The FLAP buckets and assembly

This is part of an ongoing series of posts on the FLAP bag project, a collaborative effort by Timbuk2, Portable Light and Pop!Tech. We at AfriGadget are helping to field-test these bags that have solar power and lighting on them, and get interviews of the individuals using them.

Day 2: The buckets arrive

This is a continuation of yesterday’s starting video diary, where I received the flaps to the FLAP bag. Saturday morning the package from Timbuk2 was on our doorstep waiting to be opened. The bottom part of the bags had arrived, but there were a few surprises in store for me…


The FLAP bag buckets and assembly from WhiteAfrican on Vimeo.

Assembling the FLAP bag for the first time
Assembling the FLAP bag for the first time
Finally, I assembled the FLAP bag!
Finally, I assembled the FLAP bag!

Next stop Accra, Ghana. I hope that all the kits arrive in one piece, and will start to put them to use as soon as I can.

The FLAP Bags Arrive

This is part of an ongoing series of posts on the FLAP bag project, a collaborative effort by Timbuk2, Portable Light and Pop!Tech. We at AfriGadget are helping to field-test these bags that have solar power and lighting on them, and get interviews of the individuals using them.

Day 1: The flaps arrive

The FLAP bag kits started to arrive Friday evening. The buckets (bottom part of the bag) from Timbuk2 had not yet been delivered at this point, so all I had was the flaps.


The FLAP bags start to arrive from WhiteAfrican on Vimeo.

Tune in for part 2 later… in the meantime, some pictures:

The flap from the FLAP bag project
The flap from the FLAP bag project
An unassembled bag flap
An unassembled bag flap
The control unit and an unassembled FLAP bag's flap
The control unit and an unassembled FLAP bag's flap
FLAP bag kit assembly and usage directions
FLAP bag kit assembly and usage directions
The components
The components

Retrofit Turns a bicycle to an ‘Ambulance’

Zambikes is a project that retrofits bicycles by adding a trailer. This is especially useful in rural Zambia (and other parts of Africa) where there aren’t many cars to get the sick to hospital, much less an ambulance.

Watch how the ‘Zambulance’ retrofit is made…

The ‘ZamCart’
A multipurpose trailer

zamcart-2

Interestingly, the Zambike project sells and outfits bikes under the local brand name of ‘Amaka Sana’, the Bemba word for ‘very strong’ .

To learn more: Zambikes.org and follow @ACIRFA_Zambikes on twitter

via Timbuktu Chronicles

An Interview with Rob Katz of NextBillion.net (Video)

Straying from the usual fare for a couple days, I wanted to post an interview that I did with Rob Katz, who runs a blog focused on businesses and entrepreneurs who are creating wealth at the “bottom of the pyramid” – those that make up the poorest 1 billion on the planet. It’s called NextBillion.net



I had a chance to meet him last week at a conference called Pop!Tech in the United States. Many of the businesses and entrepreneurs featured on AfriGadget fit this model. If you’re interested in this subject, you’re probably already following his blog. If not, jump on over there and dig into some of the articles.

Philip’s Model Plane at International ArtBots Show (Video)

“I feel good when I do these things.”

One of my favorite stories on AfriGadget has been of Philip Isohe and his hobby of making very detailed (and working) model airplanes and buses made from scratch. Earlier this year, the ArtBots Show contacted me to get Philip to create one for them that they could show at their annual show in Dublin, Ireland that is happening this weekend. The airplane will be given away as a prize at the show.

They also asked me to create a video of Philip to use at the show:



Philip with the final airplane, painted and working:

The original story of Philip, done last summer.
More images on Zoopy and our Flickr group.