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Items by Paula

• July 27, 2009
• 11:58

  Charging mobile phones with bikes and scrap

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Communication  

  Just last week two African inventors won recognition for inventions that involved scrap, bicycles and mobile phones.

  

  William Kamkwamba grew up as a farmer in Malawi, at the age of just 14, he had built his own wind generator.

  During a drought his families fortunes collapsed and he spent his time in libraries reading and discovering about wind energy. He found components for his invention in a scrap  yard; a tractor fan, shock absorber, PVC pipes and a bicycle frame.

  

  When his prototype was able to run four bulbs people arrived to charge their mobile phone. William has just appeared on TED  Global conference in Oxford this week to the conference to tell the audience how he did this.

  Another inventor has already appeared on Afrigadjet and has just been discovered by the BBC. Pascal Katana, 22 who with Jeremiah Murimi, 24, has gone beyond fish and has invented a dynamo-powered “smart charger” to help people without electricity in rural areas to charge their cell phones. The system costs $4.50 and it takes an hour to fully charge a cell phone.

  

  These two young men developed the idea during summer break. Wish I had so much energy in my holiday.  These guys should be at Maker Faire in Ghana this August.

• June 25, 2009
• 5:05

  Solar cooker in use Maasai Mara

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  energy  

  I didn’t believe it possible but I found this lady actually using a solar cooker in the Masai Mara!

  

  Mama solar cooker

  Made only of cardboard and tin foil this cooker fold up into a neat little package. It apparently cooks potatoes and cabbage in just 1 hour!

  She told me that she got it as part of a study – one solar cooker was given to every manyatta. She couldn’t rememer which organization was handing them out but she has adapted hers by putting her pot into a plastic bag which she says retains the heat better. She says she’ll continue using the solar cooker after the study and will even buy one  at Ksh 1,000.

  She still has a 3 stone wood fire to cook meat.

  I wonder what happens to this device when it rains…does the cardboard become a sodden mess?

• June 01, 2009
• 4:09

  Distilling water from volcanic steam vents

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Environment  

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  A unique water harvesting method has been devised in the drought ridden crater of Mt. Suswa, which is dotted with continuously puffing scorching steam vents.

  

  Tapping steam for condensation

  Taking advantage of the steam vents that dot this landscape, local Masai have ingeniously tapped the vents for steam that is condensed on long plastic pipes that drip continuously into drums. The local Masai claim that these vents can fill half a drum (approx 30 lt) per hour (though it seemed very unlikely to us). The water is sweet and apparently it feeds a community of several hundred people and their cattle with fresh and clean water.

  We saw at tens of these contraptions in a particular zone within the outer crater of Mt Suswa. All were protected from animals by thorn bushes. There seemed to be an ownership structure amongst the users, some were better constructed, had longer pipes, were better protected and maintained. We were told that the systems were installed fifteen years earlier and it did not look like any modifications had been done since then.

  

  The water distilling system used here is permanent and produces a continuous supply of clean water that is collected regularly by the local community. The system we observed was in the area called Kishalu – just beyond a school. The system could be more efficient at trapping condensation – much steam was wasted as pipes were quite short, and collection drums were left uncovered and open to evaporation. The beauty of the system is that it works overnight. These water distilleries were introduced to enable the community to survive the dry season when rain water catchments had dried up.

  The Suswa system is infinitely better than the water distilling process on the edge of Lake Elamentaita. Here the local Masai Women daily place a piece of zinc sheeting over a steam vent to capture condensation. They produce only 2 liters per day; a days work to produce enough drinking water for a small family for one day.

  If there’s an Afrigadget award out there, the Suswa water distilleries deserve it.

  

  For more information about Mt Suswa check out Roving Rasta, and Wild about Africa for satellite images and details about hiking and caves

• May 22, 2009
• 10:52

  Kinyanjui Jiko - a fuel efficiency stove in Kenya

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Gadgets  

  In a previous post we told you  about the Kenya Ceramic Jiko, a fuel efficient stove, it’s such a common stove, we all have one at home.   But did you know that it was invented by Maxwell Kinyanjui?

  I recently I “discovered” another amazing jua kali fuel efficient stove – I was at a private party enjoying a fantastic barbeque meal with 100 other guests. I stole around to the kitchen where there was no oven, but out back a tiny aluminium stove that was producing enormous amounts of food with an impossibly small amount of charcoal.

  I’ve since come across it again at a private ranch where only the cook knew how to operate the thing to bake the most amazing cakes.

  

  Baking Bread in Baringo

  And at Roberts Camp 100 miles north on the shores of Lake Baringo where the chef told me that one only used a tiny amount of charcoal, he lets it cool down somewhat and then let the bread bake without opening the oven until done (I guess he can tell from the smell?)

  

  Fuel efficiency stoves

  In recent months I’ve noticed these wonderful stoves everywhere, on roadsides and in jua kali markets.  I don’t know why I didn’t see them before. They come in a variety of sizes and openings are offered (two door or top hinged). They go for US $100 for a small oven (big enough to bake 4 loaves), and a little more for the bigger varieties. Great for baking, they provide important business opportunities for communities, and underprivileged groups like the Jacobs Oven making business for women and feeding orphans.

