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Breaking Down the Sustainability of Development Projects:International Development from the Perspective of a Returned Peace Corps VolunteerTravis WarringtonRPCV/The Gambia '08-'10MA Candidate in Sustainable International Development & Coexistence and Conflict 1Itinerary Lecture: 10:00-12:00pmPeace CorpsPlugMy experienceBike Milling Machine: lessons learnedQuestion related to Peace CorpsMy graduate program and future plansThe Gambia (culture, local resources, etc)Development workLunch: 12:00pm-1:00pmQuestion & Answer Session/Dialogue: 1:00pm-___Please hold any other questions from lecture until this time.

2DisclosureThe views/opinions stated here today to do not reflect those of U.S. Peace Corps, The Heller School, and/or Brandeis University. Not a Peace Corps representative I am not omnipotentBrief introduction of International Development

I want to begin stating that I do stutter, thus tend to talk fast and Im kind of nervous, so bear with me please If there is anything you want repeated or further discussed, please let me know after lunchThese are my views, either professionally or personally, even if I am coming from Heller to speak to you today. With that said, I am not an officiall PeI have a minute background in the field of development, comparatively, but I still feel I have a great deal of knowledge to share on the subject. This lecture is one persons take on the field itself, thus take it as you will, on top of I DO NOT know ALL on this subject. Also, I just want to say that some of this information may be repetitive for some of you and/or may come off as condescending; I in no way shape or form intentionally mean to offend anyone in the audience, for I know we all mean well and have good intensions. 3Three Main PointsDevelopment work is methodical Questions to askWord of the Day: Sustainability

My take home message today will be the following1)2)3) And the word of the day today will be sustainability. I will mention this word about a dozen times during this presentation so I hope it will engrained into your memory, for it is key in the field of development, where, in my opinion, a project is not worth doing at all IF it is not fully sustainable. 4

Peace Corps Volunteer1960: (then) Senator John F. Kennedy spoke at University of Michigan.JFK wanted students to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries.Peace Corps was born March 1, 1961

www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=about200,000+ Peace Corps volunteers (PCV)In 139 countriesWorking in HIV/AIDS education, IT, and environmental education2) His speechs inspiration grew in an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace The Peace Corps 3) Since 1960, 200,000+ PCVs have served 139 host countries. Working in HIV/AIDS education, information technology, and environmental education.

5Peace Corps VolunteerMission:Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=about.missionThe Peace Corps has a mission that surrounds three main goals, this goals (more or less) are:-Around the world, helping people help themselves.-Teaching host country about America. -Teaching Americans about the country you served.

6Peace Corps VolunteerBits and Pieces:Full term: 27 months10 weeks of training; 2 years of service1 month served = 2 days vacationFree travel to and from country servedLiving allowanceHost familyMedical and dentalServing is free

www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvol-living allowance covering living and houses expenses BUT at the level of the people living in that environment-Host family- most volunteers are placed with host families; this is to ensure full integration and language skills-Free and complete medical, dental, benefits while serving, including malaria medications and medical evacuations to western facilities. -to serve in Peace Corps is free, unlike other international volunteer programs7Peace Corps VolunteerBenefits of serving:$7,425 post-service readjustment moneyInsuranceHigh level of confidence, independent judgment, and cross-cultural resourcefulness and awarenessResume boosterAdult learning (language, technical skills, etc)Graduate school optionswww.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvolMoney after your completed 27 month term, BEFORE taxes. This is a raise from when I served Opportunity for affordable insurance available for first 18 months following serviceResume booster long-term commitment equals employers know you are able to commit to something and stay on it-adult learning shows employers you are capable, as an adult and no longer in school, to be taught new things.Grad school options8Peace Corps VolunteerEducational Benefits Graduate SchoolMasters International (MI) programPC service as masters degree credit. Variety of programs with many schools9 programs with 6 universities for engineering

Fellows/USA programPost-service graduate schoolBenefits: scholarships, stipends, and internshipsVariety of programs with many schools5 programs/universities for engineering*note: The Heller School with be joining the Fellows program very soon. www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvol.edubenPeacecorps.gov/gradschool-The Masters International program- -study one year at the school, then your 2 years of service to finish your degree. -Fellows- - after your service you have the opportunity to apply to grad school via the Fellows program.-There are many benefits to serving and then going to grad school; possible offers of scholarships or reduced tuition, stipends, and internshipsall on top of getting into a school easier because you did Peace Corps. 9Peace Corps VolunteerRowan student - -BS in Engineering:*Math and science teachingEnglish teaching position w/ ELS backgroundA water resources and engineering/sanitation (*rare and need Spanish background).

