Here we go!

Hey everyone! It seems like the basic plan that the Chula team worked out with Ploy had the essential elements in it, but we need to take another look at the timing. Here is an overview with some minor edits from the last post. Please comment with suggestions!

Phase 1 - Surveying and Fundraising (1-2 months: June - July)
Chula+CASE team collects more detailed information from Lam Hin community. This information needs to be clearly documented and translated for Esther and anyone else who wants to help write grant proposals for funding. Fundraising will be ongoing, since we can use as much money as we can get!

Phase 2 - Bridge Design + Cost Calculations (1-2 months: August - September)
CASE leads team consisting of local architects/engineers and students from Chula or other Bangkok universities. It would be great for MIT students to be involved, but we will have to work out how to communicate.

Phase 3 - Legal Issues (2-4 weeks?: October)
Probably either Chula or CASE will have to contact local government and confirm permission to build on the land. This should happen as soon as we have finished the bridge design.

Phase 4 - Community Organization and Awareness (1 month: November)
MIT, Chula and CASE recruit students, Lam Hin community members, local professionals, anyone who want to help build.

Phase 5 - Construction (1 month: January)
MIT, Chula, CASE and community members build a new bridge for Lam Hin!


That version of the timeline doesn't even include December, which gives us a little room to breathe. Let's be flexible as we start to work things for real...

Now for the interactive part =P Drop a comment to let us know if...

• you have suggestions/concerns about the timeline
• you want to be added to the blog
• you want access to our Google Calendar, which will eventually have all the dates and deadlines that we need to communicate across the teams
• you want to help with fundraising and writing grants (we have a lead already, due on August 1st!)
• you know about any other grants or scholarships that we can apply for.

I heard from Big that the Chula team visited Lam Hin today. An update with more information about the community as well as pictures should be coming soon. Stay tuned!