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between

phenomena and context are not clearly evident.” (13) It “copes with the technically distinctive

situation in which there will be many more variables of interest than data points, and as one

result relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing to converge in a triangulating

fashion ….17

Country Profile

The three engineering projects described in this paper take place in an environment quite

different from programs in more developed countries. Honduras is one of the poorest countries

in Latin America, with more than 35% of the population living on less than $2 per day¹. While

poverty has been reduced in urban areas, migration to cities has left extreme poverty in rural

areas, home to 56% of the population almost unchanged since the 1990’s.² Although conditions

have improved in recent years, high levels of adult illiteracy, poor infrastructure and

communication contributes to the challenges faced by the rural population. For example, nearly

40% of Hondurans are not served by an improved sanitation system and 13% do not have access

to improved water systems. ³ The systems that are in place are often inadequate to meet

community needs or acceptable quality standards. Finding projects in need of engineering is not

difficult. Successfully implementing projects that persist over time is.

Community and International development Program at the University of Vermont

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The commitment to a whole-system approach to development projects and particularly the

integration of diverse disciplines into cohesive teams is a unifying theme within the Dept. of

Community Development and Applied Economics (CDAE). As a department, commitment to

transdisciplinary research has been an institutional goal and has been explored in both domestic

and international settings in which faculty in the department have been involved5. A second

element within the department has been a common interest among faculty to community-based

action research. Community-based research is defined as “a partnership between students,

faculty, and community members who collaboratively engage in research with the purpose of

solving a pressing community problem or effecting social change.”14 The challenges of action

research have been a driving factor encouraging faculty within the department to seek out

partnerships outside of their home disciplines. The Honduras program was at the forefront of

this effort and illustrates the challenges and opportunities the department has experienced as it

sought to engage in interdisciplinary, and ultimately transdisciplinary projects.

CDAE began working in the Lake Yojoa basin area in Honduras more than 10 years ago. The

program began with a community development orientation and involving students and faculty

primarily from within the discipline of community development. Briefly, community

development is the process of improving collaborative decision making in order to give

individuals the ability to make meaningful decisions that impact their lives. Along with providing

students meaningful and unique international development experience, the CDAE service-

learning program in Honduras program has community development as a primary goal. To

achieve this, the program has evolved a long-term model of community engagement based on

multi-year, progressive projects1. Projects have involved technology transfer, improved

agricultural production methods, ecotourism, water quality monitoring, and infrastructure

development. The model seeks to develop long-term projects based on maintaining relationships

and institutional bridges that enable an incremental and sustained approach to social and

environmental improvements in the lives of community partners.

Over time the projects have evolved strong interdisciplinary elements, particularly emphasizing

close coordination and integration of community development and engineering. In addition to

those involved directly in the course, engineering networks including Engineers Without

Borders, engineering faculty within and outside the University of Vermont, and professional

engineers have become deeply involved throughout the program.

Although the program works on a number of projects in Honduras, the case study presented here

focuses only on the water projects, though engineering students, professional engineers, and

engineering-for-development organizations such as Engineers Without Borders have become

deeply involved in other project areas in recent years.

CDAE Water projects

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CDAE began bringing students to Honduras in service-learning programs in 2000. In 2002 a

student-led assessment of environmental health issues found that water quantity and quality

issues were a pressing and widespread concern in the community. At the same time, water

quality data and base maps of the region were also unavailable. Between the university and the

community, GIS maps were a deliverable the university was able to deliver relatively quickly

using GPS and GIS technology, and that met a community need for geographic information. The

delivery of maps showed community partners that working with the university program could

provide benefits in the short-term, and in turn increased confidence in promises for longer-term

benefits. Within the university maps were also a way to communicate project-related

information, such as water testing locations across years and between disciplines. The GIS data

sets gave students material to bring back to the university. This has enabled on-campus non-

service-learning courses to participate in the international program and has created reciprocal

benefits between the on and off-campus courses, as well as between the disciplines.

In 2003 CDAE developed a training program for local water committees (juntas de agua) in low-

cost water testing procedures. Testing was done to detect the presence of e. coli. Of the 11

systems tested and found to be contaminated with e. coli, nine already had existing chlorinators

projects built by previous groups. Of these, four chlorinators had been abandoned and the other

five were being used incorrectly and were not treating water effectively. Our conclusion was

that the primary reason for the failure of these systems was a lack of sustained technical

assistance following construction of the chlorinators. In addition, analysis and training to ensure

that the community was able to pay for the chlorine, and had the social infrastructure in place to

ensure that payments were made in a timely and fair manner had not been adequately

accomplished and contributed to the high failure rate.

