Harvesting Steel Wire

December 15, 2011 by kris de decker Filed Under: DIY, Reuse, Steel, Trash, Tyres

harvesting steel wire

“There is a huge need for construction materials, at the same time the planet everywhere is littered by millions of used car tires. A way has to be found for re-using the materials that car tires are made of: rubber and steel. Large scale processes for this are well known. At the smallest scale of use better methods of recuperation have to be developed.”

“Each car tire contains 70 meters of steel wire with a 1 mm cross section. When the properties of the composing parts of a used rubber tire are well understood, then the practice of recuperation can be adapted to it.” Illustrated manual at Demotech.

The Lost Art of Lashing

December 4, 2011 by kris de decker Filed Under: DIY, Knots, Random

the lost art of lashing

“Stable and strong – you can almost make anything with lashing.”

Illustrated manual at makeprojects.

Previously:

Lifting Tool for Carrying Plant Containers

November 16, 2011 by kris de decker Filed Under: DIY, Ergonomics, Farming, Hand tools, Trees

lifting tool for plant containersThe tool shown here was designed for use in outdoor nurseries specializing in ornamental and bedding plants. At nurseries in California where it was tested, it reduced workers’ forward bending angle by as much as 47%.

The time spent working at a forward-bent angle of more than 20 degrees was reduced by nearly half. Hand gripping effort was reduced by more than half. Lifting strain was reduced by 40%.

Workers reported less work-related pain when using the handles, and those who had the most severe symptoms at the start reported the most improvement.

[Read more…]

When Low-Tech Goes IKEA

November 13, 2011 by kris de decker Filed Under: Access to information, DIY, Human power, Language, Pedal power, Pedal powered machines, Random

when lowtech goes ikea

What happens when two industrial design students from Sweden end up in Kenya creating a pedal powered machine for small-scale farmers who are often illiterate and speak more than 60 languages? You get a do-it-yourself design that seems to have come out of the IKEA factories – pictoral manuals included.

“Made in Kenya”, the bachelor project of Niklas Kull and Gabriella Rubin, is a textbook example of low-tech made accessible to everybody, regardless of their native tongue and language skills.

[Read more…]

Sub-irrigated Planters

October 21, 2011 by kris de decker Filed Under: DIY, Farming, Gardening

sub irrigated planters

Sub-irrigated planters are simple devices that allow low-maintenance, low-water consumption container gardening. Appropedia has DIY-instructions, using plastic buckets or bottles.

Previously: Water batteries for trees, How to make your own low-tech vertical farm.

Jua Kali: Innovation in Kenya’s Informal Economy

September 19, 2011 by kris de decker Filed Under: Africa, DIY, Random

Jua Kali Innovation in Kenya’s Informal Economy

Wandering through winding alleys dotted with makeshift worksheds, one can’t help but feel clouded by the clanging of hammers on metal, grinding of bandsaws on wood, and the shouts of workers making sales. But soon it becomes clear that this cacophony is really a symphony of socioeconomic interactions that form what is known as the informal economy.

In Kenya, engineers in the informal economy are known as jua kali, Swahili for “hot sun,” because they toil each day under intense heat and with limited resources. But despite these conditions, or in fact because of them, the jua kali continuously demonstrate creativity and resourcefulness in solving problems.

“Making Do: Innovation in Kenya’s Informal Economy”, Steve Daniels, 2010. Full book online here and here. Hat tip to Gabriella Rubin. Related: Cameroon blacksmiths.