The Bamboo Bike project

The Bamboo Bike, an endeavour that aims at building bicycles in a sustainable fashion using bamboo as the primary construction material, is a joint project run by Craig Calfree of Calfree Design, a high tech bicycle design firm based in California and The Earth Institute at Columbia University.

The bicycle is the primary mode of transport in Africa and it is used for everything from personal transportation to moving medicine and the sick to hospital. Sadly, the design used in most of Africa has not changed for the last 40 years to take into account the different ways in which the bicycle is used. In fact, most bikes in use in most of Africa today are based on a colonial British design tailored to individuals travelling short distances on smooth roads.

Bamboo Bicycle Project - Bike Assembly  Bamboo Bicycle Project - The Bamboo Bike

While making bike frames based on bamboo is not a new idea, most bamboo frame designs simply use bamboo for construction material in a traditional bike frame design. Leveraging the unique properties of bamboo such as its strength and flexibility to meet the specific needs of populations local to various parts of Africa is one of the primary rationale behind the Bamboo Bike project.

The team working on the Bamboo Bike project in the US, Ghana and Kenya among other locations have a interesting blog (last updated in the summer of 2007) that chronicles the struggles of the project team while on site in Africa.

Project gear including Bamboo Bikes and clothing is available on the Bamboo Bike and Calfree Design websites.

Bamboo Bicycle Project - A Ghanian Village Elder on the Bamboo bike  Craig Calfree and the Bamboo Bicycle Project

Africa’s Modular machines Continued: Saws

This is a continuation of Erik’s post on African Modular machines.

The video below shows how the machines are used in wood workshops to make design cutouts, carve out pieces for furniture and to split planks of wood. It is essentially the same machine pieces, motor, pulleys and frame, just customized for different uses. The customization is done in a small industry locally known as Jua Kali or Gikomba, where entrepreneurs like Mr. John Chege purchase them for use in small workshops like this.

When playing the video, please mute it, there is lots of noise from the machines.

Continue reading “Africa’s Modular machines Continued: Saws”

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

Karts for Rural Africa

African KART ProjectPractical Action is a group that endevors to help solve problems in developing nations from the perspective of those in poor or rural areas. One of their projects is to help solve transportation needs.

The programme employs the following to improve transport:

  • Introduction and improvement of affordable means of transport such as bicycles, trailers, animal carts, pack animal and push carts
  • Development of local level transport services
  • Improvement of transport infrastructure such as foot paths and tracks as well as roads
  • Non-transport interventions to bring facilities closer to people e. water wells and grinding mills.

The karts shown here were designed to carry 180 liters of water. The owners make money by either hauling goods, or by leasing out the kart to others.