Notes from 12/6/2011: The Semester Finale!

The skype session with Polin last night concluded our semester on a cliff hanger. After introductions with Polin, the team learned the following information:

1. SC's proposed amendment to Project Wildsmile- asks for a reduction in number of biogas digesters subsidized (from 60 to 40) and requests to use the excess funds to purchase cows and other farm animals to enhance their Agricultural Training Center- a place where villagers can go to get technical support. The team will review this amendment and respond to Polin with our decision via email by Friday. Since the funds would still be used in the spirit of the project and would keep things moving, the team is leaning towards accepting the amendment.
2. Biogas digesters: due to rainy season and lack of contractor, only 8 digesters have been completed. According to Polin, there is not a list of families signed up and waiting for their digesters. If the amendment to the project is accepted by the team, however, then SC will begin advertising the digesters to the community and families will sign up. Polin was receptive to the idea of sending a community member for contractor training.

The team presented to Polin the process of EWB projects and examples of successful projects. Polin could not tell us any needs of the community or potential projects we could work on at this time. He said he will send us the 3H latrine report for us to look at the latrine design and provide feedback. This week, Aleco will send additional EWB documents for Polin's reference and the digester forms.

Notes from 11/29/2011: A jubilant return

Recovering from a mid-semester lull, the team was back in full force last night:

• Aleco, his hat, and Eddy updated the team on their skype call with Polin and Dimang. Eddy sent notes from the meeting via google docs. The big highlights include:

1. 8 biogas digesters have been installed but the contractor left- possibly subsidize new contractor to take biogas digester course?

2. 3H has built 300 latrines in Pursat- regarded as a successful project- given David Scott as 3H contact

3. potential project increasing rice production in 2012

4. renewed contact with SC will be maintained- keep up with biogas digester updates!

• The team created a powerpoint presentation for Polin and Dimang illustrating the EWB process and examples of successful projects.
• David and others created a timeline showing the EWB process- sent to Polin as a visual aid
• Send(t) biogas digester forms to Polin.
• Discussed skyping SC interns in future- Sarah contacted by the Cambodian intern and Aleco can get contact info for another intern
• This week: email David Scott from 3H to gather some info about their project & email Sothea for financial update on Project Wildsmile

Next meeting: Tuesday December 6th @ 7pm- skype conversation with Polin and others with be @ 8pm- Library West

Notes from 10/18/2011- an exciting meeting

October seems to be really heating up after an action-packed meeting last night:

1. We got an email from Soknay! He has returned from attending to family matters and has asked for a skype date. Sagar emailed Soknay back with a proposed skype date of Thursday October 20th 8pm (our time) so we eagerly await his reply.
2. In preparation of our skype conversation, the team brainstormed ideas and Sarah created an agenda which includes the following topics: What is the progress with the 3H latrines? Is our partnership still needed for this?; Are there any projects that community currently needs?; Review our mission statement; Inquire into additional contacts in Pursat, specifically among the younger generation.
3. David updated the team on the communication he has had with his Cambodian student friend, Sopheaktra. In his correspondence, Sopheaktra described sustainable energy, clean water, latrines, access to education, and the threat of preventable diseases as the most pressing needs of the Pursat communities.
4. David, Ashley, and Laureen updated the team on their trip to the EWB conference in Jacksonville last weekend. Some points emphasized were the importance of waiting for a project idea to come to us and not pushing any of our own ideas, the benefits of diversifying the team (ie. incorporating different majors/backgrounds apart from engineering), the benefits of partnering with a professional team (which Ashley is looking into), and the correction of vocabulary.