To avoid similar issues in the CDAE project, and building on the trust and reputation developed

through previous projects by CDAE in the region, a participatory action research model was used

in the water testing project and has been continued throughout the evolution from testing to

construction of new infrastructure. Local high school students and junta de agua committees

participated in the testing program, and then the local students presented the results at a well-

attended community forum. Local leaders had confidence in the results and requested technical

assistance with the contamination issue. They were particularly interested in addressing

infrastructure deficiencies. While the community forum, and to some extent the basic water

testing procedure, had been well within the skill set of the CDAE program, evaluating, designing

and installing water systems was clearly beyond the disciplinary scope. Community

development had clarified local goals, built partnerships and focused interest, but addressing the

core issues and advancing the project required leaving our home discipline. It required the

assistance of engineers.

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Since this forum, the CDAE program has increased the involvement of engineers in our

programs. Involvement of engineering students has grown steadily over the years, comprising

about 1/3 of the total number of students in 2009 and 2010. In addition, professional engineers

volunteering their time and skills have become a mainstay of the program. This partnership

consequently expanded the orientation of the community development program from a primary

focus on planning and engagement to project management, facilitation and evaluation.

Engineering has enabled the program to do more than recommend how projects might be

accomplished; it has provided the means to see projects constructed. Furthermore, by

embedding engineering within a community development matrix, we have seen clearly how and

why development projects fail, and have been able to learn how to avoid failures through

sustained, interdisciplinary technical assistance to our community partners.

The first involvement of engineering students and faculty came when community development

faculty from the field course contacted the University of Vermont engineering program to see if

there was interest in designing water systems. A group of undergraduate engineering students in

a senior capstone engineering course chose the water project as their semester-long senior project

and used the data collected in Honduras to evaluate alternative technologies that could address

the e. coli contamination. The students concluded that a slow sand filter would be the most

appropriate technology given the nature of the contamination and community resources.

Funding for the project was obtained through a non-profit contacted by CDAE faculty.

One of the first challenges was to select which village to use for the pilot test of the slow sand

filter. A team comprised of a senior engineering student who had worked on the sand filter

design, a CDAE graduate student who had done socio-economic surveying in the area, and

CDAE faculty selected the village of Jaitique based on criteria obtained through technical

engineering and social surveys. A series of meetings were held with the community water

committee (junta de agua) to confirm their interest and later to develop an agreement on

expectations for the project. Given the risks associated with pilot projects, the non-profit funder

agreed to cost-share 90% of the cash cost of the filter, with the community paying the remaining

10% and providing 100% of the labor. The University of Vermont team later returned to assist

in its construction.

After completion of the filter, the junta received training in water quality testing. Training was

challenging as nearly all members of the junta de agua were illiterate. Training materials were

designed to use pictures rather than text, and then the committee repeatedly practiced with

assistance from both the engineering student who explained technical issues, and the CDAE

student who structured the training program based on knowledge of cultural practices and

applying group facilitation skills. CDAE faculty oversaw the training and assisted both students

where and when they needed assistance.

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A new local health committee was formed to work with CDAE students to disseminate

information about the importance of clean water and to conduct water quality testing. Initial

tests taken above and below the filter that showed a marked decrease in e. coli contamination

after filtration (800 colonies before, < 20 colonies after). This confirmed the local perception

that diarrhea had decreased since the filter was placed into use. In addition, members of the

community reported reduced incidence of diarrhea in the village, though obtaining quantitative

data to support this has been difficult. Few families go to the clinic for anything but severe

diarrhea.

Filter Costs and Results

Estimated Population Served: 1,750

Total Cost of Filter = $4, 709 (including $556 for food and $233 for the maestro)

University of Vermont Cash Cost = $4,355

Community Cash Cost = $354 (10% of the estimated cost)

Community Donated Volunteer Hours = 183 people/days (6 hours per day)

Effectiveness of filter = 96% reduction of e. coli bacteria

Per capita cost of filter= $2.69 per person

Based on these results the filter was clearly a success and the goals of the project had been met.

However, because the program at the University of Vermont stayed on and continued to work

with the community, we saw how easily good engineering projects can turn into failure.

Soon after the filter was put into use, a minor design issue turned out to be particularly

troublesome. The filter was built using gate valves. While technically correct and cost-effective,

they turned out to be difficult for the fontenero, or system manager, to adjust. The fontenero had

a hard time knowing whether the valve was opened or closed, and broke a few valves by turning

too far in one direction or the other. Furthermore, operational issues challenged the water system

managers. It was difficult for them to know how much water was flowing into the filter, and

often the filter either overflowed or was allowed to run dry, both of which compromised

performance. Left to themselves to resolve these issues it appeared likely that increasing

frustration would lead the community to abandon the project. Instead, the following spring a

community development and civil engineering team returned to work with the community.

Solution included replacing the gate valves with ball valves, which were easier for the

community to understand and manage. The engineer also designed a simple weir to help the

fontenero evaluate inflow and adjust the valves to maintain proper water levels. These two

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solutions addressed the core issues with the filter and this minor “tweaking” addressed what

could otherwise have been a fatal hurdle for the project.

Forces outside of the filter itself have also proved extremely challenging. A few months into

use of the filter heavy precipitation destroyed much of the infrastructure above the filter,

including the catchment dam and pipeline system. When CDAE faculty returned to Honduras in

January 2007 the Jaitique water filter was only partially functioning and many additional

infrastructure challenges had arisen.

