Nakyenyi, Uganda
Biogas Digester (2013-2018)
The Uganda biogas project was closed out in the Spring of 2019 following our final monitoring trip in December of 2018. The biogas system was fully implemented in May of 2017 at a vocational school in the community of Nakyenyi Uganda. Biogas is used as a form of renewable energy, replacing fire wood in a country that faces deforestation on a large scale. From a manure and water mixture, methane is captured and piped to the school’s kitchen for cooking purposes. This project was intended to serve as a proof of concept and teach students at the school the necessary skills to go out and replicate this system elsewhere.
There have been five trips to the community. The first two trips were monitoring trips to the community. On these trips the travel teams gathered information on what sort of system the community really wanted. They determined how many people would be dependent on the system, what the accessibility to input materials would be, and how to design a system that would be simple and replicable. Once a design had been decided two implementation trips occurred in August 2016 and May 2017. On the first implementation trip the team helped complete the main slurry tank. This tank that holds the slurry mixture was built by the community. The team verified its ability to hold water as well as dug the pipeline that gas flows through to the kitchen. During this trip it was evident a few designs needed to be changed. On the May 2018 trip, these design changes were implemented mainly being a supporting cage, a system of weights, and a pressure release system. The system was operational when the team left in May 2018.
Colquechata, Bolivia
Water Distribution System (2017-2021)
Located in Colquechata, Bolivia our water project started in Spring 2018. The goals of this project were to implement a water distribution system in the community of Colquechata Alta to provide potable water and fulfill daily water needs of at least 50 liters/day/person for drinking and household use.
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The project was closed out in December of 2021after the community voted to not continue with the implementation phase of the project. The team thoroughly documented all of the work that was done on the project and saved it to be referenced in future projects!
Rubona, Rwanda
Water Distribution System (2021-2024)
The Rubona project began in partnership with the community in December 2021 and was completed in the summer of 2024. Rubona is a community of 2,500 people located in the rural highlands just outside Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. Before the project, the community's primary water source was a spring located at the top of a mountain, which required hours of walking each day to access. To address this, we initiated the construction of a water collection and distribution system, complete with tap stands throughout the community, to provide easy access to safe drinking water just minutes away. This is estimated to save community members, primarily women and children, about three hours each day and has given young members of the community valuable time for education.
There were three trips to Rubona during the project's development. The first trip, in May 2022, was focused on site assessment, data gathering, and establishing a connection with the community. The following summer, our team returned to complete Phase 1 of the project, which involved constructing the primary head tank and tap stand at the top of the mountain. The final trip took place in July 2024 and oversaw the completion of a reservoir tank near the community, along with three tap stands positioned throughout the area.