  This is another of Maxwell Kinyanjuils inventions and it’s called the Kinyanjui Jiko. Maxwell is a household name in Kenya, founder of Woodlands 2000 Trust, he is associated with plantations, experiments with trees for fuel, furniture and new designs of fuel efficient stoves including the Kenya ceramic jiko!  Because of the deplorable state of our forests, Kenya is well known for efforts in improving fuel efficiency through  stove inmovations - many of which can probably be attributed to Maxwell Kinyanjui.  – the man gets two gold stars from me! I went to see Maxwell at his Kitengela Arborretum near Athi River just outside of Nairobi. He laughed when he heard that I was the proud owener of a clone. Yes, his inventions are sold only in Nakumatt and Uchumi. In good spirit he was pleased that the oven has been replicated with some modifications … all good business for the jua kali sector.

  I bought one and was just amazed that this stove uses such a ridiculously small amount of charcoal. It is great for baking and slow cooking of vegetables and meat but not so good for traditional nyama choma. A well known Nairobi chef told me that he uses it to perfectly finish meat that has been braised on the traditional bbq. As a food loving vegetarian, I find it is brilliant for slow cooked vegetables –mixture of onions, garlic, potatoes, pumpkin, beetroot, aubergines, chopped on a tray and sprinkled with some salt, rosemary or other herbs, and olive oil  …absolutely spectacular results at a very low cost. Bread and cakes have so far eluded me.

  Want one? Order it here

  Musaki Enterprises Ltd.
  Po Box 23058, Nairobi
  Lower Kabete
  000804
  Phone: 0724690352 or 0713564768
  Email: teddykinyanjui@hotmail.com or musakitrade@yahoo.com

• April 27, 2009
• 8:48

  Toyota Cowrolla

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Transportation  

  Few things make Monday really special. Here’s a photo posted by Alen Wekesa on Twitter. Alen describes himself as a sassy Kenyan who loves advertising, music and the arts. iPhone, Twitter, Facebook junkie. Soon to be millionaire with a big heart for charity. Reliable. He is in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, but I’m not sure where he took this photo. Enjoy! (Sorry for the dud link earlier folks, here’s trying again)

  

  Follow Alen on Twitter @iAlen

• March 17, 2009
• 5:59

  Zipper heads

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Community  

  While visiting a rural community in the dry bushlands of Elementata I met some Turkana women who were absolutely captivating

  

  Turkana mama

  

  Turkana woman

  

  Turkana girl

  

  Dancing Turkana woman

  Did you notice the creative head dresses? Zippers may have been invented in USA but nobody would have imagined they’d be used for head dresses.  I was so awed by the outfits that I forgot to ask where they got all those zippers from - I can’t get rid of the image of all the village men wondering about with gaping flies.

• March 03, 2009
• 3:00

  The beesness of honey

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Community  

  

  You know it’s a great jua kali project when you see the logo

  Honey is one of the most valuable products of the drylands of Africa. It can be obtained by following a little bird called a honey guide to a bees nest in a tree, whereupon one raids the hive. Or bees can be farmed…in most places a bee keeper simply hollows out logs to make perfectly acceptable hives for local consumption. for commercial purposes however, Langstroth hives are universally thought to be superior to the traditional log hives found in Africa – the box shape make them easy to stack and move around,  and the movable frames guide bees to build combs in an organized manner making comb extraction easy. These hives also have a queen excluder, a mesh grid, usually made of wire or plastic, sized such that worker bees can pass through but the bigger queens cant. This keeps the queen from laying eggs in the honey combs called supers leading to cleaner honey. There are so many NGO’s, GOs and religious Orgs introducing these bright yellow langstroth hives across the Kenyan landscape.They don’t always catch on though - in rural areas people still prefer the logs…

  

  Traditional hive

  Traditional log hives are hollowed out logs usually cut from specific tree species with the permission of the local chief. They are hung high in trees and the inside is rubbed with leaves of plants that attract bees – a practice that has been going on for eons. The bees enter the hives through a tiny hole and build their combs willy nilly throughout the space, it’s inefficient and the honey is of a lower quality as the larvae are all mixed up with the honey combs. Not very good for a business approach… or should I say Beesness?.

  

  Langstroth hive in Baringo Kenya

  Logic would suggest that the Langstroth hives which produce cleaner honey and they save trees should be favoured right? Wrong! These modern hives are produced by experts in cities and cost a good $100 – far beyond the reach of anyone living in rural Kenya. It’s also rumoured that these hives are easily broken into by honey badgers, over heat in the dry climate of north Kenya driving bees away, and are expensive to maintain. On a personal note, I for one, find them extremely ugly too.

  

  Modified traditional hive

  One bee keeping cooperative in Bogoria has figured out a cunning way of modifying traditional log hives to produce more honey. A bee excluder is made using coffee mesh.

  Symon demonstrated how beeswax tracks are laid down to guide the bees where to build their combs in neat lines. Cost? One third of the Langstroth hive.

