Coca-Cola is a company with one of the widest distribution channels, reaching even remote villages worldwide. What if Coca Cola used these channels to distribute necessary and meaningful products such as oral rehydration salts, simple medicines, vitamin tablets, water-purification tablets, condoms, or even band-aids? This was the idea that Simon Berry had while working on the British Aid programme, way back in 1988. 

Although Simon had the idea for more than 20 years, he wasn't able to find a way to convince Coke to implement it. He decided to use the power of the Internet to convey his idea, Colalife to as many people as possible. Today technology is helping the idea stand on its feet, after a dormancy of twenty years. Many people have contributed their ideas, time and knowledge. Now Coca Cola is more engaged, and ready to listen to more of it. Early trials are happening in Tanzania. 

The AidPod, is the package that goes into the crate of Coca-Cola bottles. It is designed to fit in exactly in the spaces between the necks of the bottles. One crate can hold five AidPods. The contents of the AidPods can be decided locally, depending on the needs of the area. In the future, they may even hold vaccines. An organisation has recently been set up to implement this idea, and they are at the stage of getting some designers to design the AidPod according to various needs. The design of the processes is also important, and has to match the ethos of Coca Cola, which is primarily driven by finance. In the words of Simon, "People should make money out of distributing these AidPods." Or it won't be able to sustain itself long-term. The design of the AidPods, and the design of the system, are two big challenges faced by Colalife. Once they are resolved, they require funds to manufacture thousands of AidPods to supply to Coca Cola. 

The idea is beautifully simple, and uses an existing distribution channel for maximum benefit. This system can be easily replicated in any part of the world. Colalife is a vountary campaign, and you can read more of their aims and objectives here. The products in the AidPod could be sold, given by the local health worker, or clinic. Colalife is looking for funding and help to make this system as viable as possible for Coca Cola to pursue. Do see the videos, (more on the site) and read Simon's blog here. 

Coca Cola. Open more than just happiness. 

By Armeen Kapadia
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http://www.lavoutenubienne.org
Ten years ago in Burkina Faso, a landlocked African county, a small change started in the way people built their homes. Today that provides employment to many and is a growing way of life. It involves the construction of a simple vaulted earth roof, which was the traditional way of building for centuries, till it was replaced by other, less viable materials like tin roofs. 

The Earth Roofs for the Sahel, is a programme that is part of the Association la Voute Nubienne, (AVN) an NGO registered in France and Burkina Faso, in 2000. It promotes the construction of timberless valuted earth brick houses, using a well known technique known as la Voute Nubienne (VN). The VN technique is actually an adaptation of an age old technique of building houses from the Nubian region of Egypt. The country has two seasons, a rainy one for around 4 months, and the rest of the year is the hot season with winds from the Sahara. Traditional building used earth walls, thatched roofs and some timber, but with population growth the use of timber for construction is illegal or too expensive. People often resort to sheet metal or timber beams. These materials drain family resources, sheet metal gets corroded, and they are often imported from outside at high expense. Sheet metal also has poor heat and sound insulation. 

The first prototype of a VN construction in Boromo, Burkina Faso, was built as a challenge by Thomas Granier and Séri Youlou in 1998. Next year, a VN house was built, and the Association la Voute Nubienne was founded in 2000 to promote the VN technique as a solution for affordable, sustainable housing in the Sahel.

The vault roof is built without a timber support. The roof is waterproofed using locally produced plastic sheeting over a smooth coating of mud. This way of building is not only ecologically and economically sound, but also socially viable, and all these three parameters are essential in a country that occupies the sixth to last place on the Human Development Index. Local masons are trained, and they in turn employ apprentices once they become master masons. After some experience, master masons become independent entrepreneurs. The AVN helps them through the process, and helps the entrepreneurs develop a client pool through communication and networking. Till today approximately 235 houses and 20 public buildings (including schools, dispensaries, churches and mosques) have been built. Over 115 masons have been trained and there are currently 170 apprentices.

Houses using the VN technique are more comfortable, healthy and durable. They are also safer, less prone to collapse and better in extremes of climate. They can be easily built with local materials and labour, most houses are built by bartering crops and/or labour. The families cover the housing and material cost, with AVN only covering a margin of labour and training costs. Now AVN has to cover less and less, which is a healthy sign of an active, self-sustaining system. The project is generating income and employment for many, and there have been over 7000 beneficiaries till date. The number of apprentices is increasing, which means more masons to carry out further training in the future. The vaulted roof can be converted to a flat terrace roof and the technique allows for later extension of a building, even adding a second storey onto an existing single storey building.

