 © neozoon.org  © neozoon.org  © neozoon.org "There! A human! For heaven's sake! Catch the beast! — Planet of the Apes, 1968. An line that appropriately sums up Neozoon's philosophy. Neozoon is a street art collective based in Paris and Berlin. They seek to heighten our awareness of the way we treat animals, and the relationship we have with animals and birds. Initially the art was flat on the wall, but a recent collection consists of 3-dimensional animals as well.There is something intriguing and chilling about the imagery created. The Bah Bah Blacksheep slaughterhouse area in Dresden has a line of sheep, each one numbered along the wall. It's an artistic expression that also makes you stop in your tracks and think about what we do to animals. It reflects on our heartlessness towards them as well. Though just silhouettes, each sheep is life-like, lively and original, right from their numbers to their yellow ear tags. A street in Paris has shown fur-coat recycling, a streak of life like creatures racing and leaping around the corner. It makes a strong statement, without destroying the character of the area. Lynxes, from the Urban Art Festival Madrid 2010 is also freakishly real. On the tamer side there is Cats (Urban Art Festival Madrid 2010), which is playful, domestic and harmless. There are lambs gazing at you in Berlin. Manteltier in Berlin is one of their 3-dimensional exhibits, and combines and fun and macabre in a surreal way. A kangaroo in Paris might just make you stop while walking by. There is also a bunch of pedigree dogs in Berlin, that you can see on their site, along with magnificent bulls, standing bears, pigs, wolves, foxes and more. A pretty unusual take on street art. All these are created from actual discarded fur coats, which adds to the realism and is truly confrontational for us humans. The location of some of the displays, such as the sheep on one of the oldest slaughterhouses of Paris adds to the meaning. A piece of street art that makes us think about the way we treat animals. The realism of actual fur shaped into life like forms makes the horror of killing animals real.Do visit their site, for more on the furry friends, and check out their videos. You can read more about them here too. How do they make it? Check out the video here.By Armeen Kapadia
Every year millions of children die of water-borne diseases. A scientist from Australia has developed a filter, that's as easy to make as it is to use, with clay, coffee and, believe it or not, some good ol' cow dung. He created this technology in 2005, and it has never been patented, so that it is used freely wherever required in the world.
Tony Flynn, an artist, potter and materials scientist at the Australian National University (ANU), realised that water-borne diseases such as diarrhea destroy numerous lives, especially in the developing world. Most water filters consist of a hollow ceramic vessel filled with charcoal. These filters are usually imported from foreign countries, and out of reach for the people who need it the most. This filter uses normal clay, found freely anywhere in the world, mixed with coffee. The clay on its own is too dense to allow water through. When the clay is mixed with coffee in equal parts, and fired, the coffee creates holes in it, making it porous.
Firing of clay is an expensive affair requiring a kiln, and Tony knew this would not be practical. Wood too, is not always easily available. He realised that cow manure is the ideal material as a dung fire burns at 950˚C, perfect for baking clay. After around an hour of baking in the dung, the filter is ready to use. When tested the filter removes between 94.6 and 99.8% of e-coli in water. The tiny holes of the filter are too small for bacteria to go through. However, particles from the clay itself, and some viruses can pass through the filter. "It's not a golden bullet but it's a bullet nevertheless. It will help where there's nothing else available." Mr. Flynn elaborates. According to the ANU, 'the organic materials are burned away during the firing process and create small passages in the filter that allow water, but not pathogens, to pass. This filter effectively removes 96.4-99.8% of E. Coli in water.'
This invention was born out of a World Vision and Potters for Peace project in East Timor, to rehabilitate a small potter community, Manatuto, that had been displaced by the constant violence of East Timor's civil war. The idea was empower the potters to make their own filters, and maybe even sell them for income.
The simple materials, and the firing with cow-dung ensures this is a 'zero-technology' process, available whenever needed. Tony Flynn sums it up,"“Everyone has a right to clean water, these filters have the potential to enable anyone in the world to drink water safely."