  

  Bucket of raw honey

  The honey is collected at night by naked men (yes totally naked …) they say that this prevents one from getting bees stuck in your clothing… I asked about the possibility of getting stung in sensitive places, they said the bees were far too civilized for that…but yes, people had fallen from the trees and been found comatose and butt naked at the tree base…

  

  Honey extractor

  Raw honey with comb is sold to the local cooperative where wax is separated from honey. The machine is another jua kali item bought in a workshop in Nairobi.

  

  Home made bee smoker

  Bees are smoked out of the hive using a home made smoker.

  Production by 40 bee keepers was 8 tons last year, each Kg of raw honey was bought by the cooperative for Ksh 80 ($1), and sold on raw at Ksh 100, or processed and honey sold at Ksh 600 per kg ($8).

  8 tons of raw honey were collected in 2008 – this is valued at Ksh640,000 for the 40 bee keepers in the business.

  The wax is not wasted but converted into candles which sell for Ksh 10 each ($ 0.12).

  

  Candle making gadget

  Using a jua kali gadget for making candles, comprising a string, a piece of conduit pipe and two beer caps….ingenious!

  

  Bees wax candle

  Producing the sweetest smelling cheapest candles I’ve ever used. They claim they burn much longer than paraffin candles. Besides they smell delicious

  Some sweet facts

  · The dry lands of Kenya are the important honey producing districts in Kenya – the semi arid climate, diversity of flowering plants and easy access to fresh water makes it perfect for bees. Kenya is the fourth largest producer of honey in Africa 22,000 tons, China is the worlds largest producer at 299,000 tons (USA produces 70,000 tons) (figures for 2005).

  · The group in Baringo produced 8 tons of honey last year.

  

  I love their motto for hard work - "never expect magic from no where".

  · Kenya is a world center of bee diversity with over 3,000 species (about 10% of the worlds total number of species)

  · Only 150 species or thereabouts produce honey in Kenya.

  · Contrary to popular belief, most bee species are harmless… they have no stings

  · The Kalenjin people immunize themselves to bees by purposely stinging babies with bees

  · In many pats of Africa, honey is an important component of dowry or bride price – a kilogram being made as part payment for the bride – symbolic of the sweetness of sex - or so I’m told

  · Bees pollinate most of the crops that we eat

  · Bee keeping is most productive in natural habitats, and is a one of the few forms of resource extraction that does not destroy the environment.

  The sour facts

  · Bees in USA and Europe are disappearing fast – a condition described as colony collapse disorder (ie. Nobody knows why it’s happening). Africa is unaffected so far making honey production a very sweet deal.

• February 27, 2009
• 8:33

  Cactus eating bull saves Kenyan drylands

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Community  

  Cows are playing an important role in land restoration in Baringo by eating up the invasive prickly pear cactus a nasty invasive plant that is destroying the drylands. It’s not obvious at all for cows to eat this thorny cactus, but Murry Roberts and his wife Elizabeth Meyerhoff told me about an amazing project that their organization, RAE (Rehabilitation of Arid Environments) has been working on. A few years ago they discovered that a local farmer had a bull that not only ate the nasty exotic thorny ugly, plant, but also taught other cows to go for it too.

  

  Mwalimu cow eating prickly pear

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  This is very surprising because any self respecting cow, a sheep or a goat will not touch the nasty prickly pear. The farmer had aptly named his cow Mwalimu (Mwa-lee-moo  means Teacher in Kiswahili) because it taught other cows to eat the prickly pear .

  

  Prickly pear

  

  Prickly pear Tunas for sale in Morocco

  Prickly pear (Opuntia ficus indica) is origninally from Mexico and is an economically important species of cactus – the red/purple fruit known as tuna’s are much sought after in many parts of the world. It has been cultivated in many parts of Africa as a hedge, but has become a serious pest because it spreads rapidly degrading ranch lands, and is very difficult to control. As a result, Opuntia eating cows are hugely important in the drylands of Kenya.

  How did this farmer get his cow to eat Opuntia? During the drought of 1999 - 2000 grassy fields were reduced to bare earth and cows had nothing left to eat were dying of starvation leading to widespread famine. The story goes that one farmer persuaded his bull to eat the leaves after he had burned off the thorns. Opuntia are 80% water and if one can get past the thorns, the plant is quite nutritious . The other starving cows watched the bull and then followed suit thus saving the herd and the farmer who has never looked back. The thorns are burnt off using wood from another nasty invasive species, Prosopis juliflora - making this an eco-friendly project all round.

  As part of RAE’s rehabilitation of Baringo’s drylands, and to make multiply the value of mwalimu bull to other farmers RAE bought the bull and during droughts, Mwalimu goes from one homestead to another teaching herds of cattle how to eat Opuntia, thereby saving hundreds of cattle and people from starvation. For Mwalimu it’s a job that saved his life - he is too valuable to be turned into beef burgers!

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  The cutting and use of Opuntia and Prosopis is also important in controlling these invasive species which have been planted as live fences, but which are fast becoming weeds in the degraded Baringo lowlands. Apart from prickly pear eating cows RAE also restore grasslands and eliminate soil erosion in an innovative project that has huge application across the drylands of Africa. We met women who were doubling their money by buying and fattening cows on restored grasslands in a 3 month period!

