As part of the MIT D-Lab: Development class, six students traveled to Peru in January to collaborate with peers from Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología(UTEC) on sustainable housing and energy projects for the village Rayampampa. Teams of students worked remotely throughout the semester running lab experiments and building prototypes in preparation for field work. Projects included innovative designs for improved cookstoves and study of a local tall grass material for housing insulation. Chheangkea Ieng '17 put together this wonderful video about their experience.
Team members from MIT included Pedro Cuellar-Reynolds (trip leader), Heather Beem (trip leader), Langston Fitts, Johanna Greenspan-Johnson, Chheangkea Ieng, Sade Nabahe, Khanh Nguyen, and Cali Warner. Participants from Peru included UTEC professors Julien Noel and Samuel Charca and a team of their students
D-Lab: Development addresses issues of technological improvements at the micro level for developing countries—in particular, how the quality of life of low-income households can be improved by adaptation of low cost and sustainable technologies. Students form project teams to partner with mostly local level organizations in developing countries.