Posted in Costa Rica on May 8, 2025
This DWC team is beginning construction on a vital aqueduct for the community of Taus in Costa Rica. This is an exciting milestone of the El Camino de Costa Rica eco trail. A group of engineering students from the University of Calgary, led by DWC Team Leader, David Lyon, is working closely with local engineers, construction workers, and community members to bring clean water to this community.
DWC teams have played a pivotal role in supporting El Camino de Costa Rica, a 280-kilometer eco-trail that stretches from the Caribbean to the Pacific, weaving through rural communities and indigenous territories. Partnering with our local nonprofit Asociación Mar a Mar, DWC volunteers assist in infrastructure projects that enhance the trail and benefit local communities. Initiatives not only improve facilities for hikers but also foster sustainable tourism and economic development in underserved areas. Through their collaborative efforts, DWC and its volunteers help ensure that El Camino de Costa Rica remains a meaningful journey for travelers and a catalyst for positive change in the communities it touches.
Blog post 1
My visit to Taus and the Pejibaye region in Costa Rica has been both immersive and enlightening.
Our visit began with a song and stories from Guillermo, a local agricultural engineer, which highlighted the importance of environmental protection and respect. He explained the 40 kilometre hike that was required to establish the water system in his own town which was effective motivation for the work needed for Taus’ own system. My job was to help dig out a hole and cast the concrete for a new sedimentation tank.
Seeing our team’s conceptual plans being implemented while also learning the skills to make it happen was a satisfying and rewarding process. In contrast to the often theoretical knowledge presented in school textbooks, the methods used by locals were generational and completed by intuition rather than rigid measurements.
My interactions with locals and working on the village water system has been an amazing learning experience. Each resident is intimately involved in each process required to meet their water, food, and shelter needs. Understanding this interconnectedness has been very significant in appreciating the vital impact that our work is having on the community.
Overall, this sharing of environmental and practical knowledge has enriched my insight into rural water development and has established the lasting success of the Taus water system restoration.
Post by Owen
Blog post 2
An elitist nature tends to infect engineering students, expelled only through exposure to the reality of living in the consequences of their designs. The social perception and difficulty of the degree tends to lead engineers to believe they know everything, despite having never dirtied their boots.
While I grew up to that fact and tried to be self-aware, my eyes have never been as open as they are now. The opportunity to contribute to the project and work with local knowledge in this beautiful environment people call home has allowed me to both relax and reflect, realizing I’m experiencing the textbook example of the engineer-citizen divide.
The team spent hours on what we thought would be functional designs but neglected key aspects and failed to take full advantage of our community engagement opportunities. Hence, I am happy to let the local take the lead.
I recognize my experience with DWC in Costa Rica as a powerful learning opportunity that has and will continue to better me as a person, opening my eyes to life in rural and remote communities in the tropics. It is one of, if not the most, breathtaking places I have ever visited.
Unlike in Canda people utilize everything around them to survive, working with the natural environment instead of bulldozing it. It is due to that fact that this country retains its natural beauty, which I am lucky enough to witness. Thank you DWC!
Post by Riley
Blog post 3
My reflection: Being a part of the project with DWC in Costa Rica has brought me out of my comfort zone, but I have learned valuable skills and made lifelong memories.
Being a university student, it isn’t often I get to see the work that happens on-site, limiting my experience to the concepts I have learned from the classroom. It has been eye-opening to see how the on-site workers collaborate as a team and adapt to different challenges. For example, we had initially planned to split into two fixed groups with set tasks for each day.
However, once we arrived at the work site, we realized that dividing tasks based on process and availability of equipment was far more effective. This allowed us to maximize productivity and better coordinate as a team. It was interesting to see how our original plan evolved in response to real-time challenges, showing that flexibility often leads to more efficient outcomes. Through this experience, I learned the importance of being open to new ideas and going with the flow.
Post by Alice
Blog post 4
Growing up in the west of North America, the idea of individualism is often emphasised. You are encouraged to build up your life as an individual, to make your own money and your own happiness. Although as an immigrant, my parents often tried to teach me otherwise, as I progressed through school this individualistic mentality was often reinforced. Watching my peers working and studying alone, dreading group projects or even refusing to help each other with small tasks like sharing notes, all these experiences made me feel like western society is ‘you vs. the world’. Back in Canada many folks would not stop to help out a stranger, and those who would stop would only do so if it didn’t impede on their schedule. The rigid standards that individuals live their life by, to consistently be on time, to consistently perform at their very best etc. are all things that stay on my mind as I am navigating through my life.
When I first came to Costa Rica for the water system project I was introduced to the concept of ‘Tico Time’, which is where whatever needs to happen will eventually happen and there are often not many rigid time standards when it comes to plans. Every individual I had the pleasure of meeting while on this trip was extremely kind and patient with not just me but with our whole group. I feel as if the biggest culture shock of being here in Costa Rica was the kindness that I was shown, which I have never experienced from any western society.
Working with both our team and the locals I learned an important lesson this trip and it was that community matters most. Building up a strong connection with those around you, being kind with no strings attached and working hard knowing you have people to back you up, that is what life is about. Life is not about sitting in an office doing excel work for a paycheck. The strength is takes to get something done is halved and then halved over and over again as you build up community. If I could repeat this experience I would choose to do so in a heartbeat.
Post by Nadithi
Posted in Costa Rica on May 8, 2025
