1. Open Challenges – such as the BirthWatch project
2. Project Initiation – such as the Vehicle Washdown Station
3. Technical Specialisation – such as the Accessible Moto v2

The Technical Specialisation mechanism requires individuals with specific technical knowledge to work solo or in teams. They work directly with the EWB Technology Development team, and contribute to the technical aspects of a project. The first project under the Technical Specialisation mechanism aims to support the next phase of the Accessible Moto project.

The Accessible Moto aims to enable better access to independent transport for those who are already using a wheelchair. An initial design and prototype had already been created by the disability-focused organisation Light For The World (LFTW) and community, with no engineering input. In 2019 and with this solid proof of concept, the EWB Technology Development team, based in Cambodia at the time, worked extensively with LFTW and the community via the AgriLab to further develop this assistive technology.

The project was then ready for the next phase. To support this work, a mobilisation project team structure was identified, featuring four different design briefs, building on the earlier work undertaken. Across these design briefs, 22 volunteers were recruited – spanning university undergraduates right through to highly experienced technical professionals – to address the mechanical, electrical, IT and software, and business strategy requirements of this next phase.

The configuration of mobilisation to engage technical specialists to work on Accessible Moto v2

Brief 1: Mechanical Design

Concept drawings for the mechanical design

The mechanical design consists of an accessible, affordable and adaptable motorbike modification that enables rural wheelchair users to access independent mobility. For our users this means trips to the Pagoda, shopping at the market, visiting relatives and getting to and from work independently. Our team has taken the original locally-conceived prototype and incorporated both technical and user insights to co-create a safer, more usable and affordable design.

This part of the design project has been quite challenging, requiring the team to reach deep into the humanitarian engineering toolkit. The aim is to create something that is adaptable to users with various levels of ability, yet simple enough to manufacture and service, and be financially feasible for users. 

This has required both the in-depth contextual knowledge and coordination of EWB’s Cambodia team, especially Prak Pin, as well as the technical knowledge of the detailed design team including Andy Drain (EWB’s Technology Development Lead) and Angus Mitchell (EWB Australian Volunteer Field Professional in Cambodia) who were both a part of the initial phase of the project with participants in Cambodia before COVID-19 hit. They are joined by the Mechanical Design volunteer team comprising Yow Wai, Chris Tate, Melvin Varghese and Aishwarya Sahu. These members bring a range of skills including project management and drive system design to provide a fresh perspective in reviewing and providing advice on the design of mechanical systems such as the drivetrain.

The design is currently being finalised, and will undergo safety verification before it enters a small pilot of four users in early 2021. Quickly iterating the design with a small group of wheelchair users enables these users to continue to contribute to the design through further additions, changes and iterations. 

Brief 2: Remote Monitoring Unit Design

The Remote Monitoring Unit team, a unit prototype, and an Accessible Moto that the unit will be trialled on

The Remote Monitoring Unit design brief was tackled by a team of 13 engineering students from the University of Western Australia. The team were tasked with researching and developing an accelerometer and GPS logger to help assess the efficacy of the Accessible Moto solution. 

The resulting design solution consists of an android phone running a custom app designed to transmit data – whilst in the field – to a remote web server through a cellular connection. This is encased in a protective housing to safeguard it from harsh Cambodian conditions.

As with any R&D project, the team have had to overcome challenges thrown their way, which have ranged from the budgetary to the technical. The team also had little experience with programming languages. Henry Chen (the project’s co-coordinator) needed to guide and teach the electrical team these skills throughout the design cycle. 

Robert Crew, who shares co-coordination of the project with Henry, is a second-year electrical engineering student and heard about EWB from a School Outreach presentation. 

“Joining the EWB Uni Chapter has been the best decision for me. It has allowed me to contribute to real-world impact while gaining a great deal of experience. And it has led to me participating in this project. It has been a true honour to see our team come together and complete the project with smiles on our faces. The greatest moment for me has been seeing our team really pull together to finish this stage of the project after our final exams, and to a standard Henry and I would not have expected in a span of two weeks,” says Robert.

Joining Henry and Robert on the team are Luvha Shrestha, Jamir Izan Khan, Carmen Leong, Kylee Kotula, Cassandra Ly, Jaime Dunn, Kim Lim, Adi Bambang, and Don Benny. The team was brought together initially and led by Laura Tan and Adi Santoso.

Initial testing is underway, with plans for the monitoring unit to be fitted onto an accessible moto and happily transmitting data from Cambodia to EWB HQ by mid-2021.

