Who We Are |
UNM4Nepal is a non-profit organization comprised of students, faculty, and community members at the University of New Mexico. Our mission is to develop Humanitarian Engineering projects using our strengths as an academic community to aid in the recovery efforts in Nepal following the earthquakes of early 2015. We strive to create lasting relationships both at UNM and in Nepal to facilitate long term cooperation. Our interdisciplinary projects also give students at UNM unique experiences in international development, teamwork, and community service.
We are committed to sustainable practices, including using local labor and material, focusing on low-cost solutions, and creating social capacity in Nepal to sustain current and future projects.
We are committed to sustainable practices, including using local labor and material, focusing on low-cost solutions, and creating social capacity in Nepal to sustain current and future projects.
Women's Community Center - Bahunipati, Nepal
Since the earthquakes of early 2015, UNM4Nepal has raised over $20,000 for their Women’s Community Center Project in Bahunipati, Nepal. With the support of UNM’s Civil Engineering Department, UNM4Nepal designed and tested a unique circular earthbag structure that provides a great low-cost housing option using only locally available materials.
In the summer of 2016, a group of 11 faculty and students traveled to Nepal to facilitate the construction of the Women’s Community Center in Bahunipati, Nepal with the help of our local sponsors, the Pratiman-Neema Memorial Foundation and Kathmandu University’s Dhulikhel Hospital. Over a period of five weeks, the group constructed the community center with the help of 25 laborers from surrounding villages. To honor the community center’s core purpose of female empowerment, half of the laborers were women who were using the money they earned for everything from supporting their families to saving up for their education. |
What's Next?
Although the our first trip was highly successful, Rome wasn’t built in a day… or even in five weeks! During our time in Nepal, we were able to build the entire structure from the foundation up, including installing windows and doors, finishing the walls, creating proper drainage of the site, and acquiring expert feedback on solutions for the damaged retaining wall. However, the current roof is only temporary and the building is currently without water and electricity.
Phase two of the project includes installing a permanent roofing solution, a water system, and a small solar energy system to provide electricity during rolling blackouts. During this trip, we will also collaborate with the local community to establish a mission for the community center to ensure future use and maintenance. If funds allow, this will include minimal furnishing of the building to create a comfortable, culturally-appropriate communal space.
In accordance with our mission, this trip will also provide a valuable opportunity for both personal and professional growth for students at UNM. Students will get experience in international development and construction while being immersed in a culture different than their own.
Phase two of the project includes installing a permanent roofing solution, a water system, and a small solar energy system to provide electricity during rolling blackouts. During this trip, we will also collaborate with the local community to establish a mission for the community center to ensure future use and maintenance. If funds allow, this will include minimal furnishing of the building to create a comfortable, culturally-appropriate communal space.
In accordance with our mission, this trip will also provide a valuable opportunity for both personal and professional growth for students at UNM. Students will get experience in international development and construction while being immersed in a culture different than their own.
A Village in Need
Bahunipati, Nepal
On April 25th, the lives of the villagers in Bahunipati, Nepal changed forever. An agricultural village of over 5000 people in the mountains north of Kathmandu, Bahunipati provides a typical picture of rural villages in Central Nepal before and after the earthquakes. With the majority of their 1100 homes destroyed and their local economy devastated, there is a great need for a place for the community to join in solidarity as they start the long road to recovery.
Previously, that place was the local health clinic, one of several rural Dhulikhel Hospital outposts run by Kathmandu University. This facility not only provided medical services, but also ran several successful women-focused programs, including micro finance, micro health insurance, indoor pollution education, and reproductive health education. Prior to the disaster, families of the women participating in these programs showed a dramatic increase in their health status. Without a place to meet, the progress made by these programs has been reversed, and the social capital in the village has deteriorated.
Previously, that place was the local health clinic, one of several rural Dhulikhel Hospital outposts run by Kathmandu University. This facility not only provided medical services, but also ran several successful women-focused programs, including micro finance, micro health insurance, indoor pollution education, and reproductive health education. Prior to the disaster, families of the women participating in these programs showed a dramatic increase in their health status. Without a place to meet, the progress made by these programs has been reversed, and the social capital in the village has deteriorated.
A Place to Heal
Through conversations with our partner organizations on the ground in Bahunipati, it became clear that there was a great need for central meeting spaces to help support the community as they begin to rebuild. The Women's Community Center has allowed educational programs that were interrupted by the earthquakes to be reinstated and once again help improve the lives of local families. We hope that this center will continue to provide a safe place for community healing, renewal, and growth throughout and beyond the recovery process.
Sustainable Construction
Through a formal design process led by Civil Engineering students and faculty at the University of New Mexico, we decided to use earthbag construction techniques to build the community center. This low-cost method requires limited skilled labor, uses local materials, and has been successfully implemented in earthquake-prone areas around the world. Additionally, this construction method can be easily taught to local community members, which will allow it to be replicated in housing designs and other community buildings. To learn more about earthbag construction, visit http://earthbagbuilding.com/.
Partners in Healing
This project was executed by UNM4Nepal in collaboration with our UNM partners – the Nepal Study Center and the Civil Engineering Department – as well as our Nepali partners – Pratiman-Neema Memorial Foundation, Lumbini Center for Sustainability, and Kathmandu University's Dhulikhel Hospital.