NCIIA Cameroon Project

Redesign!

2010-06-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

After looking at the blacksmithing techniques available to the Lebialem people, Cassie developed a flat sheetmetal approach to forming our universal connector product. Involving many 2D cardboard mockups and concept testing, the flatpack method allows the blacksmith to cutout a predrawn pattern on sheetmetal and roll/fold out the universal connectors without any need for welding (removal of a secondary process)!

NCIIA Exploratorium March Madness of the Minds (MMM) 2010

2010-06-12T22:32:00.001-07:00

This year's annual March Madness for the Mind 2010 event was luckily held here in local San Francisco (Exploratorium). It's a fantastic event which brings together the many creative social solutions supported by the NCIIA organization, all for a grand event and show for the public venue. We had a great time and got incredible feedback on improvements and other organizations that could assist the 'next steps' of our project!

Journey back to Douala...

2010-06-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

The ride home's just not the same without something breaking down...

Prototype implementation + Celebrations!

2010-06-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

A final set of prototypes and disposable cameras (with postage) were left with our LECDA (NGO) representative to allow Lebialem people to come borrow/use/improve the universal connector products.

We had the amazing opportunity to see all the local villages come together for a memorial celebration and performance, including the unique cultural dances of each village.

On the day of departure, we stopped by the local hospital to deliver soap supplies to patients.

To thank us for our visit, many of the women in the nursing ward decided to name their children after our namesakes - Terence for boys and Cassie for the girls! Cassie's hold her first!

Presenting to the King and family

2010-06-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Postage-paid disposable camers and instructions left for the local community.

Prototype set 2

Keeping us company in the late afternoon.

Local friends showing us around town

The kings palace and universal connector demo

Farming

2010-06-12T21:46:00.001-07:00

Taking notes

Prototype testing + Presentation

2010-06-12T21:27:00.001-07:00

Reassembling our 'pre-marked' joint assemblies the night-before presentation to the Lebiablem locals.

Here they both are!

The ladies understood the purpose immediately! Great!

M'be Tazi introducing us to some cultural history and regional artifacts of Lebialem.

Local blacksmiths + introduction to the universal connector.

Christmas Day + Visiting the chiefs of our region

2010-06-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

Morning mass.

Visiting our chief. There is much cultural protocal and a complex heirarchy of title and respect.

Leslie is honored as a mafua of our local village, a great sign of her involvement with the community in Lebialem.

The chief's children and wives.

Travels, experiences, and lessons from Cameroon!

2010-06-12T20:53:00.001-07:00

So it's been a few months since our return from Cameroon (Lebialem) and there was a lot to take in! We had the opportunity to live in the home of a local member of the Lebialem community and share in the cultural lives of the locals. The team and I spent spent 10 days in Cameroon and quickly began to realize how different of a world we had just come from. Although the saying goes, "pictures just don't do it justice", here they are!

Welcome to Cameroon (Douala Airport)! What a rush!

Morning traffic...

Side market cart improvisation!

Fillin' up on gas...we're almost there (7 hour ride from Douala to Lebialem...the last 2 hours of the ride involve no paved roads...at all)

At our new home...in Mveh

2nd Prototypes Ready!

2009-12-09T18:53:00.001-08:00

Second prototypes are ready for packaging!

Many thanks to Kurtis Major for his experience and help!

15 days and counting

2009-12-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

OK, it's 15 days until our small team leaves for Cameroon to do some product testing! We are really excited and the last minute tasks just keep adding up. Add this onto the normal overload that occurs at the end of the semester, plus the fact that it is the holidays, and you can only imagine how "fun" it is to try to get anything done right now. But, the good news is that the team has been hard at work for three months now and the prototypes have been assembled and troubleshooting was minimal. The bags are getting packed, lists of what to bring are getting made and we are about ready to go.

We hope to post something while we are gone but we may not have access to internet. We'll be staying at the home of Dr. Morfaw, in the village of Mveh. This is near Menji, which I can't find on any map that I have found. However, the area is "findable" on Google. Type in Fontem, Cameroon. It is right on the P19 "highway". If you draw a triangle by starting north of Fontem at Atebong and go down to Elumba, then over to Mbo and back up to Atebong, that'll give you an idea of where we are going to be. No paved roads in sight!

We'll be working in the fields with farmers, harvesting cassava root. We'll then use our prototypes to get the goods to some of the local markets – on foot. We'll also be meeting with some of the local blacksmiths and metalworkers in the area to show them our proof of concept prototypes and get their idea of how they would make them in their shops. We hope to be able to visit local markets and also see some of the traditional cultural events that still take place in this remote region of Africa. We'll have a local NGO representative with us all the time, along with our cultural emissary, Nkemnkong (aka Dr. Steve Wilcox of Design Science in Philadelphia).

