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The Tsuraku Village
The small village of Tsurakú in amazonian Ecuador, founded in 1975, consists of around forty families of the indigenous Shuar tribe with a population of approximately 250 people, over 100 of who are children. The people of Tsuraku suffer from periodic water supply shortages, insufficient sanitation, and resulting problems with water purity. Tsuraku is located on the border of the Amazon rainforest along the highway between the cities of Puyo and Macas. With the help of Katie Wallace, a Peace Corps volunteer located in Tsuraku, the village had applied to EWB for assistance with the following:
(1) Stabilizing the current water distribution system,
(2) Improving the water quality in the distribution system
(3) Improving the sanitation of the village.
The project was adopted by the student chapter of Arizona State University.
Read the Assessment Trip report
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EWB-ASU Assement Trip
During August 2007, the Arizona State University (ASU) chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) went on a two-week assessment trip to evaluate the conditions in the village of Tsuraku, Ecuador.
The assessment included the following:
• Extensive interviewing of the leaders of the village, the health workers, the person in charge of construction, and each family in the village
• Testing of water quality, flow rates, soil types, and soil percolation throughout the village
• Surveying the land in order to assess the hydraulics of the distribution system
• Evaluation of the entire current distribution system as well as investigating possible other sources of water
• Networking with people and groups with more experience in the region
• Assessing the availability of supplies in the surrounding areas and the common methods of construction and tools in the village
The team is currently designing solutions for the water and sanitation problems investigated on the assessment trip. These solutions will be partially implemented on a second trip on March 2008. The team is planning to fully implement the Design and education plans during Summer 2008.