#iddsbotswana2016

This coming Monday, participants will present their projects and prototypes to the community. The projects are coming to life and a short description of each one can be found below:

CGUI: Morama Nut Sheller

Morama is an indigenous nut of the Kalahari Desert that can be found around D’Kar. It is a valued and healthy source of food for local families and a good source of income if sold. However, the traditional method for shelling the nuts by cracking with stones or sticks is time-consuming (20-30mins per kg), laborious, and can cause injuries.

The aim of our project is to work with local people to develop two devices which will improve and impact lives in Dkar. Firstly, a simple handheld cracker for households that can shell morama nuts safely at a faster rate (from 12 nuts per minute when shelled by hand to 25 nuts per minute)

And secondly, a rotary machine for efficiently cracking larger quantities of nuts to empower local entrepreneurs to make and sell morama products.

Team: Lucy Patterson, Palak Aggarwal, Komtsha Sixpence Thabang Moiphisi, Oda ScatoliniElivas Nyirenda, Setshego Tibi

EZ NCORO: Human-powered Washing Machine

Washing clothes is a time-consuming and labour-intensive activity for the women of D’kar. It often takes them a full day each week to clean their family’s clothes. Water scarcity further complicates the process. In addition to the usual challenges of washing and rinsing clothes by hand, many women must walk a kilometre or more each way to fetch water from a community tap.

Our team created a simple, low-cost, human-powered washing machine and wringer to reduce the time and effort needed to wash clothes and conserve water in each step of the process. By using this product, the women of D’kar can spend their extra time on other household chores, with their family and community, or generating income.

Team: Frank Gaseitsiwe, Joseph Chipyoka, Joseph Dii, Liz Hunt, Sakhile Ndlovu, Sixpence Sixpence, Tabaxlae Kaashe, Carolina Menezes

CAM QG’AM: Solar Bead Furnace

Jewelry making in D’Kar is important to the people’s livelihood and culture. The jewelry is commonly made using ostrich egg shells and glass beads. However, glass beads are expensive to buy from the local craft shops and this sometimes hinders the jewelry makers from meeting the demand of the jewelry. In other countries glass beads are made using a firewood furnace, however, firewood is a scarce resource in D’Kar. We are introducing a solar bead furnace which will harness the power of the sun and use it to make glass beads. With the solar bead furnace, jewelry makers in D’Kar can customize their jewelry by making molds to make their own glass beads that will carry their identity and the culture of the people of D’Kar.

Team: Tempei Borba, Asit Kumar Purohit, Nicodemus Barkard, Jester Sealetsa, Dimpho Moatshe, Wendy Banja, Lulu Chuulu, Beauty Tjienda, Nxabe Tase, Qasa Tsixa

HUIKU: Deep Sand Wheelchair

Active wheelchair riders in D’Kar have difficulty moving through the sand and gravel terrain, which limits their mobility and their interactions throughout community. They often have to exert a lot of effort to move independently or rely on others to help move around and beyond the house. We have developed accessories, including wider, more durable wheels and levers to drive those wheels that can be adapted to existing wheelchairs so that the riders can retain the comfort of their current products while moving through sand more easily. We hope this promotes better access to more resources and opportunities in the community to increase their abilities to live more independent and fulfilling lives.

Team: Ketelelo Moapare, Haily Tran, Xgaiga Qomaxa, John Nambwa,Kebonye  Sethunya Leburu, Coexae Mpho, Monkgogi Otlhogile, Keemenao Matale, Aaron Wieler, Pierce Gordon, Matt McCambridge, Helen Amorin

C’EEKG’AM: Sustainable Tea Maker

Families in D’kar find firewood is becoming scarce and harder to find, but the outdoor fire is central to life in the Kalahari. We have sought to create fuel briquettes from agricultural and animal waste (maize stalks and donkey waste). We have also created a stove to efficiently use this fuel and firewood more efficiently. While not expecting to fully replace the morning and evening family fire, these products will be especially valuable for smaller quantities of water boiled throughout the day, making already stretched resources go further.

Team: Nani Setlhatlhanyo, Badisa Ntlape, Chidemu Juma, Basha Manyolo, Harry Bonnell, Mathambo Ngakaeaja

XG’AE: Interlocking Building Blocks

During the floods in 2015, many of the homes in D’Kar were damaged or destroyed. Because of this, there is a desire within the community for more durable, cost-effective housing. Buildings made of concrete blocks are expensive—they require a lot of cement to produce, need mortar with a high cement content to hold together, and skilled labour to assemble. We have made a press that makes cost-effective interlocking blocks. These blocks can be assembled into rondavels (traditional round houses) of all shapes and sizes with little to no mortar or skilled labour. This will create comfortable, durable homes that support the health, safety, and well-being of the people of D’Kar.

On our way back from the mid-summit break at Maun, we talked to Haily Tran from Vietnam and she was kind enough to humour us.

Describe your work in three sentences.

I'm unemployed. Well, I am going to continue doing my research on climate resilient housing development in Vietnam. Hopefully, I am going to start working at an architecture firm doing design net-zero affordable homes and all that is going to be in Melbourne, Australia.

One thing you learned today.

Oh God! Today I learned that if you want to do something like going to the grocery store, you should just go for it.

Favourite activity or session today.

Swimming with people and then doing grass yoga.

One challenge you faced today.

Going shopping for our materials was a huge challenge. It was a very stressful situation because our team didn't really have a solid plan of what we are building and the store didn't have half of the parts that we wanted so that was a struggle. But we came together and we bought what we could buy and we are going to figure out how to buy the rest of it.

