Engineers Without Borders

This workshop is hosted by the Colorado Springs Professionals chapter of Engineers Without Borders. It will be facilitated by David Bartecchi, Executive Director of Village Earth, The Consortium for Sustainable Village-Based Development, an NGO from Fort Collins, Colorado. This is a highly interactive two-day training carried out over a weekend. You will be an active participant in this class. It is not a lecture!

COURSE DESCRIPTION
What is it about a project that makes it successful and sustainable? What structural, social, or even psychological barriers inhibit or prevent individuals and groups from getting involved and working together for change? In this training, we focus on a model for how NGOs can fit into the overall process of community change, focusing on the relationship between local partner organizations and communities. We will explore the concept of appropriate technology as both the “hard” physical technologies, but also the “soft” social-organizational technology that ensures equitable distribution and long-term sustainability.

COMMENTS FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS

“The course was eye-opening as a platform for self-reflection as a group. It allowed me to learn more about the perspectives of my peers and understand, first-hand, the power of inter-group dialog.”
“To put it mildly, this course has changed the way I view myself in the world. I have no doubt that it will affect how I conduct myself as a member of a team and as a leader. I am especially interested to see how it affects my interaction with my existing social groups of work, family, school, and friends.”
“I feel like I am better able to understand our position in the community as a mediator and listener. I also feel like the participatory planning model is a great way of engaging what the community really wants and where our project fits into their vision for their village overall.”
“The Participatory Strategic Planning was great because I showed us a practical way to generate self-mobilization and participation where is does not already exist. As engineers, we always want to be able to see how whatever we are learning is applied in the real world.”
“It made me realize that the most sustainable project is one that the community decides on implementing and to not just dive straight into a community and try to fix all their problems like an oppressor. Also, I realized that it takes a long time and commitment to really see a project succeed all the way through.”
“I have benefited a lot from this course. I feel much better prepared to interact with other cultures in a respectful manner.”
“It allowed me to step out of my engineering mindset and look at the communities needs above the design.”
“I have gained a completely new understanding of the importance of humanization, community participation, and self-mobilization. This has given me a completely new perspective on working in other countries.”