After reading Edward's reflection on the Practical Action Peru reading I decided that I would read it myself.
Summary
People living in a remote part of the Peruvian Andes did not have any means of generating electricity and had to rely on batteries, oil and candles to heat and light their homes. Practical Action set up very simple wind turbines which created enough electricity to power lights and computers
My Thoughts
This is a very similar situation to the one in Kenya I read about previously exept this time it is a lack of electricity inside of water. I do not think these peoples' situation was as bad as the one in kenya but I do believe that every person should have access to electricity to allow them to be warm, have light and even go on computers to try and learn new things.
This is again a very good example of a product fitting a purpose and designed to work with the natural environment. The area in Peru that the text speaks about is very windy and is therefore perfect for wind turbines. These turbines are clean, renewable and have a small footprint so the are unlikely to have any impact on the local environment (especially in comparison to fossil fuels)
Practical Action Peru Wind
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Practical Action Kenya Reflection
Summary of Text
This text is about the problem of not having clean water in Africa. The Practical Action team solved this problem in the area of Turkana by installing solar powered water pumps to pump water from 100 metres below the ground.
My Thoughts
I found this text really interesting. The fact that something as simple as a solar powered pump could make such a huge difference to peoples' lives is amazing.
The idea that a product must "fit a purpose" is personified in this case. The designers did not create anything overly complicated and used the resources that were present in the area to power the pump, lots of sunshine!
It is very sad to thing of the women in this text having to walk so far only to have to dig a hole by hand to get to the water, which may not even be clean due to all of the dirt in the hole and may not even be there in times of drought
This text really makes me think about the fact that we take so much for granted and so many products are designed that we really don't need
practical-action-kenya-solar-pump
This text is about the problem of not having clean water in Africa. The Practical Action team solved this problem in the area of Turkana by installing solar powered water pumps to pump water from 100 metres below the ground.
My Thoughts
I found this text really interesting. The fact that something as simple as a solar powered pump could make such a huge difference to peoples' lives is amazing.
The idea that a product must "fit a purpose" is personified in this case. The designers did not create anything overly complicated and used the resources that were present in the area to power the pump, lots of sunshine!
It is very sad to thing of the women in this text having to walk so far only to have to dig a hole by hand to get to the water, which may not even be clean due to all of the dirt in the hole and may not even be there in times of drought
This text really makes me think about the fact that we take so much for granted and so many products are designed that we really don't need
practical-action-kenya-solar-pump
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