Belize Open Source - Sustainable Development and
Engineers Without Borders-USA
(EWB-USA) in northern Belize
Patrick Coyle
EWB-SFP, Belize Open Source - Sustainable Development,
Public Laboratory
for LLNL- November, 2017

Agenda
• Overview: Belize Open Source -
Sustainable Development
• Overview:
• Engineers Without Borders-USA
(EWB-USA) and San Francisco
Professional Chapter (EWB-SFP)
• Status update: Donations and EWB
projects in northern Belize
• Belize kite aerial photo-mapping
results
• EWB Nicaragua composting toilets
• EWB Nicaragua water supply project
• More photos
• Belize Open Source 40-acre site
looking toward August Pine
Ridge village

What is Belize Open Source -
Sustainable Development?
• Belize Open Source - Sustainable Development, as a
501(c)(3) non-profit,
• promotes environmentally and socially sustainable
development
• invites collaboration on an open source approach to
develop and participate in a land-based learning and
community outreach center on a working farm on 40
acres in northwestern Belize
• partners with EWB-USA to collaborate with EWB
chapters on projects

Summary: HOME donations
leveraged with matching
HOME Donation Total
Pledges EWB Donated
2017 $1,075 $1,000 - $500 $500
2016 $2,372 $1,000 - $500 $500
2015 $2,434 - - $500 $500
2014 $2,520 $1,500 - $500
2013 $1,768 $1,500 $1,500 $500
2012 $2,060 $1,500 $1,500 $500 -
2011 $2,800 $1,500 $1,500 $500 $500
2010 $500 $500 $500 $500
Total $15,529 $8,500 $5,000 $4,000 $2,000 $19,500
Year Matched August
Pine
Ridge
school
Muffles
/Full
Basket
Belize

Donations: Belize Open Source -
Sustainable Development
• EWB chapters working in Belize: in prior years matched
with year-end funds from EWB-USA – priors completed
or closed, one new program started and is underway
• Muffles school: $500 for emergency construction of new
septic tank
• Full Basket Belize: $500 last three years for community
grants
• August Pine Ridge school:
• $500 annually for priorities including: public address system,
teachers’ texts and filing cabinet for new classrooms, replace
termite damaged wooden classroom windows with metal
hurricane shutters, bike racks, multipurpose room, add door to
separate classrooms, stacking plastic chairs for parents meetings

Front part of the room where new door added and existing door to two rooms
Wall sealed to separate classrooms and new doorway entrance
APR school project done with donation. Separated
two classrooms that shared one door to avoid
distractions between students in the classrooms

Front part of the room where new door added and existing door to two rooms
Wall sealed to separate classrooms and new doorway entrance
APR school project done with donation. Separated
two classrooms that shared one door to avoid
distractions between students in the classrooms

APR school project: New door to separated
classroom in use

Example of donated stacking chairs in use in
classroom and at holiday festival

Supported Full Basket Belize
Full Basket Belize works to improve the education, health and
environment of Belizean communities: primarily through Scholars
and Community Grants Programs. Operational costs are covered by
volunteered time and resources of FBB board members, so every
cent donated goes directly to program beneficiaries

Activities: Belize Open Source -
Sustainable Development (cont.)
• Raised funds and built first visitors’ accommodations at
BOSSD for the CSU EWB team during their visits to
construct the new classroom building in August Pine
Ridge
• Initiated DIY aerial photo-mapping program: engaged
schools and made initial set of maps
• Developing programs to use the Belize property

Agenda
• Updates and status: Belize Open
Source - Sustainable Development
• Engineers Without Borders-USA
(EWB-USA)
• Engineers Without Borders — San
Francisco Professional Chapter
(EWB-SFP)
• Updates and status: Three EWB
chapter projects in northern Belize
• Belize photos
• Road past Belize Open Source
40-acre site toward August
Pine Ridge village
EWB-USA vision and mission
Vision is a world
in which all
communities
have the
capacity to meet
their basic
human needs
Supports community-driven development programs
worldwide through the design and implementation of
sustainable engineering projects, while fostering
responsible leadership

EWB-USA Growth
2000
8 Members
1 Chapter
1 Project
2017
16,810 Members
~ 300 Chapters
698 Programs
46 countries
> 3.1 million lives
impacted

• Established in 2004
• ~ 200 active members
• 8 infrastructure programs
• 1 R&D Group (was Appropriate
Technology Design Team (ATDT))
project
• Executive Committee and
support committees provide
chapter management,
fundraising, and publicity
EWB-SFP Nation’s 1st Professional Chapter

