Soy una ingeniera :)

Wow…I feel like a Peace Corps Volunteer…At least what I had imagined I would be doing when I applied. This is a small success story.

After months of frustrating experiences regarding engineering and any respect I get in engineering, I feel like I have had a breakthrough.

So to begin, I have been working on a design to fix parts of the irrigation system. It involves a sedimentation tank and repairing 300 meters of the canal. (Sorry, working in meters now.)

Last Sunday I presented my design to the farmer’s group. Because I cannot effectively explain the plan with just words and nobody wants to look at pages of calculations and turns out not everyone understands 2D engineering drawings, I used Google SketchUp and made a 3D drawing showing how it fits into the existing system. I was able to explain most of it in words as well. Basically, it is a tank 6m x 1.5 m x 1.5 m that allows the sediment to settle to the bottom and then it flows to a trash screen. The oldest part of the canal will be rebuilt 10 cm wider and the broken sections will be replaced.



We discussed the costs (about $2000) and where to start when trying to find the funds to support the project. Also we discussed when to start building, so as not to, impede on the use of irrigation. This means building in the rainy season which is also a busy time for the farmers, planting and such, and it rains every afternoon through early morning. We also talked about water conservation ideas, because they say the water is not as abundant as in years past. For example, ideas include; fixing broken pipes and open hoses, changing watering times from the middle of the day to later (imitating the natural rain in the area, also if it rained the tank could stay closed and water could be saved for later), and changing the types of sprinkler heads to a more efficient model.

The farmer’s group applauded me after the presentation. Wow, good feeling.

(I think some of the approval came from the fact I developed some photos taken during the parade a few weeks ago and let people have them. Some of the women were tickled to have a photo with each other.)

The next day we had a minga, constructing the nichos in the cemetery. (minga = work group for community good, nichos = a structure/wall of graves, in this case, made of concrete, 4 caskets high, 10 wide) When I first arrived, I dodged the “Will you design the nichos?” question, because I don’t know anything past a few college courses on designing structures and I didn’t have the language or the confidence of people here yet, and any failures could have been detrimental in trying to get respect from some people. It is tough being a young, gringa, female engineer.

In Ecuador you hire a “Maestro” who is somebody who works in construction. I don’t think you need anything specific to become a maestro, probably just a bit of experience. Things here are rarely designed by an engineer, and don’t tend to be thought about in the long term. There ended up being some obvious errors in the plans for the nichos.

(Enter nerdy description of the problems: A concrete cantilevered section had no support except the small amount of rebar inside, if it hadn’t started breaking immediately, it would have shortly. Luckily it did fail right away, so they had to install pillars underneath. It also had a poor concrete mixture, when pounded with a sledge hammer “puddles” of weak spots would visibly move, and it would chip very easily. The concrete slab that acts as a roof had no grading and had sitting water. It was already leaking, also due to poor concrete.)

(Second nerdy note: Concrete here is not at all designed the way it is the US. Here you buy the cement, rock, and sand, put it on the ground in a donut shaped circle, fill the hole in the middle with water and mix with shovels. When it looks about right you pour it. Kind of like what you do if you are putting up a basketball hoop in the states…except here this is what you build houses out of.)



The Monday minga was to fix the problems with the leaking roof. I joined this one because they announced it at the meeting, when normally they just ask certain people to help (I am usually not included). Immediately the problems were obvious and I pointed them out to my counterpart. They didn’t really have a plan to fix it, except to put another layer of concrete over the failing layer. So while they were discussing what to do, I threw in my idea and they instantly agreed. Then they regularly asked my approval during the pouring process. And as I left for an English class someone said “Gracias, Ingeniera” (female engineer). Whoa. I usually only get called ¨Senorita¨.