Engineers Without Borders – Chicagoland Professionals Chapter
Kristine Lesch, 31-Oct-12
Attending my first Engineers Without Borders (EWB) meeting in October 2011, I could never have predicted how it changed my life one year later. As an Electrical Engineer, opportunities to apply my skill set on an EWB project are somewhat rare when compared to civil and sanitation knowledge bases, so when the chapter began discussing a new project at Ak’ Tenamit, I jumped at the opening. Now as Energy Lead on the project, I work with the Project Lead to develop appropriate solutions for the solar energy system installed at the school campus.
We traveled to the Ak’ Tenamit campus this past May 2012 to perform the first assessment trip. Ak’ Tenamit is located approximately 30 minutes up the Rio Dulce from the eastern coastal town of Livingston, Guatemala. The purpose of this trip was mainly to determine what the problems are at the school and what our EWB chapter can do to help. We also used this first meeting to initiate lasting relationships with the volunteers, staff, and students at Ak’ Tenamit to be maintained over the five-year lifespan of the partnership.
Arriving on-site at Ak’ Tenamit under the shade of the photovoltaic panels
I spent the week with our EWB team and the community discussing the energy needs and current issues with the solar power system previously installed by an associated aid organization. With help from other EWB team members, I analyzed the system loading and compiled a component parameter spreadsheet. From a technical standpoint, the information gathering was a great success with many reportable data points. However the more subjective assessment of the cultural impact on both the Ak’ Tenamit community as well as our EWB team would require additional discussion.
Teaching Oto and Carlos how to record energy readings on the solar power installation (with Barbara Butz as translator)