Dr. Mahendra Gooroochurn is a senior lecturer in the Mechanical & Production Engineering Department of the University of Mauritius. He is a chartered engineer registered with the Engineering Council of UK, an accredited green-building design and construction professional registered with the USGBC, an Edge Expert registered with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a WELL-accredited professional registered with the International Well Building Institute (IWBI). He holds the following professional engineering memberships: MIET, MIEEE and MASHRAE. He has industry experience as research manager and head of sustainability in the building services engineering sector and has research interests in sustainability in the built environment, circular design, circular economy and climate action. He has organized several IEEE conferences in multidisciplinary engineering disciplines and workshops and exhibitions on sustainable development and circular economy. He has developed the circular homes concept as a means to promote community climate action simply and practically through the built environment.

IVLP Impact Award Project: Community Climate Awareness, Education and Engagement Through the Circular Homes Concept

The project raised awareness about climate change and empowered the community to contribute to climate action through their households using the concept of a circular home based on energy, water and materials dimensions inspired from the circular economy principles. This project promoted awareness of the concept of a circular home and its role in reducing negative environmental impacts. The project used accessible tools such as videos, animations, and a guidebook to present the climate change phenomenon and community climate action to more than 16,000 people. Dr. Gooroochurn’s guidebook on the circular home concept: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zdD4onyiZtI-L90oTA-t-ittiMIYb04F/view

“The practical measures [on] the passive solar measures have been an eye-opener for me personally today, and I hope we all can implement these simple measures [in our homes] to be better prepared for the consequences of climate change.” – Project Participant

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Mahendra participated in the IVLP Project The Climate Crisis: Working Together for Future Generations (New OIV-OES), organized by the U.S. Department of State and Meridian International Center in partnership with Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy, WorldOregon and Global Ties Miami.

Mahendra's exchange experience led to the development of his IVLP Impact Award Project: "The strong focus on community awareness and engagement has been a key take-away from the IVLP experience, reinforcing my own strong interest for participatory approaches."

U.S. Communities Visited

Washington, DC; Miami, FL; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT

Country: Mauritius 

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