  For more information, check it out here RAE Trust
  

  You can also contribute to the good work of RAE by helping us spread the word and share this great innovation through your blog, facebook, twitter, digg, or stumble. Thanks!

• February 09, 2009
• 4:51

  “Scratch and sniff” Africas HeroRATS

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Ingenuity  

  I know, 2008 was the year of the rat - so I’m a year late….guilty as charged,  but then again, things are ‘never late in Africa’ are they?

  I heard about this extraordinary use of rats years ago and am hoping that sharing it today will bring a smile to many faces. Although Mozambique’s civil war ended nearly two decades ago, unexploded ordinance continues to be a major cause of injury and death. But now they have a solution. Rats! Local giant rats are being trained and employed to assist in mine detection.

  

  De-mining rat

  The rats are attached to little red harnesses and guided down the length of a 100-square-meter field by their trainer. When the rat hits on a suspected mine, it stops, sniffs and starts to scratch. These rats are not only huggable, but they are smart (unlike some African politicians who are neither smart nor huggable), they work fast - two can cover 200 sq m per day - an area that takes a human 2 weeks.  And are too light to detonate the mines they’re sniffing so don’t worry, they do not go BOOM…splat!

  The project to train rats started in Tanzania as a collaboration between Belgians and Tanzanians at Sokoine University through an organization called APOPO. They call the rats HeroRATS and their website is full of information, history, heroRAT worship and yes, you can even adopt a HeroRat for 5 Euro per month, chose between Allan, Chosen One, Kim or Ziko.

  

  Adopt a HeroRat for 5 Euro per month

  and by the way when I said “giant rat” I meant, “GIANT rat”!

  

  After finding a mine, the giant Gambian rat is rewarded with a banana

  Rats have the amazing record of being able to detect mines 95% of the time. If only all our politicians would work this hard and for a banana….. I keep hoping against hope…

  For more scientific information, read this article in the Journal of Mine Action

• February 01, 2009
• 22:10

  Ancient fishing rafts in Lake Baringo

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Community  

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  Il Chamus boy

  The Il Chamus or Njemps tribe still exist as they did thousands of years ago fishing in the spectacular lake Baringo using a hand made rafts made of reeds….not a new invention but still something very innovative and obviously successful otherwise it would have been abandoned centuries ago.  They are unique people, though linguistically related to the Masai and Samburu, they have broken from tradition and also fish which is taboo among the Maasai tribes who will not even touch let alone eat fish.

  

  Il Chamus (Njemps) Fisherman in traditional reed boat

  The raft is made from reeds called ambatch harvested from the shores of the lake and it takes only a day to build one. The balsa wood reeds are strung together and tied using sisal fibres and paddles are traditionally made from planks of hand sized planks of wood. Today most fishermen used plastic pieces cut from used jerry cans. The rafts last for over a year and though they look flimsy and unstable, they are well adapted to the lake which is very flat and calm. How but how they escape from the hundreds of hippos is anyones guess.

  

  Boat made of reeds

  Living on the islands in the middle of Lake Bogoria boats are critical or the survival of the Il Chamus. Each boat seems to be one man outfit and men have carved out territories on the lake in which they fish. Each fisherman works in the early morning hours and using line and nets, he catches a variety of small carps and lungfish for home and sale to passing people. In a day one man can catch only a handful of fish and will earn about US $1.50 through sales. The Il Chamus are one of a handful of tribes left in the world that use this kind of traditional method of fishing.

  

  Fish smoker L Baringo

  To preserve fish they are smoked in traditional smoking houses. Fish are laid on top of the wire mesh and smouldering charcoal from wood of various indigenous species of trees are placed in the entrance.

  

  Njemps village on an island in Lake Baringo

  Il Chamus are agro pastoralists and still live a very basic lives. They move their livestock from islands to mainland – but their rafts can carry goats and sheep but not cattle so they simply drive cows into the water forcing them to swim across the lake, which is 8 m deep. The herd is guided them from rafts.

  If you live in Kenya and haven’t been out to Lake Baringo – you are missing an amazing piece of living pre-history.

  

  Sunrise on Lake Baringo

  

  Fish Eagle making a kill

  There’s hardly any information available online on this amazing tribe - if you have any or know where to find more information please let me know.

• January 14, 2009
• 10:29

  F-art

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  energy  

  

  Recycled art at Kitengela

  Anyone who has been to Kitengela Glass near Nairobi will instantly recognize the works of art made from recycled glass, metal and other materials. Stunning works by local artists support a huge community of people and beautify gardens, offices, institutions and homes. I bet you aren’t expecting me to talk about crap right? Wrong!

  

  Kigengela art glass

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  Creating art from recycled glass takes a huge amount of energy. The glass recycling factory produces tiles, windows and other items, fueling it with used oil, butane gas and electricity. But now they are exploring the use of human gas, yes that’s right - it sounds disgusting, smells disgusting, but what a wonderful source of energy!

  

  Pig for poo

  Apart from the excrement from pigs, chickens, horses, donkeys, ostriches, Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 ducks, and geese

  

  human wastes are collected … in these loos designed to keep you intrigued…

  

  Loo seat

  and seated for long enough to be ‘productive’.

