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Engineers Without Borders

Fort Lewis College hosts a chapter of Engineers Without Borders. For the past two years, student members have partnered with a disadvantaged village in Thailand. They've implemented sustainable projects that helped improve the community's quality of life.

In May 2006, 17 FLC students traveled to the remote Thailand village -- home to about 350 farmers who survive by growing rice and raising pigs and chickens. Three professors and two professionals from the Durango community joined them.

The village was experiencing severe daily water rationing and during the dry season would run out of water. To address this problem, students designed and constructed a 6,000-foot water transmission line from a new, more reliable water source. They also performed water quality tests and discovered that significant contamination was occurring when villagers collected water at the communal taps and stored it their homes.

Villagers were storing water in old plastic containers that had once contained kerosene, diesel and pesticides. The students purchased new, sanitary containers and held community meetings to explain the potential health risks of using the contaminated containers.

In another project, Engineers Without Borders added three classrooms to the school that serves two villages. Students worked with the community in preparing a design and building a 2,000 square-foot addition.

In 2007, Engineers Without Borders will return to the same villages to complete the water system and to work on other environmentally sustainable projects that help improve the villagers' standard of living. Engineering and non-engineering students are welcome to participate.

Students work throughout the year, organizing logistics, preparing technical designs, developing educational materials, fundraising and learning about the history and culture of the host communities.