The simplicity of this technique, (you can read more about it here) and its involvement of the local community are key to its success. It does not require fancy equipment, skill, or technical know-how. While giving people a better way to live, it also provides a means of livelihood, essential in such places. It has led to a major reduction in the use of imported materials, as it uses local materials, earth and water, and deforestation has also reduced. The poorest of families in remote rural areas are also building with this technique. Money saved by building this way is used for health or education. 

This technique thrives because it stays as close to the people it was meant for, as possible. It is an innovation not only in design, but also in system. It traditionally comes from their own culture, it draws on local materials and skill, and creates independent entrepreneurs, reducing dependence on the mother NGO, and outside resources. 

Do have a look at the video below.

By Armeen Kapadia

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Wat-a-filter! 01/06/2010
 
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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
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Now its not that often that you come across someone who says 'We believe design can change the world.', as there is a hard-core cynic in a lot of us, but Project H is one initiative that does believe in it. 'Project H Design connects the power of design to the people who need it most, and the places where it can make a real and lasting difference.'

Project H is a California based non-profit. Project H is a team of designers, builders, thinkers and doers, working locally to improve the quality of life for the socially overlooked. Project H consists of design initiatives for humanity, habitats, health, and happiness. Its really worth reading their process, as stated on the site. Here it is in brief:
1) There is no design without (critical) action.
2) We design WITH, not FOR. 
3) We document, share, and measure.
4) We start locally, and scale globally.
5) We design systems, not stuff. 
These pretty much sum up the holy grail of design, or atleast charts the future course of design.

Project H is the brainwave of Emily Pilloton, a designer who in January 2008, decided it was time to quit her job 'designing the superfluous', and create something more meaningful to the world in general. You can read more about Emily here. 

Don't miss reading the Manifesto page on the site. An extract, "...here’s the brass tacks reality: We need to challenge the design world to take the “product” out of product design for a second and deliver results and impact rather than form and function; to reconsider who our clients really are; to turn our tightly-cinched consumer business models and luxury aesthetics on their heads; to get over “going green;” and to enlist a new generation of design activists. We need big hearts, bigger business sense, and even bigger balls."

You can read more about Project H here and here. And definitely take a good look at their projects. Design to inspire in 2010 and beyond.

By Armeen Kapadia
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VerTerra dishes
Michael Dwork, founder and CEO of VerTerra, was inspired by the Indian leaf plate when he visited India. Since then he has been constantly refining that simple organic plate. On similar lines, VerTerra focuses on producing more durable and versatile single-use products. The products can be used to bake in the oven, store in the fridge and reheat in the microwave.

VerTerra is rooted in the Latin phrase 'Veritas terra' or 'true to the earth'. The VerTerra dinnerware is made from fallen leaves that they borrow and then returned to the earth. The methods that Verterra uses to produce its quality dinnerware is sustainable. Most of VerTerra's dinnerware are made in South Asia by creating hundreds of fair-wage jobs. The company claims that their craftspeople are well-supported financially, provided healthcare and safe working conditions.

Their top priority is to be true to the earth. Although water is used to clean gathered leaves, no trees are cut, and over 80% of the water is recaptured and reused. The dinnerware is 100% free of chemicals, lacquers, glues, bonding agents or anything toxic.

VerTerra has won many awards for its innovation. The products are stylish, versatile and compostable. The dinnerware is light and looks like a beautifully grained piece of wood. It is rugged and feels almost like thin bamboo. But it is the strangeness that is so attractive. The thickness of the plates gives no hint them being disposable products. They replace paper or plastic plates in over 500 parties and events across the globe. It takes about 62 days for a plate to fully decompose.  A set of eight 6-inch plates retails for $4.99. Via its website, customers can directly buy VerTerra products. Critics haven't been able to report anything negative even after abusing the plates and bowls.

VerTerra's products are so good that they are now the official serviceware of the Statue of Liberty. Price is a crucial factor that stops people from buying such products. In recent years, the cost of their products have been cut by 50%, making them as affordable as disposable products. Their factories use 10% of the energy that most recycled paper plate factories use. The leaf-scrap that is left while making the plates is crushed into powder and provided as fertilizer to the farmers who send leaves to VerTerra. A manufacturing plant only produces around 2-3 regular trash bins worth of waste in an entire month.

