Leigh Hermon's Page

In light of Eskom's loan approval from the world bank, I would have to say this is quite a relevant blog post. In South Africa, a number of homes make use of paraffin fires and candles to light their homes. These methods are often used in informal settlements where Eskom's services do not even reach. Paraffin fires are extremely dangerous as they lead to a number of fires in these settlements, especially in Winter when it gets dark earlier.



For these reasons, I found that the… Continue

Thinking about the future has just made me feel extremely old. In 10 years time I'll be 30 turning 31 in December. However, it's not the feeling of being old that is scary to me, it seems to be the feeling that by then I hope to achieve something worthwhile. Maybe that's why most people are afraid of getting old; maybe we're worried we'll look back and realise we have not done enough with the time given to us.



In 2020, I hope that this is not the case. I am not entirely sure of what I… Continue

Today my mouth was taped up and I wandered around my university's campus silent for 12 hours in a shirt that read "Sexual Violence = Silence". I could not eat, drink or speak from 6 this morning until 6 this evening. This was all in an effort to unite in solidarity with women who are no longer willing to be victims of rape, but survivors of rape.



This protest is the brain child of of an organisation… Continue

Provide skills, not just finished technologies.

The current revolution in design for developing countries is the notion

of co-creation, of teaching the skills necessary to create the solution, rather than simply providing the solution. By involving the community

throughout the design process, you can help equip people to innovate

and contribute to the evolution of the product. Furthermore, they

acquire the skills needed… Continue