Classroom on Wheels Project: Designing a state-of-the-art education facility...on wheels
More about the East West Foundation of India:
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The East West Foundation of India is a charitable and educational foundation committed to working towards the development and empowerment of the socially and economically marginalised communities in rural India, through a range of initiatives in Health Care, Education, Child Rights and Relief, Community Development, and Environmental Sustainability.
The Team
March 2014​
Building a state-of-the-art bus outfitted with computer software, all to provide education to the rural areas of Tamil Nadu.
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KarmaCompany is pleased to work with its longstanding partner, the East West Foundation of India, on yet another education project. A private individual was generous enough to provide funds to build another bus, and we at KarmaCompany are providing the networks and technical know-how to turn the second bus into a reality.
Video coming soon!
KarmaCompany is coordinating a field trip for all of the parties when Dr. Chandran (founder of TEWFI) comes from his home in Melbourne to India--this is projected to be in the coming month. We'll be sure to capture the footage!
Sriram Guddireddigari
Founder
EWB
Student and Professional Chapters
Location: Marakkanodai Nallur and Kappivakkam
The Project by Numbers
12:
Number of EWB members contributing
to the project
40: Seats on the new bus
20: Weeks until completion (then again,
we work on Indian standard time!)
6:
Schools served in the area by the bus
120: Student beneficiaries of the ​
project (5th standard focus)
80: Community beneficiaries served
by the summer tech program
Introduction:
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Currently, the East West Foundation of India has one bus (as seen above) outfitted with computers loaded with educational software to provide regular education and computer classes to the surrounding six schools, as well as nearby residents as part of the summer tech project. A second bus is now being designed to double the impact.

The Need:

The first bus is a wonderful asset and accomplishes many purposes, but mistakes were made--the bus can be a bit warm and cramped, for starters. Additionally, the process on how to build the bus was never captured on account of TEWFI going through a private vendor when it was first built roughly 2 years ago. KarmaCompany, then, is coordinating various institutions to design the mechanical and electrical requirements necessary to build the bus. In the hopeful event that a third bus is created or another organization wishes to replicate the process, we're documenting the whole experience as well.



Plan of Action:
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KarmaCompany is working with Engineers Without Borders (Student and Professional Chapters). All of these groups are using their brainpower to develop the blueprint. Furthermore, Sriram is tasked with reaching out to the bus vendor and the parts manufacturers to keep the project within the timeline. Another benefit to having Sriram on board is his keen ability to negotiage prices and get discounts.

Benefits:
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The first benefit is overcoming the deficiencies of the first bus--the second bus is going to be cooler (literally and figuratively), more spacious, and have a better interior. Secondly, we're getting the community involved by having the input from qualified and credentialed individuals. Lastly, documenting the bus building process ensures a much smoother experience should another bus be built in the future. We here at KarmaCompany look forward to the experience ahead, as we're only 25 percent of the way into the process!