2009 EWB Challenge Program & Design Overview
The 2009 EWB Challenge requires students to use their problems solving and design skills to support the development of disadvantaged communities living on the Tonle Sap Lake and River in Cambodia. The design projects have been identified by EWB and our partner organisation in Cambodia, Live & Learn Environmental Education. The following information will assist the design teams to conceptualise the issues involved with living on and around the water.
2009 EWB Challenge Design Brief
Background Information
The communities live and work largely on the water, either in floating buildings and boats that are moved seasonally with the lake levels; in stilted houses which are surrounded by water during the wet season and become land based in the dry, or in small portable land based houses that are carried across the and according to the height of the lake. Less than 10% of the people living on or around the lake have access to safe drinking water or appropriate sanitation.* 37% of the population on and around the lake lives below the poverty line.*
In the last decade, Cambodia has achieved national reconciliation, peace and stability following the Khmer Rouge era and subsequent years of conflict. A rising GDP (gross domestic product), improved access to primary education, declining child mortality rates and accession entry into the World Trade Organisation have all contributed to Cambodias strategy to meet its Millennium Development Goals. Despite the significant progress, Cambodia is still classified by the United Nations as a Least Developed Country (i.e. a country that scores low on both the Human Development Index and on indicators of socioeconomic development). EWB began working in Cambodia in 2003 and has since sent 16 volunteers on various programs with a focus on water and sanitation, disability access, IT, manufacturing and infrastructure working alongside a number of local partners. One of these partners is Resource Development International - Cambodia (RDIC).
Program Resources
The following additional information are provided to allow a deeper understanding of the situation in Cambodia.
Origin of EWB Challenge
The Engineers Without Borders Australia Challenge (EWB Challenge) is an Australasian design program for first-year university students. Students work in teams to develop conceptual designs for sustainable development that contribute towards real international development projects. Follow this link for more background information.
Project Reports
The following Teams presented at the 2009 EWB Conference:2009 EWB Challenge Champion Team - Bio-digestion in Cambodia.
2009 BHP Billiton Award for Sustainable Design and Appropriate Technology - Integrated Bamboo Catchment and Filtration System.
EWB Challenge Poster Award - Floating Land Project
2009 Outstanding Achievement Award