Michael Dwork regrets the fact that all items are put in recycled plastic shrink wrap for hygenic reasons. He wishes there was a way around that use of plastic, but it is necessary. There are no other heat and water stable materials that will ensure that customers get the product in a sanitary condition, but he will happily entertain suggestions. The only complaint that he has got in 9 months of selling is that people feel bad throwing them away since they feel so sturdy and look so attractive.

These products are the biodegradable, aesthetically pleasing dinnerware and they are as green as it gets. Do see the interview with Michael Dwork.

By Sanjay Basavaraju
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Mini-site: The Footprint Chronicles
Patagonia is a California based clothing company that mostly makes outdoor clothing. It was founded in 1972 by Yvon Chouinard. Since its inception it has been considered a socially responsible company. Since 1985, Patagonia has donated $25 million to over 1000 organizations. It commits 1% of the total sales to the environment.

Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.
– Patagonia's Mission Statement

Patagonia adheres to minimalist style. Its approach to product design is always simplicity and utility. Apart from focus on the design principles, it is also deeply concerned about the steep decline in the overall health of our planet. It is one of the few companies that is aware that it creates pollution as a by-product. It is working steadily to reduce those harmful impacts. As an employer it promotes Fair Labor and Environmental protection where its products are made. Its employees are paid fairly and enjoy good benefits.

Patagonia only designs, tests, markets, and sells its products. It pays other factories to produce the fabrics and do the actual cutting and sewing. Factories to which it gives contracts for production are reviewed for both product quality and working conditions. It works with factories that get a positive review on the basis of product quality and working conditions. It has an active factory assessment program, since 1990, that keeps scorecards based on performance in different areas. It has an active third-party audit program, since 1994, that initiates discussions about change. There was a time when it lost track of who it was doing business with, and what working conditions were like in many of its factories. To resolve this problem, it has an active employee education program that focuses on factory workplace issues and work efficiency. It also trains its staff in social responsibility issues. In order to understand the social and environmental impacts of its supply chain, Patagonia has launched The Footprint Chronicles. Since Patagonia designs, develops and markets clothing, it has attained an environmental conscience.

The Footprint Chronicles is an interactive mini-site that allows you to track the impact of its products from design through to delivery. The sheer transparent approach which they have adopted is heart-warming. They are aware that there is still no such thing as sustainable business and they are working towards it. If you select any of the products in the site, you can actually see the location trail on the globe. When you hover over every location, you can get information (photos and/or video clips) on what happens in every step of the process. For every product, you can see four mouse-overs — energy consumption, distance travelled, carbon dioxide emissions and waste generated.

For example, if I select the Puckerware Shirt (Available in spring 2010), I can see that the fiber was acquired from Turkey, that is spun, woven and sewn in Thailand before it is shipped to Nevada in the US. If I want to know how far the Puckerware Shirt has traveled, it shows that, "Every Puckerware Shirt travels a total distance of 13,550 miles from origin as polymer raw material through garment delivery." The best part is it is equated to relative concepts such as this, "Every Puckerware Shirt travels the entire length of Nile river (4,132 miles) three times."

Patagonia also is a co-founder of 1% for the planet. This is an alliance of businesses that, like Patagonia, commit at least 1% of their total sales to the environment.

Patagonia bears the ultimate responsibility for the social and environmental cost of every product. Hoping many companies will emulate its efforts. If you have time then read these essays and the blog.

Great day!

By Sanjay Basavaraju
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'Amore' ring made from cubic zirconia diamonds

Mining of diamonds has a considerable harmful impact on the land, and the people of the area. DIAZ Fine Jewelry is a company dedicated to producing ‘green’ diamonds, which are made entirely in a lab, with no devastating effects on communities in resource-rich countries. 

Diamonds have a long history. Since their discovery in around the 9th century BC, till the mid eighteenth century, they were found only in alluvial deposits in southern India, the most famous being the Golconda mines of Hyderabad, which produced a steady stream of some of the world’s most famous diamonds. After 1870 diamonds started being mined in Australia, South Africa, the Congo, and Russia, among other countries. 