Wood Wheel Dimensions

2009-12-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

Dimensions for the market cart wood wheels (Diameter of wheel + axel hole, width of wheel)

18" x 2.5" OD (0.5" ID)

Revised Bill of Materials: Dimensions Edited Based on 95th% Female Anthropometric Measurements

2009-11-25T10:45:00.001-08:00

Prototype Bill of Materials

2009-11-23T10:19:00.001-08:00

Back Pack Frame Prototype Segment Dimensions

2009-11-20T20:17:00.001-08:00

Cart Prototype Segment and Wheel dimensions

2009-11-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

Cameroon - Prototype Prep and Shipping/Packing Checklist

2009-11-19T18:24:00.000-08:00

U-Connector Cart Rendering

2009-11-18T11:15:00.000-08:00

U-Connector Prototype Count

2009-11-15T21:48:00.001-08:00

U-Connector Prototype parts

2009-11-15T21:27:00.003-08:00

Parts separated and ready to be welded

U-Connector Prototype parts

2009-11-15T21:27:00.001-08:00

Parts separated and ready to be welded

U-Connector Prototype parts

2009-11-15T21:26:00.001-08:00

U-Connector Prototype parts

2009-11-15T21:25:00.001-08:00

Terence explaining the Universal Connector Concept and showing the parts

Cart Test Prototype

2009-11-15T21:23:00.001-08:00

Pulling the cart is equally as comfortable but travels through the terrain much easier than pushing.

Cart Test Prototype

2009-11-15T21:22:00.001-08:00

Pushing the cart is quite comfortable and provides good control

Cart Test Prototype

2009-11-15T21:21:00.001-08:00

Pushing off from the rest/display position

Cart Test Prototype

2009-11-15T21:19:00.001-08:00

Built on a hand dolly with plywood, and tarp net. Carrying approx. 60lbs

Orthographic Layout of the 3 Joints

2009-11-11T11:11:00.001-08:00

Universal Connector Backpack Prototype Diagram

2009-11-09T10:48:00.001-08:00

Universal Connector Market Cart Prototype Diagram

2009-11-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

joint sketches

2009-11-09T02:35:00.001-08:00

CAD Update with Pins

2009-11-08T16:48:00.001-08:00

Universal Connector

2009-10-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Brief Revised Testing Plan

2009-10-19T22:35:00.001-07:00

Market Cart Mock Up with Frame and Joints Mapped Out

2009-10-19T22:22:00.001-07:00

We then mapped out where a frame would be on the market cart and where and what the joints might look like.

Within the next week we will be fabricating and testable market cart to load up and use on a muddy hilly trail.

After that we plan on fabricating joints using the universal method for testing in Cameroon.

Universal Connector Concept Redefintion

2009-10-19T22:17:00.000-07:00

After building the full scale mock ups of the cart and scale universal connector archetypes we realized it would be more beneficial to combine the 2 concepts

Full Scal Mock Up Market Cart Rev. 1

2009-10-19T22:13:00.001-07:00

This design worked much better. Angles were revised and a form of a tie down 'net' was added. With this set up we were able to carry a much larger load. In a display scenario we could untie the net as goods were removed.

Meanwhile Universal Connector scale mock ups were being build

2009-10-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

Full Scale Mock - Market Cart

2009-10-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

The first full scale pass could be pushed, pulled, or stand on it's own to display goods. The mock up is build on a simple moving dolly. We noticed that angles needed to be refined for when in it's display position and the top hood was not very necessary for containing goods.

10.14.09 Meeting Notes

2009-10-15T10:23:00.001-07:00

Maker Faire Africa

2009-10-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

This is all about DIY. A plastic recycler, rice planter, bamboo trailer, energy capturing merry-go-round, aluminum batteries... check it out.

joint sketches

2009-10-05T14:53:00.001-07:00

Wind-powered Electricity in Africa/USA

2009-10-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Had we more time, this is an interesting segway into the potential advantages of eco-powered products. "Helix’s vertical turbines are ideal for powering cell towers and are both elegant and unobtrusive. Not only are they quiet, but they generate enough juice to pay for themselves in six months. That means it isn’t too much of a stretch for telecom companies to invest in them."

wood packframe comparison

2009-10-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Bamboo Back Truck

Three-stick Roycroft Packframe

Trapper Nelson or Alaskan Board

Test

2009-10-01T12:24:00.000-07:00

thanks leslie=)
if you guys have time check this video out
http://www.ted.com/talks/william_kamkwamba_how_i_harnessed_the_wind.html

cart sketches

2009-10-01T09:52:00.000-07:00

9.30.09 Meeting Notes

2009-10-01T09:22:00.001-07:00

Joint Concepts

2009-09-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

Bamboo Bicycle Trailer

2009-09-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

Im not sure if you guys have seen this yet. Just some food for thought.

There may be a common way to mount our cart to a motorbike axel.....

possibly some sort a bracket similar to the mount on this cart.

Universal connector application brainstorm

2009-09-29T08:40:00.001-07:00

Initial thoughts on what to test in Cameroon

2009-09-29T08:39:00.001-07:00

Notes on the 3 concepts

2009-09-28T22:54:00.000-07:00

money grows on trees - Cameroon

2009-09-22T21:58:00.000-07:00

Check out "Money Grows on Trees" and "Rattan to Grow"

Good video and background on rattan and NTFP's in Cameroon. Both will probably directly tie into our project.

Fall Schedule Draft

2009-09-22T09:37:00.001-07:00

9.21.09 Meeting Notes

2009-09-22T09:30:00.001-07:00

9.16.09 Meeting Notes

2009-09-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

9.9.09 Meeting Notes

2009-09-22T09:18:00.000-07:00