Bicycle-powered blender
bicycle-powered
blender: improve the design, test, and market the product. The youth
group associated with GrupoFenix has been provided with a design for a
bicycle-powered blender. The design makes the bike unrideable. The
group is interested in a design that can be made locally, allows the bike to
work when not blending, and does a good job making smoothies. A good,
affordable, locally-craftable bike stand is a key part of this project and
would allow this group to explore other bike-powered devices. One other
that is of particular interest is a bike charger for cell phones and similar
low power devices.
Organization
· Works in Nicaragua
o
Primarily
in the capital city of Managua and a city in one of the poorest regions, Sabana
Grande
· In the Sabana Grande region, there is a
large deforestation problem, limiting access to resources
· Organization came to being in 1996 and
focused a lot on developing and introducing solar-powered devices
· Many other organizations have come into
being around grupofenix
Local community
· Nicaragua is an agriculture-based
economy
· High unemployment and economically
unstable
· Inequalities in the distribution of
wealth
· Land area of the entire country is
slightly smaller than new york
o
Managua
– the capital city is the largest in terms of population and size
o
Economy
is based mainly on trade and industry
o
Sabana
Grande - 80% of the population get an
income from agriculture only
o
Tropical
climate with many dry spells; but high levels of solar radiation
o
97%
of the national consumption of the forests went towards cooking; using wood
burning stoves
Existing solutions to
the problem – the current design involves a bicycle with only one wheel, not a
unicycle, so obviously, a bicycle with only one wheel is not able to be ridden. The reason that this bicycle is stationary is
because the blender is simply sitting on top of a platform, with nothing to
hold it to the bicycle or make sure that it does not fly off when it is in use. A method of securing the blender to the
bicycle while retaining complete function is necessary to make the bicycle
successfully have multiple purposes.
· a bicycle dynamo; get the rotational
power from the spokes instead of the wheel, serves more bicycles, and allows
the bicycle to be ridden while blending
· Secure the blender and ensure that the
blender does not lose connection with the wheels while in motion
· Having a platform on the front of the
bicycle allows the people to see the smoothie as it is being made
· For stability there would have to be a
way to encase the blender to keep it stationary
Questions:
· Will people find it useful to blend and
ride at the same time, or is the idea to have a bicycle that can serve two
separate functions?
· Is making smoothies and blending food a
way in which people can establish a source of income?
· Do people have access to many different
types of blenders, or are they standard?
Sources:
Grupofenix.org
Solar Cooker Stand
Develop new design
for stands for solar cookers that is easier to build and more cost efficient
(see attachment). The current design requires a lot of metalworking, and
the tools available are insufficient for the work. Research online should
allow you to find pictures of the existing grupofenix solar cooker stand.
A stand that can be easily rotated to keep the cooker pointed to the sun
during the day would be a real improvement.
The background for
the solar cooker stand is the same as the blender because the same group,
grupofenix is in charge of both projects.
Same organization and local community, Nicaragua, the city and a poor
suburb. However, cooking with a solar
cooker implies that there is a lot of available space so the community in which
we will be focusing will be the more rural area as opposed to the city.
The current stand is
stationary, unable to be rotated, and very difficult to reposition because the
stand gets so hot during the day.
A larger surface to
collect sun would be good, having the pot at the focal point of an ellipse
would greatly increase the efficiency of the cooker, but a rotation device
would be most effective if it did not conduct heat, so it could be easily
manipulated during the points of the day that are hottest and when people most
need to rotate their pots. A ball and
joint system that had the ability to lock in place would be most
effective.
Questions:
· How long does it generally take people
to cook a meal?
· How long many times would the solar
cooker need to be moved?
· Are people moving the cooker much more
than in and out of their houses?
Sources:
Grupofenix.org
Water Purification System
LSI in Indonesia: identify
appropriate water purification for villagers in West Sumatra, Indonesia,
including determining how to reach scale (see attachment)
LSI group:
· Involved in a very wide range of
industries that are primarily devoted to clients in South East Asia and
Indonesia
· The organization began under the
premise of helping businesses succeed
· There are many large-scale projects
involving water purification, such as the ozone-protecting water filtration
devices that are currently being implemented in Connecticut
· In addition to helping promote water
filtration, LSI is also taking steps to improve the overall Indonesian economy
Region is West
Sumatra, Indonesia – an area that is on the western coast of the Island and one
that is prone to earthquakes
· The public health services in the
region are not adequately equipped to deal with natural disasters and keep an
appropriate level of public sanitation
· Iodine deficiency leads to nutritional
deficiencies in the population, but also makes it hard to purify water
· Tropical Rainforest climate, but there
have been cases of extreme whether that destroy the agricultural crop
· Agricultural-based economy for those
who are inland, but fishing dominates on the coast
· The main problem is getting clean water
access to the more rural areas of the province
· The water comes directly from rivers
and streams, and is unpurified
· Traditionally, village elders have a
large say in the future of their villages
Existing solutions
are solar stills, and solar ultraviolet water distillation methods. Reaching large portions of the community is
very difficult
· Certain types of filters are available
for filtering water, ranging from large space-consuming filters to tablets that
filter individual servings of water
· Carbon filtration devices allow only
certain elements of the water to pass through, it will even filter out
bacteria, and the resulting water also tastes fresh
· A combination of sand and charcoal also
allows filters water. Sand and charcoal
are natural materials that may be available in the region of west Sumatra
· Three stages of water cleaning, layer
of sand sifts out large impurities; the porous charcoal filters out the smaller
impurities, lastly an activated carbon filter kills the reaming bacteria and
leaves the water tasting fresh and drinkable.
Questions:
· Do the people have access to sand and
charcoal?
· Are the villagers aware that they need
to filter their water?
· How much power do the elders have over
the village?
· Would the people have a difficult time
adapting to the lifestyle changes necessary to filter water before drinking?
Sources:
BMC Research Notes. 2011, Vol. 4 Issue
1, p81-85. 5p. article
Asia Pacific
Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Feb2001, Vol. 10 Issue 1, p10-16. 7p. 4
Charts, 1 Graph
Marine Micropaleontology.
Oct2007, Vol. 65 Issue 1/2, p96-112. 17p.
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