Guo-Pin Fuan, P.E. is a mentor for the EWB-Rice Nicaragua 1 student group. In
March of 2006, a team of seven traveled to Nicaragua to implement a rainwater
catchment system and to conduct a site assessment for a bridge-building
project.
Future
projects being considered for the community include a well pump and
solar or wind power for lighting use. For the longer term, the
main objective of the team is to construct a pedestrian bridge to
provide access between the community of El Panama and neighboring
Aragon, as well as the main town of Jinotepe. This will be a
collaboration of efforts between the EWB-Rice team and local volunteers
from the UNI (Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria), the National
Engineering University of Nicaragua.
Guo-Pin Fuan, PE, recently traveled to Nicaragua for one week in late December '06 with EWB-Rice University's Nicaragua 1 student group, serving as their professional mentor. On this second trip for Guo-Pin, a team of seven traveled to implement a solar lighting project for the church building located in the community of El Panama, on the outskirts of the town of Jinotepe. Although the engineering design was fairly straightforward, the main challenge for the team were the logistics and communications aspects of the project. Main components such as the solar panel, battery, and installation frame and poles had to be purchased locally, and these were transported to the site by ox-cart due to the extremely difficult terrain. The trip also allowed the team to continue with further assessment of the site for the eventual design and construction of a pedestrian bridge to serve this community and the neighboring villages.
See video here!
See photos from the implementation trips here!
More information and pictures at the Rice University website.
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