Engineers Without Borders Malaysia

Engineers Without Borders

- Malaysia -

Engineering a Sustainable Future

Who Are We?

Engineers Without Borders Malaysia (EWBM) is a non-profit organisation that aims to harness the expertise of students, educators, academics and professionals in Malaysia for engineering projects that benefit disadvantaged, underserved & underprivileged communities – with an emphasis on environmental sustainability and community empowerment.

We are affiliated with Engineers Without Borders – International, a globally-recognised international federation of national Engineers Without Borders / Ingenieurs Sans Frontier (EWB-ISF) Members Associations.

We aim to improve the quality of life for these communities through the design and implementation of

simple, sustainable engineering solutions.

We currently have two branches – EWBM Central & EWBM Sarawak – as well as six student chapters which include: University of Nottingham Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Monash University Malaysia, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia, Swinburne University Malaysia & Curtin University Malaysia. 

Come on in and find out more about EWBM!

Sponsors & Collaborators

Get In Touch!

Water4Omadal Project

Location

Omadal Island, Sabah

Community

Omadal Island Community

Project Team Members

Find out more about our project team members!

Sponsors

The Issue / Concern

Pulau Omadal is home to a Bajau community of around 1500 individuals. However, there is currently neither  reliable water supply nor any form of waste management. Residents collect rainwater when possible and  supplement this with water bought from Pulau Bum-Bum or Semporna whenever they can afford to.  Consequently, the island and surrounding sea area are strewn with rubbish, of which empty water bottles are a  significant proportion. This project has two main goals: i) to enhance water access by increasing rainwater  harvesting and filtration treatment capacity, and ii) establish a community-run water enterprise that will be able to  buy water at cheaper rates as well as remove rubbish from the island. These twin goals are necessary because it  is impossible for rainwater harvesting alone to meet the needs of the population, particularly during the dry  season. The project will thus address two key SGP OP6 strategic initiatives:

i) community seascape conservation  and biodiversity management, and
ii) social inclusion (indigenous peoples).

Goals and Objectives

  1. To simultaneously eliminate single-use plastic drinking water bottles on Pulau Omadal and to improve the waste situation by incorporating it as a central part of the  water cooperative’s mission.
  2. Increasing their rainwater harvesting capacity.
  3. Installing water filtration technologies to make harvested rainwater potable.
  4. Launching a community-led water cooperative that will purchase water in bulk in reusable containers on behalf  of the community.