There's more than a hump on this camel's back
A bamboo rod is not an example of high-tech material, nor is traveling via camel very modern. One wouldn’t put them in the same category as, say, crystalline solar panels. Yet, a collaborative project between the Kenyan-based Nomadic Communities Trust (NCT), Designmatters at Art Center College of Design and Princeton University’s Institute of Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM) saw no incongruity. Together they are blending affordable technologies with advanced engineering and design in order to bring medicine to remote African communities.
Camel convoys will deliver medicine and medical supplies, just as they traditionally have. However the camels will now be equipped with lightweight, durable ergonomic saddles (made from bamboo) along with a saddleback structure. This structure holds a compartmented refrigerated unit and solar power generator. Thanks to these technologies basic medicines like vaccines (which require refrigeration) can be transported through harsh terrains, where roadways are few and far between. Once at the remote site, the solar power generator can also be used to power clinics.
The project is now being tested in Ethiopia as well as Laikipia and Samburu, isolated districts of Kenya characterized by high rates of illiteracy and minimal access to health care. Mariana Amatullo, executive director of Designmatters, believes that this project “has the potential to change the long-term health and well-being of isolated communities.” If the necessary funding is provided, this innovative project could be fully implemented by 2010.
This is a great example of what is possible in a world where information travels so easily. New ideas can be put to use a world away. I rode a camel out of Timbuktu as a tourist not long back and it was magical. The vendors in the markets there have big blocks of salt from the mines hundreds of miles away. It seems like a movie in the West, but where trade follows the caravan, its just daily life. Difficult but full of calculations about the weather, the health of the animals, the money to be made. I hope that new technology can make these traditional lifestyles more effective so they are not lost and so that more people can be helped.
posted by marcseltzer on 12/14/2009 10:33 pm