Project Details
Location:
San Carlos Apache Reservation, Arizona, U.S.A Partner Organization: Nalwoodi Denzhone Community (NDC) Phase: Design Project Manager: Lynn Carroll NDC Board:
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San Carlos, Arizona
Nalwoodi Denzhone: Strength and Beauty Community (NDC), is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping the people of the San Carlos Apache Reservation in Arizona. Their goal is to transform approximately 93 acres of tribal land into what will become the Nnee Nalwoodi Life Center, a diversion center for struggling youth through agriculture, community events, and generally providing a safe space. Specifically, the aim is to rehabilitate community members through education, farming, gardening, animal husbandry and art, in a sustainable manner. Finally, the long term goal for this land is to be able to produce enough to maintain an active farmers market where program participants can sell produce and learn small business practices, as well as increasing accessibility to fresh produce through a separate mobile farmer’s market program.
Our Role
The role of our Engineers Without Borders chapter in the attainment of these goals is to provide engineering design and consulting services. This project has included completing site assessments, soil and water testing, irrigation designs, a restoration plan of an existing agricultural well, and cost assessments for the aforementioned things. Future steps involve a feasibility analysis and investigating design options for a fishing pond. |
Our Timeline
In January of 2016, the chapter recommended testing an old irrigation well drilled on the property to determine the feasibility of farm restoration. The NDC thus tested the well and found that the water table had fallen since initial drilling, and could no longer produce water at the water table's current level. The community elected to expand the pre-existing well to a serviceable depth.
A year later, the team provided the community with options for well revitalization and irrigation methods, after which drip irrigation was chosen as the preferred irrigation method. Additionally, the community installed a solar pump on the agricultural well. By the end of 2018, EWB-UA began work on a drip irrigation system design, which was completed and presented to the community in October of 2020.
During June of 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the chapter extended its partnership with NDC by fundraising for COVID relief efforts on behalf of the San Carlos community. Concurrently, the team started an alternatives analysis for a fishing pond at the Nnee Nalwoodi Life Center.
Fall 2020 semester marks the first year in which the Chemical and Environmental Engineering seniors had the option to select an EWB project for their Senior Design project. During the 2020-2021 school year, a team of five seniors from the Chemical and Environmental Engineering department worked on the fishing pond project parallel to EWB volunteers. The EWB volunteers submitted the alternatives analysis/ feasibility document for review in July 2021.
A year later, the team provided the community with options for well revitalization and irrigation methods, after which drip irrigation was chosen as the preferred irrigation method. Additionally, the community installed a solar pump on the agricultural well. By the end of 2018, EWB-UA began work on a drip irrigation system design, which was completed and presented to the community in October of 2020.
During June of 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the chapter extended its partnership with NDC by fundraising for COVID relief efforts on behalf of the San Carlos community. Concurrently, the team started an alternatives analysis for a fishing pond at the Nnee Nalwoodi Life Center.
Fall 2020 semester marks the first year in which the Chemical and Environmental Engineering seniors had the option to select an EWB project for their Senior Design project. During the 2020-2021 school year, a team of five seniors from the Chemical and Environmental Engineering department worked on the fishing pond project parallel to EWB volunteers. The EWB volunteers submitted the alternatives analysis/ feasibility document for review in July 2021.
Beyond EngineeringOur partnership with NDC goes beyond engineering. Our volunteers have worked hard to support the community and all their needs, especially through the trying times brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to providing NDC with engineering expertise, our volunteers traveled to San Carlos to pack food boxes for the community, put together fundraising material for NDC's COVID-19 relief work, and distributed the material through all possible channels.
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