Brief 3: Design of Software Dashboard

The Software Dashboard team on one of the many remote Zoom meetings

The need for an Accessible Moto was initially identified by Sreymom – an administrator (and wheelchair user) at EWB’s local partner NGO in Cambodia’s Pursat Province. Sreymom found it challenging to travel to and from work, and was heavily reliant on her family and local drivers for transportation. But just how much more freedom will this moto provide Sreymom? How far can she go? How much time will she save? And how does she handle different road conditions? Cue the Software Dashboard design brief! 

The project seeks to develop a visualisation dashboard. The system will enable data to be uploaded by each moto by the Remote Monitoring Unit (see earlier in this story), store the data securely (to protect users’ privacy), and allow EWB’s staff Engineering team to easily navigate and see the status of the project. Even though software development and data science are not areas EWB has worked in extensively, engaging our volunteer network has ensured these skills and experience have been injected into the project.

The Software Dashboard team comprises students, recent graduates, consultants and company founders, mostly from Sydney. On the team are: 

• Patrick Joy, who uses geographic information systems for the clients of his company ThinkTransit Nathan Lecompte, a student (and EWB chapter president) at Macquarie University and part-time front-end software engineer
• Kristina Mahony, from technology consultancy Accenture
• Nathan Lam, from a STEM social enterprise Code Create; and 
• Matthew Imhoff, at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics at the University of Sydney (and all-round EWB volunteering legend). 

Nathan Lam, who also previously led EWB University of NSW chapter, is relishing the opportunity to use the skills he has learnt over the years to ‘give back’. 

“It’s really exciting to see EWB has volunteering opportunities now for software engineers. I am looking forward to working more with this team and exploring more opportunities in the future.”

The team has been gathering requirements from the EWB staff who will be using the dashboard for monitoring and evaluation and reporting on the moto project. The next steps will be to choose which technologies to use to run the servers and front-end for the dashboard. The team hopes that the digital infrastructure that they build today can help EWB understand and communicate its impact for not just the accessible moto but for future projects as well.

Brief 4: Implementation Plan

Once the Accessible Moto mobilisation teams and community partners in Cambodia have completed the development and testing, a plan for deployment will be needed. EWB sought a business management skill set with an understanding of the development context to undertake this brief.

Meet Mitra. Mitra has recently re-engaged with EWB again after a long hiatus. During this time he has been based between San Francisco and Nairobi where he developed Pay-As-You-Go technology for solar. He’s been actively involved with a number of engineering for change organisations, and seeks to volunteer his skills to particular types of projects.

“When I’m looking at a project to contribute to, the question I want an answer to is ‘which problem is it trying to solve’? Is this trying to be a cool learning experience for the volunteers, is it trying to solve mobility for the few that can be supported within the scope of the grants available, or is it designed to tackle a problem at the scale of the problem – which in this case is the lack of mobility of mostly rural, disabled people in Cambodia,” says Mitra.

Solutions are never just technological. They are always embedded in larger human systems, of which the most obvious is financial, and this is a particular consideration for the Accessible Moto project. 

In Cambodia, there are about 35,000 mobility-impaired individuals within the provinces that this solution is trying to reach. We know that a person with disability might spend about USD35 per month on taxis. If we build a system, we need to be able to provide a significantly enhanced experience within that budget. 

These are the kinds of considerations Mitra is starting to unpack in the initial stages of scoping the feasibilities associated with implementation.

Initial learnings

Shenuka Peiris, EWB’s National Mobilisation Coordinator, says with the establishment of a new function comes a steep learning curve. 

“AgriLab projects are a great way to engage the skills and knowledge of the EWB technical network to support real-life community projects. The projects engaged volunteers from across the country, which was exciting. They created a strong collaborative environment within the volunteer teams, and allowed technical volunteers with a wide range of experience to work together,” says Shenuka.

The teams, comprising emerging and established engineers, made for a winning composition. Students have more available time to apply to projects to ensure the work is delivered, and professionals provide experienced insights and feedback. Both students and professionals engaged in valuable mentoring relationships, building the capacity of both cohorts.

Finding the right balance of sufficiently engaging the EWB Engineering and Technology Development teams and creating a supportive yet autonomous environment for the technical teams was also a key learning. The program was set up to operate in a remote and online working environment, but there will be opportunities to improve the systems and processes to provide a great online volunteer experience. The establishment of a Mobilisation Coordination Team – a group of volunteers who support the people responding to the design briefs – was also critical. 

