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The Ecuador Program is one program of the UW-Madison chapter of EWB-USA. Since our conception in 2014, we have completed one project and are currently working on 2 others. 
Where We Work
Tabuga
The community of Tabuga is situated in the Manabi Province on the Pacific coast of Ecuador-directly west of Quito-and is home to about 530 people, comprised primarily of subsistence farmers. This is the location of our initial Tabuga Water Project as well as our current Bridge Project.

Camarones
The Camarones Water Distribution Project takes place in a neighboring community,  a few miles inland from Tabuga. Camarones is similar in population to Tabuga, but is spread over a much larger area and varies much more in elevation. It is also more difficult to get to, as it is situated on a dirt road off the highway and requires multiple river crossings.

Our Mission

The University of Wisconsin Chapter of Engineering Without Borders builds a better world by educating internationally-responsible engineers and students. We embody the Wisconsin Idea - that education should influence people's lives beyond the classroom by providing engineering and social services in Wisconsin and in under-served communities.

The projects that we work on are for the community--it is our goal to provide basic human needs in a sustainable way. Sustainability, however, means more than just environmental sustainability, it also means economic and cultural sustainability as well. 

Economic sustainability means that our projects must be affordable for the community to maintain for the long-term (parts are affordable, easily obtainable, and there is a financial plan to raise the funds necessary to upkeep the project).
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Cultural sustainability means that these projects are of importance to the community. ​We do not tell the community what projects we think they may need, instead, we allow the community to decide what issue is most pressing to them. For instance, perhaps people enjoy walking to get water because it is a time to socialize, and they would rather have a bridge project than a water project. ​

Timeline of the Ecuador Program

August 2014: Assessment Trip to Tabuga
  • ​​Travel team collected information needed to begin designing water distribution system
January 2015: Second Assessment Trip
  • Collected more survey data, including water and soil samples
  • Team met with community members to inform community leaders about the status of the project
  • Conducted a workshop about water quality to local community members
August 2015: Implementation Trip
  • Travel team installed the piping network, which included pipes, valves, pressure gauges, and water usage meters for each home
  • Implementation of a chlorination system was started
January 2016: Implementation Trip
  • Completed installation of chlorination system
August 2016: Assessment Trip
  • Installed an "H" System, which delivers water to the community before delivering water to the cistern
  • Began implementation of a Bypass System, which runs the water feed along the highway to increase pressure in the system and minimize friction loss
January 2017: Assessment Trip
  • Construction of sediment tank began, and was later completed by the community under the direction of Arquitecto Jose
  • Held a town meeting on piping design and water quality 
  • Gathered information to begin the wash station project
Spring 2017
  • Team was approached by the communities of Tabuga and Camarones and asked to take on two new projects--a bridge project and a water distribution project
  • Began preparing for the assessment trips for bridge project and Camarones water project
August 2017: Assessment Trip
  • Surveyed the land for the bridge project
  • Assessed conditions for the water distribution system in Camarones
  • Arranged with the Red Cross to deliver the final necessary parts to complete the sedimentation tank
  • Held town meetings in Camarones regarding their water distribution project and in Tabuga regarding their bridge and wash station projects
August 2019: Assessment Trip
  • ​Trip was focused on finalizing data collection for Camarones Water Project
  • Surveyed  river pathway for future pipe route
  • ​Measured necessary data such as water quality, flow rates and elevations
  • Held town meetings in Camarones to reestablish understanding of goals for the community
  • Bridge Project reassessed available materials