EWB-SFP Programs and Locations
Kenya Water Supply
El Salvador Water & Sanitation
Fiji Water System
Kenya Water System
Honduras Bridge Construction &
Water Distribution
Nicaragua R&D Group Composting
Toilets, Water distribution
– solar pump, Water
supply system
Tanzania Well rebuilding, water
Distribution & solar
pumping

EWB Project Process and
Commitment
• Projects have a non-governmental organization (NGO) or
community based organization (CBO) partner acting as a
liaison to the community
• Three project phases:
1. Assessment
2. Design and Implementation
3. Monitoring and Evaluation
• Infrastructure projects have a minimum 5-year
commitment to the community
• Service Corps and R&D Group projects vary in length
depending on the requirements of the NGO and
community

What’s the connection?
• Coyle is founder and a Director of Belize Open Source -
Sustainable Development, a 501(c)(3) non-profit
• Lead for EWB-SFP R&D Group, Co-PM for El Llanito
Nicaragua water supply project, past Co-president EWB
West Coast Region, serves on Design Review Teams, led
team reviews of incoming project applications
• Authored EWB application for the August Pine Ridge
Community Improvement Program – the new classroom
building has been completed by EWB-Cleveland State
program closed out
• Public Lab organizer: presented at EWB Regional
Workshops and EWB International on “Simple,
Inexpensive Aerial Photomapping with Balloons or Kites”
and mapped sites with students in Belize

Belize Open Source - Sustainable
Development and EWB chapters
• We’ve supported five EWB chapters working in northern
Belize
• Cleveland State University, August Pine Ridge
• Iowa State University, Trinidad
• Lamar University, Chunox in the Corozol District
• Texas A&M, San Mateo on Ambergris Caye
• Oregon State University, Valley of Peace

Last two of those EWB chapters
closed out programs
• The last two of these EWB chapters closed them out
• Cleveland State University, August Pine Ridge
classroom building project is complete. Their work on
water quality improvements and renewable energy
was not adequately supported by the community
• Lamar University, Chunox in the Corozol District
sanitation system leach field work was overtaken by
events and no longer needed

Other EWB chapter projects are
closed
• These three EWB chapters completed, cancelled, or were
unable to launch their projects
• Iowa State University, Trinidad: completed, closed
• Texas A&M, San Mateo on Ambergris Caye: cancelled
• Oregon State University, Valley of Peace: unable to
launch

A new EWB chapter project has
been approved in Belize
The Sacramento Valley Professional Chapter completed
an assessment trip in 2017 and plans an implementation
trip in 2018
• Sarteneja Village near Corozol urgently needs
assistance for effective drainage within the village to
manage water flow in flood events
• In last two years, water as high as five feet has
flooded homes and disrupted the community

Where is Belize?

Belize up close
• Belize is small: About 175 miles,
north-south, by 80 miles wide
• It has diverse land regions: cayes,
barrier reef, beaches, tropical rain
forests, caves with rivers running
into them, mountain pine ridge, and
savannahs (where we are)
• Belize is small enough and
transportation is good enough that a
stop at Belize Open Source can be
included as part of your itinerary,
along with whatever else you choose
to do in Belize
• If you visit Belize and volunteer with
BOSSD, a reasonable portion of your
trip expenses can be tax deductible

How to get involved
• Contact me:
• pat@coyles.com
• Belize Open Source: http://belizeopensource.org
• SFP-EWB: http://ewb-sfp.org/
• EWB-USA: http://www.ewb-usa.org/
• Individual chapters and projects are accessible through the
EWB-USA website
• Public Lab: http://publiclab.org/

August Pine Ridge, Belize
School Building Update

Cleveland State EWB project
• The new school building provides additional space for the
current overcrowded school that serves approximately 450
students and serves as a hurricane shelter for the general
community
• A project-specific assessment trip was completed in
May 2010 and the floor plan for the school was
finalized and approved by the community
• Data on building material quality and availability was
gathered along with material prices
• Detailed site soil samples were collected and shipped
to CSU’s campus for laboratory tests. Soil
characteristics were incorporated into the school
building’s foundation design
• Soil characteristics for a leach field for the school
building’s septic system were evaluated

Cleveland State EWB (cont.)
• The skill level of local labor for construction was assessed
• A Belizean Civil Engineering firm agreed to help the
chapter with construction in Belize, paperwork required
by the Central Building Authority (CBA) to secure
construction approval and building codes used in-country
A Final Design Report (FDR) with all necessary design
calculations and construction documents was submitted to EWB-
USA for review and implementation was approved

Floor plan – classroom building

Cleveland State EWB funding
• The preliminary estimate for construction, furnishing and
outfitting the school was ~$150k USD
• The community agreed to raise $100k in cash and/or
in-kind contributions (including labor)
• The CSU Chapter agreed to raise up to $50k
(Coyle/BOSSD helped in modest amounts)
• The community applied for funds to the Belize
Natural Energy Trust (a fund organized by an oil
company) for $50k and to the Social Improvement
Fund (an international development fund in the
Caribbean)
• (as of early August ‘12, the cost to date was ~$134k,
with $61k from Belize and $73k from CSU EWB)
• Construction began in April, 2011 and was completed
in 2012

CSU Project Manager/ Site Engineer and APR School Project Committee
Chairman Julio Magaña at the completion of the project.