  

  poo bus

  The wastes (no, not the human ones) are transported to the biogas production site in a specially designedloooong-armed wheelbarrow

  

  Shit stirrer

  where it is poured into this big pot, where it is stirred (not shaken) by a professional shit stirrer.

  

  Fermentation

  Then it flows to the fermentation pit to digest….

  

  Fermentation system

  Notice how the toilets are being constructed at the top end of the system. This allows the poo to flow directly into the first tank .. it flows by gravity to the fermentation tank and then a settling tank before the sludge flows out and down a drain into another holding tank out of the picture.

  

  The gas is piped to the household kitchen and the glass art workshops,

  

  while the waste sludge is extracted and used on the gardens, i.e. total recycling!

  In addition the Kitengela Glass factory creates an odd assortment of jobs from artists to poop stirrers, farmers and  biogas producers… for more information read about Kitengela here.

  Amazing isn’t it - The first example of Art from Fart
  

• November 17, 2008
• 4:40

  Turning rubbish into dinners in Kibera

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  energy  

  There are few things that make me madder than seeing lorry loads of charcoal going into schools, hospital and other institutions in Kenya. These places are wrecking havok on our natural environment because they need energy for cooking  - but wont use clean (but more expensive) options like butane gas. Another thing that really irks me is the plastic waste that is taking over our country, it is disgusting, unhygenic and am environmental disaster that we not only drive by, or walk past every single day - we contribute to it through our negligent shopping habits (how many times does a lump of butter have to be bagged in Nakumatt?).

  So when one of Kenya’s youngest architects, Mumu Musuvo and his boss Jim Archer told me about the Kibera community cooker two years ago I was very interested. They were looking for funding from the company I ran. I studied the design and took in the environmental implications, saw the potential but my company was not biting. We turned his company, Planning Systems down but I’ve been secretly monitoring the project which was adopted by UNEP and launched earlier this year.

  This post is a massive send out to Planning Systems to congratulate them for being highly commended by judges in the Energy, Waste and Recycling category at the 2008 World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, Spain - it’s reported here on CNN. The communal cooker is turning rubbish into fuel to feed residents of one of Africa’s biggest slums, Kibera, 

   

  

  turning rubbish into energy

  Garbage is brought to the community cooker by volunteers shovel itinto one end of a giant concrete oven. At the other end are the hotplates where the community cook and boil water. 

  “It might smell a bit but it doesn’t make  our food taste any different,” says Virginia Wamaitha, as she pours sugar into her steaming pan of chai – the gently spiced tea loved by Kenyans. “It will taste just like chai should.”

   

  

  Any one for a cuppa?

  The garbage to fuel oven is sponsored by UNEP as one way to clean up Kenya’s slums while reducing dependency on wood and charcoal to protect forests. The community cooker burns garbage and generates heat for sterilizing water, for ovens used by community groups, as well as individuals. The original concept was that a kikapu (basket) of garbage would equate to an hour of cooking time on the stove. 

  What kind of garbage? Any, plastics, food wastes even clothes - anything that will burn really! But doesn’t that produce toxic fumes you ask?? This is what’s so clever about the project. Using technology that I don’t understand the oven burns at temperatures of up to 930 degrees F. which basically detoxifies many hazardous pollutants.

  “It uses a superheated steel plate inside the incinerator box to vaporize drops of water. The oxygen released then helps burn discarded “sump” oil from vehicles – itself a pollutant in the slums – driving temperatures higher”.

  The process is simple enough to be controlled by locally trained volunteers.

  According to UNEP this is the first of its kind, and it cost $10,000. 

  Personally I think it’s a brilliant  idea, a great solution to slum garbage disposal, water treatment and hygiene (hot water an be used for community showers, to clean toilets, and to cook meals - therefore is safer (no more unstable jiko’s with pots of boiling water that kids tumble into on the floor). Plus the cooker can be used for commercial purposes - womens groups are using the cooker to produce baked products like queen cakes (you know the ones - “coke and keki”

  Imagine if this could be replicated in slums around the world, in IDP camps like Kakuma, Dadaab, and in hospitals, prisons, and schools. 

  Don’t let me blow their trumpet - help share this important story. You can read more praise for this project here  and Rob Crilly on CS monitor has a detailed article here and its also here on Sustainable Development International website here and on Sustainable Footprint here

• October 06, 2008
• 5:03

  Monkey see Monkey do

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Environment  

  When you visit Diani Beach, Kenya’s version the Florida keys, look up and you’ll see 20 rope bridges swinging over the highway - what’s that little bulge with a tail? Before you flash by, you will realise that it’s a monkey sitting up there. Yes it’s watching you! And then, a burst of action as an entire troop of black and white might start galloping across the wildly swaying bridge!

  

  Colous on the Bridge

  Colobridges were built by the Colobus Trust to save the rare Angolan colobus monkeys from road traffic accidents

  

  Colobus road kill.."What's black and white and red all over" ... ok I agree, it's not funny.

