Biochar Project
Organization: Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi
Location: Northern Malawi
Description: Biochar is an organic substance created from burning biomass at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. This results in an activated charcoal that can be used for many different purposes, including water filtration and soil amendment. Corn straw and corn cob are two categories of biomass that have proven to be a promising candidate for producing biochar. ESW has been working on prototyping a kiln to turn biomass into biochar and enable smokeless cooking.
Visit the 2024 Biochar blog
Glass Crusher Project
Location: Maasai Mara, Kenya
Description: This project will continue to prototype a mechanism to take in glass waste and crush it into fine sand. This project will enable communities in the Maasai Mara to recycle their glass waste and eliminate safety hazards of having sharp glass left around. The sand is an extremely versatile material for manufacturing, construction, and can be used to replenish natural landscapes where sand has been depleted.
Visit the 2024 Glass Crusher blog
Sustainable Fashion Project
Location: Ghana
Description: Ade Dehye is a fashion brand that draws inspiration from across the African Diaspora. They are ethically and sustainably made in Ghana, and all of our textiles are sourced on the continent of Africa. So far, all of the fabrics they have used are either hand dyed or hand woven on the continent. Students will work with Ade Dehye to identify new organic materials that can be used to create woven textiles and/or come up with a process to create buttons sustainably from organic materials.
Visit the 2024 Sustainable Fashion blog
Pie Ranch Project
Location: Pescadero, California
Description: Pie Ranch is a working organic farm located in Pescadero, along Highway 1. Pie Ranch cultivates a healthy and just food system from seed to table through food education, farmer training, and regional partnerships. It is a registered 501c3 non profit organization. The main home ranch is 27 acres and Pie Ranch also leases an adjacent 416 acre parcel. For many routine tasks, energy use does not differ significantly between conventional and organic farms. For example, the energy needed to truck grain to market is the same per mile. The same amount of energy is needed to manufacture and run a tractor. The energy needed to pump irrigation water is the same per acre-foot on a conventional and organic farm. The energy tied up in seed, or livestock-breeding stock differs little between conventional and organic farms. In other areas, energy use does differ substantially. The largest and most readily measured differences are associated with the energy required to manufacture, ship, and apply pesticides and nitrogen-based fertilizers. Other often-significant differences are harder to quantify and include the impact of organic and conventional farming systems on soil quality and health, and on the conservation of water. While Pie Ranch benefits from reduced energy requirements due to organic farming, its goal is to maintain or reduce its overall carbon footprint while improving overall efficiency and expanding farming capacity. Solutions addressing efficiency and expansion should therefore utilize manual or renewable energy solutions without generation of CO2 gas. A location near the California coast gives Pie Ranch the opportunity to use both solar and wind power. In addition, a creek located at the farm has potential to be used for micro hydropower. Students will analyze current and planned energy use and develop a plan to transition as much as possible to renewable energy solutions. This may include solar, wind, and hydropower solutions or any combination of the three.
Visit the 2024 Pie Ranch Blog
Organization: Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi
Location: Northern Malawi
Description: Biochar is an organic substance created from burning biomass at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. This results in an activated charcoal that can be used for many different purposes, including water filtration and soil amendment. Corn straw and corn cob are two categories of biomass that have proven to be a promising candidate for producing biochar. ESW has been working on prototyping a kiln to turn biomass into biochar and enable smokeless cooking.
Visit the 2024 Biochar blog
Glass Crusher Project
Location: Maasai Mara, Kenya
Description: This project will continue to prototype a mechanism to take in glass waste and crush it into fine sand. This project will enable communities in the Maasai Mara to recycle their glass waste and eliminate safety hazards of having sharp glass left around. The sand is an extremely versatile material for manufacturing, construction, and can be used to replenish natural landscapes where sand has been depleted.
Visit the 2024 Glass Crusher blog
Sustainable Fashion Project
Location: Ghana
Description: Ade Dehye is a fashion brand that draws inspiration from across the African Diaspora. They are ethically and sustainably made in Ghana, and all of our textiles are sourced on the continent of Africa. So far, all of the fabrics they have used are either hand dyed or hand woven on the continent. Students will work with Ade Dehye to identify new organic materials that can be used to create woven textiles and/or come up with a process to create buttons sustainably from organic materials.
Visit the 2024 Sustainable Fashion blog
Pie Ranch Project
Location: Pescadero, California
Description: Pie Ranch is a working organic farm located in Pescadero, along Highway 1. Pie Ranch cultivates a healthy and just food system from seed to table through food education, farmer training, and regional partnerships. It is a registered 501c3 non profit organization. The main home ranch is 27 acres and Pie Ranch also leases an adjacent 416 acre parcel. For many routine tasks, energy use does not differ significantly between conventional and organic farms. For example, the energy needed to truck grain to market is the same per mile. The same amount of energy is needed to manufacture and run a tractor. The energy needed to pump irrigation water is the same per acre-foot on a conventional and organic farm. The energy tied up in seed, or livestock-breeding stock differs little between conventional and organic farms. In other areas, energy use does differ substantially. The largest and most readily measured differences are associated with the energy required to manufacture, ship, and apply pesticides and nitrogen-based fertilizers. Other often-significant differences are harder to quantify and include the impact of organic and conventional farming systems on soil quality and health, and on the conservation of water. While Pie Ranch benefits from reduced energy requirements due to organic farming, its goal is to maintain or reduce its overall carbon footprint while improving overall efficiency and expanding farming capacity. Solutions addressing efficiency and expansion should therefore utilize manual or renewable energy solutions without generation of CO2 gas. A location near the California coast gives Pie Ranch the opportunity to use both solar and wind power. In addition, a creek located at the farm has potential to be used for micro hydropower. Students will analyze current and planned energy use and develop a plan to transition as much as possible to renewable energy solutions. This may include solar, wind, and hydropower solutions or any combination of the three.
Visit the 2024 Pie Ranch Blog