jason berner peace corps presentacion epa dec 2013 final

8/12/2019 Jason Berner Peace Corps Presentacion EPA Dec 2013 FINAL

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Peace Corps ResponseRainwater Harvesting Engineering ProjectInstituto Technologico Superior

De la Sierra Norte de Puebla, Zacatln, MX

(September 2013 - June 2014)

Jason T. Bernerola de Mexico video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91zqn7fIitI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91zqn7fIitIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91zqn7fIitIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91zqn7fIitI


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Contents*Where is Zacatlan, Puebla, MX

*Whats Peace Corps Response? Short overview of program and how it works with EPA (MOU) PC Training What does Peace Corps do in MX? PC Volunteer Network in MX & importance of relationships

*Mexican Culture

*The Technology Institute

*My Counterparts (who they are and what they do)

*Rainwater Harvesting Project: community assessment, design, construction, maintenance, communityoutreach

*USAID SPA (Small Project Assistance) Grant

Secondary Community Project: childrens garden

*Traveling/Exploring Mexico

*Peace Corps Third Goal: My Mexican Blog!

*Bringing Peace Corps Experiences back to EPA in Summer 2014


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From Urban Stormwater Management/Green Infrastructure, GIS, and

Stream Health Assessments across the USA to Rainwater Harvesting inCentral Mexico for a year (2,308 miles SW of DC)

Zacatlan de las Manzanas, Puebla, MX


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What does Zacatlan, Puebla, MX look like?


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Take a closer look of the Centro and Valley


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Taking a stroll around town


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Peace Corps Response & EPA MOU (2010)

http://www.epa.gov/oia/about/peacecorps.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/oia/about/peacecorps.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/oia/about/peacecorps.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/oia/about/peacecorps.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/oia/about/peacecorps.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/oia/about/peacecorps.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/oia/about/peacecorps.pdf


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Peace Corps en Mxico:

Colaboration between the USAand Mexico


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Peace Corps in Mxico 2004: Begins in Mexico with a

technical cooperation agreementwith the National Council forScience and Technology of Mexico

2006:Sign technical cooperationagreement with Ministry ofEnvironment and NaturalResources (MX EPA equivalent)

2012: 231 volunteers in total haveserved


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Peace Corps Presence in Mxico

*Currently about 72volunteers in MX

(only in safe zonesfollowing US StateDepartmentguidance)


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Safe and Off Limits Zones in Mexico


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My Site in Zacatlan, Puebla


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Peace Corps Programs in Mxico

1. TechnologyTransfer

2. Environment


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Technology Transfer Program:

Volunteers work with CONACYT research centers and universities to

improve processes related to technology transfer, such as processes

required to bring research results to direct application in projects beneficial

to society.

rogram urpose


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Environmental Education and CulturePromotion of Green Technologies

Promote and docment the use of homeand community gardens, rainwaterharvesting, energy efficient stoves,solar food dehydrator, etc

Environmental Action Organizing

Work and support in the formation ofyouth groups, adults, or children tocarry out actions that care for andimprove the environment of

communitiesDissemination and Awareness aboutthe Effects of Climate Change

Promote capacity building and informedcitizen participation

Emilie Schur: environmentaleducation volunteer in Zacatlan


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*9 Volunteers in my group: retiredNASA aeronautics engineer, Englishteachers, Geology PhD student. All ofus except 1 person has never done PC

before (Pilot Group).

*Whats the monthly stipend like?: Like

being a rich grad student in Mexico anda summer intern in DC. ~$900 USD per

month, decently well off in Mexico.According to zone of Mexico you live in(ruralsuper urban)

*Being your own boss, with Mexican

counterparts & PC staff to support you.

My PC Volunteer Group (Response Group 5)


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Some Benefits of Peace Corps Response

Short training period (2 weeks)

Health benefits covered

4 weeks of vacation time

Able to travel to other parts of Mexico 23 weekendsper month

Federal government service time

Readjustment allowance of $7,425 (pre-tax) after

completion of service


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* Came in with rusty college level Spanish

and mostly practicing with the friendly

janitors at EPA. Studied in DC for

1.5 months (Meetup groups, Podcasts

(News in Slow Spanish).

* In Mexico private tutoring 4 hours per

week. Best practice is speaking Spanish

at work and life in generalyou have to

because barely anyone speaks English in

Zacatlan! Tools that help a lot: Google

Translate and Word Reference!

Spanish Language Training


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PC Volunteer Network:

Relationships Are Your Greatest Resource


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PC Social Networking throughout Mexico


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Mexican Culture*High context society: indirect communication, direct communication is not common (US direct

communication more common). People mostly seem happy and content here, but are they really allof the time ? People dont say no a lot of the time, they just dont always commit to what theysay theyll do.

*Native Peoples: many live in rural communities near town centers (dress looks like they live onfarm, out in the sun a lot)*People are often friendly and want to know personal things about you (family, relationshipstatus, where you live, etc)*Talk to me in person, email wont cut it.