Engineering students joined CDAE field course and traveled to Honduras in May 2007. During

a meeting with the junta de agua, the president of the water committee suggested construction of

a sedimentation basin above the filter to remove the sand, silt and gravel before it entered the

pipeline. Following that meeting one of the engineering students designed and oversaw

construction of a sedimentation basin in the summer of 2007. This was a simple design that was

built quickly, at low cost and provided immediate, tangible results. Most importantly, the core

idea came from the community and the integrated team of engineers and community

development were able to understand the community’s idea and design a solution.

The program has continued to work with the community to build capacity and assist with issues

that have arisen with the filter. What we have found is that the loss of human capital through

emigration has greatly affected the performance of the filter. Inconsistent management has

resulted in greatly reduced performance on numerous occasions, and continued technical

assistance and community education has been required for the filter. The sediment basin, which

requires less skill to maintain, has required considerably less support.

An indicator of the success of the interdisciplinary program in the village of Jaitique is that

another village in the region sought out CDAE and solicited their assistance with challenges they

were having with their water system. While the project in the second village, Jardines, is

technically similar to the first infrastructure project in that the project involves community

participation in water quality monitoring, site assessment and construction of a sediment

basin/sand filter system, the approach to this project illustrates the evolution of the

interdisciplinary program. The Jardines project is designed as an interdisciplinary community

development and engineering project from the initial stages, and engineers have been involved in

all aspects of project planning. This has led to changes in both the engineering and community

development elements. Engineering assessment began earlier than in Jaitique, including

technical discussions about the existing water system with the junta de agua, and substantial

modification of the pre-project social surveys to include data useful to the engineers as they

design the system.

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A common challenge to engineers working in developing countries is communication of both

technical information, as well as negotiation of commitments between community and technical

partners. CDAE faculty have facilitated these negotiations and relieved the engineers of this

challenging element of the participatory process, enabling them to focus their time on

engineering, which has been particularly important for the professional engineers advising the

students. Finally, maintaining stable partnerships between institutions, key individuals and

communities has led to improved understanding, enabled more streamlined planning and provide

greater confidence among all parties involved in these projects.

Benefits of Interdisciplinary Integration:

≠ Integration of community development and engineering allowed the university to assist through

the full project cycle, from needs assessment through construction and maintenance.

≠ Successful projects built the institutional reputation and facilitated development of future

projects.

≠ Over time complementary strengths of each discipline have become more apparent. For

example, community development specialists have strong backgrounds in designing,

implementing participatory processes and engineers are able to develop appropriate technical

alternatives to meet the needs identified in the surveys.

≠ Connection with the local student and professional chapters of Engineers Without Borders

enabled communication with a greater number of engineers interested in community-based

development.

≠ Long-term projects committed to interdisciplinary follow-up visits found that “successful”

projects were in danger of failing and required both technical adjustments and capacity-building

to develop local management capability.

≠ Graduate programs that enable engineering students to continue with their international projects

beyond their undergraduate study facilitates project continuity and depth.

≠ Expansion of student projects has also strengthened networks with professionals who have

provided critical technical oversight and support.

Challenges:

≠ Engineers often assume that community development is something outside of their project.

Convincing engineers of the challenges of community development and the importance of

incorporating these “soft” sciences into their projects is essential in development projects

≠ Engineering curriculums are less flexible than in the social sciences and have limited students’

ability to participate in service learning preparatory courses. Page 15.295.11

≠ Expectations of engineering students’ skills by both community partners and faculty can exceed

what students are able to deliver. Having professionals willing and able to provide back-up is

critical

≠ Long-term projects require stability, institutional commitment and predictable funding --

challenging in academic institutions where faculty horizons are focused on the next paper and

students on meeting course requirements.

≠ Local political changes, both anticipated (elections of new officers) and unanticipated (the 2009

military removal of the Honduras president) adds uncertainty to projects and makes planning for

engineering projects requiring a longer time-line challenging.

The Ohio State University Engineers for Community Service and the Montaña de Luz orphanage

Engineers for Community Service (ECOS), a student organization at The Ohio State University

established in 2003, promotes life-long professionalism through educational engineering

experiences for local, regional and international community service projects. The objectives of

ECOS are to:

≠ Develop engineering skills by performing community service projects;

≠ Engage in technology education and the design of sustainable technology for improvement of

the human condition; and

≠ Help bridge the technology divide though education and specific technology service projects.

A critical component of ECOS activities is learning the service aspect of being a professional

engineer. Local projects that ECOS has been involved with include teaching computer skills to

adults and providing interactive science lessons to elementary school children. A complete list

of current and past projects, including project reports, can be found at www.ecos.osu.edu.