  Faced with a crisis that could eliminate the species in Kenya, innovative solutions were tried from Lollipop stick men at major monkey crossing points, roadsigns to slow down the speed, and education for taxis, stickers in matatus (local buses).

  

  The Angolan colobus is one of Kenya's rarest and most beautiful monkeys found only in the forests of the South Coast

  The bridges were the most successful. Designed locally and made of cable, rubber and PVC, each bridge takes a day to erect and costs about $500. The bridges connect two of the monkeys favourite trees on either side of the highway.

  

  Watching the world go by

  Being naturally shy, the colobus initially stared at the bridges gadgets with disdain until the more inquisitive and daring Sykes monkey began to see the logic. Once the Sykes and even vervet monkeys started using the bridges, the colobus followed suit, and are now very comfortable with their arboreal walkways.

  This is an Amazing video of Colobus crossing a “colobridge” (Warning this video is GREAT but the link take you to another site - so read on first or you”ll miss the Australian madness)

  There are now 23 ‘Colobridges’ and it’s estimated that they are used 150,000 time a year by at least three different species of monkeys! Amazing because there are only 300 of these Angolan colobus monkeys left in Diani where road kills are now rare.

  Not for everyone: Bridges have also been deployed in Zanzibar to save the crazy looking Kirks red colobus but it looks like they aren’t clever enough to use them (some species are just slow)! Check out the photos of a confused monkey here
  

  

  Confused monkey crossing on the road instead of using the bridge!

  

  My plug for my favourite primate “Hug a colobus today”.

  Colobridges go global or ‘Australia steals our African ideas’: Though they don’t admit it, the “colobridge” innovation inspired rope bridges to save freaky creatures in Australia too

  

  No, not rats, but a family of ring tailed possums crossing a rope bridge (they look like a pack of terrified rodents to me)

  Of course the Aussies always do things bigger and better… check this one out!

  

  Mega rope bridge in Australia - it might help a koala, but not kangaroo's (I hear that road rage against roo's isn't uncommon over there)

• September 04, 2008
• 5:35

  Farming innovations in a slum

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Food  

  

  Kibera from space

  Google Earth is one way to appreciate the crush in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum. Not surprisingly popular images of people living in desperate conditions aren’t far from the truth when it comes to this corner of Nairobi - but out of the madness comes a little hope.

  

  Raw sewage flows above ground

  I witnessed some amazing innovations in Kibera and conclude that people have adjusted to their situation and are making the most of it.  Because of the stress associated with limitations on land, energy, water, and food the people have found innovative ways of surviving. This post is mainly about farming.

  Vertical farming

  like this guy and his vertical garden which feeds his family and he even sells some produce. It’s a variation on what JKE wrote about in the post on Keyhole gardens in Botswana.

  

  Like the key hole garden of Swaziland, this veggie patch serves a family on a tiny piece of land

  Finding land in rubbish

  Now a local organic farming company Green Dreams has been documenting the progress of transforming a garbage dump to an organic farm on the Green Dreams blog. They are working with a local youth group comprising reformed criminals in converting garbage into organic manure, and garbage dumps into organic farms.

  

  Before the clean up and farming

  

  Clearing land of garbage

  

  installing irrigation

  Irrigation taps the mains water and supplies nutrient rich feeds from organic fertilizer produced on the site from crops and worms, yes they harvested local earthworms to start vermiculture.

  

  Worm farm - just a tray with kitchen wastes feeds a bunch of earthworms that produce organic liquid manure

  

  Planting seedlings, cleared waste is bundled under shade cloth and planted with pumpkin to create a green soil erosion barrier

  Check out the planting implements, a PVC Pipe adapted to deliver seeds into a perfectly dug hole!  This was invented to help with the back breaking work of planting.

  

  Scarecrow

  

  Garbage dump transformed this is the Kibera organic farm - 3 months after clearing the dump

  After 3 months the community of 30 families were harvesting, eating and selling organic produce. Yum! Impossible to ignore how a dirty dump turned green, everyone wants a farm in Kibera now. This group is now selling their expertise to raise funds and help others.

  Natural Bean Tenderizer

  There was a smouldering fire where banana leaves were being reduced to ash, then the ash dissolved in water and the brown murky astringent solution sold for Ksh 50 ($.80) per 250 ml in vodka bottles! This is a bean tenderizer reducing the time to boil red kidney beans by 50%! Imagine the savings on charcoal/fuel.

  Safe Dispensing of Fuel

  Kerosene is dispensed from a caged petrol pump for security

  Notice that there was no protection around the farm or it’s equipment. Apparently the reputation of these ‘reformed criminals’ is enough of a deterrent.

  

  Kids in Kibera

  Life might be hard in Kibera but yet when you visit you can’t ignore the vibrancy, colorfulness, camaraderie amongst the inhabitants it was one time that I got the feeling that people here love life

• August 24, 2008
• 12:18

  Jiko production using gas cylinders

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Food  

  Bush camping is one of the greatest pleasures of living in Kenya – only if you have the right equipment. On a recent hastily planned trip to Lake Magadi hot springs we discovered too late that we’d forgotten the jiko (charcoal cooking stove). Stopping in Magadi town which serves only one industry, the Magadi Soda Company, we had one made for us right there and then in a very active jua kali workshop.

