Low-cost, Low-energy technologies for Development in Africa

[Adesina Iluyemi]

How do we ensure that the design and development of technology products are made available for meeting developmental needs in Africa.

[Adesina Iluyemi]

He Steven,

Good points, especially your "automoton" analogy. The reason for low-energy is that only 20% of African households are connected to power grid. So nay technology must be able to consume less and also to be powered by renewable sources from solar amd micro-wind turbines

[Nathan Ketsdever]

Adesina,

I also like what Kickstart is doing: their Moneymaker brickbuilder + Moneymaker micro-irrigation pump are quite impressive. "Design for the Other 90 Percent" says that the irrigation pump can help move folks from $100 to $1000 a year. That seems rather unreal. Its not surprising that Kickstart is part of that project as well as a winner of the Fast Company Social Capitalist Awards for 2008.

http://kickstart.org/tech/technologies/micro-irrigation.html

Finally, the Fuel from the Fields project that Amy Smith is working on is quite admirable. (I haven't seen them, but I know she has a presentation up at the Design Summit thats in Ghana this year--she also has a TED talk)

[Adesina Iluyemi]

The UN, Vodafone, and the Rockefeller Foundation's mHealth Alliance have launched a 'Mobile health' campaign, says a news item on the BBC website:

Science and technology reporter, BBC News, Barcelona - 17 February 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7893849.stm

The UN/Vodafone Foundation Partnership aims to unite existing projects to improve healthcare using mobile technology, and will 'guide governments, NGOs, and mobile firms on how they can save lives in the developing world'.

'The partnership is now calling for more members to help in mHealth initiatives..."The biggest problem is fragmentation of small projects," says Ms Thwaites [head of UN/Vodafone Foundation Partnership]. "A lot of the work being done on the ground is NGO- and foundation-led, but let's join those efforts with the Microsofts and the Qualcomms and the Intels and the Vodafones. There's a business case for it now; you have to have the experience of the NGOs on the ground talking to the big corporates out there and creating real business models, and that's why I think the mHealth Alliance can tackle that."'

The Partnership has published a 'groundbreaking' mHealth for Development report, which is available at:
http://www.bjhcim.co.uk/documents/mHealth_for_Development.pdf

The second half of the report contains descriptions of more than 50 projects ranging from eLearning, HMIS, telemedicine and patient-centric applications.

Regards,

Adesina

[Katharine Pulvermacher]

One idea that I'm working on is to identify practical solutions that can be used to create local businesses, then replicated. Some groups are already working on a number of solutions - the issue is to regroup and consolidate the ideas and then work out a business model which you can then spin out as a franchise.

[Nathan Ketsdever]

Adesina thanks for the mobile for health care document. I can't wait to see the innovative ideas for helping the base of the pyramid get better healthcare.

[Graham F Knight]

Most of the technologies discussed here seem to be for the less-than-poor!

I have been developing low cost solar pv for the poorest people for many years.
One application allows those in remote areas to charge a mobile using a simple solar pv device costing about $5.

If anyone wants to know more please email [e-mail]

Graham

[MaxTperson]

Photovoltaic... needs materials and parts that are transported from elsewhere, after having been made by industrial infrastructures. Effective does not have to mean most manufacture heavy latest space age techniques. The brilliant thing in photovoltaics is their ability to work without direct sunlight. When direct sunlight is available, perhaps instructions for techniques that can be built from materials that are already locally available... with skills and skill levels that are already locally available. Like this solar energy solution set: http://www.solarfire.org/
Naturally, local peoples are likely to adapt and adjust such to their local needs, and to come up with new solutions of their own, which instructions they can then choose to share with rest of the Net connected world.

[Graham F Knight]

Dear Max,
It seems to me you are suggesting that poor people should not have electricity unless they can make it themselves.
You referred to a website where they have solar cookers etc NOT electricity

[Ochola Michael]

Hi Adesina,

Techonoly that is sustainable is good for Afric to develop and just as you have put it, Consideration needs to be put on sustainability. The question would be how do we ensure design and development of sustainable technology reaches Africa. In Uganda there are energey projects of fuel driven to enhance more communities have power however the challenge is this is not sustuainable given the increasing fuel price and that Uganda has to transport fuel from Mombasa to Uganda a land locked country in Africa.

The Issue to attitude adn gain relationship between some corrupt government officials verse development is one other component that needs to be checked. Most African leaders have been very open to investors with huge funds from bribing them even though the technology introduced is not sustainable and developmental. this are behavoirs that kill development in Africa.

Government priorities are other aspects, In Uganda forcus is on Security and others follow and yet Uganda has many water falls and thermal powere mechanisims becuase of industries in the country.

ensuring Developing countries gets technologies sustainable needs adquate research, transperences, openines, and other factors of applicability.

Michael