Assessment Trip
August 2024
To kickstart the project, seven of our chapter members traveled throughout Ghana.
Sokode-Ando ASSESSMENT Trip
During August 2024, Tulane Engineers Without Borders was able to embark on a successful assessment trip for our International Sanitation Project in Sokode-Ando, Ghana. Our first stop was in the town of Dzita to tour the new EcoSan composting toilet system implemented by local NGO Dream Big Ghana, which mixes human feces with biodegradable material (mainly sawdust and food waste) to produce agricultural fertilizer through a 9-month treatment process. These facilities were impressive not only for their cleanliness and surprising lack of odor, but also for the level of community engagement and enthusiasm around the project. We also visited Ho Technical University’s composting facilities in Ho municipality, which incorporate urine diverters to collect urine for use as a soil amendment. In Sokode-Ando, our team carried out land surveying, community interviews, percolation tests, soil compaction tests, water quality tests, and looked into existing problems with the local clean water infrastructure. We were able to network with Ghana Water Company Limited (GWC), Community Water and Sanitation Association (CWSA), Mayor Bosson of Ho, IRECOP Waste Management, and Ho Technical University to help us assess the issues the community is facing. The community of Sokode-Ando could not have been more gracious and welcoming, and we truly look forward to working with them for the duration of this project.
TEWB is ready to jump into new academic year and begin the next steps of the project. Our group will use the knowledge we’ve gained over the summer to get started on designing an improved, sustainable solution. This will include modeling, iteration, sourcing material, processing data, and having a feasible solution ready for our next trip in May of 2025.