Engineers Without Borders- Pittsburgh Professional Chapter

Makili Fish Farming Project

The Need

There is no steady supply of water in Makili throughout the dry season (December to June) to grow crops. The shallow wells help serve their basic water needs for drinking and washing. The people are hungry and malnutritioned.

The Plan

The people of Makili, with the support of the village chief, wish to construct a village fish farm to be used for year round aquaculture. The site for the proposed project is a seasonal pond that forms each rainy season on the edge of the village. Work will include construction of the ponds using rainwater harvesting techniques, as well as educating the local population on proper aquaculture practices and facility maintenance.
Completion of this project holds the potential to benefit the community by improving health and nutrition and providing a source of supplementary income. Income generated by the sale of fish from the completed project will be deposited in the local bank, and can be reinvested back into the community to finance future projects. It will also provide an excellent opportunity to educate community members about good business practices such as accounting, inventory, and record keeping. This education will also contribute to the sustainability of the project and help ensure long-term success.

The Partners

• EWB University of Pittsburgh Chapter is a group of students volunteering to gain hands-on experience in planning, design and construction of sustainable engineering projects.
• EWB-Pittsburgh Professional Chapter is a group of professionals volunteering with a mission to empower and assist communities to develop appropriate solutions to their immediate needs.
• Peace Corps are volunteers who travel overseas to make real differences in the lives of real people by living and working with them.

For more information on how you can be a part of this exciting project, contact-
Professional Mentor, Suman Ramasundaram (president@ewb-pitt.org)
Student Lead from the University of Pittsburgh Chapter is Mike Bozek (meb44@pitt.edu)

As we move to the implementation phase, the project is desperately seeking funds. You can also help by donating to our chapter.