  

  It starts with a discarded gas cylinder

  
  I always wondered where the metal for jiko’s came from - In this the many discarded gas cylinders are chopped into segments to make up the body of the jiko.

  

  Welding the finishing touches

  
  There seems to be no power shortage here, a mess of electric cables and metal and wooden waste remnants from the soda company is an active business for about 20 artisans making furniture, gates, and jikos for the staff of the soda company.

  

  Everything was home made including the tools

  

  Corporate safety message hasn't quite translated

  
  A ten minute job turned out into a one hour event and a thousand shillings later ($20) we take off proudly with our extremely heavy stove. That’s when we discover that there is no charcoal to be had in this part of the world anyway. We ended up with a 3 stone fire.

  

  A flat piece of salty earth was our camp at the "Community campsite"

  
  At dinner time we realized that we’d forgotten most of the food anyway (camping note to Paula: don’t believe him when he says “I already put it in the car” ).

  

  Magadi is spectacular for bird viewing

  
  Nevertheless, the hot springs were fabulous.

  

  Don't believe the guide books version of the hot springs as "tepid" - these springs are excruciatingly hot

  The Jiko came home and has not yet been used - and thinking about it now … should I be worrying about cooking on something made from gas cylinders? Is it just iron or could there be lead in this?

• August 22, 2008
• 22:08

  Evapocooler invention for cooling camels milk in Somalia

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  energy  

  Or How to get your camel milk to market in 40 degree C climate.

  
  

  My brother Dominic Wanjihia invented this gadget which he calls Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4
  Fine Lined Evaporative Cooler, for rural application in Somalia - the cooling of camels milk for transportation . He was working on a project for VETAID, Somali Pastoral Dairy Development Program - SPDDP,in Burao, Somalia June 2008. All this content belongs to Dominic who has allowed me to post it here- please seek his permission to use this content elsewhere dwanjihia@yahoo.com

  
  

  Cool-box design Fine Lined Evaporative cooler

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  Evaporative cooling technology

  The evaporative cooling concept has been used for centuries in countless applications. Cooling occurs when a fluid changes state from liquid to vapor. Put simply, evaporation. In order to evaporate, the liquid requires energy or heat. It acquires this heat energy from its immediate surrounding. As the surrounding gives up this heat, it lowers in temperature or cools.

  The rate at which evaporation occurs depends largely on two main factors, the amount of heat available and the humidity in the air.

  The cooler must also be shaded from direct sunlight otherwise the surfaces absorb UV heat and warms up, becoming ineffective as a cooler.

  In short

  Evaporative cooling devices work most efficiently in windy, dry and shaded conditions

  Charcoal cooler

  Everyone knows how to make charcoal fridges. After carrying out extensive tests on evaporative coolers in hot arid Burao, Somaliland, with day temperatures as high as 36^OC in the shade, the charcoal would absorb ambient heat from the air and as opposed to cooling, would warm up the interior compartment.

  Imagine wearing a wet thick winter jacket under the palms at a breezy beach. The jacket acts as a wetsuit and will insulate your body preventing heat from escaping.

  Fine lined cooler

  However, imagine wearing a wet skintight t-shirt in similar conditions. The water evaporates quite rapidly and cools your body.

  I applied this concept to the cooler prototype pictured and achieved startling results. The cooler would drop as low as 15.5^OC at night when temperatures averaged 25^OC and maintain under 17^OC during the day at average temps of + 32^OC.

  

  Evapocooler

  Construction

  An elevated metal box is lined interior and exterior with a fabric. In this case I used locally available corrugated galvanized iron sheets for the container and sisal sacking fabric for lining. The upper ends of the fabric overhang in a water trough that rings the top of the cooler. Capillary action causes the water to slowly trickle over the inner and outer surfaces. A small vent keeps the interior air circulating and wind guides or tunnels direct air flow over the exterior surfaces. A low speed small solar powered fan can be incorporated in areas where there is not a constant breeze.

  How it works

  The circulating air in the interior causes evaporation on the wet surfaces. The necessary energy is acquired from the contents hence cooling them and is transfers to the iron sides.

  Wind guides or tunnels direct an airflow over the external sides. The evaporation that occurs acquires energy from the sides causing further cooling of the interior.

  

  Convection current system to increase water bath cooling

  Construction design

  Cool-box with water-bath interior for rapid milk cooling application– Collection Point Cooler

  Walk-in cold-room for vegetable storage

  Vehicle mounted for long distance transporters

  Features (Comparison to conventional charcoal coolers)

  Very simple construction

  Corrugated galvanized iron or GI sheets increase the surface area

  Wind tunnels guide air flow efficiently over evaporation surfaces

  Air flow coolers at tunnel entrances

  Being galvanized, the sheets are long lasting

  GI sheets are affordable and available in most rural areas

  Secondhand sacking fabric is available in virtually every vegetable market

  The simple capillary action dripping system replaces more complicated dripping apparatus

  Convection current system to increase water-bath cooling efficiency

  

  Cool box design with waterbath for rapid drop in temperature of milk

  