Nearest Peace Corps offices: New York city, Boston, and Atlanta.

www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=learn.whyvolIf you are a Rowan student with a BS in EngineeringMath and science teaching would be the mostly likely program youd get invited to do while in the PC- If you have an ELS background, you may go into teaching English-Most students with wanting to go into PC with their engineering BS want to use their degree, right? Water and sanitation work is available with PC but rare and need a Spanish background). For more details please contact your nearest PC office(s) as well as nearest campus/community recruiting event

10Peace Corps/ The Gambia 08-'10 Health and Community Development ExtenstionistProjectsTaught English to 4-5th gradersAgro-forestry projects (mud stoves, fence, seeds)Grant writing (new grade school kitchen)Health talks to mothers/ health clinic workMalaria preventionConsulted and oversaw World Bank-funded projectsBoys Club

Peace Corps/ The Gambia 08-'10 Projects with RowanRoad ProjectLiaison and translatorFormed community committee, organized meetings, and mobilized villagers.Health and transportation surveyAssisted in water resource survey with EWB

Bike-Pedal Powered Millet Milling MachineWorked with nations technical college and civil servants

Road project:-I was the liaison between the communities, local government, national government, the local NGO, and RU-EWB. I also acted as translator while EWB visited The GambiaBike Machine--Basically, I received the machine without any need assessment but a hunch that the country could benefit from a device like this. I hit the ground running working with Dr. Michael Banutu-Gomez to reproduce the machine. We work with the nations technical college to reproduce the device and all its parts (see photo). 12Peace Corps/ The Gambia 08-'10Problems with the device:Metal workers could not re-create the machineTech. college failedDevice too technicalSome metals not available or too costly (aluminum)Grinding-plates did not produce fine enough productGrinding plates were purchased in the States, not produced. Costly to reproduce the grinding plates

In my view of development work, the work has to be as sustainable as possible, to the point where if locals cannot do it on their own over time, there is almost no point in doing it in the first place-Thus, this machine need to be re-produced in its entirety within the Gambian border and by Gambians.-However, 13Peace Corps/ The Gambia 08-'10Where the device is as of June 1, 2010. Used private donation to purchase local grinderGrinder replaced the grinding-plates Working with local welder

-a private donation to buy locally used meat grinder-Took off the grinding-plates and hopper, and replaced it with the meat grinder-Thus the machine is made with all local parts- They estimated the machine would cost between 3,000-4,000D (or ~$120-$160) per machine14

EWBs versionModified version

?-Notice the original device (right) came with only one stabilizer in the middle-Once in country, the local welder saw this as a possible problem and made two stabilizing bars, both at the front and back of the machine 15

Peace Corps/ The Gambia 08-'10As of June 3, 2010 now:New grinder does not work with rice or cousGrinder may breakdown fasterToo costly to mass produce-The new meat grinder appeared to not be able to process rice or cous both major staples of the Gambian diet, thus almost useless-Since the meat grinder is made from cheap/soft metal, the wear-in-tear/pressure/force from the chain, the device will breakdown easier and faster-and too costly to mass produce 16Graduate ProgramDual Degree (MA) Candidate in Sustainable International Development &Coexistence and Conflict - 2012The Heller School for Social Policy and ManagementBrandeis University, Waltham, MA.

17Development AND Conflict?Many developing nations/areas are under disputes/civil unrest via conflict between others.Energies are focused on warfare and survival rather than societal progressionThe two fields coincide because one cannot promote development if the area is under conflict.18Future?Graduate research-based practicum in (West) Africa summer of 2012 (fingers crossed).Career: Lifelong work in Africa in conflict management and sustainable development for USAID, U.N., or the like. 19The Gambia, West AfricaLocationReligion: Muslim LanguageCulture: Family-oriented. Greetings are importantArabic and local languagesShaking hands (men)Male-dominateRespect eldersImam/AlkalooPer diemToubab