One item on your bucketlist.

Going to Antarctica. I just want to huddle with the penguins.

One interesting conversation you had at IDDS.

I have had so many interesting conversations! Uhmm, the best conversation I had actually was at the empathy exercise. OT was telling me the story of how he pursued his dream of becoming a designer in Botswana. That was actually really really great to hear. You guys can ask him about it.

If you could be an animal, what would it be?

I think I'd like to be a blue whale because I would want to experience what it is like to be the smartest, most majestic animal on the planet but I would also be endangered so I wouldn't want to be a blue whale forever.

What is your biggest fear?

Snakes and crocodiles.

What superpower would you like to have?

Teleportation for sure because it would take the pain away from travelling. I've spent a large amount of my time in planes and cars and I would like to not waste time like that.

What is your happiest memory?

This is weird but I have this vivid memory of when my Mom called me into her room and told me it was my fourth birthday and I was turning four. For some reason, turning four was a huge accomplishment for me and I spent the entire day telling literally everyone that I was turning four. I think that was the ultimate, purest sense of happiness. I'm not sure why.

If you were to build/create anything in this world, what would it be?

I would definitely want to build a system that creates energy from laughter like the one in Monsters INC. That would solve the world's problems.

Tell us something we don’t know.

Matt McCambridge is one of the design facilitators this year and before flying back home to the US, he shared some of his wisdom with us.

Describe your work in three sentences.

I teach passionate, creative, young engineers how NOT to make the same mistakes that I made while trying to use the education and talents they have to make the world a better place.

One thing you learned today.

That building prototypes that people can ride around is really fun and really distracts them from everything else that goes on nearby.

Favourite activity or session today.

Today, we had people from the community coming in and trying out our rapid prototypes and playing with our sketch models. So that was incredibly fun to see people interacting with the work the team had done.  

One challenge you faced today.

Our team built a wheelchair and we had a chance to modify the prototype of the wheelchair while a person was sitting in it. This was really exciting because it gave the team the opportunity to modify something on the fly, to get very creative with c-clamps, and to build something in 5 minutes what without that pressure, we may have spent 5 hours on. However, in our enthusiam to do that, we kind of forgot that the guy was sitting in the wheelchair and we treated his feet like an object as opposed to part of a human being. We didn’t engage him as a person but rather as a leg with a length of however many centimeters. It was a missed opportunity to engage with the user of a product as a human being as opposed to a part of an ergonomic interface.

One item on your bucketlist.

To return with my future wife and future daughter to D'Kar.

One interesting conversation you had at IDDS. Ummm, discussing with Carolina about how to deal with race issues without creating additional awareness of difference among the participants.

If you could be an animal, what would it be?

I would be Percy! Because he is a lover and a fighter (haha)

What is your biggest fear?

My biggest fear is that when we all go back to our old routines, this network will be shelved rather than utilized to support us in whatever other work we are trying to do.

What superpower would you like to have?

The ability to make people comfortable being extremely honest with me about any aspect of the work we are trying to do together.

What is your happiest memory?

Coming back from an early morning walk, just as the sun was rising and being welcomed by a tail wagging, slurping Percy.

If you were to build/create anything in this world, what would it be?

A means of transportation such that the residents of D'kar could come to my village as easily as I can come to theirs.

Tell us something we don’t know.

Elivas Nyirenda comes from the Eastern Province of Zambia and had an inspiring talk with us.

Describe your work in three sentences.

I’m a stores officer, also attached to Human Resources department. My work involves dealing with issues concerning employees in the department. In the store, I usually take care of every item and accessory.

One thing you learned today.

Today was a great day, I learned a lot! What I learned today is that never overlook what can come out of a single nut!

Favourite activity or session today.

Oh my favourite activity was to serve the Morama Nut coffee to all the people that were coming today

One challenge you faced today.

Some people were coming to our stall and asking me questions in Naro and my partner Setsego was not around to translate.

One item on your bucketlist.

I’ve got the passion for disabled women and children. So before I die, I want to leave behind a legacy for women with disabilities. I want them to be involved in technology and innovation in order to improve their livelihoods.

One interesting conversation you had at IDDS.

I enjoyed when we were introducing ourselves and the way we were having conversations about different cultures.

If you could be an animal, what would it be?

I would be a cat! A cat is so innocent!

What is your biggest fear?

My biggest fear is to be a failure in life.

What superpower would you like to have?

To have the vision over someones life and to be able to see people attaining those visions/goals.

What is your happiest memory?

When I went through Grade 12 or high school and did well.

If you were to build/create anything in this world, what would it be?

I would like to build a house for me to live in it.

Tell us something we don’t know.

Sixpence is one our local participants from D’kar and if you are wondering what his surname is, it is also Sixpence.

Describe your work in three sentences.

Right now I am studying Tourism and Management at ABM (Academic Business Management) University at Gaborone.

One thing you learned today.

Some of us don't know how to wash clothes with our hands.

Favourite activity or session today.

To see my group members join together to wash clothes.

One challenge you faced today.

It was very cold while we were washing clothes.

One item on your bucket list.

I want to see myself in the future starting my own business. That is my dream.

If you could be an animal, what would it be?

A lion because I like lions

What is your biggest fear?

I don't like nightmares because when I have them, I wake up in the morning and I feel sick.

What superpower would you like to have?

Ahh, I'm not sure about that but I think flying would be good.

If you could create or build anything in the world, what would it be?

I'd build a vehicle or truck. I like the Toyota Hilux.

Tell us something we don’t know.