  The design simplified

  Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

  In hot arid regions, cooling the warm ambient air before it reaches the wet evaporation surfaces increase efficiency. Note. Setup for airflow from either direction

  

  level coolers – achieved low’s of 16OC at ambient temp of 30OC +

  

  Rapid Temperature Drop Test 4 lts boiling water in aluminum milk churn placed in water-bath at 16OC

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  For further information and other rural development concepts and innovative designs, Dom can be reached on

  mobile tel +254 722 700 530 dwanjihia@yahoo.com

• August 16, 2008
• 2:12

  Bush puncture repair gadgets in Masai Mara

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  Jua Kali  

  On a recent trip to the worlds greatest natural wonder (well, ok, one of!), the wilderbeeste migration in the Masai Mara, we had the pleasure of discovering an extraordinary bush vehicle repair outfitters in the lovely slum village of Talek, after our extortionately expensive rental car suffered from not one, but three flat tyres.

  If you haven’t been to the Mara during the spectacular migration, then you might find it hard to imagine our frustration - try rousing 5 kids and 4 adults at 5 am, pack them and lunch and head off to the Mara River to witness for the first time in our lives, the crossing of thousands of wilderbeeste, zebra, gazelles, lions, - images of crocodiles leaping for the bleating calves … adrenaline racing with anticipation…..and then “poof”, a flat, right at the edge of the Mara reserve.

  No big deal right - just change the tyre and continue. Five minutes delay? No, 3 hours later,  we’re screaming at the rental agent because the key for the spare tyre’s lock does not work! Aaarrrggghhhh

  With second car we head to Talek hardly expecting to find an outfitter who can repair tubeless tyres.

  This is what we found.

  

  Finding punctures in a converted wheel barrow - there were 15!

  A modified wheel barrow full of silty water and a bit of detergent to find the holes. We stopped counting a  15 - it was very depressing! I don’t even remember  going over a thorn bush either!Should have been my first warning - these tyres were seriously worn and thin.

  The air compressor system comprised a tank and engine and a compressor unit - the last part was an adaptation from an airconditioning unit off a vehicle! Very creative.

  

  Modified compressor

  

  In the end we had to opt for converting a tubeless tyre into a tube tyre - and this is the gizmo that was used to remove the tyre. It was completely home made and very effective. We found an old inner tube with just about the right dimensions at one of the tented camps, 350 shillings and 3 hours later we were on the road again!

  

  Once back on the road Mara never fails to impressWe witnessed the crossing

  

  Wildebeeste crossing the Mara River

  It was well worth the hell to get to the crossing point - and of course this is where we experienced puncture no. 2! Crazy place for a puncture as you aren’t allowed to step out of your car while animals are crossing. Hours later It was back to Talek jua kali puncture repair for us!

  

  Yeah, the predators were in good form too

  After 3 days of stunning experiences we headed back to Nairobi on what may easily be described as the worlds worst road. That was where the new tubed tyre went totally bezerk on us and exploded ripping the tube completely in half! Turns out the tyres were so worn that the wires in the tyre  simply ripped the tube open. Nice one!

  We discovered that the spare lock could be opened with a good whack! with a tyre spanner and off the lock fell. Away we went.

  Words of advice to anyone renting a 4×4 to go on a major trek to Mara or anywhere in Kenya - check everything  before you go, take rental company managers personal cell no with and make sure you have credit and full phone charge, take a second car if you can, and a fundi (without my brother I’d probably still be on the road side - thanks a million Dom!). Despite the annoying hassles of the rental car and the unbelievable road, the trip was well worth it. I refused to pay for the lost day and was so glad to see the back of that damn rental car - the agency didn’t quarrel.  Gonna buy my own safari car now.

• August 01, 2008
• 9:04

  Charcoal briquette making device in Goma

   » ‎ AfriGadget

  Tags:  energy  

  Hello - I’m new to Afrigadgets and look forward to sharing the interesting innovations we come across every day.

  A small group of innovative conservationists have come up with a solution to save the Virunga National Park in eastern Congo from destruction by charcoal producers who are devastating the forests to serve the needs of Goma’s burgeoning population of displaced people.

  Their approach to ending the dependence on charcoal is to provide an alternative form of energy - briquettes made of organic wastes. Here are some photos of the gadget and results!

  

  The briquette press

  

  Piston Cylinder with holes

  

  Briquette press at work

  

  Briquettes drying out

  

  A traditional Jiko adapted and fueled on briquettes

  “The beauty in these briquettes is that they are made from what has been considered, up to this point, waste. Furthermore, the material is available locally, so there are virtually no transportation costs. And, once the burn characteristics of the briquettes are understood, they burn very similarly to charcoal. If introduced to the marketplace properly, the presence of biomass briquettes should dramatically reduce the consumption of illegal forest charcoal. That’s good for mountain gorillas and people alike”. Robert Williams from Ending Charcoal

  Indeed as I write the briquettes are on sale at half the price of charcoal and are selling well. It has been calculated that with 100 presses at work at once, the dependence of the town of Goma on charcoal will be ended (though they do have to find alot of trash for it)! The technology is available elsewhere but I’ve yet to see it put to use so successfully for such an important social and environmental cause.