-Location-The Gambian population is mostly Muslim, so one must abide by and work with their religious norms, e.g. allowing for praying 5 times a day-Gambians are very family oriented, share a lot (whats mine is yours). If you are offered tea, water, foodtake what you can and say you have had enough; it is very rude to decline outright. -Greetings are imperatives, verbally and gesturely. Greet first in Arabic (depending on tribe) and the local language/dialect-man-to-man =shaking hands is okaydepending the situatoin, women and men dont shake hands. As a female foreigner , would just make this hand gesture (do hand clasp) and make it obvious you are making efforts to greet them. -Men control the familys monies and have final say in family matters; more further from urban into rural, less education = more conservative culturally and religiously. -Elders are respected, especially-Per diem: Latin for "per day" or "for each day"20The Gambia, West Africa

TransportationCulture/Customs regarding water/fuel projectsWaterWomen and young girls are ones to fetch waterWater comes from open-well, pump, or tap.

Fuel (aka wood)Females walk a few meters to miles to gather wood in the bush/forest.Wood only source to cook (esp. in rural areas)Thus, deforestation

Woman are proud in taking care of their families, including providing their compound with water and wood to prepare daily meals

Request white board, projector and computer for presentation. 22Engineering for DevelopmentCommon pitfalls Rowans students/faculty (and the like) face in development work,Especially in developing technologies/products for the developing world?Common pitfalls of both students and faculty face when attempting development work, especially in the realm of development progressive technologies or products for developing nations. -Lets looks at some examples

23Engineering for DevelopmentCommon pitfalls:Grain crusher project (additional).Pilot study in India. Device was altered for cultural needsNo pilot study done in The Gambia..?My Fault

Grain crusher project (additional).Pilot study in India. Device was altered for cultural needsNo pilot study done in The GambiaMy Fault

24Engineering for DevelopmentCommon pitfalls:Rope pump:Biggest problem: breakdown/ maintenanceMay be too technical (to use and maintain)Too many working partswww.rowan.edu/today/news/index/PR/2891

Rope pump:- The Biggest problem is see with this existing device is that it breakdowns often and difficult to maintenance. Usually (smart and contemporary) NGOs will come in to a village, set up a pump and hole and training a few locals on how to fix it themselves. This is positive but then those people leave or want the village to pay him for his services. -May be too technical (to use and maintain): the rope pump, from what I understand of it, is effeicient for the energy it takes to being up the water and the amount of water it produces (compared to a regular hand pump or open well). But even to me, it looks hard to figure out, let along an uneducated villager. Devices must be simple. -too many working parts to have break down etc. to have the apparatus not working for some time.

25Engineering for DevelopmentCommon pitfalls:Tree climber- - [A] device to help villagers climb trees more safelyConstructed from steel = very heavyHarnessWill this work?

www.rowan.edu/today/news/index/PR/2891www.rowan.edu/colleges/engineering/newsletter/downloads/fall_2010_newsletter.pdf

Tree climber: for coconut harvestersAllow steel is the easiest metal to obtain in developing areas, it is still very heavy and possible unpractical. I for one would not want to lug something of that size/weight up a tree, regardless of my safety..more cost effective (in their minds) just to climb with no safety sense at all. Plans for the harness? I see Carabiners, webbing, harness, etc. Will this be provide to each person who makes the tree climber or will local materials be used?Without going into details, this is an example of assumptions made, project designed, and device constructed. Research was done and figures show that yes, people get injured and may die from falling out of tree while gathering fruit. But did anyone do further research to ask locals (where ever they may be) if they wanted a better way to do so?26Engineering for DevelopmentCommon pitfalls:Shell crusher or a method of crushing peanut shells to create a fuel source.Compressed peanut shells into briquettes (cooking fuel).Already done with mixed paper and hay (Senegal)Cost effectiveness?

www.rowan.edu/today/news/index/PR/2891Common pitfalls of both students and faculty face when attempting developemtn work, especially in the realm of development progressive technologies or products for developing nations. -Lets looks at some examples

27Engineering for DevelopmentWhat RU-EWB/EIWB is doing well:Rights of devices/products free to use by whomever (villages, NGOs, etc) to better themselvesAsking the right questions:Can [the devices] be made more inexpensively?Can [the devices] be made so they are easier for local people to repair? Giving students real-life/hands on knowledge skillsDevices with locally found materialsNon-monetary benefit mindedAltering already used deviceswww.rowan.edu/today/news/index/PR/2891Common pitfalls of both students and faculty face when attempting developemtn work, especially in the realm of development progressive technologies or products for developing nations. -Lets looks at some examples

28Engineering for DevelopmentQuestions to consider:Why create devices to help people in developing areas?Are these devices universal or do they need to be tailored to each (cultural) situational context?Did you ever ask them if they wanted ___machine to assist their lives?

