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Open Source Low Tech

opensourcelowtech.org

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101–110 of 143 posts

Re: Open Source Low Tech

#101

Post by MisterTea »

xmprt wrote: post #3

I like the idea behind this. I feel like far too often, the solutions we build for poor communities involve specific materials that can't be manufactured locally, so it just creates more dependence rather than self-sufficiency. It's one thing to build and ship 1000 bicycles to a poor village, but it's another to teach a village how to make bicycles with random spare pipes and materials they can find anywhere. That wa…

> If you go to villages in developing nations, you'll see these kinds of innovative solutions all over - ...

Years ago I remember reading an article about Russians making a living in the USSR. A man in a town wanted to mow his lawn but could not afford a mower (or maybe he could not easily obtain one?) His solution was a scavenged washing machine motor mounted to an old kids tricycle spinning a home made blade.

Re: Open Source Low Tech

#102

Post by Konnstann »

nchmy wrote: post #14
benj111 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would be nice is setting up as much manufacturing as possible in Africa for making bikes designed for Africa. Bike maintenance isn't a skill issue. It's an issue of specialised tools and hard to get spares. Talk to your own Grand parents. If they weren't rich they'd have had to fix their own bike, and they wouldn't have had Google helping them.

What would be different about a bike designed for Africa than one designed for anywhere else? What parts that require specialized tools should be redesigned to use standard tools?

https://www.buffalobicycle.com/storage/documents/Buffalo_com...

The buffalo bike is one that was specifically made for developing nations and the project prioritizes local assembly and repair, while the bike is designed to sacrifice weight and aerodynamics, instead offering heavier-duty parts like thicker rims, puncture-proof tires, high-capacity racks, etc. This bike has two chains to reduce the likelihood of a critical failure and an internal coaster brake hub which is more robust to the elements.

Your average low-cost bike isn't intended to be used in environments with rough terrain and high contaminant concentrations without regular maintenance, and especially older bikes with things like cup and cone bearings which are more susceptible to dirt getting in, thinner tires which puncture more easily, and nonstandard bits and pieces like derailleur hangers which predate the UDH standard.

Re: Open Source Low Tech

#103

Post by turtlebits »

IMO, the wind turbine is way too complex to be actually useful. It's definitely not reproducible for $30 unless you have access to a junkyard.

The power drill required for it isn't especially low tech. A cheap used solar panel is a better solution in 95% of situations.

Re: Open Source Low Tech

#104

Post by MisterTea »

bregma wrote: post #48
xmprt wrote: post #3

I like the idea behind this. I feel like far too often, the solutions we build for poor communities involve specific materials that can't be manufactured locally, so it just creates more dependence rather than self-sufficiency. It's one thing to build and ship 1000 bicycles to a poor village, but it's another to teach a village how to make bicycles with random spare pipes and materials they can find anywhere. That wa…

You know what they say: ship a village 1000 bicycles and they ride for a day. Teach a village to make bicycles and they ride for the rest of their lives. The counterargument is, of course, "but what's in it for me?"

> The counterargument is, of course, "but what's in it for me?"

People who ask this have never gone above and beyond to help someone, expecting nothing in return save for the gratitude they receive. It's a damn shame.

Re: Open Source Low Tech

#105

Post by busymom0 »

elias1233 wrote: post #43

It would be interesting to see if an air conditioner or refrigerator can be made in this manner

If you don't have AC but do have a refrigerator, you can build a DIY AC using a box, bottles of frozen water and a fan. There's YouTube tutorials on how to do it.

I have friends who use it in their apartment which doesn't have AC and doesn't allow installation of one.

Re: Open Source Low Tech

#107

Post by Palomides »

mghackerlady wrote: post #94
Palomides wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's very easy to verge into OLPC type thinking with this, you probably should just give them normal bikes instead of trying to come up with some bespoke DIY-able system

the OLPC was the "send them bikes" disguised as the DIY-able system. They designed what they thought would be the best computer for impoverished children when in reality those children had no real use for a computer

I dunno, saying they don't have a use for a computer seems incorrect to me, even in the poorest parts of the world today, a substantial minority have acquired their own computer that's cheap, small, efficient, has a built in long distance radio, can run arbitrary software, doesn't require reliable electricity (I mean cell phones)

obviously it's a different technological and economic today compared to 2005, but still, "the global poor don't need computers" is questionable just based on the fact that they are spending their own money to get them

Re: Open Source Low Tech

#108

Post by benj111 »

ErroneousBosh wrote: post #65
benj111 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well I'm not African so I don't know. I'm thinking that in the west we either have very cheap bikes that aren't really designed for long term use, and more expensive bikes tend to use fancier parts. Off the top of my head. Steel frame, can be repaired / modified with any old welder. Designed so it can be taken apart with the minimum of generic tools. Standard bearings, brake blocks etc (probably brake blocks that you…

> Off the top of my head. Steel frame, can be repaired / modified with any old welder. Designed so it can be taken apart with the minimum of generic tools. Standard bearings, brake blocks etc (probably brake blocks that you can shove some piece of old tyre in). So basically just your average cheap crappy Halfords Bike-Shaped Object type "bike"?

No. I politely covered BSOs

"very cheap bikes that aren't really designed for long term use"

You want cheap and reliable, not cheap with a load of doodads to make it seem expensive.

Re: Open Source Low Tech

#109

Post by idiotsecant »

cwmoore wrote: post #84
idiotsecant wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are plenty of nonprofits making a difference, your cynicism aside.

How is that difference measured, in general? Setting aside cynicism is one thing but what answers are there for skepticism besides the very common moralizing personal attacks? When I see a lot of nonprofit leadership improving their own lot much more reliably than the people “they serve”, I wonder if the handouts are just being politically diverted to the best and most politically valuable promoters. If UBI is off th…

So your honest position that you're arguing here is that literally every nonprofit is not making a difference? Every one of them? What are we even talking about here?
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