ECOS completed its first international project in March, 2005 performing engineering upgrades

at the Montaña de Luz orphanage in Honduras (an orphanage begun in 1998 for children with

HIV/AIDS and also now a registered nonprofit in the US) and has continued to work there for

one week every March since then (during Spring Break at The Ohio State University), for a total

of 6 trips completed through March 2010. The one-week format fits the schedules of most

Engineering students, who otherwise might not have the option for an international experience.

The conventional course-load coupled with a co-op or internship tends to preclude a student

commitment to longer study abroad or international service-learning experiences. (Expanded

opportunities may be developed over time to take advantage of a more flexible schedule when

The Ohio State University converts to a semester schedule in Autumn 2012.)

As a result of a preliminary on-site assessment conducted in September, 2004, by Drs. Merrill

and Passino at The Ohio State University, initial project planning began in consultation with the

orphanage director and student leaders, with support from the Office of International Affairs.

Developing a collaborative partnership with the organization (in essence, listening to the

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customer) was seen as a critical element to long-term success for all parties involved, hence all

projects would be reviewed by the orphanage director(s) and local staff prior to implementation.

This process has provided invaluable communication skill development for the students.

Projects and project teams have organized mainly around these central areas and have continued

to build on one another: Agriculture, Computers, Electrical, Mechanical, Energy, and Water

Quality. To date 75 students have participated from virtually every Engineering discipline. On

an annual basis during Winter Quarter, students take a required credit-bearing service-learning

course in preparation for the trip. Project documentation is stressed throughout the course, and

post-trip requirements have to be completed to receive full credit.

The administrative structure of Montaña de Luz is such that there is an Executive Director and

Board based in the town of Instutition Y, with local in-country administrators based at the

orphanage who also live in the local community. These administrators may or may not be from

Honduras (or elsewhere in Central America) – some have been U.S. citizens with one or two-

year contracts. The changing administrative structure has in itself been a learning experience for

ECOS, student participants, faculty and staff, as they have learned to work at-a-distance with an

organization who values their Engineering expertise, but who on a daily basis is often addressing

its own basic functional needs revolving around the daily life of the orphanage, e.g., student

health, education, staff development, community relations, and the economic and political

conditions if a developing country. To this end, student projects have tried to adapt and ensure

that projects proposed and undertaken were in line with key priorities that supported the day-to-

day operations, without being seen as a hindrance to normal activities or cumbersome to

maintain by local staff. The degree of success is the main focus of this interdisciplinary focus, as

Engineering students have had to become increasingly attuned to the community context within

which they are operating – as defined by the immediate priorities of the orphanage

administration, and further defined by the broader community within which the orphanage co-

exists.

Projects proposed for the community have included a mapping of the water distribution system,

improved road drainage, a local playground, and fan installation in the kitchen of the local school

(to improve working conditions for the workers). The water distribution project, coupled with an

analysis of the chlorine levels, was conducted to assist the local Water Board in its long-range

planning. Also, many of the orphanage employees live in the community and children from the

orphanage attend local schools. The road drainage project consisted of a plan that was submitted

to the orphanage and completed by local labor at a time when The Ohio State University students

were not in-country. However, the local playground and fan installation projects were met with

some resistance by the current orphanage administration for reasons still not completely

understood – a fact of life that has to be considered when any university or civic group is in

partnership with an organization that also has to maintain its own local affiliations and “political”

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alliances. Efforts to expand Engineering projects into the broader community appear to have

been met with some resistance by the orphanage administration (locally as well as by the

Executive Director) because these efforts have been viewed as detracting from resources that

otherwise would be available to the orphanage itself. Whether the benefits derived from such

activity would have been mutually beneficial remains a subject of discussion, if not debate.

Out of respect for the overall relationship with the orphanage and its own financial constraints,

planning for subsequent The Ohio State University projects has required greater sensitivity to the

local climate as a potential limitation when proposing and planning projects. The political

changes within Honduras during 2009 resulted in many university, church and civic groups not

traveling to Honduras, which has affected the humanitarian and financial assistance available to

Montaña de Luz and many similar organizations. This has affected their inclination to otherwise

share resources with the broader community. At the same time, over time, changes in local

administration, board governance, and the number and ages of children served by the orphanage,

all may contribute to broader opportunities in the future.

The computer project previously mentioned has been one of the more notable and successful

projects, not just because of its technology profile, but also because of its potential for expanding

educational opportunity for students and skill development for staff. The Ohio State University

students initially established a small computer lab in March 2005, and have helped to maintain

and improve it during annual visits in March. Local staff training and appropriate documentation

were seen as vital to sustaining the project, but changes in administrative staff, The Ohio State

University student turnover, environmental conditions (heat and dust), plus general lack of two-

way communication has made the project difficult to sustain, and has created some dependency

on the Engineering students that Is not desirable in the long run. Nonetheless, the orphanage

continues to value the project and looks to The Ohio State University to provide guidance.

When characterizing the outcomes and challenges to date, in what is a relatively young program

for The Ohio State University, the following statements are still accurate:

Positive Outcomes

≠ A majority of the projects have been considered beneficial and successful by the client

organization.

