rethinking design - Spatial Design@Massey

ethinking design
This issue of cost is could possibly be solved with a release of the product on the western
world. The cost of the product could be set at around a price more than $3.00 and all profits
could go towards reducing the price of lifestraws where they are most needed.
Q drum and Hippo Roller
Water collection is a demanding and physical task that is a daily part of life of many
individuals living in poverty stricken parts of the world.
“Pic 2”
Products like the Q drum and the hippo roller are a
response to this issue. Both these products use
minimal materials and only rely on the most basic
technology making the manufacturing process as
cheap as possible.
The Q drum is particularly well designed. Its use of
a low-density polyethylene means that this product
is pretty much indestructible. Its unique and
extremely basic design consisting of a cylindrical
vessel with a hole through the center to where a
“piece of rope or any other appropriate material
can be tied too allowing the vessel to be pulled or
rolled along. This simplistic design results in a 50-liter water container that can be pulled
from the water source to ones home with very little strain.
Bamboo Treadle Pump
The bamboo treadle pump is another appro-tech driven response to the issue of extracting
groundwater during the dry season for poor farmers in India of which the traditional
processes for groundwater extraction are too expensive.
The treadles and supporting structure is made of
bamboo or any other appropriate material while the
pump itself is made of steel, this part of the
structure can be purchased for around 10 dollars
US and is able to be manufactured locally and
installed by the farmer himself.
The pumping mechanism is fairly tireless of which
all it requires is a walking motion on two treadles.
The pump allows the farmer to have control over
his supply of irrigation water allowing him to invest
in a wider and more desired range of crops
producing a larger profit for the farmer.
“Pic 3”
The pumps have been proven to at least double the income of the farmers. This increases
production and distribution of the vegetables creating more work within the community.
(Transfer of Technology Models (TOTEMs):
http://www.inbar.int/TOTEM/totemdetail.aspid=17&codeid=5)