USING CODE-PSID TO COORDINATE THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SUSTAINABLE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN EL CONVENTO, HONDURAS
Impact/Purpose:
Under previous P3 grants, we developed a sustainable development framework (CODE-PSI) that students can use to accomplish rural water infrastructure projects in developing countries. In this project, we will adapt CODE-PSI so that it can be used to also promote integrated economic activities supported by the water system. We will use the modified CODE-PSI to identify several prioritized alternatives for the target village of El Convento, Honduras.
Description:
Through the use of CODE-PSI’s feedback process in the communities of Lagunitas and La Fortuna, EWB-LC determined that the water system built in Lagunitas may not be sustainable because of the financial constraints villagers face. This is unfortunate because the water system addresses significant community healthcare and well-being needs and allows villagers more time to work for income and/or spend on family and community life. It is increasingly evident, however, that financial constraints faced by residents may result in the exponential decrease in the water system’s ability to benefit the community in the long term. The partnership between EWB-LC and EEGLP is motivated by a desire to address this issue by integrating the community’s improved capacity to generate the economic profit necessary to maintain the water system through its natural life cycle. An initial secondary goal is to generate additional economic surplus that can be directed at supporting the villagers’ growing demand for well-being and economic development. This latter goal has now been mainstreamed into CODE-PSID because of the primacy it attaches to economic development as a vehicle for enhancing a rural community’s well-being and expanded freedoms, and its commitment to a healthy and sustainable stewardship of the ecology and natural environment.
The integration of the economic development (D) component early and throughout should address an important weakness in the CODE-PSI paradigm and give the new approach an improved ability to enhance well-being and development among the poor in rural communities. Its integration of the development component should make an interesting case study for undergraduate and graduate institutions interested in the workings of multi-faceted, step-wise approaches to facilitating environmentally friendly sustainable economic development.
Record Details:
Record Type:PROJECT(
ABSTRACT
)
Start Date:08/31/2008
Completion Date:07/31/2009
Record ID:
200986
Related Organizations:
Role
:OWNER
Organization Name
:LAFAYETTE COLLEGE
Mailing Address
:17 Watson Hall
Citation
:Easton
State
:PA
Zip Code
:18042
Project Information:
Approach
:The project will be completed by a multi-disciplinary group of undergraduates in a combination of two courses titled, EP480: Sustainable Solutions offered by the Engineering Division, and VAST: Human Security as a Global Public Good: The Global Environment, Health Care and Disparities in Economic Opportunities offered by the Economics and Business Department. Students groups will also travel to El Convento in August 2008 and January 2008 to ensure community involvement throughout the process. We will assess the results of the project using pre- and post-project community household surveys, pre- and post-course reflection statements, degree of student involvement including multidisciplinary roles, and progress towards the implementation of specific projects in the community.
Cost
:$10,000.00
Research Component
:Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development
Approach
:The project will be completed by a multi-disciplinary group of undergraduates in a combination of two courses titled, EP480: Sustainable Solutions offered by the Engineering Division, and VAST: Human Security as a Global Public Good: The Global Environment, Health Care and Disparities in Economic Opportunities offered by the Economics and Business Department. Students groups will also travel to El Convento in August 2008 and January 2008 to ensure community involvement throughout the process. We will assess the results of the project using pre- and post-project community household surveys, pre- and post-course reflection statements, degree of student involvement including multidisciplinary roles, and progress towards the implementation of specific projects in the community.
Cost
:$10,000.00
Research Component
:P3 Challenge Area - Agriculture
Approach
:The project will be completed by a multi-disciplinary group of undergraduates in a combination of two courses titled, EP480: Sustainable Solutions offered by the Engineering Division, and VAST: Human Security as a Global Public Good: The Global Environment, Health Care and Disparities in Economic Opportunities offered by the Economics and Business Department. Students groups will also travel to El Convento in August 2008 and January 2008 to ensure community involvement throughout the process. We will assess the results of the project using pre- and post-project community household surveys, pre- and post-course reflection statements, degree of student involvement including multidisciplinary roles, and progress towards the implementation of specific projects in the community.
Cost
:$10,000.00
Research Component
:P3 Challenge Area - Water
Project IDs:
ID Code
:SU833941
Project type
:EPA Grant