By Armeen Kapadia
 Promotional products © poopoopaper.com We have heard of eco-friendly paper, recycled paper, paper made from waste fibres and the rest of it. Here is a paper, that’s literally made from waste material. The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company Limited is making paper, and some really nice gift items, all from elephant dung.
Asian elephants are found in India, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, and Borneo. Elephants are mostly domesticated, and very few remain in the wild now. In Sri Lanka, the elephant has been under threat in recent times, though it was revered in Buddhist tradition. Elephants are often killed and wounded when they come in contact with human habitation and destroy crops. An eco-friendly solution to this problem is the manufacture of paper and paper products from elephant dung. Farmers can now co-exist with the elephant, and have a mutually beneficial relationship with them.
Elephant dung is in constant supply, and can easily be collected by the villagers. An elephant produces about 100 kgs of dung per day. An elephant eats coconut leaves, jackfruit leaves, palmyra leaves and other vegetation rich in fibre. Around 60% of this fibre leaves its body undigested.
The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company collects naturally dried dung from national parks, and brings it to the paper-making factory. The dung is then rinsed with water, leaving only the fibrous material behind. The fibres are then boiled thoroughly to ensure that they are perfectly clean and smell-free. Colour can also be added at this stage. Natural fibres from banana trees and pineapples are added to strengthen the paper. The fibre is spread over a mesh, and left to dry in the sun for a few hours. And then your poo-poo paper is ready.
Visit the Poo-tique to see the range of products the company makes. These make attractive and useful gift items. The company was started in 2002, and now has distributes products in many countries worldwide. Initially their products were expensive, but they worked to modify the production process, and today they have a great product line, with a positive ecologically responsible message. As the site says, they are products with a purpose.
Such paper is also made in Thailand. An end product becomes a base of manufacturing for another product. The Great Elephant Poo Poo Paper Company is ‘Number one at number two’. Do see the video below.
By Armeen Kapadia
 The Ironing Board Mirror Enabled by Design is a site that’s “all about people powered products”. Enabled by Design is a community concerned with finding ways to transform equipment for people with disabilities, by making it more useful, aesthetically pleasing, and funky. Why should the image of assistive equipment be boring and drab?
Enabled by Design was started by Denise Stephens, a 30 year-old who suffered from multiple sclerosis. "It's about removing the stigmatising image of assistive equipment and encouraging designers to adopt the concept of inclusive design," she explains. "I feel very much that the disabled community are put in a box. Things are designed and produced, and then you get the disabled community saying: 'We can't use it.' They try to retrofit the equipment to people. Why not take that into consideration during the design process?" It is also an attempt to turn on its head, "the uninspiring one-size-fits-all approach to assistive equipment.
When Denise was in her early twenties, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. This condition would alter the whole course of her life, as she says, “You almost feel like an alien in your own life.” You can’t do the things you once did. With multiple sclerosis, came periodic relapses, extreme pain, constant visits to the hospital and fatigue. She could no longer hold a full-time, or even a part-time job, though she struggled to for a long time.
She was given assistive equipment, which she says was great as it helped her do things around the house and function normally. However, every time friends came over she would hide the equipment, and she realized this wasn’t right. Her growing concern was that people with disabilities were missing out on good design aesthetics. She felt that the designs for the disabled look 50 years outdated, and unchanged. The equipment could be fun and inspiring, besides being practical. She started Enabled by Design with the help of a friend, Dominic Campbell, who later became a partner.
Enabled by Design has three section, Loves and Hates, where you can rate products, Ideas Factory, where you can say how you would like to improve things, and Product Reviews. Some things featured on the site, such as the Etac Relieve Angled Carving Knife are amazing simple innovations, where slight changes in the product can result in major improvements in a person’s life. Similar are the Electric Heat Pads which are like hot water bottles that wrap around painful joints. The Ironing Board Mirror is space saving, and useful to anyone. The Lifestyle Bath makes bathing much easier for the disabled, or the elderly. The website encourages a sort of ‘open-source’ design, where users can rate the designs, and post suggestions and ideas.