≠ The original partnership has been maintained over time.

≠ Interest and participation of engineering students has been strong and consistent.

≠ Other programs at The Ohio State University (e.g., Education and Human Ecology) have elected

to work in the same area, strengthening institutional presence.

≠ ECOS has been recognized for its work by the university’s Office of Outreach and Engagement.

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≠ Some students have received individual recognition and scholarships to pursue projects in other

countries.

≠ Students have presented their work at conferences and several student teams have expanded their

work into undergraduate research topics.

≠ Outreach to University of Vermont and Colorado School of Mines programs have provided

greater access to “institutional memory” and development strategies.

Challenges

≠ Expansion outside of the original partnership has been difficult.

≠ Understanding community relationships within the local Honduran municipality is time

consuming and leaves students with insufficient time to work through “turf” issues.

≠ Engineering students, faculty, and staff lack of knowledge of community development models.

≠ Limiting projects to one partnership has led to an emphasis on maintenance rather than new

project development, or over-engineering of solutions.

≠ Time between trips and revolving projects proves to be a limiting factor.

≠ A certain degree of uncertainty remains between benefits to the university partner versus the in-

country partner.

Despite these challenges, it is hoped that this course, coupled with the international experience,

will contribute to more advanced research and project design work, as well as foster life-long

professional behavior and community service by College of Engineering alumni. The Montaña

de Luz orphanage project has already drawn the attention of faculty interested in international

capstone design experiences, and is part of the College’s long-range planning for further

development of it global engagement strategies.

Colorado School of Mines, Humanitarian Engineering Minor

In 2003, with the support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the faculty and students

at the Colorado School of Mines embarked on the development of a service learning minor

program that later became known as the humanitarian engineering minor program. The reader is

referred to a recent publication (in review at the time of this writing) that covers the definition of

those terms8. Hewlett grant funds were used to develop courses, support travel and purchase and

rent basic equipment useful in projects to meet the needs of underserved people anywhere in the

world. Because of familial connections in Honduras and through a conversation in 2003 with the

Mayor of Villanueva, an early project was established in 2004 in a village named Colinas de

Suiza. Colinas de Suiza was one of two villages established by the government and private land

owners to receive refugees from hurricane Mitch which devastated that portion of Latin America

in 1998. Since 2004, numerous Colorado School of Mines student teams have travelled to

Colinas de Suiza to assess, obtain physical measurements, communicate with the residents and

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work with the local water and sanitation department to design a water supply and distribution

system for the village. Since that time water, sanitation and school construction projects have

also been established in Colinas de Suiza and in two other villages in the surrounding area, all

located within the municipality of Villanueva.

From the outset, the goals of the humanitarian engineering minor were oriented toward a local

recognition of the value of community service and the long-term measurements of the outcomes

of the associated activities.

The specific goals of the minor program have been to:

≠ Create a culture of acceptance and value of community and international service activities at Colorado School of Mines.

≠ Increase the number of Colorado School of Mines engineering students and graduates that enter internships and occupations, respectively, which have a community or international service emphasis.

≠ Increase the recruitment of women and minority students to the engineering program at Colorado School of Mines. What has happened as a result of the courses developed and the associated interdisciplinary interactions (primarily through practice and dissemination in collaborative books, papers and presentations) between faculty in the Engineering and the Liberal Arts and International Studies (LAIS) divisions, is a marriage between theory and practice that will hopefully yield an improved educational experience for the engineering student and an improved understanding of engineering involvement in “development” projects. Generally, the engineering students and faculty have focused on the practical aspects of the projects, whereas the LAIS faculty has focused on the theoretical. The one exception has been the involvement of the Colorado School of Mines Director of International Programs, who has a Ph.D. degree in Anthropology, agreed to accompany the author of this case study to Honduras to help coordinate small group meetings at a critical time for the water project in Colinas de Suiza. The following is a description and timeline of the critical milestones of the Colinas de Suiza water project. In the fall of 2004, a group of eight engineering students and the author of this case travelled to Honduras to assess the needs in Colinas de Suiza. Before the trip, the team learned of an international competition called the Mondialogo Engineering Award sponsored by Daimler-UNESCO to bring together engineering teams from universities in the developed and developing world to work on a collaborative problem within the developing world. A search of Honduran Universities was performed on the internet and it was found that Universidad Tecnologica Centroamericana (UNITEC) had the best website. An email was sent to the webmaster in hopes that it would reach the appropriate person. A response was received a few weeks later agreeing to a meeting to establish a relationship. The Colorado School of Mines and UNITEC students met and worked together for a week to assess (by walking door to door throughout the village