Working remotely on a human-centred engineering project comes with many challenges. Despite this, close relationships with EWB’s staff and partners in-country has enabled these teams to progress designs significantly. All of this has enabled EWB to gain the contextual knowledge required to launch a pilot of the new accessible moto design in 2021.

Interested in mobilising?! Sign up to volunteer here!

EWB’s Cambodia Program is supported by the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) and generous donors.

Please support EWB’s international work.

The post Mobilising the Accessible Moto v2.0 appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

A total of 79% of Cambodia’s 16.5 million people live in rural areas, with most engaging in farming. Cambodia is also home to approximately 1.5 million people with disabilities due to landmine injuries, age, road traffic crashes, congenital conditions and malnutrition as a result of the Khmer Rouge era.

People with disability in Cambodia fall within the lowest 20% of income earners and have less than US$22 disposable income per month, and therefore rely heavily on subsistence farming and support from their communities and local NGOs.

Traditional farming methods are labor-intensive and can usually be undertaken by younger community members without difficulty. However, in recent years, large numbers of youths are opting out of farm work in favor of factory work near larger townships. This has created a labor shortage in rural areas, and has resulted in people with disabilities, particularly elderly individuals, having to undertake these tasks themselves, or rent their land to other families and only receive a fraction of what they could earn if they sold their own produce at the markets. 

The AgriLab

Based on our experience working with the local disability sector and communities of people with disability, we know that these individuals are innovative and motivated to solve their own problems; however, to date they have not been given the opportunities, materials, tools or technical support to practise innovative problem-solving. The Agrilab – a collaboration with Light For The World and EWB Australia – aims to address this. 

This year, Agrilab has worked with 60 people with disability within two farming communities in Cambodia’s Pursat Province to create assistive technologies so that people with disability can pursue the type of farming that they choose. Working alongside community members who have a wide range of ages and impairments, technologies such as rice seeders for elderly farmers and motorised cassava harvesting carts for mobility-impaired farmers have been created.

Supported by Australian Volunteer Field Professional Angus Mitchell and EWB’s Technology Development Lead, Andrew Drain, a co-design process was applied that incorporated workshops, design iterations and prototyping, as we worked together to develop a range of appropriate technology solutions. This year, EWB facilitated three specific projects. You can watch a video of the process here.

Vertical Power Assist Module (VPAM)

Designed as an add-on to existing wooden transport carts, the VPAM aims to create easy motorised transport at a low price point (compared to buying a moped or a large tractor). It uses electric motors and components readily available in the community. 

Water Pump Cart

It is common for community members to carry buckets and walk to and from their source of water, such as a well, a stream, or a river. For people with mobility or dexterity impairments, walking short to medium distances, or walking downhill to get to a water source can be challenging. This unit aims to create motorised walking assistance. It also uses an electric pump to extract water from the source into a tank (which sits on the cart itself), and then pump the water from the tank to the final location where it will be stored and used. 

Accessible Moto

An initial design and prototype already created by the disability-focused organisation Light For The World and community, with no engineering input, delivered a solid proof of concept from which to further develop this assistive technology. The Accessible Moto aims to enable better access to independent transport for those who are already using a wheelchair.

EWB continues its work with our partner community to test and refine the prototypes and work with our network of engineering volunteers to develop final, robust technologies. These new designs will then be fabricated locally in Pursat, and placed into longer-term testing with our partner community and closely monitored for reliability and effectiveness. 

Finally, alongside this technical work, a sustainable implementation model is being developed that builds upon our partner organisation – the Disability Development Services Program – and their existing inclusive training centre in Pursat, to enable local manufacture, maintenance and disposal. 

There is a lot of work left ahead of the design team, but the foundation laid through the AgriLab project is robust, community-centred, inclusive and ready for future support and impact.

Sreymom’s moto freedom

BEFORE:

The need for an Accessible Moto was initially identified by Sreymom – an administrator (and wheelchair user) at EWB’s local partner NGO in Cambodia’s Pursat Province. Sreymom found it challenging to travel to and from work, and was heavily reliant on her family and local drivers for transportation.

Sreymom required family members to lift her onto a motorbike-taxi and drive her to work (where she needed a second wheelchair). This cost more than US$30 per month, compared to an average monthly transport cost of US$10.75.

Due to a lack of accessible transportation in rural areas, Sreymom could not attend cultural events at the Pagoda or go shopping at the local markets.

AFTER:

Sreymom worked with Light For The World to design the first prototype of the Accessible Moto. Sreymom has been using this for almost two years now and it has changed her life. 

