Project members: Arash Aini, Gregory Der Heide,

Laura Santos, Rossana Guevara

ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS UCL- PERU PROJECT 2013

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Table of Contents Project overview ....................................................................... 1 Zeer pot design ......................................................................... 5

Introduction .......................................................................................... 5 Use ...................................................................................................... 5 Design .................................................................................................. 5 History .................................................................................................. 6 Data ..................................................................................................... 6 Limitations ............................................................................................ 7 Impact .................................................................................................. 7 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 7 Plans for our project ............................................................................. 8

Contact Organisation ............................................................... 9 Sustainibility ........................................................................... 10

Maintenance and Capacity to Endure post project delivery ................ 10 Future Development ........................................................................... 10 Community Development ................................................................... 11

Budget summary .................................................................... 12

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Changuillo, Ica & Project Overview

Changuillo, where our project will take place this coming summer, is located in Ica, a

province bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Lima Province on the north. It is closely located to the Atacama Desert, which provides the area with an extremely dry climate; temperatures are hot during the summer and warm during the winter. Changuillo is divided into 11 towns and 3 annexes. The entire population of the district is of approximately 1800 people. Since Changuillo is a very deprived district in Ica, it is affected by a variety of problems concerning sanitation, water and housing. This year, EWB UCL is focusing on raising the health standards of families by providing them with a cheap and sustainable solution to their food  storage  issue.  Due  to  the  lack  of  economic  resources,  many  families  in  Changuillo  can’t  afford to constantly pay for electricity-based refrigerating systems to keep their food fresh. Currently, they have access to fresh produce once a week and due to the lack of refrigeration, this only lasts 2-4 days, meaning that their current diet is unbalanced leading to nutrition problems.

We  intend  to  introduce  the  ‘zeer  pots’  into  the  community.  These  clay  refrigerators do not require electricity to work as it uses energy from evaporation to cool its inside to about 6oC, it is a simple and affordable design. The local school in the chosen area already produces clay pots at a local scale; therefore the raw materials are already readily available. As the Current Mayor is soon to complete, inaugurate and open a small cultural centre within the region for the use of ceramics in April, will be producing the pots there with about 15-20 people. This will take us 2 weeks in total. To introduce the pots we will stay in Changuillo for 7 days to hold workshops to teach our pot model to the 12-house community, chosen by our partner organisation, Peace Corps. After that, we will be giving a 3 day workshop in business and selling. To finalise our project, we will be involved in a small fair, where the students will be selling the pots to the community.

We will ensure that by the time we leave, they know how to use the pots efficiently;

eventually these families will share the knowledge with nearby communities, making it a sustainable participatory project and potentially a source of additional income to them, since they will be able to sell these pots to other nearby communities. In addition to the work in Changuillo we will also allocate 14 days of our trip to conduct and intensive Results-Oriented  Monitoring   to   our   past   3   years’interventions   in   the  region, more specifically in the districts of Chincha and Casablanca, in which we already have partners that will assist us upon our arrival. We will assess their continued relevance, efficiency of implementation, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. We will also conduct a community needs assessment that will help us shape our future long-term strategies for the region.

Peruvian Departmental Districts Map Map of Nazca Province in Ica

Peru Top Tours (http://www.perutoptours.com/index10icnazcamap.html) Peruvian Travel Service (http://www.traveltoperusite.com/mapa_virtual_peru.php)

Sources:

Zeer pot design Introduction: Some areas in the world have a poor electricity supply or people can´t effort to pay for it. In order to keep food like vegetables, fruits and meat fresh it needs to be stored in a cool place. Especially in hot desert areas of Africa and South America this can be a problem. The pot in pot refrigerator doesn´t requires any electricity and the design is very simple and cheap: A smaller clay pot is placed into a bigger one, separated by a layer of sand soaked in water. Evaporation energy is used to cool the inside to a lower temperature then the outside. It works best in warm, windy areas with a low humidity like sub-Sahara Africa or South America. After it was invented in Nigeria it spread successfully around Africa, with very positive long term effects for the communities. Use: The zeer pot is designed to store fruit vegetables, and milk products. The temperature inside the chamber is cooed down to 8°C, increasing the shelf life of food stored inside. The zeer pot is very cheap to produce and maintain, making it an ideal solution doe low income families with poor access to electricity. Design: Pot Type: The size of the pots can vary depending on the needs of the community. A small clay pot is placed inside a larger one. The pots that are used have a round, cylindric shape. The cooling effectiveness is not affected by the shape. Standard plant pots can be used, which are cheap and often readily available. When plant pots are used, holes in the bottom must be plugged so no water is lost through it. It is also important that the pots are porous and not glazed, so the water vapour can get through. Sand: The space between the two pots is filled with sand, to absorb moisture. The sand is socked in water, which evaporates and generates the cooling effect. Most suitable is river sand of a particle size of 0.5mm, as it can take up most water. Moisture: Any water can be used even not drinkable waste and sea water. This is particularly useful in dry areas where water access is limited. The zeer pot is covered either with a wet towel which speeds up the initial cooling after setting up the pots the first time, or they can be covered with a ceramic lid for isolation. The zeer pot can be either placed on the floor or as the design underneath suggests on a stand, as this increases the surface area exposed to the atmosphere, thus speeding up evaporation.

Figure 1 (possible design solution)

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History: The zeer pot and similar deigns have been used to store food for thousands of years, evidence shows that the Egyptians started using it 2500 BC. The showed design was developed in Nigeria and won several innovation prizes. It is now used in many African and South American countries. Data: The Figures show the temperature change throughout a day inside and outside the zeer pot. It was set up in the morning and left in the shadow. Once the zeer pot is set up the inside temperature wont go over 10°C as long as the lost water is replaced twice a day.

Figure 2

Figure 3

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Product Shelf-life without fridge

(days) Shelf life using fridge (days)

Tomatoes 7 21 Carrots 4 28 Corn 3 14 Beans 1 7 Lettuce 1 4 Apples 14 32 Milk Few hours 5

Figure 4 Limitations: The zeer pot only works in areas with humidity less than 75%. It takes a few hours for the pot to cool down to a temperature that is appropriate to store food. The temperature inside can´t be controlled it is depended on the weather conditions. People using the zeer pot need to refill water twice a day, if they forget to do this the pot warms up quickly and the food spoils. Impact: Introducing the zeer pot to a community in areas, where food storage is an issue at the moment can have a major impact on all families. Research has shown that many families can eat at the moment only twice a week vegetables, as it goes off very quick. Eating only few vegetables and fruit, or food that is gone off, can result in a mal nutrition and food poisoning. The positive impacts of introducing the zeer pot to communities are:

- Improved nutrition for the community members, and a decrease in food related diseases

- More profit in food sales as the farmers can store and sell their products longer. - In some African areas children were able to attend the school more often as they

didn´t have to sell the crops from the field for their families straight away. - The zeer pot gives job opportunities to the community, if they produce it

themselves. - The farmers make more profit, as they can sell their crops longer.

Conclusion: Summarising all listed points, the zeer pot is a good alternative to the common fridge. It allows storing food at appropriate temperatures down to almost 6°C. Introducing the zeer pot communities where food storage is an issue and the access to electricity is limited will have a very positive long term effect.

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Plans for our project: The Engineers without borders UCL is sending four students to Peru in summer 2013. Besides conducting a monitoring and evaluation assessment of the past five years projects, the team will work in a new community in Changuillo. It is located in the desert of Peru. People have problems with food storage as they can´t afford to pay for electrical fridges. The team is planning to introduce the zeer pot to this area, to provide a safe and hygienic cold storage facility for the families as well as a potential source of additional income. The team will produce the pots together with the local school and work together with families to inform them about the benefits that the zeer pots offers. Taking into account the needs of the community, the zeer pot is a perfect solution to solve the food storage issues. The area has perfect climate conditions and all materials that are needed are so the community can produce the pots themselves allowing the project to be suistainable.

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Contact Organisation

We have established a partnership with Peace Corps that currently has representatives in Changuillo. Our main contact there is called Eben and has already been on site for a little more than a year, giving him a good working relationship with the local communities. Peace corps presence in the area is guaranteed until 2017. They will overlook the follow up of our project until then, which will ensure that our impact is long lasting, and expanded to other communities nearby.

