Clemson Engineering – Haiti Water Project: Fall 2017

In 2017, Dr. Anand Gramopadhye, Dean of the College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences, asked Gray Digital Group’s storytelling team to craft a series of stories inspiring the next generation of engineers to attend Clemson University.

We identified numerous narratives showcasing visual stories that would inspire individuals to take the next steps to change the world. During this creative process, we knew telling a story of mechanical engineering student, now graduate, Aaron Gordon would inspire others to consider traveling to Cange, Haiti to help continue the work with the Cange Municipal Water Project.

The first and keystone project of CEDC: the Cange Municipal Water Project is a water treatment and distribution project for the village of Cange. This 1.2 million dollar project was financed by the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina (EDUSC) as part of their “Partnership Cange” relationship and serves roughly 10,000 people with potable water.

The facilities, constructed and installed with oversight from CEDC interns (Clemson students) over the span of one and a half years, include nine fountain/showers, four cisterns with a total capacity of 200,000 gallons and pumping system that can deliver 144,000 gallons of water per day up 1,100 feet through nearly two miles of four-inch galvanized pipe. The water is filtered, sterilized, and chlorinated, providing clean drinking water to the inhabitants of Cange.

This story took close to one year to concept and develop the narrative, capture the video content through two international trips, and then edit the final video.

The video project was captured using the following equipment:
1) Canon 5D Mark IV on a DJI Ronin MX
2) Canon C100
3) DJI Mavic Pro

The video and photos were edited using Adobe’s Creative Cloud including Premiere, Audition, Lightroom, and Photoshop.

Here are a few links relevant to the project:

• Bobby Blog Post:The 534 Club: Necessary Climb To Find Clean Water in Haiti
• Bobby’s Images from Trip on Flickr

Here are links to learn more about our partners:

• Dean Anand Gramopadhye Biography
• Clemson University College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences (CECAS)
• CDEC: Clemson Engineers for Developing Countries
• CECAS Promo Department

Here is a video showcasing the long climb of close to eight stories, or 534 steps, from the bottom of the mountain in Cange, Haiti to the top where water was being pumped.

Project Crew:
Bobby Rettew: Storyteller and Executive Producer
Mark Berry: Videographer and Editor
David Lee: Client/Creative Lead