Developing a Resource Center in Rural Uganda

The Rural Agency for Sustainable Development (RASD) is a Ugandan non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Nkokonjeru dedicated to providing free or low-cost information about sustainable living to the local community. This project focused on enabling RASD to achieve their goals by finishing construction on the 1000 sqft main facility, providin

g a solar power station rated at 162 watts, providing a low power 40 watt computer cluster composed of 2 Linux computers, furnishing the cluster with a digital library of 1500 books focused on appropriate technology, and providing a Universal Nut Sheller made by the Full Belly Project for increasing the value of locally harvested coffee. The project was a partnership between the Duke University chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), the Duke Smart Home Program, and RASD. All systems were i

mplemented at 100% functionality and all supplies were either commodities, or were sourced locally. Local labor was utilized for the implementation effort, and relationships were formed with local solar providers and local computer providers for both short and long-term maintenance needs. It is our hope that RASD will not only become a powerful source for public information, but also become a rally point for future outreach programs such as Duke Engage.

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