WITH ONLY a few sandbags more to be laid on the edges of the embankment, the Do-nou Project at the College of Aquatic Sciences and Applied Technology (CASAT) will soon be completed. This appraisal came up with the visit, Jan. 26, of Dr. Makoto Kimura, professor at Japan’s Kyoto University and collaborator of the Do-nou Project. He was with Mr. Gaku Ohashi and Mr. Yoshishige Takahashi of the Nippon Expressway Company Limited (NEXCO).

The embankment being constructed northeast of the University Cottage is the second phase of the Do-nou Project at CASAT launched Jan. 9 during the visit of Dr. Yoshinori Fukubayashi, collaborator of the Do-nou Project and director of the Community Road Empowerment (CORE), the non-government organization partner of Dr. Kimura. CORE submitted a proposal to the Japanese government to source the funding for the construction of the embankment.

The Do-nou Day on Jan. 9 was scheduled so that faculty members, staff, and students of CASAT could join the fieldwork for the construction of the embankment.

In the fellowship dinner tendered Jan. 26 for Dr. Kimura and the visitors from NEXCO, Dr. Shirley C. Agrupis, coordinator of the Do-nou projects at MMSU and director of the External Affairs and Partnerships Office, presented the developments of the Do-nou Projects at MMSU since 2007. Dr. Agrupis also shared the vision of the university president for the complete \"do-nou-tization\" of the Batac campus. In the proposed development plan, it is envisioned that CAS, Administration Building, CAF, CETC, and the Main Library buildings at the main campus will be linked by do-nou pathwalks.

To date, there are two pathwalks and two fishpond embankments built in the university through the Do-nou technology. The first phase of the project at CASAT is the embankment built early last year in one of the ponds at the hatchery site.