INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS 2020-21
Product Receipt Printing SystemPartner: Kokoa Kamili
Kokoa Kamili is an NGO that places emphasis on fair wages for small cacao farmers in Tanzania. They aim to encourage economic development specifically for farmers in remote rural locations in the Kilombero Valley of the Morogoro Region. Due to the remote location of their farmers, their clerks often find themselves without wifi or service when they are finalizing a sale with farmers. This makes it harder for the company to provide the farmers with adequate receipts and paperwork as proof of sale. They have asked us to improve their communication with their farmers, specifically when providing farmers with receipts and look into ways of accessing their database remotely. Check out the blog Team Members |
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Chocolate ProjectPartners: TCHO, Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana
As an organic chocolate company based in the bay area that emphasises the role of farmers in their production process, TCHO Chocolate is commonly known for their high quality chocolate that can be found in Salt & Straw Ice Cream. TCHO’s current sustainability focus is in Ghana, through the Cacao Research Institute (CRIG). Here, farmers grow and harvest the cacao pods, extract the beans, and ferment them before sending the product off to companies such as TCHO. In this process, cacao husks are discarded once the beans have been extracted. This results in a large waste of biomaterials that are usually discarded. Working with TCHO and CRIG, this team is working on repurposing cacao husks to produce biochar, an organic substance that can act as activated carbon for soil amendment. This project will involve testing the effectiveness of the husks as fertilizer, as well as continuing to develop previous teams work on biochar kilns. Ideally this solution will be implemented across Ghana to support farmers in cacao producing areas. Check out the blog Team Members |
Cacao ProjectPartner: Zorzal Cacao
Zorzal Cacao is a cacao distributor in the Dominican Republic established with the goal of funding conservation efforts on the Reserva Privada Zorzal. Zorzal partners with local farmers to ensure adequate reforestation offsets the carbon emissions of cacao production, improving the health of the reserve’s ecosystem while supporting both conservation efforts and the local agriculture industry. Our project involves creating a web based tracking application to provide Zorzal with an accurate and efficient way of tracing their cacao production. Making this information more accessible allows them to improve their own production process and better inform consumers about the origins of their cacao. Higher quality, more transparent crops fetch a higher price from buyers, which is especially important since cacao sales are one of the most important sources of revenue for both the local farmers and Zorzal. We hope to positively contribute to Zorzal's mission of environmental and economic sustainability. Check out the blog Team Members |
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IBEKA Project
Partner: IBEKA
IBEKA is a nonprofit institute based in Jakarta, Indonesia that strives to empower and uplift rural villagers and marginalized groups in urban areas by promoting sustainable social enterprises through the integration of adapted technology. This project will be geared towards using novel energy applications to restore the local coral reefs. We will be working with IBEKA to engineer an off-shore, floating power station that harnesses a sustainable energy source (solar, tidal or wave) to implement the Biorock process, which promotes resistance to environmental stresses from global warming. Check out the blog Team Members |
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ENGR177A & ENGR177B
For the past five years, ESW has offered a two-quarter course sequence to complement club members’ work on engineering projects.
These courses aim to address the ethical, cultural, political, organizational, technical, and business issues at the heart of implementing sustainable engineering projects in the developing world. As students work on project teams with NGO and social entrepreneur partners, they think critically about the impact of their work and how to collaborate ethically and effectively as engineers.
Teaching Team
Shoshanah Cohen, Faculty Advisor
Latifah Hamzah, Teaching Assistant
D'Arcy Seamon, Course Coordinator
These courses aim to address the ethical, cultural, political, organizational, technical, and business issues at the heart of implementing sustainable engineering projects in the developing world. As students work on project teams with NGO and social entrepreneur partners, they think critically about the impact of their work and how to collaborate ethically and effectively as engineers.
Teaching Team
Shoshanah Cohen, Faculty Advisor
Latifah Hamzah, Teaching Assistant
D'Arcy Seamon, Course Coordinator