Classroom tiled and ready for use. The door is only open when the
building is utilized as a hurricane shelter by the community. Similar
doors allow passage throughout the building in safety.

Not everybody could be listed. We wish to also thank BASF, Parker Hannifin
Company, and Belize Open Source, to name a few more.

CSU Students Amy Kalabon (left) and Alice Summerville (Right) level stone for the
leach field on the school property.

Completion of pipe runs to septic
tanks behind the school. At this
time the tanks are sealed and the
pipes all covered.

Distribution box walls poured, top was added the next day and everything is now
covered with fill material.

The leach field with all the pipes set awaiting the final cover of 18 inches of
soil.

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Status: grassroots aerial
photomapping program in Belize
• During 9-day trip in February ’13, engaged schools to develop
capabilities and make initial set of maps (Belize Open Source property,
August Pine Ridge school classrooms and surrounding community, and
Muffles College)
• Posted Research Notes on Public Lab, in context of a plan to:
• develop capabilities, archive, access and communicate with the
images, implement training through classes in local schools,
continue with ongoing workshops for future visitors to extend
techniques and map more of the country's sites of interest with
emphasis on community needs and benefits to local users, as well
as some the gorgeous sites
• August Pine Ridge school and Muffles College Environmental Sciences
program participated. Mapping has continued

Blanca Torres, principal of the August Pine Ridge school, wrote, “The aerial photo
mapping seems very interesting. I shared with my children and sisters the images
of our village … and they just loved them. … I welcome these opportunities where
I can involve my students in new learning experiences. I am very interested in
exposing them through your mapping project. We feel pride in having our
community appear in internet pages and more if we are involved in getting those
images.”

2013 August Pine Ridge RC school mapping
session

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In progress and completed new classroom building
Richard Obratil, former Chapter President, Project Manager/Site Engineer
EWB-Cleveland State University Chapter, wrote, “... here is a picture of the
building…”

2013 Muffles Junior College, Belize mapping
sessions

2013 Muffles Junior College, Belize mapping
sessions

Muffles Junior College, Belize mapping
sessions• Did two hands-on
training and mapping
sessions with Rafael
Castillo, the faculty
advisor, and the
Environmental Club at
the Muffles Junior
College campus near
Orange Walk Town
• Left them with a
complete KAP
mapping kit
• Put a sustainable
mapping capability in
place at Muffles which
can serve the
Environmental Science
program

Site: Belize Open Source
Sustainable Development
• This 40-acre rural property
is located in northwestern
Belize near the Mexican
and Guatemala borders
about 16 miles from
Orange Walk Town,
between the villages of
August Pine Ridge and San
Felipe and 3.5 miles to the
Rio Hondo Belize/Mexico
border
belizeopensource.org
• Google Maps shows it, but until
recently, two more clicks in and
you ran out of pixels – it’s
better now

2013 Belize Open Source mapping session

2013 Belize Open Source mapping session
Images were from Canon A1200 in juice bottle rig shooting in
continuous mode (Qstarz gps tracker flown as well)

2013 Belize Open Source mapping session
Images from Delta Levitation

2013 Belize Open Source mapping session
Natalio Soliz flying the kite

2014 Belize Open Source mapping sessions

2014 Belize Open Source mapping sessions

SFP-ATDT Composting Latrines in
Nicaragua
• In 2010, EWB-SFP ATDT, Alvarez Co-op,
Alcance Nicaragua (AN) and Outreach
International (OI), built ten composting
toilets with the community of Los Alvarez,
Nicaragua (134 families, ~ 938 people)
• 95% of its latrines were in poor condition.
These latrines flood with water during the
winter and fail structurally, resulting in
illnesses due to exposure to fecal matter
and water contamination
• The environment is polluted and
inhabitants are exposed to physical harm
due to latrine collapse
Completed composting
toilet from 2010 pilot
implementation trip