Sreymom has transitioned from relying on her family for transport to being the most popular driver in the village, helping people collect items from the markets, taking children to school and cruising around Pursat Province. 

The Accessible Moto has enabled Sreymom a freedom that she has not previously had. She now also plays a role in the cultural life of her community, such as attending the religious pagoda for ceremonies and contributing to clean the pagoda afterwards.

WHAT’S NEXT:

In Cambodia, approximately 140,000 individuals over the age of 15 have a moderate-to-severe walking impairment. In the provinces in the vicinity of this project (Pursat, Battambang, Takeo and Kampong Speu) there are approximately 22,800 individuals with a severe walking impairment. This represents a large unmet need in Cambodian society. The Accessible Moto project is in line with the Cambodian Government’s commitment to disability inclusion, as articulated through the National Disability Strategic Plan II (NDSP). 

EWB is now working to refine the cost, weight, safety aspects, usability and aesthetic of the Accessible Moto, and exploring how this concept can be developed into something that can be scalable and have impact for thousands of wheelchair users across Cambodia and south-east Asia.

This project is supported by the Australian government’s NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP).

The post In rural Cambodia, co-designed technology gives better access to livelihoods appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

“EWB Australia’s skill set and knowledge, and their capacity building of local engineers is excellent, definitely a more sustainable approach. We had an EWB Field Professional as part of the entire process… tt was excellent! It was how we got the whole design set up. It was completely invaluable.”

– Kyra Marwaha, Cambodia Country Director of The Johanniter

Country: Cambodia
Program: Community Partnerships
Solution: Water, Sanitation & Hygiene
Outcome: Solar powered piped water system for Ratanakiri village

SDGs: 6,7,17

Impact: Two piped water supply system now supply two villages in Ratanakiri – almost 80% of village have ready-access to clean water within 10 months. and are now being managed by a local water management committee, registered with the Provincial Department for Rural Development.

In remote Ratanakiri in north east Cambodia, a community’s only water source was a distant stream, so every drop for cooking, cleaning and sanitation had to be carried home manually. The community identified the lack of a piped water supply as a real barrier to safe sanitation in their village. However supplying piped water in this area of Ratanakiri is not straightforward – the environment is challenging with a dispersed population, appropriate sanitation systems are not easily available, and technical expertise is lacking.

So when EWB Australia Field Professionals helped bridge a technical knowledge gap, in partnership with The Johanniter, Rainwater Cambodia, and Human and Health, it set in motion the steps to make piped water a reality for the people living here.

Kyra Marwaha, Cambodia Country Director of The Johanniter is a champion of the partnership philosophy, highlighting how essential it is to share information, and to be transparent and build relationships with other NGOs.

“There are technical working groups at the national level,” she says, “but how that plays out on the district level is where there really needs to be a focus, because that’s where the challenges are actually felt.”

The Johanniter with their local partner, Human and Health, were working on Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) in Ratanakiri and had come up with the concept for a piped water supply, but hadn’t secured funding nor engineering expertise to demonstrate feasibility.

“We really needed to have strong evidence behind what we were saying, but it was really hard to get that technical expertise. There are not a huge amount of engineers here in Cambodia,” Kyra explains.

EWB Australia Field Professional Nick Boerema was on placement with EWB Sanitation in Challenging Environments (SCE) project, and volunteered to do a technical engineering feasibility assessment to input to their funding proposal – his offer came at just the right time. With a specific focus on system sustainability, Kyra explains that Nick carried out a number of field assessments of piped water systems that hadn’t worked, and found that “they weren’t using solar pumps, rather they were using diesel pumps. The big problem with that is that there was no maintenance, and people couldn’t afford the fuel. There was a lot of thinking about how we can prevent this from happening, and having Nick at this time with that technical knowledge was excellent, as it would have been difficult to source elsewhere.”

Following technical assessment and design, a sustainable solar powered piped water system was proposed and successfully secured the necessary funding. In Kyra’s opinion EWB Australia’s Field Professionals not only bring technical knowledge but also a human centred design approach that considers the context and the community who will manage and maintain the system.

“This can be unusual especially when you seek out specific technical skills, as often they will come with just that skill set and they don’t have that more grassroots approach. It’s certainly not easy to find.”

With the continued support of RWC and a further three EWB Australia engineers – Ajay Chouhan, Lachlan Gutherie and Jimi Metcalfe – two piped water supply systems in two villages in Ratanakiri were completed in February 2018, and are now being managed by a local water management committee, registered with the Provincial Department for Rural Development.