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and talking with the people) the needs of the large village. The students were teamed with counterparts that were bilingual (Spanish/English). Whereas the Mayor of Villanueva had suggested that sanitation was the main concern, the student teams learned that potable water was an even greater concern. The focus then moved toward developing a plan for the water cycle as a whole (potable and waste water) for Colinas de Suiza. The village Colinas de Suiza is located in the Municipality of Villanueva, which is approximately 20 km south of San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Colinas de Suiza is a 100+ acre tract of land that was opened by the Honduran federal government and a local land owner (Sr. John Cook, now deceased) It currently has a population of over 8000 (~1500 families) and has capacity for up to 10,000 people. The villagers earn an average income of $6 - 8/day while working in nearby sugarcane fields or in clothing, materials, or food factories. They were paying from 1/3 - 1/2 of their income for water delivered by truck. Colinas de Suiza has a group of 13 elected leaders (Patronato) that represent constituency and generally live within the same sector as the people they represent. One of the Patronato is elected President. This would be similar to town or city councils here in the United States (US). The other entity of importance includes the personnel within the Water and Sanitation Department, the largest department under the auspices of the Municipality of Villanueva. The municipality is similar to the county offices within the US. During meetings with these individuals, it was found that they had plans for providing water to Colinas de Suiza from a subterranean aquifer that already had two operational wells, supplying water to lower lying areas near Colinas de Suiza. However, these existing wells were drilled to an 80 m depth and the water personnel wanted to drill to 140 m on the well that was to supply Colinas de Suiza. Sufficient electrical power is available within the same field. It was suggested that the Colorado School of Mines team return with geophysical measurement equipment to verify that drilling the deeper well would not perforate bedrock and drain the aquifer that all living in that area were using. Therefore, the 2004 Colorado School of Mines team returned to Colorado, working with the UNITEC students, developed a proposal for the Mondialogo Engineering Award, which was a preliminary plan for meeting the water needs of the people of Colinas de Suiza. In spring 2005, the team was informed that they had won the 2005 Mondialogo Award. Additionally, a new Mayor of the Municipality of Villanueva was elected and began serving her term in January 2005. In fall 2005, another team of students returned to Colinas de Suiza with DC resistivity equipment for subsurface mapping of the aquifer and newly purchased GPS equipment for mapping the village. To provide continuity between visits, this team communicated with villagers, village leaders and members of the Municipality the preliminary plans for the water system, largely developed by the previous team. Within those presentations, the students made it clear that the people of Colinas de Suiza would be expected to contribute to the project in two ways; with their labor in helping to dig ditches and bury pipe and financially. The local people seemed to be surprised about the financial expectation. The 2005 team focus was to develop an improved budget so that a fundraising proposal could be developed and sent to non-governmental

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organizations (NGO) working in the area. Shortly after returning to Colorado, it was learned that the GPS data had been lost due to a premature battery discharge and unwittingly storing the data into RAM on the handheld computer. The surface mapping data that took a week to acquire was lost. Sickened by the loss, the team completed their work with good subsurface data but without mapping data that would be necessary to determine the quantity of pipe required to distributed water throughout the village. Two students from the fall 2006 team travelled with the author of this case to Colinas de Suiza and in three days acquired the GPS data for all of the roads and pathways, and each house within the large village. These data were then used to generate a surface map, which in turn was used to model the gravity flow piping network from a water tank, located at one of the highest points on the village, to a valve located at each home. Bentley WaterCAD was used to check the corresponding water pressures at each home. The team now had an accurate model that could be used to better approximate the cost of the supply and distribution system. In June 2007, the author travelled with one student from the team to communicate the detailed plans for the water distribution system with the people. During the presentation, it was noticed that a number of people in the meeting were not smiling and seemed distressed about something. When the President of the Patronato was asked about the gloomy faces, he responded that recently there had been a person seeking a candidacy for Mayor talking with groups of villagers. When the hopeful candidate learned that the villagers were expected to pay $100 per family (two weeks salary) to help cover the cost of the water tank, he told the people that the funds would not be used for that purpose, but rather it would be stolen and used for other purposes. This prompted a recorded council meeting at the Municipality offices in Villanueva to clarify the situation and provide a detailed budget to that body. In addition, it was realized that communication had been ineffective between the student teams and the local people in Colinas de Suiza. The meeting times and locations were typically announced via a large speaker attached to the roof of a small pickup trunk. The pickup truck would travel throughout the village with a passenger making the announcements and anyone who could hear it and had an interest would show up to one of the local school rooms for the meeting. Typically 100-300 people would come. However, for a village of nearly 10,000 people, this is considered a poor showing. It was clear that an improved method of communication was required. Additionally, through new courses offered by the LAIS faculty and attended by the engineering faculty, there was a burgeoning awareness of participatory action research 10, 2. Though there was awareness of the need for project ownership on the part of the local people, considering participatory action within the engineering design process was new. It was at this point that the Director of the International Programs at Colorado School of Mines was approached for help. She agreed to accompany the author and an Environmental Science and Engineering graduate student from Argentina to Honduras in August to meet with several small groups around the village. The purpose of these meetings was three-fold:

≠ To communicate the plans for the proposed water supply system and help the local people prepare for it,

≠ To explain the benefits and challenges associated with ecological toilets and passive gray water systems, the recommended solution to their waste water challenges.

