Recently returning from Guatemala, New Mexico State University’s Aggies Without Limits, led by Professor Paul Furth and Emeritus Professor Kenny Stevens, have completed its 19th international quest, with the largest project undertaken by the largest group of volunteers yet.
Some 50 students, faculty members, alumni, community volunteers and students from other universities built a water system to serve some 1,500 townspeople of Unillá Pacalá. The community now has access to 81 freshwater spigots placed throughout the town. Previously, the residents traveled more than a mile to reach a spring, collecting water in pots weighing about 14 pounds when full for the uphill trip back to town.
“The biggest challenges were technical, weather and roads,” Stevens said. “The technical part was the fact that we had to pump the water from the spring up the hill to the storage tanks. Of course, there was no electricity and limited access to gas or diesel, so we went with solar power.
“The weather part was the heat. The temperature was over 120 degrees on a couple of occasions, plus humidity. Asking a bunch of 20-year-olds to dig ditches and lay pipe in that weather was a big ask,” he continued.
“The road part was interesting. We had four pickups and two vans. The vans could make it to the site, but it was too steep to make it out with the vans. When we were leaving, we had to set aside and extra day and about five people to set up a towing system to get the vans out of the valley.”
Surprises aside, planning for the three-week trip begins a year in advance, with a January trip to scout out the area.
One of the project managers, Nayla Salinas on her second trip with AWL, was responsible for design, budget, ordering materials, flight plans and on-site implementation. The project entailed developing a sketch of the area for placement of eight reservoir tanks, nearly 7.5 miles of pipeline and 81 tap stands to bring water to the town.
As there is no electricity, they used six 300-watt solar panels to power the pump. Placement of the panels, pump and storage tank for the pump was an issue as well. The nearest spot for the solar panels to receive sun was a cornfield some 400 feet from the spring. After putting in about 200-man-hours digging a 20-foot-deep pit for the tank, they discovered it would be flooded with every rain.
This led to the decision to put the pump next to the spring, which required them to build a bridge for 400 feet of three-wire bundles, connecting the pump to the solar panels.
Rain posed another issue.
“In the rainy season, the arroyo fills with runoff water and covers the cute little spring with a muddy torrent,” Stevens said. “Diana Jaramillo, AWL president, envisioned a ‘cabin’ to protect the spring from the runoff. Diana decided to make the protective structure out of ‘ferrocement,’ a method of building using sand, cement, wire mesh and artistic sculpture. I thought she was nuts, but damn if she didn’t pull it off.”
“It is a great learning experience,” said Salinas, a senior earning degrees in geomatics and civil engineering technology. “We learn new things, like how to glue pipe and put together a whole system. Team members are exposed to surveying techniques, to think outside the box and improvise. And it’s great to see a project from start to finish.”
Aside from gaining technical skills, Salinas describes AWL trips as life-learning experiences.
“You learn about yourself and others,” she said. “You develop strong bonds with people. When you go to other countries to help you learn that we are so privileged.”
Indeed, the AWL experience inspires many volunteers to continue serving others despite harsh conditions. They often sleep on open ground, don’t have access to bathroom facilities, running water or electricity and suffer the elements. But community residents are welcoming and provide meals as well as ample gratitude.
Salinas was encouraged to join the group for the 2023 trip by Lucas Rivera, civil engineering student with an extensive history with AWL and other volunteer projects. Rivera was named NMSU’s outstanding graduate student in fall 2022 and is now working for the Peace Corps.
David Castellanos is another student who has history with AWL.
“I’ve been on six total trips with AWL. The main reason I keep going is because it is a great humbling experience. It’s also great seeing a project from start to finish, especially for a good cause,” Castellanos said.
“Most of my family was born in Guatemala and it feels great to help considering my parents really miss it; they still make traditional Guatemalan dishes. I also still have some family in Guatemala,” said Castellanos, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering graduating in 2020.
“I was the one who started advocating to go to Guatemala back in 2019. AWL as a group had never gone to Guatemala and I wanted the group to experience some of the culture,” added Castellanos added, who is now a mechanical systems engineer for Virgin Galactic. “I was in direct communication with a member of the Peace Corps.
“What I’ve learned from these experiences is to not take the small things for granted, and to stay humble. Attitude is also crucial in these projects, it’s amazing what a positive attitude can do as far getting the project done,” Castellanos said.
Salinas had an extra lesson learned as a female leader in a traditionally male-led community.
“They were welcoming to my role as a leader and understood I had some knowledge and could develop their understanding that females could be leaders,” Salinas said. “I hope the little girls were listening.”
Salinas will graduate in spring 2025 and plans to become a professional surveyor in New Mexico, Texas and Colorado and to earn her Professional Engineering License but hopes to continue with AWL like others before her.
In addition to international trips, Aggies Without Limits regularly takes on projects in Las Cruces and surrounding communities. AWL is a non-profit-organization, and its work is funded by donations and their Daisy-Chain through which they provide labor for odd jobs such as moving furniture, landscaping and yard work. Students and other volunteers pay for their own travel expenses.
For more information about AWL, visit https://aggieswithoutlimits.org/ or email ewb@nmsu.edu.
