Appropriate Technologies Lab

Overview

This page is for the Appropriate Technologies Lab's (ATL) collaboration projects with Engineers Without Borders (EWB) - UAH & Engineers Without Borders - Huntsville Professionals (EWB - UAH-HSV Google Group). The ATL will operate in support of EWB's projects for Mujila Falls Agriculture Center Centre based in the Kanyama Chiefdom of NorthWestern Province, Zambia. The core requirements of what is developed is that it uses appropriate technologies for the place where it is implemented as well as uses local labor and resources to support the local economy and communities.

Information & History of Kanyama Region

Projects & Status

• Water Delivery & Purification
  • Water Hippo Hack
  • Hydraulic Ram Pump - A pump that runs on hydropower. The agricultural center has a waterfall on its property. Implement a pump there would provide water.
    • Doug and Akito from EWB are looking for a testing site for the pump. As of 11/10, Brokentrace has been following some leads for people with a body of running water on their property.
• Power
  • Microhydro Power - The waterfall on the agricultural center's property can be harnessed to provide power.
• Agricultural Gear
  • Soil Limer Maker - Zambia has very acidic soil and it must be limed for agriculture. Local limestone deposits can be harvested for lime. Need to make a low-energy and low-resources input device that can make lime from limestone.
    • 9/13/10 - Gregabyte & Preauxphoto - Propose building a ball mill from a crank and 55-gallon steel drum to crush limestone. Gregabyte has plans for a mill.
    • 9/13/10 - Gregabyte's observation; Appropriate Technologies Lab/Soil ph. Can make Slaked Lime by a burning and hydration process. Less labor-intensive than a limestone crusher and you get a more effective product.
  • Cultivator - Tools to help cultivate fields quickly with only human power. There is an example at the agricultural center that is made from an old bike attached to a cultivator tool head. It reduces the time of cultivation of a field from several days to two hours.
  • Solar Food Dryer - Need one with a drying capacity of 100-200 lbs of produce per day to help preserve the center's output for market. Currently have a test prototype to learn about solar food drying.
    • 4/25/11 - Lindsey from EWB and Spacefelix did some planning and drafting work on a design based on a dryer Preauxphoto used while hunting in the Louisiana Bayou. Lindsey has a garden in her house that produces enough fruit to test the dryers. We have planned to start construction at the Make shop next week.

Notes

• EWB - Huntsville's White Paper. File:Engineers Without Borders White Paper.doc
• Something to take a page out of; EWB - SanFrancisco's Appropriate Technologies Development Team
• Paper on appropriate technologies and sustainable design as applied to the water and sanitation sector. File:Rethinking Hydro Breslin Final Jan 2010.pdf