Project Background
• Families in Nicaragua have had successful results with
composting latrines as a sustainable solution to their
health and sanitation problems which also provides
valuable organic fertilizer
– In 2010 Engineers Without Borders San Francisco Professionals
(EWB-SFP) built ten units in Los Alvarez
– in 2014 EWB-SFP built fourteen more in nearby El Llanito
• Our NGO partner, Alcance Nicaragua (AN), has
monitored these toilets since 2011
– They are working great and have high user acceptance
– Families are able to harvest organic fertilizer worth about
$80/cycle
• The design has evolved, is cost effective compared with
conventional latrines, and inexpensive upgrades have
improved the integrity of the structure

Current status
• Rotary clubs of Livermore and Masaya, Nicaragua
partnered with NGO, Alcance Nicaragua (AN), on a
Global Grant (GG) for $37.5k for:
– almost 90 more urine-diverting-dual-vault composting toilets
– in four communities: El Llanito and Los Alvarez, near Santa
Lucia; and El Tunel, and La Prusia near Masaya. EWB-SFP
provided technical support
• The Rotary Club of Castro Valley contributed DDF and
EWB-SFP donated $5k
• The week before Easter 2017, Rotary Masaya
transferred the funds to Alcance Nicaragua and the work
began – construction and training is complete

Sustainability is key to the success of this work
• Both Rotary and EWB insist on sustainable, measurable
outcomes for international projects
• Our NGO partner, Alcance Nicaragua (AN), uses a
Human Participatory Development Process (HDP) that
drives sustainability
– This process is slow, and involves working to develop
relationships with communities
– Community members are empowered to identify the problems in
their community and find ways to solve the problems
– Community participation bolsters confidence and invokes action
in the people to help communities become self-reliant rather than
dependent on NGOs
I witnessed the results of this process – individuals and
community leadership groups talked of their experience with
the process

NGO has offices in Masaya and Santa Lucia – drive time from
airport to Santa Lucia is about two hours, to Masaya about 45
minutes

Training builders

Meeting with families

Delivering materials

Delivering materials

Moving materials to homes

Moving materials to homes

Moving materials to homes

Rotarian Martha Castillo signing contracts with builders

Construction of slab and base vaults

Construction of base vaults, anchor bolts in corners

Construction of “casita”

“Business end” – composting vaults and seat with urine diverter

Before – pit latrines in poor condition, or none

Families with their completed composting latrines

Talking with community about their needs and experience with the
composting latrines project

Training workshop on maintenance and operation, and hygiene

Next steps and future plans
• We’ll complete, report on, and close out this Global
Grant project
• We’ll work on our other two Global Grants for
Nicaragua, for a water supply system, and with Area 4
for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in rural
schools
• We’ll explore opportunities to do more composting
latrines with our Area 4 club partners
– many more families in these and other communities need them
• There are other opportunities in these communities. Our
NGO partner has done:
– ecological stoves
– water storage and rainwater collection
– community based microloan program
A red-eye from SFO gets you to Nicaragua by mid-morning

Ecological stoves: reduce respiratory health issues from
indoor smoke and use less wood

Water storage and rainwater collection: improve water security

Microloan program: improve family life with small loans

Future plans
• EWB-USA's Nicaragua office offers a particularly interesting
opportunity
• Our SFP chapter has:
• an existing infrastructure project for water supply in El Limon,
• the R&D Group composting toilets,
• a new water supply system project in Nicaragua – which means
we will be engaged for a minimum of five more years
• Rotary GG application for the water supply system has been
approved and the EWB design is in process
• Our EWB team traveled to Nicaragua in November ‘16 on an
assessment for the water supply project. I traveled in May ‘17 for
the composting latrines and stopped in Belize on way back
Nicaragua is easy to visit: A red-eye from SFO gets you to Managua by
mid-morning. Stopping in Belize makes sense

EWB-SFP/UC Berkeley Project:
Water Pumping, Storage, and
Distribution System for Existing Well
EL Llanito, Nicaragua
Janna Abad/Susan Witebsky/Pat Coyle
for
SFP Executive Committee Meeting
August 2017

Background
• 2014 - Alcance Nicaragua
Water pumping, storage, and distribution system for well in
El Llanito
• 2016 - Last spring, Project and SFP application approved by EWB-USA

Program Goal Statement - 901
“Our program is a Water Supply project in which we strive to improve
public and environmental health through provision of a
reliable, high-quality source of potable water via the electric
pump and storage system. We also aim to positively influence
changes in behavior by improving and supporting: access to
services, technical knowledge related to projects, community
organization, and community self-advocacy.”