We will work together on a project that they have already started   called   ‘Healthy  Homes’,  whose aim is to improve the daily practices. EWB UCL will add to this existing project by providing training to a school and to the community about the zeer pot fridge concept. We will also be making the pots with some of the students from the school in a cultural centre for artisanal pottery, who will then sell them in a fair to the community.

Besides providing logistical support, presenting the project to the students and community before we go and arranging the municipality to provide us the clay from the side of the mountain, Peace Corps has also contacted the municipality so that they contribute to half of our costs. We are also in contact with the Peace corps and contacts from the previous years. Mrs. Orieta Grimaldi, the wife of the mayor, will arrange for us to visit the community for a week to do the needs assessment there, she will also arrange all the logistics there in Chincha. Hardy Castro, our Peace corps contact in Casablanca, will also arrange the logistics and stay with us for at least 3 days so as to establish initial contact and make the community aware of our presence and activities there.

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Sustainability The fluid communication upheld by our team with relevant Peruvian contacts has enabled us to capacitate for a series of core variables that will accumulate to an appropriate Sustainable Strategy. The content below will portray a breakdown of core components depicting the nature of our project content through sustainable measures. Maintenance and Capacity to Endure post project delivery A programmed schedule has been devised by the appropriate Peace Corps representatives within Changuillo and the neighbouring region to foresee and issue supervisory aid to the community in developing programmes for an established duration that spans throughout the project delivery phase through to December of 2017. Together with the appropriate Peace Corps we are also planning on developing a legislative document that will ensure financial aid or the catering of materials to the pottery centre so that they can make replications of the zeer pot design. The document would acquire certification from the Mayor, whom has issued a great deal of support towards the project delivery and programmed objectives to date. The Monitoring and Evaluation of past projects undertaken by EWB UCL is also a fundamental programme objective. EWB UCL has in past three years deployed several teams within the Peruvian regions of Casablanca and Chincha. The Monitoring and Evaluation of both project sites will assess a range of factors that will identify a given criteria for the maximization of project efficiency and project utilization. This will enable us to plan and coordinate the completion of any unfinished components within a specific time frame. Future Development The action of conducting a planned survey may establish vulnerabilities present within the affected region with regards to a series effected factors, such as Building Infrastructure and Structural Resilience, Environmental and Health (Water and Sanitation), Transport (Network Accessibility) and much more. The completion of the planned survey will define the holistic nature of the region and underline communal flaws, which may require reactive development in future years. The output variables obtained will be compiled and made openly accessible to EWB UCL for future project activity. This action enables the insurance of future development to the region whilst keeping a strong contact with Peace Corps and the community. Also, the fact the 2 of the members going this year, will be present at least for 1 more year will make the project more enduring and sustainable. The monitoring and evaluation criterion from the projects in the past years will act as a future template for a range of acquired components addressing adequacy with regards to Project success (Planning, Design, etc.).

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Community Development The implementation and delivery of our product will issue a cohesive community workforce of all ages. The Production of our designed units will be deployed on site with regards to geographic location. The programmed production will take place with a nearby school due to its capacitating ability to manufacture with its previous knowledge acquired in the small ceramics department. The schooled children have an expressed competence to produce units of similar size and quantity and are able to deploy their abilities and understanding to members of the community under adequate supervision. This asset will enable our project team to define our product and express the positive effect it will embed upon the community during production. When the cultural centre is opened, as it has conjugate elements that enable the ability to make our designed product, we are issuing possible development in the future. The sale of each product will issue as reinvestment to the community through its educational authority (School). The product sale will take place at a community awareness event in which the children will be working closely with our project team to form the product sales team. This incentive is pivotal to the nature of future development, as it will pursue development within the   community’s   health   (food   storage   and   quality),   finances   and   resilience   within   the community (community inter-relationships).

Images of the Ceramics Department

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Budget summary

Individual components (£) Total* (£) Flights 560 per person 1680 Food 200 per person 800 Zeer pot services Transport

Clay Oven maintenance

50 100 200

Transports 80 per person 320 Accomodation 100 per person 400 Total £3550 * - The number of volunteers will vary during our stay hence prices person-related such as transport and accommodation, have been calculated accordingly. 2 will be there full time, one of them approximately 4 weeks and one of them 2 weeks.