Curtin engineering students engage with rural community as part of first-year studies

Miri – 15 November 2019 – 25 Engineering First Year (EFY) students of Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) recently completed their community engagement project at Kampung Sungai Sebatu, an Iban longhouse community on the outskirts of Miri, as part of their ‘Engineering Foundations: Design and Processes INDE1001’ unit.

The project, which was coordinated by a teaching team led by Dr. Sukanta Roy, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science, was aligned to several learning objectives of the unit.

These include opportunities for students to engage in Work Integrated Learning (WIL), which is embedded in all Curtin courses to enrich the student experience and enhance learning outcomes where students working in teams are required to apply engineering design processes learned in the classroom to solve real-life problems. The importance of the United Nations’ Sustainable Goals 2016 – 2030 is also emphasised and students are required to incorporate them in their community-based projects.

Thus, students get the opportunity to practice their engineering knowledge and skills in projects that could potentially improve the livelihoods and living conditions within the communities, and at the same time, have meaningful engagement with community stakeholders.

The project at Kampung Sungai Sebatu, which was carried out over two semesters, involved introducing the community to good waste management and farming practices and the benefits of composting food wastes to produce cheap environment-friendly organic fertilisers as most of the villagers are engaged in subsistence and small-scale farming.

The project was inspired by a talk on ‘Domestic Composts and Organic Fertilisers’ by Miri City Councillor and local expert on environmental preservation Mathew Benson Mounsey, which the students attended earlier this year. Core to Cr. Mathew’s talk was the use of the 5R strategy towards waste management (Refusing to use plastics, Reducing domestic wastage, Reusing sustainable alternatives, Recycling of various items, and Repurposing or composting kitchen waste) which the students adopted for their project.

It was also based on preliminary studies and consultation with the villagers by the project team, in which a number of difficulties faced by the community was highlighted, including low income from farming and lack of transport, electricity and water supply. In the process, the team also learned about the community’s long-term aspirations. Having assessed the community’s situation based on geography, climate, social lifestyle, economic conditions and other factors in their design evaluation, the students then worked on appropriate design solutions.

According to Dr. Sukanta, the villagers plant vegetables in their backyards for their daily consumption but do not practice systematic farming methods to ensure more consistent and efficient output. Most of them still have to buy most of their provisions from the market in Long Lama.

In addition, the villagers tend to simply bury or burn their food waste at their own designated landfill when they could compost them to make fertlisers for their crops and thus save on buying commercial fertlisers.

During the project implementation, besides highlighting the advantages of using organic fertilisers over chemical fertilisers and the different types of composting methods, the students demonstrated methods of making low-cost compost bins and bokashi compost accelerators and juice which can help accelerate the composting process by up to 50 per cent.

The students also demonstrated better farming practices, such as mixing a ratio of 70 per cent soil and 30 per cent organic fertilisers for initial seed planting, followed by re-planting of 10-inch plants for better yields. Joined by the villagers, they planted the seeds for different types of vegetables such cabbages, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, chillies and beans. They also donated necessary gardening tools to encourage the villagers to actively engage in these new practices.

The village headman, Tuai Rumah Jemat, thanked the Curtin students for their contribution to the development and welfare of the village community. He expressed hopes that further projects could be implemented, particularly in dealing with the lack of water sources. He related how, at present, the community relies on the adjacent river and rainwater for almost all its water needs, including for bathing, laundry, cooking and cleaning.

Expressing his satisfaction with the success of the project, Dr. Sukanta said the students developed important team-working, communication and problem-solving skills that will be critical in their subsequent years of studies, as well as in their future careers.

“Such projects not only enhance their practical knowledge, but also encourage active community engagement, a better understanding of the lives of Sarawak’s indigenous communities, and a sense of responsibility towards society as engineers,” said Dr. Sukanta.

The students pose for group photo with villagers of Kampung Sungai Sebatu.

The students and villagers preparing seeds for planting.

Students giving villagers instructions on making compost bins.

Students showing villagers how to prepare bokasi powder.

Students and the villlage elderly prepare bokasi powder together.

Students prepping a domestic compost bin.

Village headman Jemat (centre) joins in.

Students and villagers planting seeds in outdoor plot.

The Kampung Sungai Sebatu longhouse, home to 23 families.