EWB-UMN in Haiti: Indoor Sanitation and Water Sachet Conversion Projects
Background 
Shada, an urban slum outside of Cap Haitien, Haiti, is a densely populated neighborhood of over 20,000 residents. The people in this community live without access to clean water, sanitation or garbage collection. Engineers Without Borders – University of Minnesota is partnering with Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods, S.O.I.L, a non-profit providing ecological sanitation and education throughout Haiti, to comprehensively address these conditions. Within this project exist two focus areas, which both support general chapter goals to include as many students interested in sustainable engineering design in developing countries as possible and to minimize expenses through research-based project development. With two student groups at work on each focus area, including a total of twenty students from a variety of areas of study, we are currently completing research with hopes to travel to Haiti to test our preliminary designs in summer of 2008.
Water Sachet Conversion
The first focus is the design of safe, locally constructible and maintainable batch systems for recycling of plastic water sachets made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). HDPE water sachets are the primary means by which many Haitians transport their drinking water. Without a fully functional solid waste disposal system working in many parts of Haiti, these sachets are discarded onto streets and in-between homes. We are currently researching methods for the re-melting and re-molding of HDPE water sachets into durable toilet molds for SOIL's dry composting toilets, and both footwear and sporting equipment for Haitian children. The development of sandals and sporting equipment will provide potential startup of micro-enterprises.
Consequently, an important intention of this first focus, beyond addressing needs of waste disposal and sanitation provision, is to promote local Haitians to transform their pervasive plastic overburden into profitable enterprise, reducing the input of new plastic into their environment by employing incentive for material collection. Abroad, this project will stimulate Haitian's ideas about waste collection, recycling, and ecological sanitation, with the intention of promoting a future with more active civic involvement in community sanitation and environmental health. At the University of Minnesota campus, this project will partner U of M students with some of the world's top experts in the Polymer field to research, design, test and implement HDPE batch re-melting systems - all while maintaining an open channel of communication with our collaborators in Haiti.
Indoor Sanitation Design 
The second focus is the design of next generation dry composting indoor hygienic sanitation systems. According to the World Health Organization, only 57% of Haitians in urban areas and only 14% in rural areas have access to improved sustainable sanitation. Even if people do have access to sanitation, it is often not hygienic and not in their homes. This project design will incorporate the toilet mold from the first focus to make use of the recyclable plastic. Our partner, S.O.I.L, presently implements outdoor dry composting sanitation systems and, with their connections and resources, has the capability to provide the design for the indoor sanitary system to disadvantaged communities throughout Haiti.
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