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≠ Ask them about their dreams for the future of their village and for any suggestions that they had regarding the plans that were laid out before them.

Nine meetings were held throughout the village in people’s homes, outside local stores (pulperias) and inside of churches. The people that came ranged from 10 to 70 in number. Through these meetings it was learned that many distrusted these large projects. The last time there was a major community-wide project, electricity was provided. However, by the time the workers reached the back portions of the village, they ran out of poles to properly run the wire. The workers improvised with large tree branches, but the power lines were lower than others and some delivery trucks could not pass below them, thus limiting the people’s access to additional services. By this time proposals written to prospective funding agencies were winning success. A major in-kind donation of plastic pipe and fittings was imminent and plans were underway to collect and deliver 72 tons of plastic pipe and fittings donated from eleven US based manufacturers to Honduras. This required coordination within both countries. Contact had previously been made with Food for the Poor, a Catholic relief agency, based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL that focuses on Latin America. With the donation of the plastic pipe, additional funds to ship the pipe and cover added expenses in laying the pipe and connecting the pump to the electrical grid were provided through CEPUDO, a Honduran NGO that works closely with Food for the Poor on other projects and with whom the CSM teams had previously met. Additionally, the Municipality of Villanueva had agreed to drill a well, install the pump and oversee the laying of over 45 km of plastic pipe. In the fall of 2007 a fourth team of senior design students travelled with faculty to Colinas de Suiza to help with the initial installation of the pipe. This was a symbolic gesture as the pipe laying would take six months to complete. However, it was important in that the people knew by this time that the Colorado School of Mines teams were in the project for the long term. Additionally this provided an opportunity to solidify a relationship with the Director of Water and Sanitation, who would be critically important for project sustainability. The Colorado School of Mines team was also charged with selecting five volunteer families that were interested in modeling the composting toilets and gray water systems. Honduras team number four returned to Colinas de Suiza during the spring break of 2008 to implement three gray water systems and three composting toilets. They were able to complete two of the gray water systems; one of which unfortunately washed out and was consequently dismantled in a flash flood episode. The other system is partly functional, but is in need of a redesign. For various reasons none of the composting toilets were successful. Tragically, the Director of Water and Sanitation (age 29) passed away in May 2008 due to a massive cerebral aneurism. He is greatly missed. In June 2008, a team of Honors students travelled with the author and the Director of International Programs to work with the Colinas de Suiza school children to help educate them on the water cycle, nutrient cycle and to encourage them to consider waste something of potential value. The Honors students worked with the children to make planters from used tires. The Municipality donated palm trees to plant and the children collected potato chip bags,

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commonly littering the ground to make woven bags that could be sold in the international market. Additionally, a group of engineering students from the local public University joined the team to build a fourth composting toilet on the grounds of one of the schools. This toilet is still operational as of the writing of this document. In spring 2009, two teams initiated water projects in two other villages located within the Municipality of Villanueva. While two teams of students enrolled in the Timber and Masonry Construction course (developed as one of the technical electives associated with the humanitarian engineering minor) worked on the design on a new school building that was requested by some of the local people living in that part of Colinas de Suiza. A church youth group raised funds for school construction materials and was planning to help with the construction in summer 2009. However, the trip was postponed due to the uncertainty associated with the political coup that developed on June 28, 2009. The materials were purchased and school construction was initiated nonetheless. The school construction has since been completed. A new Mayor has been elected to serve the Municipality of Villanueva. He will began his term in late January, 2010. The outgoing Mayor will continue her efforts to complete the water project in Colinas de Suiza through a new cabinet position with the federal government as Directora del Instutito Nacional de La Mujer. She will likely be in a position to continue to help the poor of Honduras. Construction of the water tank and pumping station is continuing and is scheduled for completion in May 2010 with a system inauguration scheduled for later that month. System expenses are summarized in the table below.

Table 1. Summary of project expenses for a potable water system for 10,000 people.

Poject Expenses

Dollars Lempiras Percent

School Z/Travel Expenses $50,000 L. 950,000.00 9.39%

PPFA Manufacturers $125,000 L. 2,375,000.00 23.48%

Food for the Poor/CEPUDO $35,000 L. 665,000.00 6.57%

Local People of Colinas $65,000 L. 1,235,000.00 12.21%

Municipality of Villanueva $160,000 L. 4,890,000.00 48.34%

TOTAL $435,000 L. 10,115,000.00 100.00%

Positive Outcomes

≠ A score of students found a passion for service learning and are hungry for “the next step” or opportunities to make careers to follow their passion.

≠ Students realize that engineers can be involved and have something to offer in human development, an area traditionally populated by people educated in the social sciences and anthropology.

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≠ Students and Faculty learn to better communicate with (listen to) people from a different culture and society than their own. Challenges

≠ Social and political constraints have proved to be more challenging than expected. Constant attention to the day to day influences impact project success and timely solution.