Enabled by Design is a winner at the Social Innovation Camp 2008. As the founder Denise says: "I would love it to be the case where inclusive design becomes the basic design for all products that are manufactured, because that would completely mainstream disability."
By Armeen Kapadia
 Eco-friendly bags made of juice cartons Someone is finally putting those millions of juice cartons, which we all happily chuck in the bin, to good use. These juice cartons are being recycled to make an attractive, lively set of bags. Juice cartons are quite non-biodegradable, and end up in landfills, or littering the streets, or are burnt creating more pollution.
The Eco-friendly Juice Bags are not only eco-friendly, but they are also helping poor communities, as they are made by a woman’s cooperative in the Philippines, where the women are the main bread-winners in their families. This cooperative is formed of more than 500 women of Pasig City, Philippines, and was started in 1999. The cooperative provides a livelihood to 200 families, creating income to pay for education and healthcare. Their main objective is to recycle cartons, plastics and the rest into bags and accessories. Working with local community leaders, the cooperative convinced people to separate their waste, and sell recyclable matter to the cooperative. The local council provided pushcarts and weighing scales and established an Ecology Center. This ultimately led to Pasig City being awarded first place as the cleanest and greenest township.
Of all the recyclable materials, the colourful juice cartons attracted the women’s attention. After collection, they are sanitized, and made into bags. The bags have a wide range of shapes and sizes. There is the ‘shopper’ a large divided bag that can accommodate A4 size files. There is the ‘woven handbag’ made from interwoven lengths of juice carton. There are insulated bottle bags with zip-up lids.
The Recycled Juice Bags look great, function great, and utilize waste. Design at its best, even without the designer.
By Armeen Kapadia
Today we are covering something that many may feel does not relate directly to design, but design can learn lessons from the small and peaceful country of Costa Rica, a country in Central America, and the first in the world to abolish its standing army.
One person’s intention can change the way thousands of others live. In 1948, after just five weeks of civil war, the leader, Jose Figueres, announced, “'The Regular Army of Costa Rica today gives the key to its military base to the schools ... The Government hereby declares the National Army officially abolished.” As a result, the nation’s resources were transferred into more worthy causes; namely, the improvement of healthcare and education. The country’s military bases became schools. Figueres also banned the Communist Party, gave women the right to vote, granted black immigrants full citizenship, and established a presidential term limit. Figueres nationalized the banks in order to promote economic diversity and eliminate coffee grower's control over the banking system. For decades, the elite coffee growers had dominated Costa Rican society and economy. Figueres also created The Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
Today Costa Rica has the highest standard of living in Central and South America. There is ‘cradle to the grave’ healthcare for all Costa Ricans, with special services for women, children and seniors. Costa Rica has the second highest literacy rate of 96%, in Latin and South America, and an average life expectancy of more than 75 years. Costa Rica has no enemies or terrorism, and the last elections saw a voter turnout of 90%, a lot more than what most countries can boast of.
Costa Rica’s neighbours are struggling with civil war, military repression and poverty. Dr. Oscar Arias Sanchez, who was President of Costa Rica from 1986-1990, and 2006 to present, advocates education and vehemently believes too many countries sacrifice education to fund armies. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his work to establish peace and democracy in the region.
Costa Rica translates as ‘rich coast’, and the nation lives up to its name. It is near the top in the Human Developmental Index, the Environmental Performance Index, the Happy Planet Index, and is also the greenest country in the world. Former President Rodrigo Carazo Odio comments that, "Costa Ricans have cultivated a civilized spirit, a spirit opposed to militarization and violence. Armed with this spirit, the people are capable of seeking peaceful solutions to conflicts and respecting the rights of others." He states that this respect has survived and flourished because "education has fostered such an attitude and because in the absence of [military] weapons with which to impose an idea, the only weapon left is reason."