PMEL Expected Results - 905
Access: Greater community access to high quality water.
Economic: Reduced time investment in water gathering, less work
time lost to illness.
Public Health: Improved public health for the community.
Behavior: Potential for more community interaction around the
water distribution location; more time available for other activities.
Technical Knowledge: Community training on importance of water
quality on health, training on wells and aquifers, pump and
electrical maintenance and operation, water storage and transport
maintenance and operation.
Sustainability: Community continues maintenance and operations
of well for continued, sustainable access to well water.

Assessment Trip: 11/28 - 12/2 2016
Key Objectives:
• Pumping Test
• Storage Tank Locations
• Pipe Routing for Gravity Fed Water Distribution
• Soil/Groundwater/Hydrology/Topography Data
• Construction Equipment/Materials Availability and
Transportation

Map View of Drive to Project
NGO has offices in Masaya and Santa Lucia – the drive from airport to
Santa Lucia/El Llanito is about 90km, two hours

Well Location in El Llanito
People in Santa Lucia, town to the southeast, use well during droughts

Assessment Trip Results
Go - No Go Decision:
Positive Results - Definite Go Decision!
● Well able to sustain long-term pumping rate of 20-30 gpm
● Water of good quality based on sample results
● Land survey of area confirmed nearly all of the homes are
below proposed tank site
● Community very engaged with project and eager to help make
it a success

Surveying Activities and Results
● Total station survey of the entire El Llanito community area using a
local surveying contractor
● Included the well site, potential pipeline routes throughout the
community, existing roadways, some foot paths, and routes to
community-proposed location for a water storage tank
● Proposed tank location can serve
all but the highest houses via a
gravity-fed distribution system
● Survey data are being used for
design of the distribution system

Well Pumping Test
● Performed by local contractor: replaced hand pump with
temporary electric pump
● Well’s measured depth is 100 feet, depth to water at start of
test was 28.4 feet
● Well pumped at rates of up to 33 gpm for a total of 5 hours and
35 minutes, followed by 2-hour recovery test
Down-hole end of hand
pump removed for test

Pumping Test Results
● At the end of pumping, >10,000 gallons of water had been
discharged, resulting in 20 feet of drawdown
● Well capable of a pumping rate between 20 and 30 gpm for up
to 10 hours per day
● Data will support the pump sizing and storage tank capacity

Water Quality Sample
Baseline sample collected for water quality analysis
● Collected water sample ~3 hours into pumping test
● Sample was transported to Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria
Laboratory
● Analyzed for general
water quality
constituents including
coliform, pH, turbidity,
hardness, and selected
metals and anions

Water Quality Test Results
Water is of good quality, not contaminated by human or animal waste
● Concentrations were below their respective (Nicaraguan)
maximum values for all of the parameters with two exceptions
● Total coliform is present, but no fecal coliform (type that is harmful
to human health)
● Electrical conductivity
exceeds recommended
maximum
concentration. This
constituent is
indicative of aesthetic
concerns, such as taste,
and not a risk to
human health

Community Engagement
● Conducted formal EWB/Community/NGO meetings
• On arrival reviewed trip objectives, sought community input,
and addressed questions
• Upon completion summarized results and laid out next steps
● NGO Partner Alcance Nicaragua
• Community Liaison
• Collected population
density data by area
• Assisted with design of
water-distribution point
locations and pipe routing
options
• Aided with potential
locations for additional
water tanks

Water Use Observations
Team stayed in homes of community members
● Observed household gathering, storage, and uses of water
● Asked hosts and others in the community about their water-use
needs and practices
● Information supports
both design parameters
and PMEL data
requirements

Assessment Trip Conclusions
● Viable project, worth continuing
● Topographic survey results:
• Proposed tank elevation: 2,135’
• Well pad elevation: 2,038’
• Elevation difference: 97’
● Pumping test result: Sustainable
rates of 20 to 30 gpm, with daily
pumping not to exceed 10 hrs
● Engineering considerations:
• Maximum water level drawdown at pump inlet is ~ 95’, for a
total elevation delta to the tank of about 200’
• Friction and dynamic losses are estimated to contribute an
additional 40% of head loss in the system, for approximately
280-foot total head loss (to be refined during system design)

Current Status and Next Steps
Currently:
● Preliminary design has been developed
● Fundraising
• Rotary Global Grant application was approved 8/9/17, will
provide $35.6k for the water system
• Applying for SFP internal chapter grant of $6K
• Other fundraisers
● Preparing rough project costs and will modify design as needed
Next Steps:
● Prepare alternative engineering designs for review
● Present designs to community for input and revisions

Team at Community Center
12/1/2016 – El Llanito community center with Alcance Nicaragua and
team after exit meeting

CSU and my photos

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CSU prior photos