*Mexican Time: of course yes lets meet tomorrow (next day waiting 30 minutes later)

*Cumbia/Banda: NPR Cumbia version of Thrift Shop*Mercado: fresh food every week!*Salsa and chili for everything: pizza, chips, fresh fruit, Mexican Corn, y Micheladas (cerveza). Theylove hamburgers and hotdogs here (maybe more than in the States)*Dont see too many vegetarians in Mexico, they love their meats!*Tortillas for every meal, the magical food, Vitamin T*There are few natural food stores (have to go to big cities, ie Mexico City), but the food is a lot morefresh here!*rale Wey!!! Lots of excitement

*Two sports here, Futbol y Boxing*Mexican dress: very put together (make-up, tight clothes, slicked hair) and rural dress(natives). Very colorful clothes, sometimes it feels like its the 80s again.

*Public display of affection: lots at the University and in public parks*Everyone wants to learn English here (.5 % people know English in Zacatlan)*Do you want to take a Mexican Girlfriend you can have 2, 3? Wait you want a Mexican wife?*You like Karaoke right? Please sing English songs!!*Bottled water only, nobody drinks tap water even if its treated.*You like exercising, really? You wear shorts too, what happened to your sweatpants?!

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Some Other Things Different in Mexico*Always take public transportation, taxis, or bicycle (safety reasons)

Learn to enjoy or tolerate long bus rides

*Lunch is at 2 pm at the earliest and dinner is at 8 pm (light meal)

*Bathrooms: leave dirty toilet paper in the trash

*Mexican children and young adults live with their parents until theyre married

*Rental Apartments: No Craigslist, all word of mouth

*Recycle: happens very rarely(just recycled for 2ndtime in 3 months)

*Showers: wait to warm up the water (5 -10 minutes)

*Gas: you buy tanks of it about every month, no continuous supply of natural gas

*Learn to live without heating, layer up!

*Always have cash on you, few places take credit cards. Small bills and coins areyour best friend

*Your Large Grocery Store is owned by Walmart

*Directors of universities are political appointees: they come and go every electioncycle (happened last week at my university)

*Cellphones: easiest and most common to pay as you go. Use an unlocked

Smartphone for international travel WhatsApp:what everyone uses to communicate for free


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Examples of Mexican Food Experiences


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More Mexican Food Experiences


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Mexican Cultural Experiences

IndependenceDay

Day of the DeadDia de los Muertos

Church in everyCentral Plaza


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hSEPU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85Jgp7hSEPU

Mexican Music: Cumbia Meets Pop/Hip Hop
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Exercising in Mexico feels like being Rocky inthe 80s

*Sweats and colorful ones! Exercise isnt popular with most Mexicans.

*Just watch out for the dogs in the streets, theyre everywhere!

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Learning to Ride the Mexican Emotional Rollercoaster

Very High MediumLow Very Low

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*Type of School: Public State TechnologyInstitute

*Undergraduate Majors: Industrial, Forestry,Industrial Food, Electromechanical,

& Computer Engineering,and Public Accounting

*Number of Students: ~1,600


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Rainwater Harvesting Design-Build Project

Why: Institute one of greatest users of municipaldrinking water; annual decreases in rainwatercaptured for municipal drinking water treatment plant(deforestation and mining). The Institute wants to

lessen its environmental impact and take advantageof plentiful annual rainfall.

What: Implement rainwater harvesting cisterns toreduce majority of non-potable water demands at the

Institute

Who: Senior Industrial Engineering Students andFaculty

Where: CampusAcademic Buildings and Other

Community Buildings


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Overall Project Tasks:Sistema de Captacion de Agua Pluvial

*Training for academic staff and students(industrial engineering)

*Construction of rainwater harvestingsystem (30,000 liters ~ 7,925 gals.)

* Provide technical capacity building foracademic staff and students

*Collaborate with other volunteers,students, and staff in supporting andpromoting technology transfer


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Making Puebla State News!!


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My Mexican CounterpartsOscar Sampayo: Research Subdivision Leader

*Has worked at the Institute for 14 years

*Other Projects: Lead Auditor of ISO 9001,(International Organization for Standardization) QualityManagement System; and leads the implementation of ISO 14001 Environmental Management System

*How Oscar heard about Peace Corps Response: through the National Forestry Commission (MXForest Service)

*Greatest Outcome of Project: will be raising awareness about water management and reusing

rainwater for alternative uses for schools and communities of the region.

*Favorite experience working with Jason has been: Jason wants to work on the project and we haveconfidence in working with him to find a solution.

*What Oscar likes most about the United States? Very advanced technological development


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My Mexican Counterparts

Rafa Garrido: Professor of Industrial Engineering

*Has worked at the Institute for 9.5 years

*Other Projects: Greenhouse tomato production and Water Catchment Systems to support wind power

*Greatest Impacts of the Project: decrease potable water consumption at our institution (reuse ofrainwater for flushing toilets); change in culture to care about how we use water; educating communitymembers; and wiser use of landscaping.