Why are we covering the country of Costa Rica today, on a site called ‘design is in’? Well, because in some ways the ‘design’ of countries, institutes, states and systems, are of prime importance. Innovation in leadership is the need of the hour. Creativity, change, and innovation is most needed in governance. Design is creating holistic solutions, not short term arrangements that create a new problem in place of the old one. Design is also about having the vision to take a bold step, even if it means doing something no one has done before, trading immediate economic gain, and power domination for more meaningful benefits, for countless future generations.
Hats off to you Costa Rica, hope there are more courageous enough to go your way.
By Armeen Kapadia
The refuse from discarded electronic products, e-waste, end up in landfills or incinerators. In today’s ‘use and throw’ philosophy, the amount of e-waste is constantly increasing to alarming levels. It’s easier to buy a new computer, than upgrade your old one, or so most people think. Alex Lin, at age 13, started a progamme in his community to reduce e-waste by refurbishing discarded computers and providing them to families unable to afford electronic equipment.
Alex, from Westerly, Rhode Island, USA, formed Westerly Innovations Network (WIN) in 2002. He explains in the video how improper waste encompasses a lot of things, like burning, burying, and exporting. In the average computer monitor, there is 4 to 8 pounds of lead, there is also mercury, cadmium, and the plastic cases themselves, all causing severe health defects. Earlier, all the residents of Westerly were dumping their e-waste in the landfill. With a few phone calls, and some effort, they set up a receptacle at a certain point, where people could dump their computers, protecting the crops, water and environment.
The WIN team then meets once in a week in Alex’s basement to refurbish the computers. Alex feels that recycling is much more efficient than buying new pieces. They get donations from corporations and banks, and sometimes have to replace hard drives, RAMs etc. After refurbishing, the computers are usually given to people in Westerly who don’t have computers. They also sent computers to Sri Lanka after the tsunami, where they were used in an education centre.
Later the WIN team also made a presentation to the State Legislation, and because of their efforts today improper disposal of e-waste in Rhode Island is illegal. You can see Alex’s speech at the Youth Brower Awards, 2007. Today the WIN team works with people in Sri Lanka, Cameroon and Mexico. They effectively created a system that deals with several problems, those of e-waste, environmental damage, and increased access to computers for poorer sections of society. As Alex says, this is a small step in changing the way the country, and even the world deals with waste.
By Armeen Kapadia
While a lot of us take electricity for granted, there are an estimated two billion people living without power from the electric grid. These people rely on outdated, expensive, and unhealthy sources of illumination such as kerosene, candles, etc. SunNight Solar has developed a flashlight that uses solar energy, and can be used for various lighting conditions.
SunNight Solar was started by Marc Bent, a US diplomat and oilman who had spent years working in Africa, and wanted to give back. Lighting takes up almost 30% of a family’s disposable income. The SunLight series of flashlights will provide light for 750 to 1000 nights, 8 hours per night – which is a minimum of 6000 hours. Unlike conventional flashlights, which lose approximately 3.8% of energy monthly, this flashlight stays charged all the time. The SunLight series uses Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMh) AA batteries, which are the more expensive, but have the least environmental impact.
The SunLight solar flashlight, unlike many products, is easy to open up. With just a coin, one can open it, remove a battery, put in a new one and close it again. The torch has a solar photovoltaic panel that generates electricity. The electricity is stored in the three batteries. The user has to place the flashlight in the sun during the day. Though this looks like a flashlight, it can be used to light up a room. It has several different settings for different light conditions and needs of the consumer. The design of the flashlight ensures there is circulation of air around each of the batteries, vital for the batteries to retain and store energy. In many products one has to figure out the direction the battery goes in, but in this flashlight, all three batteries go positive side first, so there is no confusion.
Bent has designed the product himself, and there’s even a model in pink, to discourage men from seizing the products from women. Bent initially had invested heavily in the project, and later got help from Innocentive, an R&D firm. Thousands of Africans are using the solar powered light; SunNight Solar has passed one million in sales. Bent wants to expand the line and add a solar-powered UV water-filtration system.