I will start the talk the section surround international development by asking some rhetorical questions to you thinking about what you are trying to do and invent. Why create devices to help people in developing areas?Are these devices universal or do they need to be tailored to each (cultural) situational context?Did we ever ask them if they wanted ___machine to assist their lives?

29International DevelopmentTools:Needs Assessment:Important to conduct a 'needs assessment' with communities so as to cater future devices to what exactly the community needs rather than wants.Need vs. WantYour work vs. their workAppreciative Inquiry (AI):a group analysis of positive potential and what has worked particularly well in the past to mobilize positive experiences and outcomes in the future

Also, Appreciative Inquiry- - an assessment tool, where one focuses not on the negative but the positives a group has done, focusing on that, and building upon that. -it also lets us know as practitioners as well as the people we are working with where we are starting from30International DevelopmentWantsCigarettesFashionable clothingMoneyBigger/new schoolNew garden/school fence

NeedsWaterCleaner waterAccess to waterFoodGrowing &BuyingTransportationHealthI really want to stress the points of need versus want. I feel that people who have good intentions get lost in trying to help people that are less fortunate then themselves that they do not figure out what is pending on their survival and then progression.- 31International DevelopmentParticipatory Approachat the community levelPROJECT

Once in at this level and AS the project progresses, we add ingredients spice things up, or in other words, to make it sustainable. So, were going to add some goodness. Who should we include first?32International DevelopmentParticipatory Approachat the community levelPROJECT

EldersGovt. officialsWomens groupsYouth groupsMenWomenrespected elites EtcTo make it PARTICIPATORY, we need to include elders, government officials, womens groups, youth groups, men and women, respected elites. -Make sure not to leave any group out. If the village/town you are working in in small, work with the entire populous if possilble-we want to hear the voices from ALL the members and all the people, all the oppressed and marginalized. 33International DevelopmentParticipatory Approachat the community levelCapacity Building!!(education)EvaluationPROJECT

CommunityAppreciative InquiryNeeds Assessment:MonitoringAt the VERY end of the project we EVALUATE, to see flaws/mistakes in the projects plan, on top of what we well and was the project a success34International DevelopmentSustainably implementing devices:Train locals to make the device = Capacity BuildingMaking sure materials/resources needed to recreate the device are readily availableLocal buy-in and fundingAre they ready for ___ or ___?Will this alter gender/cultural dynamics/norms for the better or for worse?Who to work with?VITAL to your work-Who to work with:-is very important to your planning, your work and the sustainability of your project/work (next slide 35International DevelopmentWhy collaborate?Culture and LanguageResources and KnowledgeSustainability Planning Who to work with?NGOsLocalInternationalPeace CorpsVoluntary Service Overseas (VSO)*ALL are at the grassroots level!

www.vsointernational.org/Who to work with:-NGOs: local or international NGOs have the resources, experience and possibly funding to assist with your projects, may be would love to collaborate with you due to your expertise and passion. Some would like to do projects you are doing but do not have the expertise that you have-Peace Corps: I dont want to plug PC again but they are culturally integrated, thus know the people, the culture and the language. They are also sent deep in rural areas (more impoverished usually) and are there long term, and can pass-on projects to other volunteers when they leave -VSO: somewhat like PC but they do more specific work, and may already do engineering projects in the countries they are sent to by may need ideas and/or further expertise. Key = gain partnerships with people who are on-the-ground to assist you and your projects36Admitting Failure2011 Failure Reportadmittingfailure.com

EWB-Canada

Owen Barders Speech at EWB Conference"Aid works, but not as it shouldSpeaks of his thoughts on the current state of aidAnyone with an interest in development policy and in how to make foreign aid more effective should watch the whole thing[H]ow to move beyond the current unhealthy equilibrium and outlines some useful lessons from complex systems thinking

http://www.vimeo.com/groups/kumvana/videos/18803571

Thank you!warrint@gmail.comwarrint@brandeis.edu

Follow me at:Twitter: @warrintj

Blog/website: traviswarrington.com*PowerPoint will be on website

Contact info:

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