*What Rafa likes working with Jason: he easily troubleshoots and is committed to his work. I liked howhe found a potential Mexican partner with a lot of experience implementing rainwater harvesting systemsto assist with our project.

*What Rafa likes most about the United States: their concern with several issues with the Mexicanpeople, including our infrastructure. The USA helped us get the ball to the World Cup in Brazil(hahahahahaha)!!!!


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My Mexican Counterparts

Reyna Oliver:Industrial Engineering StudentStudent Project Team Leader

*Student for 3.5 years

*What she likes most about the project: it is an innovative idea for the region, in addition to theknowledge she is acquiring for her career.

*Greatest Impact of the Project: it will make a big impact with respect to environmental protection,making the Institution more self-sustaining; helping out with water needs for bathrooms, cleaning, andgardens.

*What Reyna likes working with Jason: he shares ideas and contributes to the realization of theproject for our school. He is very nice to work with.

*What she likes most about the United States: its technology and how its constantly innovating


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Beneficios de Recoleccin de Aguas Pluviales*Promote a community ethic of water conservation

*Reduce potable water demand

*Reduce costs of buying municipal potable

*Reuse rainwater for non-potable uses*Reduce energy needed to treat and pump potable water

*Reduce localized flooding and soil erosion


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Investigating Main Types of Cisterns Used in Mexico

*Evaluate the

advantages and

disadvantages of

different cistern

materials (costs of

labor, materials,

maintenance, &

lifecycle).

*Make sure materials

are available locally or

regionally and

affordable. Geomembrane

Ferrocement &

Cement/Blocks


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Rainwater Harvesting Investigations

in Puebla!

Students signing up to conduct neighborhood

assessments of existing cisterns

Checking out potable watertanks on top of my office


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Examples of Built Rainwater Harvesting

Systems in Zacatlan

5,000 liter (1,320 gals)

Ferrocement rainwater cistern

Forested headwater stream concretestorage pool (owned by local drinkingwater utility)


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Building Ferrocement Rainwater Harvesting Cisterns

Rural Communities in Zacatlan


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Regional Rainwater Harvesting Systems

Building underground

cement cistern

Entrance to undergroundcement cistern First flush diverter


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USAID Small Project Assistance (SPA)

*Small grant projectassistance program:community capacitybuilding, providing financialaid; and developing

community engagement

*Funding in MX focused onclimate change projects(greatest interest of MXgovernment)

*Monitoring and Evaluationof outcomes of projectsimportant


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Site for Pilot Cistern at the Institute

Leyenda delMapa:

1.AcademicBuilding C

2. AcademicBuilding D

3. MethodsLaboratory

4. Cistern


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Probable Location of Pilot Cistern

(blue circle)We have chosen aGeomembrane Cistern:

*Little annual

maintenance

*Strong & durablematerials

*Quick construction time

*Cheap material costs


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Peace Corps SPA Grant

$6,000 USD (cash)

*Cistern construction materials (cistern, drainage network, filter &pump) for a 11,500 liter (3,037 gals.) cistern

* Didactic workshop materials (presentacions & manuals)

* Education and technical skills development for students, faculty, andcommunity members focused on the installation and maintenance of

rainwater harvesting cisterns


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Peace Corps SPA Grant

Community In-Kind Contribution from the Institute:$2,000 USD

*Provide student and faculty labor for the design, construction, andmaintenance of the cistern

*Host the workshop for instructors and participants

*Provide assistance with housing, local transportation, and meals forinstructors of the course

* Community outreach: provide outreach materials and activities about thecistern to community members


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Traveling in Mexico

Vacationing at beaches, World Cup Qualifier Soccer Games,Exploring Pyramids, Hiking around Volcanoes and National

Parks, and discovering happenings in Mexico City.


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More Cool Travel Pictures in Mexico!

Future Travels: Puerto VallertaWorld Cup in Brazil (Go USA & Mexico!!!)?


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Secondary Community Project:

Design and Construction of Childrens garden atCommunity Development Center

Design and constructchildrens garden at rural

community developmentcenter:

Planting boxes for native

plants & vegetables Stormwater pond

Connecting existing cisternto stormwater pond

Outdoor pavilion classroom


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Third Goal: Sharing my experiences back home

(Blogging!!)

http://rainwatercatcherdemexico.blogspot.mx
http://rainwatercatcherdemexico.blogspot.mx/http://rainwatercatcherdemexico.blogspot.mx/


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Muchas Gracias!Tienes algunas preguntas?

Jason T. Berner

Ingeniero de captacin de aguas pluviales, LEED AP

Peace Corps Response

Oficina: Instituto Technologico Superiorde la Sierra Norte de PueblaZacatlan de las Manzanas, Puebla, MXEmail:[email protected]

jason berner peace corps presentacion epa dec 2013 final

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