NicarAGUA
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Project Leader(s):
Alec Distel (distalec@umich.edu)
Emily Brady (ecbrad@umich.edu)
Project Location(s): Ann Arbor, MI & Jicaral, Nicaragua
Current Focus: The current goals of the project are two pronged: first, to build rainwater catchment, storage, and irrigation systems for various households throughout the community; and second, to train the residents on the use and repair of these systems, along with on general water treatment and sanitation issues.
Mission: NicarAGUA’s mission is to work with members and leaders of the communities throughout El Jicaral, as well as our partner FNE, to design and test lower-cost systems for increasing water access. We will empower team members to innovate and engage in BLUElab’s design process throughout our projects with access to educational resources and experiential opportunities to advance members’ skills in this field of work.
Vision: BLUElab’s vision is to utilize our human-centered design process to implement socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable technology, and NicarAGUA strives to achieve this by implementing socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable water access solutions.
Team History: Since forming in 2011, the NicarAGUA team has implemented water filtration systems in two schools in Nicaragua. In 2014, the team designed and constructed a rainwater catchment, storage, and irrigation system for the Rancho Los Alpes ecolodge just outside of Leon. This system was implemented over the course of two trips in 2014-2015.
Starting in 2016, a preliminary needs assessment trip was conducted in the surrounding communities. Through extensive surveys and interviews with members of communities visited, it was determined that the greatest need of this community was access to water during the dry season. After weighing the options the team decided that rainwater harvesting would be the most sustainable option for this community to improve their access to water during the dry season. After creating a design over the next academic year, in May 2017, several team members implemented two 5,000 L prototype storage tanks and installed gutters on two homes in the partner community. It was decided that a jointly operated training workshop between BLUElab NicarAGUA and in country partners, Nuevas Esperanzas, would conduct a training workshop to train the remaining members to build their own storage tanks and gutter systems to collect rainwater.
Achievements: Dow Sustainability Fellows Grant (2015-2016)
Partner Organization: FNE International, Nuevas Esperanzas, community and local government of Jicaral, Nicaragua
Alec Distel (distalec@umich.edu)
Emily Brady (ecbrad@umich.edu)
Project Location(s): Ann Arbor, MI & Jicaral, Nicaragua
Current Focus: The current goals of the project are two pronged: first, to build rainwater catchment, storage, and irrigation systems for various households throughout the community; and second, to train the residents on the use and repair of these systems, along with on general water treatment and sanitation issues.
Mission: NicarAGUA’s mission is to work with members and leaders of the communities throughout El Jicaral, as well as our partner FNE, to design and test lower-cost systems for increasing water access. We will empower team members to innovate and engage in BLUElab’s design process throughout our projects with access to educational resources and experiential opportunities to advance members’ skills in this field of work.
Vision: BLUElab’s vision is to utilize our human-centered design process to implement socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable technology, and NicarAGUA strives to achieve this by implementing socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable water access solutions.
Team History: Since forming in 2011, the NicarAGUA team has implemented water filtration systems in two schools in Nicaragua. In 2014, the team designed and constructed a rainwater catchment, storage, and irrigation system for the Rancho Los Alpes ecolodge just outside of Leon. This system was implemented over the course of two trips in 2014-2015.
Starting in 2016, a preliminary needs assessment trip was conducted in the surrounding communities. Through extensive surveys and interviews with members of communities visited, it was determined that the greatest need of this community was access to water during the dry season. After weighing the options the team decided that rainwater harvesting would be the most sustainable option for this community to improve their access to water during the dry season. After creating a design over the next academic year, in May 2017, several team members implemented two 5,000 L prototype storage tanks and installed gutters on two homes in the partner community. It was decided that a jointly operated training workshop between BLUElab NicarAGUA and in country partners, Nuevas Esperanzas, would conduct a training workshop to train the remaining members to build their own storage tanks and gutter systems to collect rainwater.
Achievements: Dow Sustainability Fellows Grant (2015-2016)
Partner Organization: FNE International, Nuevas Esperanzas, community and local government of Jicaral, Nicaragua