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Thank you for helping us make the world a more sustainable place. Your donations will directly help us bring sustainable technology to the village of Ek’Balam. We all thank you for that.
“We’re not just designing and providing sustainable solutions to address pressing needs of the village. We’re not just educating villagers on sustainable practices and technologies. We’re not just engaging with people of diverse cultures. It’s more than that. We’re providing tools that the villagers can use to improve their quality of life, their health, and understanding of how they can take an active role in helping themselves.” - Brianna Harte, Environmental Engineering '19
Your donation supports the club members of the RPI Chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World: Mexico who travel to Ek’Balam, a Mayan village in Yucatan, Mexico, to construct solar water heaters and solar photovoltaic systems for the villagers to use. The heaters and solar systems are sustainable solutions that use local materials and tools to provide hot water to the villagers.
Donating to Engineers for a Sustainable World: Mexico not only improves the lives of the villagers in Ek’Balam by providing them with a sustainable way to access hot water, but it also pushes students to be inventive, more culturally rounded, and active with their engineering skills on a global scale. Your gift supports sustainable engineering and the opportunity for Rensselaer students to make a difference in the world. This will help broaden students' experiences with other cultures, and help them realize the need for sustainability on a global scale. Not only do the villagers gain hot water for showers and cooking and electricity for their community, but the club members can apply principles they learn in class such as thermal fluids and civil engineering processes. Both benefit in invaluable ways. We’re doing what Rensselaer students aim to do -- change the world!
RPI Engineers for a Sustainable World was founded in 2005 and has been sending club members to Ek' Balam, Mexico annually since July 2011. Since then, club members have helped build a sustainable community house, installed solar panels near community houses, and constructed three solar water heaters. We will continue to build the water heaters, as well as teach the villagers how to do it for themselves. For more information, please visit the RPI Engineers for a Sustainable World website.
