Sa' Nima'
Collaborative

 WHO WE ARE

We are a student-run organization by the University of Michigan's BLUElab. Along with our partner NGO, CasaSito, we focus on identifying and executing sustainable development solutions in rural Guatemala. This past semester, we have been working on two new projects involving CasaSito scholarship-recipients and their families. The first is focused on prototyping more efficient stoves that reduce smoke output and require less firewood. Our goal is to decrease the portion of family income going towards buying wood, as well as decreasing the risk for smoke-related illnesses. The second project is focused on developing sustainable washing machines to be used within communities. These will be portable, make the washing process more efficient, and serve as a potential source of income. 

WHAT WE DO
We partner with families in Guatemala who spend the majority of their monthly income on basic items such as electricity, firewood, and food. Our team aims to design engineering projects that will reduce the percentage that the families are spending on these items either by reducing the use of basic items or by finding a way to increase family income overall.

Team History: Sa’ Nima’ Collaborative began as its own independent group, which worked with the community of Samox San Lucas, Guatemala to develop a biosand water filter for a local schoolyard. The group members also worked with the schools to teach English and conducted STEM workshops after school. In 2014 Sa' Nima' joined as an official project team of the University of Michigan College of Engineering's BLUELab. That year Sa' Nima' began to pursue a solar lantern project in Samox, Guatemala. The team worked for two years to design and implement these lanterns, but finances and communication led the team to reevaluate and move to the community of Primavera del Ixcán, Guatemala which shares many of Sa' Nima's values. There, Sa' Nima' worked on clean water storage solutions. Today, Sa' Nima' is expanding our reach to work with CasaSito scholarship-recipients all over rural Guatemala to implement sustainable solutions to their most pressing needs using the fundamental principles of socially-engaged design.

Partner Organization: CasaSito
 

Contact:
sanima_eboard@umich.edu



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