More about Boa Bakundu and our project

I will now go into greater detail regarding preparation for the Boa Bakundu project and the scope of our work this summer. Mark Ewalt, Brian Baker, and I were enrolled in EGR 330 – Engineering Design and Appropriate Technology. EGR 330 is a course that helps prepare students for ETHOS immersions. The class focuses on topics such as travel safety, vaccinations, cultural awareness, and researching appropriate technologies (among other topics). Students must complete a full technical report upon return from their placement to receive a grade for the class. I am glad UD offers this class with the ETHOS program. The advisors reminded me about upcoming requirements for things like vaccinations or visa applications. We also used this time to fundraise for our trip. In total, we managed to exceed our goal of $20,000 through grants, family, friends, and corporate contributions. I want to say thank you to all of the people who donated so that we can make a difference in the lives of the villagers of Boa Bakundu. This money will fund our travel expenses and purchase construction materials. EGR 330 also taught us how to get the most of immersion experience. The motto on the back of our ETHOS t-shirts sums it up best: “Change the world, let the world change you.”

We wouldn’t be able to start our journey without one of our advisors, Dr. Julius Amin. He provided additional assistance and coordination for our trip. Dr. Amin lived in Cameroon before moving to the United States. Dr. Amin’s contacts in country were invaluable to us. Moreover, Dr. Amin will lead an immersion group on a tour of Cameroon during the same time period. The village we will be living and working in is Boa Bakundu in the Meme Division of the Southwest Province of Cameroon. We will travel to the nearby city of Kumba as necessary. ETHOS has travelled to Kumba the last few years and has established great contacts within the city. Some of these connections include a hardware store, plumbers, and many friends willing to provide assistance.

In addition to performing research and talking with advisors at UD, we have been in contact with Mr. Feh Benjamin. Mr. Benjamin is a Rural Engineer for Community Development in Kumba. ETHOS has worked with Mr. Benjamin on projects in the past, including last summer’s water project in Barombi. Mr. Benjamin helped us narrow down the choices for this year’s project. He proposed we choose to work in one of three villages. Ultimately, we chose the village of Boa Bakundu. It is a village of approximately 4500 people located 15 km from Kumba. The village is separated into 8 quarters, each with its own quarter head. The village is headed by a chief who is elected democratically. Currently, the village gets its water from nearby streams and a spring that is polluted.

The village has split their project into 4 phases. Boa Bakundu has already created a catchment, or dam, to collect water from a spring in the jungle which is phase 1. They have also raised funds to assist in buying materials for construction. Phase 2 is construction of a large tank in the first quarter of the village and running a pipeline from the catchment to the tank. We have been in contact with Mr. Benjamin and we are hopeful that the tank will be complete by the time we arrive. Our primary goal for the summer is to place approximately 1.2 km of pipe from the catchment to the tank. Phase 3 is running pipeline to the second quarter of the village. Finally, phase 4 connects the rest of the village to the water supply. The villagers have established a water committee, which is essential to continue with other phases of the project and maintain the system once it is in place. Mr. Wakouwa David is chairman of the local water committee. Villagers have pledged to assist in all phases of construction.

Our first goal upon arrival in the village will be a thorough assessment of current conditions. This will most likely include a tour of the village itself, visiting the spring location, talking with the water committee, and a complete survey of the proposed pipeline route. After completing our study, we will be able to design the system. The pipeline will be a will be a gravity flow system, meaning that gravity is the only source of energy provided to move the water through the piping system. Gravity flow systems eliminate the need for pumps that would require a power source. Mechanical pumps would greatly increase maintenance costs for the pipeline. After design, we will have to travel to Kumba to order the necessary pipe, valves, tools, and any other supplies. Acquiring materials can be a hassle in a country such as Cameroon. Concrete is especially scarce (and not nearly the same quality as in the United States).

While waiting on materials to arrive, we will most likely begin excavation along the route. After placing pipes, we will need to leak test the system to ensure that no contamination will occur as the water travels through the pipeline. After testing, we should be able to turn on the tap and fill the tank in the village. It sounds pretty simple now. I just hope it ends up being that simple in real life. :)

We would have liked to implement filtering like the ETHOS Cameroon group did last year. However, we have a group of engineers that is half the size and Boa Bakundu is over 10 times larger than Barombi. Perhaps for next year, a group could return to Boa Bakundu to implement either a large central filter or smaller individual filters for each home. I feel the project will be a great success if we can get the pipeline to the tank and provide the village with an adequate source of clean water.

My personal goal is to use this experience to learn more about myself and another culture. I hope this will be a life changing summer. Stay tuned to the blog for more information. The next time you hear from me, I should be in Cameroon. :-P