In the Congo, and countries like Sierra Leone, diamond mining has become dangerous, and controversial, as the social and environmental impact is huge. Mining destroys the vegetation leaving gaping pits, the erosion then runs into rivers and the water supply. The mining companies rarely bother to reforest or cover the mine back, and the local communities remain in a cycle of poverty because of their dangerous occupation. Revolutionary, armed groups have taken over the mining in these areas and major diamond trading organizations continue to do business with these groups. Diamonds from this trade are called blood diamonds, or conflict diamonds. Sierra Leone is a country destroyed from the diamond-fueled civil war, and ruthless diamond mining. 

Diaz Fine Jewelry, based in Hong Kong, had a desire to create an ecologically and ethically correct jewelry brand. Salina Khan Fuchigami, who co-founded the company with her husband Takashi, explains, “There's an undeniable link between the degradation of our global environment and consumer culture. The trouble is that these days, things are so nicely packaged, presented and displayed that we hardly ever question how the raw materials used to produce the goods are extracted and processed. We rarely think of how it all affects the environment and humankind. It's impossible to assess exactly how much devastation one single diamond could have caused before it was cut, polished, set and sold at a high-end retailer. It's hard to imagine what a diamond mine looks like by looking at the "stunning sparklers" that are neatly displayed in shop windows. Somewhere along the way it became irrelevant to question the true cost of the stones.”

Diaz Fine Jewelry creates cubic zirconia diamonds, which are made in a lab, not a mine. They also provide customers with an info-leaflet, and donate proceeds from sales to grassroots organizations that run mine-reclamation projects promoting organic farming and biodiversity in mining towns in Sierra Leone. The pieces of jewelry are beautifully designed, mounted on sterling silver, and look exactly like the real thing. 

As they say on their site, ‘the stones are unassociated with violence, war and geologic devastation.’ At DIAZ, they ‘believe in promoting socially responsible business practices that respect human beings and the environment.’ 

By Armeen Kapadia

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Twirl to shoot 07/07/2009
 

Sony has a new camera, which does not require any batteries. The Sony Odo Twirl and Take hand powered digital camera, when rolled on a hard surface generates enough power to take a photograph. 

This unusual camera is shaped like a pizza cutter and requires around 15 seconds of rolling the rubber circumference of the round wheel on a hard surface, or by rubbing it with your fingers, to take one photograph. The camera is built into the handle, and at the round end there is a power meter that tells you how much it is charged. The device sits in a flowerpot like USB, which then connects to your computer enabling you to see the photographs. There is no display system on the camera, probably because it is a big power guzzler. 

The Odo line of products is made from recycled plastic, and this one is still in the prototype stage. This line of products is aimed at establishing a sustainable society, with products powered by kinetic energy. Other similar products are the Crank N' Capture digital video camera, and Pull N' Play stereo headphones. The Odo line of products is especially good for children, but can even be enjoyed by adults too. For these products, Sony has also developed solar powered batteries that can be charged in the sunlight, as an alternative to all the pushing and pulling.

Even though there are no plans to commercialize these products at the moment, such developments by companies such as Sony are good examples of sustainable solutions for the future. 

By Armeen Kapadia 

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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

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Mahmoud Mujahed at work

One of the main difficulties faced by disabled people is while using public transport. The transportation system and often people too, are not sensitive to the problems faced by them. A disabled Palestinian man, fed up with having to wait for taxis, built his own electric car. 

Mahmoud Mujahed, 64, has had severe knee injuries, and can only walk with the help of crutches. His disability forced him to give up work. Unable to afford taxis, he built his own electric car. It took him two weeks to build the car, which works on a 12 volt battery, and the help of a computer system. It can reach speeds of up to 80 miles an hour, and has 20 horsepower. Mujahed says, "Because I don’t work, I don’t have money to pay for transport. I thought I would make a car with three wheels.” The first car he built was too slow, but a friend, Abdul Sultan, suggested he make the car in this style, and it worked. “This is different to any other car and I don't think anybody has done anything like that before. Firstly we can say it's environmentally friendly because it operates on batteries". 

Necessity is the mother of invention. Faced with difficulties, people are known to do the seemingly impossible, or very difficult, to overcome their problems. The human creative power knows no limits, as Mahmoud Mujahed proves. It probably goes back to the early days of humankind, when people created the first tools to help them in their work. From making the first spade, to building a car, it is this unique ability of humans that separates us from the animal kingdom. Although some animals have highly evolved problem solving and tool-making capabilities, in humans this ability has developed to a very great degree. 

Mahmoud Mujahed hopes the Palestinian government, or an organization, will help take this invention to many others like him, as it can benefit millions of people worldwide.  

By Armeen Kapadia

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