Engineering students are putting their knowledge to work to fight poverty across the globe.

Members of the club Engineers Without Borders started work this semester creating a small-scale production plant for coconut farmers to develop bio-diesel fuel from coconut oil in Tonga. In May students will bring the reactor to Tonga and teach them how to use it.

Tonga has a poor economy and is currently paying around $4.20 a gallon for diesel fuel. By using the reactor they will be able to produce their own bio-diesel fuel.

"Tonga has zillions of coconuts but don't have a very good economy, this will help them by turning their coconuts into money," said Jeff Ashton, a junior, from Sandy, majoring in chemical engineering.

Engineers Without Borders seeks to empower students to solve global poverty and sustainability issues.

This bio-diesel fuel project is the first of many Allyson Frankman, a chemical engineering graduate student and Jacob Jones a senior, majoring in chemical engineering, envisioned when they started the BYU chapter of the national club in Fall Semester.

Frankman, who is from Logan, graduated from BYU and but felt unfulfilled at a strategic and management consulting firm.

"I began to reflect on my university education and realized that the professors I respected the most were dedicated not only to engineering, but also to improving the world," Frankman said.

Although Engineers without Borders is in its inaugural year, it is in full swing. So far the project has made great progress and is now the main project for a technical elective credit class.

Students have been divided into six groups. Some students will be focusing on extracting the coconut oil from the coconut. Another group will be working primarily with the reactor. Others will explore how Tongans can use some of the reactor waste products.

Engineers without borders isn't stopping after they return from Tonga, they hope to expand their efforts by adding quarterly local service projects.

"Our main goal is to establish a club at BYU where students can work on yearly projects which really make a difference in the lives of people in the world who are less fortunate" Jones said.

Frankman said she has finally found something that is fulfilling.

"I really feel like this project has been guided by the Lord to help the people of Tonga," said Frankman.