When most people think about retirement, they think of sitting on a beach, reading books, or relaxing. Paul Pedone, has different plans. As a newly-registered member of Engineers Without Borders, Pedone is traveling across the globe to do what he does best — study the soil.
“I was looking for a meaningful retirement opportunity, so I got involved with our local EWB chapter here in Portland,” said Pedone, a geologist with USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Oregon. “I started working with a group of students at Portland State University as a mentor for their EWB program.”
Pedone has worked for NRCS for 43 years, and as the prospect of retirement nears, his work with EWB provides a pathway to continue his service to the environment and to others.
EWB is an all-volunteer nonprofit group that supports community-driven development programs worldwide, with a focus on providing basic human necessities such as clean drinking water and adequate sanitation.
Last year, Pedone packed his bags not once, but twice, to volunteer his time and talent with EWB in Ethiopia. He is working on a project to build a school in Debre Birhan, which means “Mountain of Light.”
The school will serve 1,000 students in kindergarten through the eighth grade. It’s being funded by The Community Project: Ethiopia, a nonprofit organization with its goal to build this school for the adjacent community and several other community districts within Debre Birhan, Ethiopia. Technical support is being provided from EWB chapters in Portland, Maine; as well as PSU’s EWB chapter and the Portland Professionals Chapter in Oregon.
“This trip in December was my third time in Ethiopia. In many Ethiopian villages, it’s not common to have clean, safe drinking water and restroom facilities,” Pedone said. “It’s eye-opening to see how people live in third-world conditions.”
“Education is the key to helping them develop their communities,” he added. “Debre Birhan is fortunate to have a good water supply provided by deep wells.”
His first trip in May of 2014 involved collecting soil samples, performing a site assessment, and meeting with the engineers (EWB Portland, Maine) who are designing the school. Pedone worked closely with the city surveyor and a local university to perform essential topographic surveys on the site.
“The land where the school is located was previously used for agriculture, mostly subsistence farming,” Pedone said. “It had been plowed for hundreds of years. There was a lot of opportunity there for soil conservation training, because the soil resources are being depleted rapidly.”
He returned again in December with a group from PSU to build two composting latrines for the school. PSU engineering students designed the latrines so that the compost could be used as fertilizer for the soil. When completed, the school will have 11 composting latrines.
“We showed the people how composting latrines can be used to replenish and benefit the soil,” Pedone said. “It’s an opportunity to train people in sanitation and natural resource conservation.”
The PSU students also designed equipment that will build construction blocks using compressed materials from the soil.
While more trips to Ethiopia may be in his future, Pedone’s next adventure will be a trip to Nicaragua in March with the PSU student group. They will perform soil assessments for an aquaculture pond at a senior citizen facility, and assess an existing groundwater well.
As Pedone continues to spend more time with EWB, he encourages others with an interest to follow suit.
“The people are very appreciative of what we do to help them,” he said. “They see how important the technology is, and they see how it can benefit their local communities. It’s very rewarding, plus it spreads the idea of volunteerism.”