Next meeting: Team mom competition/movie-pajama party, Ashley's house, Tuesday October 25th @ 7pm

Notes from 10/9/2011

The following items were covered at last night's meeting:

• update on communications with Cambodian students (David and Ashley are handling this)
• Soknay emails- still no response
• Rotary Pursat; the 3H latrine project- according to their report, Pursat is included in the scope of their project. Also, the Cambodian government will begin offering 10,000 free latrines at the end of 2011.
• thus, feasibility of our latrine projects looks bleak
• feasibility of other projects in Pursat- Soknay previously mentioned water management projects and teaching engineering to students
• Aleco will contact Joshua Knight/call EWB-USA this week
• Laureen, Sarah, and Briana emailed following Cambodian agencies to inquire about possible project ideas and contacts: Ministry of Rural Development, the Cooperation Committee for Cambodia, and the NGO Forum on Cambodia

Next meeting: Tuesday October 18th - time?

Notes from 10/2/2011

Last night's meeting was a splendid reunion. After being disengaged for the past few weeks, our faithful leader Aleco has brought the team back together. The following topics were discussed:

• Update on the conference call with Joshua Knight
• Reestablishing contact with Soknay (Sagar sent an email to Soknay during the meeting)
• Questions for Dr. Lindner
• Presentations of research by Laureen, Sarah, and Sagar pertaining to water collection and eco-village
• Establishing new weekly meeting time: Meetings will be held on Tuesdays at 7PM except for the weeks of the General Body Meeting. On these weeks, meetings will be held on Sunday night.

Ideas that arose during the meeting:

• Ashley suggested the idea of having an interpreter of sorts at the next Skype session with Soknay.
• Aleco and David will talk to Joshua Knight again within the next few weeks, clarifying our current position and seeking possible guidance.
• The team discussed looking to the Cambodian teenagers for project ideas based on what the villages really need. Ashley will make first contact.
• Eddy reemphasized that our team should wait for a project idea to come to us rather than attempting to create an idea on our own to avoid possible overlap in implementation from another NGO.
• Briana will research more about 3H to find out where they are with their latrine project, specifically if they are in the Pursat region.
• Ashley alerted the team to a fundraising opportunity on Tuesday October 11th during Cirque du Soleil- check your email for more information.

Next meeting: Sunday October 9th at 8:00 PM, 3rd floor Marston

Notes from 9/6/2011

At today's assembly, David updated the team on his meeting with Dr. Lindner. It was determined that staying in Cambodia is the best course of action due to the bureaucratic element of the EWB organization, in addition to the fact that we have already invested time and resources into getting to know the area. At this point, David will have a conversation with Dr. Lindner and Soknay to reestablish our connection with SC and help them to grasp our initiatives. In the future, we agreed that we need to act more quickly with our projects and maintain constant contact with Soknay to ensure that our project does not become overlooked. If it remains difficult to work with SC, we will try working with another NGO in Cambodia. Sagar told the team that he has already been in contact with Glovesco, an NGO working in Cambodia. But whichever direction we chose to go, we must decide quickly- time is of the essence!

In other news:

• The team discussed the presentation that we will be giving at the first EWB general body meeting this Thursday night. Ashley showed us her beautiful bio-latrine powerpoint.
• Sagar started emailing Joshua Knight, etc to schedule the post-assessment trip interview/call.
• Alex brought up the idea of thinking about cheaper, more sustainable materials that we can use in our future designs.
• Sarah alerted us to the presence of the International EWB Cambodia team in the country now.

Next meeting: Tuesday September 13th @ 11:30 am in Marston

Notes from 8/30/2011

Today we had the first meeting of the year- whoo hoo! To start of the new (school) year, the team discussed moving away from the latrine project in Cambodia and moving on towards something that would be more fruitful for all parties involved. Alex sent out the biogas digester forms out to the team for review- please review these quickly so that they can be sent to Soknay. In addition to reviewing these forms, everyone should investigate possible projects via EWB-USA and/or a NGO. Keep in mind that we are looking for a project with people that know what they need and are asking us for help.

Next meeting: Tuesday, September 6th @11:30 am in Marston

In other news, today we welcomed Eddy back to the group and witnessed the passing of the leadership torch from Sarah to Alex. Thus, this post shall be dedicated to Sarah Grace Katz, our former fearless team leader. Thank you for all your hard work, inspiration, and dedication to our group as well as your "unbelievably delicious" cookies. To Alex, congratulations on your new position and good luck!