“We had an EWB Field Professional as part of that entire process through RWC. It was excellent! It was how we got the whole design set up. It was completely invaluable.”

By the end of 2018, 231 out of 294 households had signed up for the system, and connected to water meters, paying for their water based on usage. Kyra is really pleased with the outcome.

“We are anticipating that everyone is going to sign up, because it has had a really positive response. This project has gone so well, and the government at a provincial and national level have been so engaged and supportive. When you are working in this sector, you have to be realistic. But it’s those little steps, it’s those small changes that you see that are worth it,” says Kyra.

The post Partnering for Impact appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

“I was born in about 50km from Phnom Penh. It’s not as crowded as Phnom Penh and people earn a living by farming. There are a lot of mountains and valleys in this area and it can be a difficult place to live,” explains Piseth Kim, lead facilitator with EWB’s Sanitation in Challenging Environments (SCE) program in Cambodia. “My Bachelors degree is in Water Resource Engineering, and afterwards I did a Masters in Environmental Engineering. Water management is an issue here; Cambodia has the biggest freshwater area in South East Asia but still we can’t manage it properly. The first thing I can do now is to bring all I have learned into my working environment.”

Home to millions of people, the fertile agricultural basin around the Tonle Sap and Mekong river is the largest freshwater system in South East Asia, and is seasonally inundated by flood waters. The Tonle Sap also has many over-water communities who live on the lake. Piseth explains that there is no sanitation infrastructure for these communities. “Living without proper sanitation on the Tonle Sap causes water pollution, which affects the health of these people, who use the water for drinking and as a food source.”

A quarter of Cambodia’s population, approximately four million people do not have access to appropriate sanitation, as they live in floating communities or communities affected by drought, flooding, or high groundwater. Mass-market sanitation installations are not designed to withstand floods or for use over water and therefore are not suitable. Without access to sanitation open defecation is common.

“I feel bad because I have been to other countries where they don’t have to care about sanitation anymore because it is already in place,” He says “but on the Tonle Sap they don’t even know that they should care about it, that it is their basic right to have access to appropriate sanitation. I want to change this.”

Piseth and the SCE team are working on the development of appropriate sanitation technologies for these households. By focussing on technologies that are not only appropriate but also affordable and can be successfully marketed to communities, EWB aims to build a sustainable sanitation market serving these ‘last mile’ customers. “I am working to bring proper technology and solutions to people who live in flood prone communities,” says Piseth “I think the job I am doing can contribute an important part of the solution.”

In the past 12 months Piseth and the SCE team have helped to trial and evaluate four innovative custom designed technologies. These include the HandyPod, a floating sanitation system for over-water households, developed with Wetlands Work!; the SaTo pan with RainWater Cambodia, suitable for communities prone to drought; the ATEC* Biodigester, which produces clean biogas for cooking and lighting from a sanitation management system suitable for flood-prone areas; and the 3 Chamber (3C)  pit latrine, which improves the effluent quality leached into the surrounding soil and water environment, developed with iDE sanitation entrepreneurship hub.

“The government are trying to achieve 100% sanitation coverage by 2025, in a country where millions live in challenging environments,” explains Piseth. “One of our challenges is to get people to try something new. We use sanitation marketing to promote these sanitation technologies.” Nonetheless systemic behaviour change and market dynamics are complex, so EWB collaborate with local partners and government institutions to positively influence policies and approaches. ““We are the driving force in Cambodia bringing attention to Sanitation in Challenging Environments,” says Piseth “We work closely with the government and with other WASH organisations to advocate for this important area.”

The team have also drafted SCE guiding principles with the Cambodian Ministry of Rural Development, an important step towards embedding good national policies. “At a national level advocating, facilitating and working with the government sector is really hard, because we are competing with other causes for their attention. But our goal as EWB is that everyone has access to appropriate sanitation technology and knowledge, and this is an important way to deal with this issue.”

Piseth is feeling positive about the future of appropriate sanitation in Cambodia and his important role in developing it. “I am proud of myself to have been given the opportunity and the responsibility to lead other SCE professionals. My being Cambodian is important. We need to develop our own engineering resources here and not depend on expats to come over and solve our problems for us. Having local staff and building local capacity of the younger generation is the most sustainable strategy.”

The post Not all toilets are created equal – pioneering sanitation for challenging environments appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.

“We come from different  backgrounds, but we share knowledge and experience with each other which is very motivating. Together we bring our positivity to empower more women to get involved in engineering and create a better future in Timor-Leste.”

The post Empowering women in engineering in Timor-Leste appeared first on Engineers Without Borders Australia.