Kristina – Engineers Without Borders Luxembourg

11/08/202612/09/2026

📅 Save the Date – Low-Techs: Rethinking Engineering | 9 October | 2 December 2026

Low-Techs: Rethinking #Engineering Through Purpose, #Sustainability and Accessibility

What if innovation wasn’t always about making things more complex?

This autumn, Engineers without borders Luxembourg and Ingénieurs Sans Frontières Belgique (fr.) are joining forces to host two complementary events exploring how low-tech principles can transform engineering practice.

Low-tech solutions invite us to rethink engineering by focusing on what is truly useful, sustainable, robust and accessible. They encourage us to design technologies that respond to real needs while reducing environmental impact while remaining within everyone’s reach.

📍 9 October 2026 | Luxembourg | 10:30am-6pm | English
A full day of inspiring talks, practical workshops and hands-on activities, including building a solar oven and discovering natural water filtration solutions.

This event is made possible with the support of:
University of Luxembourg, hosting the event by providing the venue, lunch, and leading a workshop and presentation on natural water filtration.
CELL, facilitating a workshop, providing workshop materials, and delivering a presentation.

📍 2 December 2026 | Liège | 6pm-9pm | French
An interactive workshop exploring how we can “low-tech” engineering approaches through collective discussion and real-world case studies.

This event is supported by:
University of Liège, providing the venue.
Additional support from our Belgian low-tech partner will be announced soon.

➡️ Whether you’re an engineer, student, researcher or simply curious about designing better solutions for people and the planet, these events are for you.

📢 Registration details will be announced soon

#LowTech#EngineersWithoutBorders#ClimateAction#CircularEconomy#EngineeringForGood

03/07/2026

🔥 Turning wood into carbon: a hands-on experiment in biochar production

Earlier this year, we carried out a small-scale wood carbonization experiment to better understand the process of transforming biomass into carbon-rich material.

Using a mixture of cherry laurel, pine construction wood, hardwood offcuts and walnut shells, we loaded a kiln and monitored the carbonization process over several hours. As temperatures increased, moisture was driven off, followed by the production of wood gas, which was then recycled to help sustain the process.

▪️ The result?
➡️ Approximately 3 kg of carbonized material produced from 6.5 kg of fresh wood feedstock.

Some key takeaways from the experiment 👇
🌳 Hardwood performed significantly better than softwood, producing a higher yield of solid carbon.
📏 Similar-sized wood pieces helped achieve more consistent results.
🌡️ Uniform temperatures throughout the kiln are critical. Material near the top was not fully carbonized, highlighting the importance of heat distribution.
⏳ Carbonization is a slow process that requires patience and careful monitoring.
⚠️ Safety matters. Carbonized wood can release gases such as carbon monoxide, and fine carbon particles should be handled with care.

Experiments like these help bridge theory and practice, providing valuable insights into biochar production, biomass valorisation, carbon storage, and circular approaches to resource use.

Every prototype teaches us something new. This one reminded us that sustainability is often built through experimentation, iteration, and a willingness to learn from both successes and imperfections.

Find more photos on our LinkedIn page

08/06/202603/07/2026

Festival des Territoires Résilients

On 30 May, we had the pleasure of participating in the Festival des Territoires Résilients, organised by Iwwerliewen in Differdange.

The festival brought together citizens, associations, researchers, artists and community initiatives around a shared question:
➡️ How can we build more resilient, sustainable and connected communities for the future?

The event aimed to create connections, showcase local initiatives and spark new collaborations across Luxembourg and beyond.

Engineers without borders Luxembourg set up a stand to present our mission and vision. Through interactive and playful activities such as a quiz on women in engineering and a lemon battery experiment we engaged visitors and sparked conversations with the crowd.

🚲 One of the highlights of the day was presenting our Smoothie Bike project 👇
Through a simple but engaging activity, participants could power a blender with their own energy to make a fresh smoothie, creating a fun and tangible way to start conversations about sustainability, energy, health, and active lifestyles. The project sparked curiosity among visitors of all ages and opened the door to many meaningful discussions about how small actions can contribute to a more sustainable future.

For us, it was a valuable opportunity to meet members of the public, share our organisation’s work and projects, exchange ideas with other inspiring organisations, and strengthen our network of people working towards positive social and environmental change.

The other highlight was seeing former member Max Schmit and Andrea Varas present the latest developments of their project, Edward Farm. It’s always inspiring to see community members turn ideas into action and create new initiatives that contribute to a more resilient future.

A big thank you to the team at Iwwerliewen for organising such a meaningful event and creating a space where citizens and organisations can come together, learn from one another, and explore new possibilities for collaboration.

