Weeks 4 and 6: Field work and results

by Frank Huijgens

Boa tarde!

After the first guided tour around the campus in week 3 with Mr. Congolo, I started preparing drawings of the existing sewer network. But I quickly realized that this was a quite difficult job. Actually the only source available was the Master Plan for UEM campus made in 2004. During the first guided tour I saw a part of the network displayed in the Master Plan and after I went back on my own in week 4 with a pencil and paper I compared the sketches with the map – fortunately both were the same. But this network only covered around 50% of the buildings. I asked Mr. Congolo some questions during the guided tour around the campus and with his answers and assumptions I made a map of the sewer network of the other buildings. Continue reading

Maputo in the first two weeks: between two sides of the sights

by Nessia Fausta

It has been two weeks since I arrived in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. After being picked up by Delio Zandamela, the very friendly international mobilization staff, I arrived in Residence 1 of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM), my dormitory for the next 2 months. Breathing the warm air after a long journey, I slowly absorbed my daily life experiences here; the country, the city, the people, and the project itself. Continue reading

Laboratory equipment in Maputo

by André

After a long period we finally got some laboratory equipment in Maputo. Celma, Noor and all the BSc and MSc students involved in the project have now access to high-quality laboratory equipment for their work, including a spectrophotometer, several field probes and several other items. All the equipment was donated to Universidade Eduardo Mondlane and can be used for education and research purposes. If you wish more details about the equipment or wish to use it please don’t hesitate to contact us.


All the equipment in boxes last year in Delft.

lab_equip_Ilab_equip_III
The equipment in Maputo a coupled of weeks ago.

Weeks 1-3: Getting used and getting started in Maputo

by Frank

Three weeks ago, on the 31th of January, I arrived at Maputo International Airport. From then on I would be here alone for the next 11 weeks, working on solutions for water reclamation at the campus of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM). Exciting! Continue reading

Three day workshop in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam)

by André and Noor

On the last week of January 2016 André, Noor and Celma attended an NWO workshop in Ho Hi Minh City, Vietnam. The meeting brought together, for the first time, researchers and PhD candidates involved in the Urbanizing Deltas of the World-I (UDW-I) call, and created an open forum for discussion on the content and on research uptake and stakeholder engagement. Unfortunately not everybody could join, due to visa issues, and that was also the case of our colleague Joaquim. Continue reading

Last weeks in Maputo

By Jesse Salet and Hidde Schijfsma

In our last weeks in Maputo the focus of our work was on the developing and environmentally sustainable solution for the sewer produced within UEM Campus. Continue reading

Week 2 and 3 in Maputo

By Hidde Schijfsma and Jesse Salet

The more time we spend here in Maputo, the more we learn about this amazing city and the more we get used to the habits of the people over here. Continue reading

Studying and living in the Netherlands – first impressions

by Joaquim Nhampoca

This is a kind of narrative of a quite long process of my coming to the Netherlands for my project. The main purpose is to share with everyone about my PhD programme and obviously my stay in Delft. To make it clear I will start by the application for the PhD position, arrival and accommodation, studying at UNESCO-IHE, and finally living in Delft. Continue reading

The first week in Maputo

By Hidde Schijfsma and Jesse Salet

Last week (16th of November) we arrived at Maputo Airport where we were warmly welcomed by Noor. She drove us around and gave us a nice first impression of Mozambique. During the coming period we will be analyzing the issues of the municipal sewerage system of Maputo. At the moment there are some problems with non-operating pumps and because of that the sewage is discharged directly into the bay. Our goal is to find out the issue behind the non-operating pumps and investigate how the system can be restored or even improved to operate in a more sustainable way. Continue reading