Solar Kiln

The Malindi Handicraft Association (MHA) is one of Kenya’s largest wood handicraft coops in Kenya. They are currently striving to meet fair trade certifications. Part of that certification involves utilizing sustainable woods such as Neem wood. One of the downsides to utilizing Neem is that if it is not dried properly it can cause the carvings to crack. To combat this problem they are utilizing a solar Kiln. Dark sheets located on the roof of the kiln trap solar energy heating up the inside of the Kiln. The Kiln has been outfitted with electric fans so that during the rainy seasons the carvers can still dry their carvings.

Solar Kiln

The SCORE multi-function stove, fridge and electricity generator

An all-in-one cooker, energy generator and fridge could soon be improving quality of life in developing countries, thanks to an international project launched this week.

According to a press release by Paul Riley, SCORE Project Director, the £2m Stove for Cooking, Refrigeration and Electricity (SCORE) project aims to work with rural communities in Africa and Asia, where access to power is limited, to develop a versatile domestic appliance powered by biomass that will significantly improve health and welfare.

The SCORE device, which is still in the concept stage and is shown in the picture below, will work through the conversion of biomass to sound energy for heating and cooling.

SCORE stove concept

This technology is far more efficient and less polluting than burning wood in an open fire, currently the primary cooking method of two billion people around the world. Dr Pullen(Research team leader) adds:
“Using this technology while ensuring that the device is relatively low-cost and can be produced using local materials and labour is one of the great challenges of this project. Thermoacoustic systems have always been expensive and high-tech – a great deal of the first stage of this project will be taken up with translating the technology into something that can easily be mass produced.”

The SCORE project website can be found here

( via Timbuktu Chronicles )

Solar Power in Madagascar

A small company in Madagascar is working to get electricity to rural areas of the island. This video shows them taking the solar panels around in a van to show people how it works and educate the children on solar power. It’s an interesting video, especially near the end where Bill hooks up his computer to the internet through a satellite connection at night – all powered by the solar panel’s stored energy.



Kenyan Windmill: Bicycle Parts and Roofing Materials

4 brothers in Western Kenya have begun solving water problems by creating waterpump windmills out of old bicycle parts and roofing materials. They have created 30 of them and are making good money doing it. This is another story of Africans solving their own problems using local materials:

The four Ututu brothers had inherited a large area of fertile farmland, which had been terraced by their father in the late 1950s. Despite this resource, they were experiencing problems because they lacked water both for drinking (meaning wasted time, fetching water from 15 km away in the dry season) and for irrigation (thus low yields from the meagre rainfall).

(Read the whole story at Farming Solutions)

Kenyan Waterpump Windmill

(via Timbuktu Chronicles)