Humanitarian Engineering: Connecting Classroom and In-

Country ExperiencesDevelopment of a Sustainable Village Learning Community

Arcahaie, Haiti

Douglas J. Daley, P.E. and Grace AndersonEnvironmental Resources Engineering

SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NYFebruary 4, 2020

NYWEA 92nd Annual Meeting

Objectives

• Describe humanitarian engineering and its relevance to designers• Describe humanitarian engineering education at SUNY ESF• Share lessons learned from preliminary design efforts for the

development of a sustainable learning community in Haiti

Humanitarian Engineering

Engineering

• Art of directing the great sources of power in nature for the use and convenience of humans

• Design under physical, political, cultural, ethical, legal, environmental, economic, … constraints

Engineering Ethics (NSPE)

• Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public; • serve the public interest; and • adhere to the principles of sustainable development.

Sustainable Development

• Meets the needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

Humanitarianism

• Promote present and future well-being for the direct benefit of under-served populations

Social Justice

• Engineering to overcome technological inequality and increase capacity

Humanitarian Engineering

Design to improve the well-being of underserved populations by spreading technological innovations to lower socioeconomic classes in order to promote social inclusion and sustainable development

Engineering for Sustainable Community Development• Outcomes-focused• Client-centered, context-sensitive• Engineer as a helper

• Direct (vs. indirect) contact• Engineer as “teacher” or “social worker”

• Working alliance• Flexibility, trust, respect, confidence• Do no harm• Don’t rush to judgment

• Empathy, cultural understanding, focus on a person’s humanity

Humanitarian Engineering Education

• Preparing engineers to deal with ideas such as • “appropriate technologies;” • “preventive humanitarian action;” • “humanitarian community development”

• Increased focus on developing community capacity • “the ability or power to do, experience, or understand something”

Education through Practice at SUNY ESF

• Authors’ Experiences:• Sustainable Village Learning Community Pre-Design 2018• SVLC Planning and Community Engagement 2018• EWB Project, Marichaj, Guatemala

• Educational Experiences:• Senior Engineering Capstone Projects, Fall 2018/Spring 2019• Technical engineering elective in Humanitarian Engineering: Applied

Technologies, Fall 2018

Sustainable Development Arcahaie, Haiti

• The Sustainable Village Learning Community (SVLC)

• SUNY Office of Global Affairs• Kellogg Foundation

• Build community capacity• Sustainable, long-term and context-

sensitive • “Learning through development”

SVLC MASTER PLANNING/DESIGN (2013)

• Opportunities • Cultural richness• Tourism and hospitality

• Challenges• Water• Sanitation• Public health• Transportation• Power

• Master Plan for Region

SVLC Concept

• Health center• Hospitality and culinary arts• Community arts and culture center• Maritime academy• Animal husbandry, cash crops,

aquaculture

SVLC Site: 40-acre Mountain View Vista

Ocean Vista, but Not a Drop to Drink

Slope and Drainage Challenges

Site Conditions

Site Planning, 2018

Infrastructure Pre-design

• Senior Engineering Capstone Design Projects (2018-19)• Practical experience with HE by designing systems within realistic constraints• Team-based• Interdisciplinary • In-country experiences aren’t easy to come by• No central authority, design standards, codes

• Student work products focused on preliminary design• Water Supply• Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation• Solid Waste Management• Electricity, Heat and Power Systems

SVLC Water Systems

Blackwater

Captured Rainwater & RunoffPotable Water

Storage

Cisterns

Groundwater Recharge

Treatment Wastewater Treatment

Agriculture

Domestic Use

Groundwater

Q = 1,000 gal/d

Surface Discharge

Q = 38,000 gal/d

Q= 19,000 gal/d

Q = 10,000 gal/d

Q=10,000 gal/dQ = 19,000 gal/d

Solid Waste Management

Micro-Grid Electricity, Heating/Cooling

Roof Panels41%

Ground Array19%

Solar Shading

19%

Diesel9%

Passive Water Heating

6%

Geothermal Cooling

6%

Design Component(Demand

Contribution) Units

Equivalent UniformAnnual Cost (40-Year

Period)

Photovoltaics (90%)

Ground-mounted: 6,500 panels

Roof-mounted: 13,000 panelsSolar-shaded parking: 7,600

panels

$2,265,000

Diesel Generators (10%) Four 1 MW Generators $627,000

Batteries 450 LiFePO4 $2,134,000

Diesel Storage Five 10,000-gallon tanks $212,000

Engineering Course: Appropriate Technologies

• Innovative engineering focused on • Sustainable Development• Service Learning• Reducing Poverty

Transferable Skills from Lab and Field Experiences

• Design and Construct a Trompe• Water-powered air compressor

• Treatment wetland• Acid mine drainage

• Environmental Quality Analysis Methods

• Low-cost, transportable• Planning and experiment design

for data collection in the field • Oral presentations, discussion and

analysis in lieu of international travel

Classroom Discussion Examples

• Identify technology in a specific context related to humanitarian engineering

• Affordable• Accessible • Development focused

Mobility/Transport

• XAccess – Kenya• Design Criteria

• Affordable• Easily maintained, low skill• Low environmental impact

• Design • +/- 200 lb load, long wheelbase, low

center of gravity

• Promotes commercial transport from producer to market

Lighting with Microbial Fuel Cell Battery

Time and Technology

• 2.1 billion people live without access to safe water in home (U.N.)

• Millions of women and children walk up to 6 hr/day to collect water

• Hippo Roller• 90-Liter barrel shaped container• fewer trips, • more time for food crops,

education, business

UN 2030 Goal: No Hunger

Climate Change Impacts

• Lagos, Nigeria • Housing insecurity, poor water and

sanitation• Housing risk of becoming

submerged• Slow sinking of support stilts• Potential rise in global sea levels

Water Supply

• Watercone• Yields 1-1.7 liters/day from

seawater• $25 Retail• 5 year design life; 100%

recyclable

Conclusion

• HE is design in the face of significant constraints in order to improve the well-being of underserved populations by spreading technological innovations to lower socioeconomic classes and communities of low capacity in order to promote social inclusion and sustainable development

• The HE is a helper, with direct contact with the most affected individuals.

• The HE is a teacher, with elements of social work• The HE is outcomes-focused, client-centered, team-oriented in a

working alliance that reinforces empathy, cultural understanding, and a focus on a person’s humanity

Acknowledgements

• Scott Shannon, Maren King (ESF)• Kellogg Foundation (sponsor)• David Burch, Youth Build International (cooperation)• Steve Fett, U-Miami (Drawings)

Social and Ethical Principles of Sustainable Development• Context Sensitive Design

• Socio-economic• Cultural and political• Let’s use Haiti as an example…

• Social Justice – Improving Equality through Environmental Design

Humanitarian Engineering Has Its Own Challenges, Familiar & Unique

• Cultural Context• Community Engagement

• Political Context

Humanitarian Engineering in Contemporary Design Environments• Sustainable Development for environmental justice• Reducing poverty through environmental engineering• Community contexts