"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
Portable Light and Power
The Portable Light Project combines textiles and solar panels to bring renewable light and power to folks in remote locations, the developing world, and even more industrialized places. Basically, small and very flexible solar panels can be sewn onto clothing or other easily stored textiles. This non-profit research group is bringing the panels to different locations to see what people can do with them. They've also worked up a deal with Timbuk2 to produce panels for messenger bags with a light and a usb hookup for recharging. The only problem I can see is that I cannot order one for myself at this time. You have to order in groups of 200.
The bags were developed to be:
1. Flexible
2. Portable
3. Clean source of renewable energy with a low carbon footprint
So far there has been limited testing on a Navajo Reservation in Arizona, Ghana, Kenya, Haiti, and Mozambique. And this brings me back to the textiles stuff - in places like Ghana and Kenya people got the bags, took them apart, and used the panels in completely new ways.
In Kenya, a Boda Boda transporter (cycles people, goods and messages at border crossings) can charge his phone, have a light source at home that is always charged, and offer to charge electronic gadgets for customers for a small fee. Given that this was sewn onto a standard safari vest, the possible uses by others like fishers, farmers, market sellers, tourists, protected area guards, etc. are endless. AfriGadget was the place that I learned about the FLAP project first. I have been looking into solar power options for the field for computer use. Netbooks don't use as much energy as laptops, and since I work outside all day when I am in the field it would be a perfect solar panel.
The bags were developed to be:
1. Flexible
2. Portable
3. Clean source of renewable energy with a low carbon footprint
So far there has been limited testing on a Navajo Reservation in Arizona, Ghana, Kenya, Haiti, and Mozambique. And this brings me back to the textiles stuff - in places like Ghana and Kenya people got the bags, took them apart, and used the panels in completely new ways.
In Kenya, a Boda Boda transporter (cycles people, goods and messages at border crossings) can charge his phone, have a light source at home that is always charged, and offer to charge electronic gadgets for customers for a small fee. Given that this was sewn onto a standard safari vest, the possible uses by others like fishers, farmers, market sellers, tourists, protected area guards, etc. are endless. AfriGadget was the place that I learned about the FLAP project first. I have been looking into solar power options for the field for computer use. Netbooks don't use as much energy as laptops, and since I work outside all day when I am in the field it would be a perfect solar panel.
From AfriGadget
Pop! Tech has more information about the FLAP bag collaborative project. They are also looking for partners to field test the bag in more places. Since I will be in Tanzania or Ghana (or both) this summer doing participatory field research, I am seriously considering contacting these folks. Having a clean, renewable energy source to recharge batteries for tools the community will be using to do environmental monitoring would be awesome! And it wouldn't hurt that they could recharge their cell phones and have a light too.
Views: 19
-
Comment by Michael on March 18, 2010 at 2:46am
-
Jen,
Thanks for the comment and you blog. You might want to check out Emersa the company I mentioned in my blog. Here is a link to a presentation of theirs showing all of the products they produce.
http://www.slideshare.net/aidg/enersa-haitian-solar-energy-startup-...
-
Comment by Nick Heyming on March 19, 2010 at 6:01pm
-
I'm glad more and more companies are producing products like this. Its high time they stopped being just for rich "Sharper Image" types and made available to people around the world...
Comment
Latest Activity
Fourth of July on the Lake
This past weekend was the annual celebration at the lake house in Connecticut. It is amazing that the lake is still so clear and beautiful after all these years. The watershed association has done a wonderful job protecting these waters from the damaging effects of development.The wood grill was finally ready to cook on, so we didn't miss the propane tank fueled grill anymore. The food actually tasted fresher than in the past and was easy to keep fueled.Dad was very proud of the solar hybrid…See More
Stinging Nettle
In this blog post I will focus on a plant that is abundant in our nature, and which is immensely nutritious. It's of course the Stinging Nettle. Let's start with the chemical constituents of this plant:37 % Non-Nitrogen-Extracts19 - 29 % Ash9 - 21 % Fiber4 % Fat22 % ProteinOnce the leaves are drid, their protein content can reach an astounding 40 %, which is much higher than beef, which even under the best of circ**stances can never exceed 31 % protein. In addition the Stinging Nettle consists…See More
The meal
It is 7'oclock, I was late home from work due to an assignment that i wanted to get ahead on. By the time I get home I am feeling extremley tired and I cannot be bothered to make a proper meal. I walk to the fridge and open it to see what there is for me to eat. All of the out of date foodstuffs have been automaticaly thrown away by the fridge, they will be recycled tomorrow as animal feed or something. I see i have organic local eggs and some local cheese. Foods are vacc** sealded for easy…See More
Future
FutureToday is 2020/1/1. It is just like yesterday. The war is still continuing. It has started since 2010. In 2010, that year was a horrible year. Almost every energy ran out. Every country’s governments were crushed down at the same time. There were riots everywhere. All of the big company’s bosses were killed xdeadx in the riots. Troops fought each other everywhere. Food was bought up xawayx at once. There were no more food supplies in any shops. The economy was all crushed down. All the…See More
public servants
The exchange works directly for state and public workers and servants. It gives them credit in exchange for the amount of public work they contribute to the community. The more constructive they are based off a base rate the more credit they recieve.
© 2023 Created by Alchemy.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Urgent Evoke to add comments!
Join Urgent Evoke