La Pita Background / History / and Needs:
La Pita was once a thriving coffee growing co-op where local farmers banded together to get a reasonable price for their coffee and bring revenue to the community. However, with the fluctuating price of coffee and lack of diversification of crops, the farm has been declining and the standard of living in the community has been steadily decreasing. The community is currently working with another non-governmental organization (NGO) in the area, Union de Cooperativas Agropecuarias (UCA), to diversify the economy of the community by promoting eco-tourism.

The community has several needs including:
- Microenterprise to diversify revenue sources for the community
- Repair of homes that have been destroyed by termites and hurricanes and offer little protection from the elements
- Replacement of indoor open fire stoves that burn large quantities of wood and pollute the homes with soot
- Repair of a foot bridge that connects all of the homes to the rest of the village and the main road leading to the next town

EWB-UH Involvement:
We are currently awaiting approval from the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for this project but we expect approval before the end of April and it may be as soon as the end of March. Once we receive approval we will plan a site assessment trip for some time during the summer break. We intend to do a site assessment for both this project as well as our Chincha, Peru project in the same trip over the summer.

During our site assessment, EWB-UH intends to gather information on the design parameters and requirements for the foot bridge connecting the homes to the rest of the village. This information will then be used to create guidelines for a design competition to be held at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Pacific Southwest Regional Conference which will be at the University of Hawaii in April 2009. During the conference, 13 colleges will compete for the best bridge design. EWB-UH will then use the best design to construct the bridge in the summer of 2009.

EWB-UH will also assess and gather design information for the replacement of the indoor open stoves and home repair. Since these are projects separate from the bridge repair/replacement we will then re-submit these projects to the TAC and pursue them as they are approved. There are several projects in the community and EWB-UH plans to develop a long lasting relationship with the people of La Pita, Managua, Nicaragua.

There are several ways that you can get involved in this project. To find out more or to get involved, contact or to to get involved!!