Four years ago, I was invited to Comunitario Liderazgo, a leadership teach-in program in rural Honduras. Since then, I have worked extensively in Honduras, engaging in various initiatives and projects in tandem with local organizations such as Funazucar.
As lecturer at the program supporting villages impacted by sugarcane farming, I became involved in grassroot developmental projects and witnessed firsthand the effects of environmental injustice — how unsustainable agricultural practices such as sugarcane monoculture, compounded by gender, racial, and socioeconomic inequality, exacerbate exposure to climate change. This led me to undertake in-depth research on the interconnected nature of societal and environmental challenges.
In this pursuit, I also came to view engineering as a tool to address such complex, interconnected problems. Notably, I developed a low-cost biofertilizer, known as “SCB Biofertilizer” to serve sustainable alternative to sugarcane waste incineration while simultaneously treating degraded soil to reduce flood erosion.
Click on the buttons on the right to view my science, leadership, and art projects in Honduras.
Honduras Projects: Science, Leadership, Photography
Communitario Liderazgo (Community Leadership) Teach-In
Since my freshman year in high school, I have been working as a guest lecturer for the Comunitario Liderazgo (Community Leadership) program in Honduras. Every summer, I collaborate with the Building a Better Life Foundation and the Funazucar Organization as part of their leadership teach-in program for sugarcane farming villages. Leaders from four rural villages come together each year.
During the five-day program, each village learns about leadership skills, identifies a major problem in their community, and creates plans to address it. The issues vary but typically include the lack of potable water or proper schools. The following year, we visit their communities to check on their progress. So far, I have visited over 12 villages in rural Honduras.
I lecture on my leadership experiences in Nepal and the Philippines for the adult program, and I also serve as a lecturer for the Girls' Leadership and Sexual Education Program.
SCB (Sugarcane Baggase) Biofertilizer
As a possible solution to reduce soil erosion caused by sugarcane monoculture and air pollution caused by sugarcane incineration, I developed a biofertilizer using a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium capable of precipitating calcium carbonate, alongside a second bacterium with bioremediating properties. Combined with sugarcane bagasse, the biofertilizer serves as a sustainable alternative to sugarcane waste incineration while simultaneously treating degraded soil.
I am currently collaborating with Honduran locals to implement this solution in support of local farmers.
“21 Letters From Honduras” Photo Book
In order to financially support the above initiatives and to showcase the candid pictures of Honduras that I took during my visit in 2023, I published a photobook called “21 Letters From Honduras.”
“21 Letters” because it was 21 letters written by the attendees at my first lecturer that started it all.
Twenty percent of the sales are donated to ChildFund Alliance, while the remaining eighty percent are donated to the Comunitario Liderazgo program in Honduras. ISBN 9791171883011
Available for purchase on:
https://ebook-product.kyobobook.co.kr/dig/epd/ebook/E000005688063