As the travel team is preparing for their water supply assessment trip this December to our partner community in Ullo, Ghana, the rest of EWB has their eyes set on the future. Dedicated to the longevity of our partnership, members have been working on several Future Development Projects (FDP). The goal of these projects is to listen to what Ullo’s main needs are and explore the feasibility of different technologies as possible solutions. These Future Development Projects fall into one of three categories: irrigation, sanitation, and alternative water pumping methods. 

Irrigation Projects: Channels, Drip, & Sprinkler

As a community consisting primarily of subsistence farmers, many farmers in Ullo are plagued with inadequate growing conditions due to poor soil quality, limited available technology, and water scarcity. The community has expressed a desire for irrigation to continue farming throughout the dry season. The most common methods of irrigation in developing communities are trench channels, drip irrigation systems, and sprinkler or mist systems.

Sanitation Projects: Flushing Toilets & Latrines

The sanitation practices in Ullo have been cause for concern among many members of the community. Due to a lack of maintenance, the few latrines in the community are unused because they have fallen into disrepair. The inability to observe safe sanitary practices leaves the community at a high risk for acute respiratory infections, malaria, and diarrhea. The overall health of the community can be improved significantly with access to safe and clean sanitation infrastructure. The two most common sanitation systems for developing communities are pit latrines and simple flushing toilets.

Alternative Water Pump Projects: Solar, Treadle, & Wind

After the borehole for the current drinking water supply project has been drilled, plans include installing pump to lift water out of the aquifer. Traditionally, hand or engine powered pumps are used, but these technologies have their drawbacks. Hand pumps require community members to operate it, which means the expenditure of valuable time and energy, while engine powered pumps require costly and scarcely available fuel to function. Because of this, EWB-ISU has chosen to focus on three alternatives technologies including solar, treadle, and wind powered pumps.

By the end of the semester, each FDP group will have determined the project scope, established a plan for assessment, identified implementation requirements, and considered potential social effects of the project. With this information, not only will EWB-ISU will be able to start a second project upon completion of the water supply project, but we will also be one step closer in making our mission to meet basic human needs through community empowerment and engineering technologies in Ullo come into fruition.