By Armeen Kapadia
 magno-design.com Products are extensions of the human body in some way, and not just inanimate objects to use and throw without a thought. A product that lives this philosophy better than any other is the Magno, a beautiful handcrafted wooden radio born in Indonesia.
Magno is the brainchild of product designer Singgih S. Kartono. He was concerned about the slowing down and deterioration of his hometown — Kandangan's village life, and after graduating set up his own business in the village. Agriculture, the backbone of the village, had been badly hit, forcing people to take up other professions or migrate to cities. Kartono felt that craft is an alternative activity that can help improve village economy and sustain the community. As explained on the site, “These characteristics [of craft] are that it is labor intensive, requires low technology and investment and abundance of local material input.”
Kartono also talks about the beautiful quality of wood as a material, “I consider wood as a balance material. In wood I can find strength, but yet weakness, advantages but also limits, and roughness as well as softness. Compare to synthetic material, I can feel that wood is a material with soul inside. Wood is a kind of material that its beauty comes from its history. How it grows is amazing process, it recorded to be age lines. It record good & bad time. The beautiful texture and grain actually a story of its life. Wood is a kind of perfect material, perfect cause of its imperfectness. Its characters teach us about life, balance, limits.”
Kartono believes in the New Craft Method, “New Craft is a manufacturing process that uses traditional craftsmanship as its main means of production and uses modern management techniques in organizing its activities. The basic system of the New Craft is to ensure that every step of the production process contains standard procedures of manufacture, quality standards as well as output and material usage standards.” The New Craft ideology is almost the opposite of mass production and assembly line, as importance is given to each piece, and each worker. “In craft, the most important factor is the human resources behind the craft activities. It uses human skills as its main production resources - it is important to have correctly managed worker attitudes towards crafts.” In this way craft can become the alternative, sustainable source of income.
He designs to minimize the features on the products, and uses dark and light wood to create a warm contrast. The products require maintenance, which Kartono feels, “give a chance to its owner to feel the wood and also to care for the wood, as the care of its owner is the only real protection of the products.” He doesn’t believe in maintenance-free products. We have an obligation to look after the products we have.
Besides three varieties of wooden radios here, here, and here, Magno also has stationery, toys, and some small functional items. The radios can be connected to ipods, and are made only of wood, and in some cases fabric.
With his concern for the environment, Kartano ensures that every tree used is re-planted as he feels morally responsible for the environment. He also believes that we share a special relationship with products we use, “Products are living beings that send us messages and spiritual meanings in a passive way. Our society has begun to loose these meanings and products are becoming our robot servants. I strongly believe that the relationship between a user and a product is not merely a relationship between a subject and an object. It is a relationship where a product is an integral part of our life.”
He believes that the imperfect-ness of products is what makes them more human, and sustainable. "Design for us is more than just creating a well designed product that is produced and consumed in colossal amount. Design must be a way to solve and minimize problems."
By Armeen Kapadia
 PlayPump in action Children have abundant energy. And it seems like someone is literally tapping into it. The PlayPump system is a genius idea. While children use the merry-go-around, clean water is pumped from underground to a water-tank. Even better, the surface of the water-tank is leased as billboards for advertisements and social messages.
Just to be very sure of the problem it is solving, here are some of the facts:
1. More than one billion people do not have access to clean water
2. On an average, 6,000 people die everyday because of water-related diseases
3. Around 40 billion hours of time is spent fetching water, mostly by women and children.
PlayPump as a system is lifting people out of poverty. PlayPump with its system:
1. Provides access to safe, clean drinking water
2. Improves sanitation and hygiene
3. Reduces barriers to education
4. Promotes play
5. Increases opportunities for women and girls
6. Spurs economic development
7. Helps reduce the impact of HIV/AIDS
The New York Times Editorial puts the effect of PlayPumps succinctly, "South Africa has already installed 500 PlayPumps, which are more efficient, easier to use, and cheaper to run than wells with hand pumps."
If you want to know more about how it works, click here.
By Sanjay Basavaraju
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