Canal Project in Zurite, Peru

In the summer of 2009, we worked with our local coordinators to convince three community groups in Zurite to share the costs of lining a 1.5 km irrigation canal with cement to vastly improve irrigational efficiency. GSE contributed $6700 (1/4 of the total cost). Our sister, Molly Oshun, an environmental engineering student at Stanford University, contributed her expertise and $2500 of a Haas Fellowship to the canal project. Four GSE students and three adult volunteers worked to build the canal alongside Zuriteños. The canal is an investment that will substantially improve the crop yield of over 150 families. Furthermore, we were successful in founding a new team of GSE coordinators in Cusco, a city with more interested students and staff, two universities, greater local financial support, and a greater promise to expand the scope of our program.