'Welding wood' is a simple strategy to strengthen connections of wood beams in constructions, using tin cans and scrap tin metals. It has the double benefit of being very low-cost as well as recycling waste materials. The link directs you to a simple manual on how to create such connections. … Read more
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Vermicomposting bin Make your own efficient composting bin
This is a low-cost design for making your own composting bin. It is designed in such a way that it composts efficiently, letting air through, water out, and worms in. Apart from efficiency, one of the benefits is cleanliness in small spaced areas, as well as enabling to have the composting process happening inside. … Read more
Make your own Solar Cooker Solar Cooker from tin cans
Parabolic solar cookers are devices for preparing food that do not require fuel. They concentrate the sun’s rays to one focal point where a dark pot or pan can be used to cook with. The link will direct you to a manual on how to make such a solar cooker yourself with local material and waste material, using bottoms of tin cans as reflective mirrors. This is a very low-cost/no-cost do-it-yourself way of making a functioning solar cooker. It works with good sunlight. However, do read the bottom … Read more
Fine Water Construction of water catchment for clean drinking water
Clean drinking water is a very basic need for people everywhere. Building a simple catchment system like the one in Alegnwi in Cameroon requires only a pipe and some cement, plus local materials like stone and sand. Optionally, the system can be developed further by adding a solar pump and piping to roadside fetching points, once funds are available. The village of Alegnwi is rich with spring water but in the past many suffered from waterborne disease because all water runs on the surface and … Read more
Plastics to oil Experimental technique to convert plastic back into oil
One of the Gaia University graduates who was a co-founder of Surfers Without Borders began exploring this pyrolytic thermal depolymerization process as a potential solution for the Pacific plastics gyre. The desktop unit he explored uses 1 kilowatt of electricity to convert 1 kilogram of plastic into 1 liter of oil, at a cost of around US $0.25 (see first link). Working under the auspices of Global Village Technology, they looked into starting a pilot depolymerization project as part of their … Read more
Solving conflict with Love African technique to transform noncompliance
When an individual member of the Babemba tribe harms the peace and unity of the community, this individual is put in the centre of the village and all community members gather around the person. All members then relate to the individual all the good things this person has done, and all the good characteristics (s)he has, in great detail. The ceremony can last for days, and has shown greatly effective in changing the behaviour of the 'wrongdoer', as well as aiding community harmony. … Read more
DryBath: hygiene without water An inspiring example of african ingenuity
One day Ludwick Marishane and his best friend were sunbathing in the sweltering heat in their native Limpopo. Marishane's friend turned to him and said, 'Man, why doesn't somebody invent something that you can just put on your skin and then you don't have to bathe?' Marishane, 17 at the time, thought: Yeah, why not? With some research in an internet cafe figuring out a formula for the lotion, and writing his business plan on his mobile phone, it took six months to develop a lotion that … Read more
Building house with waste plastic bottles Recycling plastics into solid structures
The links show two videos with examples of bottle houses, and how to construct them. The method is simple, and the structure that results is strong. … Read more
Merging traditional with innovative building methods African architect uses smart design to build with clay and community
The architect Diebedo Francis Kere from Burkina Faso who studied in Berlin, Germany, went back to his home village to build a school and other buildings with the community. He explains the methodology. By involving the entire community in the building process, he simultaneously created community cohesion and pride, and gives locals the opportunity to acquire skills and knowledge they can use for creating economic opportunities. … Read more
Traditional African education for peace building An argument for holistic African education to foster peace
Traditional African had an inbuilt mechanism to controlling violence. This instrument was education. Notably, African education aimed at developing the total man and making him or her responsible member of the community. The curricular includes physical, mental, spiritual and moral development of the citizens. The thrust of the moral education was solidarity. This link directs you to a paper by Okoro Kingsle of the Ebonyi State University on this argument. … Read more
