Malawian Invents a Power Source Made for Africa

Victor Kaonga points us to Dr. Cedrick Ngalande, a Malawian, who has built a prototype power source made specifically for Africa. It generates power using sugar and yeast for up to 8 hours at a time.

Mobile phones are big in Africa, however it’s a real challenge to power them. How about night time electrical lighting, rather than paraffin lamps. Of course, in Africa we can think of all types of applications that this device could be used for.

Electric power by sugar and yeast

This gadget will be very ideal to developing countries like Africa where electricity is scarce. As you know, the growth of cell phone is fastest in Africa. The problem most Africans have is that they cannot charge those cell phones due to lack of electricity. Some have to walk long distances just to charge cell phones. My invention will make it easy for these people to charge their cell phones. Also, this generator can be used to charge $100 computers which are being introduced in Africa. It can also be used to charge or operate medical devices in rural Africa.

On a side note, I love seeing inventions made by Africans for Africans. It’s only by living and being a part of the everyday life that you get past the surface issues and start to really understand the real problems to be overcome. Personally, I love this story; it’s ingenious and African – just what we like here on AfriGadget!

If you have any stories, pictures or videos of ingenious African solutions, send them to us!

(hat tip: Soyapi)

One Man, an Airplane and a Hummer

Mechanic and Plane MakerThere’s a really interesting story about a man in Kenya who claims to have created a plane from scratch.

Using a Volkswagen beetle engine, and aluminium sheets for the body, Mr Gachamba made a single seater plane.

He tested it out at an airstrip in Nyeri and sure enough, it took off. Caught up in the excitement of the minute, he decided to fly to his home in Mathira.

A few minutes into the ride, he noticed the engine was overheating. He decided to turn and in the process the low flying plane struck a tree top and crash landed. He was injured in the leg and has had a limp since.

(Read the rest of the article)

I’d love to see pictures of this plane, though I’m doubtful of there being any as this happened in the 70’s. Either way, a fun story. Right now he’s building his own Hummer from an old Datsun engine and “wheelbarrows, wheelchairs, metal pipes and other vehicle accessories”. At 75 years old he’s not slowing down at all!

Africa’s Modular Machines

One of the things that I find most interesting in my travels around Africa is the similar uses of technology to meet the varied demands of different types of mechanics and workers. The particular case I’ve been thinking over is the use of a simple frame and different engines to meet a specific need.

Many of the same components are used from one machine to the next. The fabricators know that each machine has a different use, but that the parts used to make them unique are not that many.

For instance, below is an image of a painting machine.

Low Cost Paint Machine

The painting machine has an engine, an air compressor and a tank for holding the compressed air.

I’ve seen the same setup, switching out the air compressor for a circular saw, water pump, or a generator. In the same way, the compressed air tank can be switched out for a larger fuel-holding tank or some other machinery that fits the specific need.

Below is an image of the same type of machine, this one with the same setup, except that the compressor is used for tire repair instead of painting.

Tire Machine

Generally, the engine and the frame are the mainstay. The engines used are primarily Briggs & Stratton, the old workhorses of Africa, though I’ve seen Honda trying to make headway in this market lately as well.

The machinery setup is a good example of low-cost fabrication using a modular setup. All of the local fabricators tend to use the same frame setup so that they can mix and match with each others work.

More pictures on the AfriGadget Flickr Group.

[Update: I’m currently going through my archive of pictures and videos for more machines like this. If you have some pictures of these types of machines, please send them my way.]

Another example:

the compressor