≠ The Colinas de Suiza is a very large project involving a village of nearly 10,000 people (~1300 families) who did not necessarily chose their living situation. A sense of “community” is in development.

≠ Funding challenges pervade (much more detail to be provided in the panel discussion). Recommendations

≠ Student integration between the disciplines has varied across projects. Careful design of project

teams is essential. Take advantage of the full diversity of specialties available on your campuses.

≠ Design entry-level experiences and upper-level experiences to accommodate student experience

levels and allow them to grow.

≠ Find ways to include more time in-country for student participants.

≠ Create inter-university teams for ongoing and sustainable collaborations.

Synthesized Case Study Conclusions for Participatory Research

≠ All three of the programs have sought to apply participatory action research (PAR) in their engineering projects. PAR requires substantial mutual understanding between community partners and institutional partners, as well as a greater degree of trust than is typically built during development projects. It generally requires significantly longer time commitment than a single project provides, and among the three case studies the CDAE program, which has had the longest involvement has also correspondingly been able to move farther along the PAR path. The Colorado School of Mines program was able to build trust faster than is common based on the primary investigators personal connections to the region. For The Ohio State University program, starting with fewer direct connections to the community, and operating in Honduras for the shortest period of time, PAR has and remains a goal, but one that has demonstrated the elusive and challenging nature of this approach.

≠ These objectives point to general principles, issues and challenges emerge in common between

three different service-learning development programs in Honduras. All three encounter

questions of community development and apply engineering to address problems. The three

represent three views on higher education engagement in service-learning. Three views provides

triangulation among different experiences pointing to common challenges and successful

strategies for international programs seeking greater engagement with community partners and

capacity to work on complex problems requiring inter disciplinary skills. It is hoped that

similar mutually beneficial relationships can be identified between other disciplines. Colorado

School of Mines/CDAE both found mapping to be valuable to communities, accessible to

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students, involves both technical and social elements, and provides an early deliverable to

community partners.

≠ The two engineering programs found need for community development skills or theory.

Colorado School of Mines used small group expertise. The Ohio State University encountered a

need for facilitation skills and techniques to deal with power/control issues.

≠ All three programs found multi-year commitments to be both key and challenging.

≠ Faculty commitments are key to balancing out the shorter-term involvement of students in long-

term projects. Having a Masters Program that can allow highly motivated undergraduates to

continue with their international projects or to bring in experienced and committed graduate

students is desirable.

≠ A higher representation by women exists among all three projects when compared to the general

student population at each institution.

References:

1. Baker, D. (2006). Ecological development through service-learning. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and

Engagement, 11(1), 145-159.

2. Cornwall, A. and Jewkes, R. (1995) What is participatory research? Social Science Medicine, Vol. 41, No. 12

3. de Hoyos, R., M. Bussolo, et al. (2008). Can Maquila Booms Reduce Poverty? Evidence from Honduras. World

Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4789, The World Bank Development Economics Prospects Group & The

Latin America and the Caribbean Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Group.

4. Hammond, J. D., Hicks, M., Kalman, R., & Miller, J. (2005). PAR for the course: A congruent pedagogical

approach for a par methods course. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 12(1), 52-66.

5. Kolodinsky, J. D Baker, C. Koliba, N. McMahon, T Patterson, (2009). Moving Toward a Transdisciplinary

Approach in the Land Grant System. NACTA Journal. Volume 53 // Number 2 // June 2009

6. Lima, Marybeth and Oakes, William (2006). Service-Learning Engineering in your Community. Great Lakes

Press, St. Louis.

7. Minkler, M. (2000). Using participatory action research to build health communities. Public Health Reports,

115(2), 191-197.

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8. Mitcham, C. and Muñoz, D., Humanitarian Engineering, to be published in Morgan and Claypool, Synthesis

Lectures on Engineers, Technology and Society, Editor Caroline Baillie, University of Western Australia (2010)

9. Ramaswami, A.; Zimmerman, J.; Mihelcic, J. (2007) Integrating Developed and Developing World

Knowledge into Global Discussions and Strategies for Sustainability. 2. Economics and Governance

Environmental Science and Technology. 41 (10): 3422-30

10. Reardon, K. M. (1998). Participatory action research as service learning. New Directions for Teaching &

Learning, (73), 57-64.

11. Richter, D. and Paretti, M. (2009) Identifying barriers to and outcomes of interdisciplinarity in the engineering

classroom. European Journal of Engineering Education. Vol. 34, N. 1

12. Stoecker, R. (2003). Community-based research: From practice to theory and back again. Michigan Journal of

Community Service Learning, 9 (Spring 2003), 35-46.

13. Strand, K. (2003). Community-based research and higher education: Principles and practices (1st ed.). San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

14. Stringer, E. T. (2007). Action research (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

15. UNDP (2008), Honduras. The Human Development Index - going beyond income Retrieved March 24, 2009

from http://hdrstats.undp.org/2008/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_HND.html

16. Yin. R., (2003) Case Study Research. Sage. Thousand Oaks, CA

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