Engineers Without Borders

The Haiti Project is an international project for Wash U's chapter of Engineers Without Borders. Working with Meds and Food for Kids(www.mfkHaiti.org), we are developing a solar peanut dryer design to increase the productivity of MFK's peanut butter factory.

The peanut butter made by this factory, called "Medika Mamba," treats 2000-3000 malnourished children each year, bringing them back to full health with little chance of falling back into malnutrition. Families can feed Medika Mamba to the children at home, and within 6 to 8 weeks, the child typically reaches his or her target weight. MFK estimates it take about 15 kg of Medika Mamba, totaling $68 to save one child.

Currently 40% of the peanuts bought by MFK from Haitian farmers are thrown out because of inadequate drying. To solve this problem, Wash U EWB is developing a design for a solar peanut dryer that can be built by Haitian farmers to dry their crops. This design must be cheap enough for a single farmer to purchase the materials, must not include materials unavailable in Haiti, and must be simple enough so that someone with limited access to power tools can build it.

In spring 2009 a team traveled to MFK's factory in Cap Haitien, Haiti to assess the factory and build a solar-powered peanut dryer. In the process of this EWB also used a method developed by Amy Smith to turn excess peanut shells into charcoal. Over the summer of 2009, members of EWB are testing a prototype dryer built in St. Louis.

The direct involvement of WUStL students and faculty in meeting the needs of undernourished children in Haiti is needed now more than ever, as the stakes have never been higher. We are ready to continue our relief efforts and are committed to long-term reconstruction in a disaster-stricken country. We appreciate the efforts of the university community to raise awareness and funds in support of the people of Haiti, and encourage our classmates and colleagues to be mindful of our unique ability to help our Haitian neighbors in need. If you would like to donate to our project, please click here.

  Interested in making your own charcoal? Check out charcoal video series here.

Get Involved:

To get involved on the Haiti Project, contact Jamie Cummings, jec (at) cec.wustl.edu

Or you can join the Haiti Project 
Jump to the project page here