APPLIED RESEARCH ON SUSTAINABLE RESOURCES AS UNDERGRADUATE SERVICE LEARNING

Undergraduate and graduate interdisciplinary students at Eastern Illinois University participated in applied geology and service learning by researching sustainable improvements in masonry cistern construction in Barasa, Haiti. This involved researching Haitian geology and biology, concrete construction methods, economics, and cultural issues of rural Haiti. The students worked in partnership with an Illinois charitable organization financing cisterns for water supply in Barasa. The research eliminated some initial solutions such as locating alternative sources of aggregate. The students concluded with two potential sustainable changes in the cistern construction technique which may prolong the life of the cisterns, providing more accessible water to rural Haitian people. The construction changes will be field tested in Barasa, Haiti by Barasa masons. The students learned how to research a scientific/social issue with large potential benefit to people in developing countries. They learned laboratory techniques to resolve the scientific issues. They learned that obvious solutions do not always prove to be the best solutions. And they learned that their education can be used to improve the lives of others in the human community.