Read about the team’s 2011 summer progress here! (projectobodan.blogspot.com)

Mission Statement

EWB-USA CU Ghana strives to improve the infrastructure of rural communities to address large-scale expansion and health issues, to advocate for better health and ecological practices, and to develop a sustainable ethos of self-improvement in the communities we work with.

Current Progress

The EWB-USA CU Ghana Program is partnered with EWB-Ghana and the NGO SuDeX (Sustainable Development Extension Services). We have also received generous help from the Earth Institute at Columbia University in the form of a recently awarded travel grant for our team, as well as from the EPA through the P3 grant.  This summer saw us traveling to Obodan to build one complete pilot double-pit urine-diverting latrine (also known as a source-separated latrine) in order to test out our design and gauge the community’s response to it. We also gathered technical data regarding the water sources in the community, which we are currently using to design a water distribution system. Obodan has two bore holes which serve as the access points of water for the community. One of the boreholes is an artesian well, and constantly bubbles up water even without pumping. The team is designing a tank that catches this overflow of water and saves it for later use by the community.

Several of our team members went back to Ghana this past winter 2010 to survey the community on the water distribution system and the pilot latrine and gather information regarding the viability of using the separated waste as fertilizer. Preliminary tests have shown strong support for using urine as a safe fertilizer, but the low NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) of the solid waste sparked a new direction for the team: waste-to-energy conversion. Research into this area is beginning this spring, as we work towards finalizing our latrine and water system designs in time for another summer trip to implement each project.

The Columbia University Engineers Without Borders (EWB-USA CU) Ghana Program began in late 2004 when the chapter responded to an application submitted by Dr. Anthony Akunzule on behalf of the community of Obodan, Ghana to EWB-USA. After assessing the community in early 2005, the team synthesized the collected data and designed several facilities to address Obodan’s needs, including a public latrine known as a Kumasi Ventilated Improved Pit (KVIP), an improved water supply system and a rain-water harvesting system on the roof of a school. Since then, the Ghana program has continued to center projects on developing solutions for water management and sanitation issues in Obodan, as well as the nearby semi-urban town of Sakyikrom. During summer 2009, the team traveled to Ghana to gather data and conduct preliminary feasibility studies for four potential projects based on a recent needs-assessment overseen by our mentors and Ghanaian partners. After analyzing the data, the team decided to focus on latrines and water distribution, and for last summer chose the latrines to be the main focus. The team also ran a successful community needs assessment in summer 2009 in Sakyikrom to initiate future work.

Communities

Obodan: Obodan is a small subsistence farming community of approximately 500 residents in the Akuapem South District in the Eastern Region of Ghana located about 8 miles east of Nsawam next to a thoroughfare linking it to the city. Economically, the community is largely dependent on the pineapple and corn farming business. Few people in the community have any steady income and many of the residents are completely reliant on the food they grow and the limited livestock they raise. When EWB-USA CU first visited Obodan, the community faced very serious water and sanitation problems. They have since made strides towards adequate sanitation and water access, but the community still faces serious barriers to development.

Sakyikrom: Sakyikrom is a semi-urban town of approximately 2000 residents. Located in the same area as Obodan and directly across the Densu River, Sakyikrom is northwest of Nsawam. Most of the community members are farmers, relying on crops planted in the flood plain of the Densu River. It is a deeply impoverished community with very high levels of unemployment. Sakyikrom is currently entering a transitional phase as the construction of a major roadway through the community promises growth and development. However, the road will place enormous environmental and social pressures on a community that already has severe problems with the available potable water sources, inadequate sanitation facilities, and poor waste management practices.

Get involved in the Ghana Program!

Meetings: Wednesday, 9 pm 703 Hamiltons

Program Managers: Eric Chen (eyc2110@columbia.edu) & Mike Escobar (me241@columbia.edu)

Program Liaison: Kerri Sidebottom ( kas2208@columbia.edu)

Program Secretary: Radhe Patel  (rpp2122@columbia.edu)