We ran out the door. Packed lunch in-hand, we jumped onto our “combi”. Barely on time…

This day was already failing to go as planned.

Upon arriving to Cantaro’s office, we decided to make a couple of modifications to our prototype. We wanted to see how changing the height of our overflow pipe (the one that redirects excess water away from the Mesita Azul), would affect the flow rate. However, we soon realized that our pump was not functioning. We spent the next two hours trying to figure out how to tackle this issue, and after an exhaustive online search, we managed to take our pump apart and fix it.

Even though set-backs are a normal part of any design process, it is always frustrating to see unexpected surprises slowing down your progress. Nevertheless, we learn, solve the problem, and move on.

Having completed our experimental testing, we decided to go shopping once more! This time we were looking for more cheap plastic containers, so that we could build our final prototype.

Throughout the remainder of the afternoon, we worked on our final prototype, and carried out more tests. We wanted to verify that the flow rate matched our predictions.

Prototype video

The results were exactly what we expected! Even though we had been able to replicate these results back in Houston, we were all happy to know that our idea could be implemented using the materials available in Chiapas. When numerous resources are available, problem solving becomes much easier –there are no constraints on one’s creative thinking. However, in the real world, seldom does one have the luxury of a semester long deadline or a generous budget. Being forced to face these limitations has put our problem solving abilities to the test.

With ta full day of work behind us, we retreated back to the hostel, until it was time for dinner. Like the past couple of days, we had the opportunity to taste more Mexican cuisine! From mole, to adobo, we ended our day on quite a flavorful note.