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Fiji Kindergarten Project

Prospective Students

All majors are welcome, but we are specifically looking for Structural Engineering, Economics, International Business majors and Business minors (as well as any other students interested in business and social innovation). We will be working with Solidworks in this project.

Mission Statement

The team is designing a kindergarten for the Loloma Foundation to promote early education in Fiji. Considering the natural disasters in Fiji, the difficulty of access to the location, and the sloped hilltop of the site, the team last quarter has created a wood frame house design. This year, the team is divided into 2 subteams to conduct individual research for completing a easy-to-read construction manual and gathering funding sources. After several iterations of ideas, the team designed an earthquake-resistant structure with a wood and concrete combined foundation, shear walls with a bracing frame, and a wood gable roof with water catchment system. The team also will design an easy to follow construction manual for the build of each element of the kindergarten.

Fiji Team Winter 2018

Quarter Goals

For this quarter, the team will be divided into two subgroups:

  • Technical
  • Social Innovation

Technical

The Technical sub-team is tasked with finishing the design of the kindergarten by getting approval by professional engineers and creating a step by step guide for the construction of the finalized Fiji Kindergarten design. The procedures for construction of the structure’s four walls, roof, and the foundation will be divided amongst this sub-team. Utilizing Solidworks, a computer-aided drafting software, the team will use exploded views of the model and its assembly to plainly map out each step. This manual must be very easy to understand because of a language barrier with builders in Fiji.

Social Innovation

The Social Innovation sub-team focuses on turning the kindergarten project into a sustainable enterprise. The team will focus on improving the existing Fiji Kares business proposal by adding fundraising opportunities. For this quarter, the team’s goal is to obtain funding through competing in social innovation competition and presenting the business proposal to rotary clubs, corporations, foundations and potential donors.

Client

The Loloma Foundation is a California-based nonprofit corporation whose mission is to provide medical, dental, and infrastructure support to communities in the South Pacific. They have distributed medical supplies, organized and implemented medical missions, and joint funded sustainability projects. The Foundation partnered with the Global TIES program to convert shipping containers into a functional kindergarten.

Team Members

  • Sidney Anthony
  • Camille Casilang
  • Connor Cho
  • Shannon Do
  • Lindsey Jacobs
  • Jasmine Leja
  • Tara Nejad
  • Jesus Osuna
  • Jean Ratanaphaithun

Loloma Foundation Advisor

  • Dr. Lance Hendricks

Faculty Advisor

  • Dr. Mandy Bratton

Undergraduate Advisor

  • Crystal Im