#Resilience #CommunityBuilding #Sustainability #Networking #SocialImpact #Luxembourg #TerritoiresRésilients

21/03/202627/05/2026

👩🏻 Inspiring young women to take initiative

A big thank you to the Young Women Conference (YWC) for inviting us to take part in this inspiring trade fair. It was a great opportunity to connect with young women and raise awareness around environmental and societal challenges and most importantly, to show that impact doesn’t require many resources, just curiosity and initiative.

💡 From experimenting with a water filter prototype to generating electricity using a lime, these hands-on activities sparked conversations, creativity, and engagement.

Seeing their enthusiasm, questions, and ideas reminded us why this work matters.

Following our participation on 19 March, we would like to thank the Young Women’s Conference (YWC), and Hanna Siemaszko supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR), for this inspiring event.

👉 Learn more about the event here: https://www.ywc.lu/

11/03/202602/05/2026

🚲 Inspiring the Next Generation Through Circular Economy | SmoothieBike Project

Engineers without borders Luxembourg are taking part in the national BNE – “Bildung fir Nohalteg Entwécklung” programme, promoting climate awareness, circular economy, and sustainable development.

As part of this initiative, the SmoothieBike project will soon come to life through hands-on workshops with children aged 8–12 at Day Care Arcus.

More than just a bike, SmoothieBike is a powerful storytelling and learning tool, showing how engineering and material reuse can make sustainability tangible and fun.

The project has two key parts:

🔧 Building the SmoothieBike
Together with the children, we will transform a broken bicycle into a pedal-powered blender, introducing them to:
• Engineering basics and technical thinking
• The value of reuse and circular economy
• Creativity, teamwork, and hands-on problem-solving

🍓 Using the SmoothieBike
The bike will remain at the Day Care, allowing children to turn fruits into smoothies using their own energy, demonstrating how engineering can:
• Reduce food waste
• Promote healthy nutrition
• Encourage active lifestyles
• Make sustainability concrete and engaging

Through this project, we aim to show that simple technical ideas can spark curiosity, empower young minds, and inspire the next generation to think differently about resources and sustainability.

01/03/202627/05/2026

🎙️✨ Engineers Without Borders Luxembourg on air!

We were recently featured on Radio Latina’s “Universo Associativo” — a moment to share who we are, what we do, and why we believe engineering can be a powerful force for good.

🌍 From Kenya to Morocco, our projects are rooted in one simple principle: working with communities, not just for them. Whether it’s ensuring access to clean water in schools, supporting girls’ education with safe boarding facilities, or tackling waste challenges in Cameroon through circular economy solutions, every initiative is designed for long-term, sustainable impact.

🤝 But we’re more than engineers. Our work brings together communication, project management, fundraising, and community engagement because real change is always a collective effort.

🎧 Listen to the full episode to discover how you can get involved 👇
https://lnkd.in/epWd27gb

15/01/202615/01/2026

🌍 Contributing to the global EWB movement

Last month, Kristina Teppo, President of Engineers Without Borders Luxembourg, took part in the three-day Engineers Without Borders International Strategy Workshop in Hyderabad, India.

The workshop brought together the EWB International Board of Directors and the Delivery Team to align on priorities for the coming years, including strategic direction, collaboration frameworks, and ways to strengthen our collective impact across the global EWB network.

During the visit, participants also had the opportunity to see a community project supported by EWB-India, focused on providing a safe and supportive environment for women and girls in vulnerable situations. The initiative combines essential infrastructure solutions – such as renewable energy systems – with education and long-term community support, demonstrating how engineering can create a meaningful and lasting social impact.

🙏 Our sincere thanks to EWB-India and Rajeev Lal for hosting the workshop, and to the EWB International Delivery Team for the excellent organisation.

#EWBInternational #EWBLuxembourg #GlobalCollaboration #SustainableDevelopment #EngineeringForGood #GlobalImpact

11/12/202513/01/2026

✨EWB Christmas Market Get-together ✨

Last week, current and new members of Engineers Without Borders met for an informal get-together at the Christmas market. We enjoyed having a drink together and appreciated that the founders could join us.

We talked about our recently completed mission and our plans for the coming year, learned more about the history of EWB Luxembourg — which is now already 12 years old — and appreciated the fresh perspectives brought by new faces. A relaxed and valuable evening of exchange.

Thanks to everyone who joined!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

#EngineersWithoutBorders #Community #Networking #ChristmasMarket #Volunteering #Planning

26/11/202503/12/2025

Join our Get Together at the Christmas Market

Learn more on our LinkedIn page.