Aluminum pots cast by small Zambian business often fail under normal use scenarios. This report explores why these pots fail and how local practices can be improved to prevent common use failures.
This report explores the viability of recycling Tetra Pak, a common packaging material found through Zambia, for waste management and sustainability purposes.
This report is based on an assessment study aimed at determining the unexploited capabilities and opportunities in the recycling aluminum value chain. The reports finds four main business opportunities in the value chain including collection, sorting and cleaning, refining and processing, and marketing.
This study looks at solutions to menstrual hygiene from a materials perspective, assessing available materials for the properties needed for a good napkin, and reviewing the literature for comparison between these and other materials.
This project is a continuation of a challenge first explored at IDDS 2014 in Tanzania—the fact that excess avocado crops often go to waste in rural villages in East Africa. Its authors visited Tanzania to explore avocado oil extraction methods and market potential for avocado oil.
This paper details the design, construction, and testing of a mango juice extractor built to minimize post-harvest food loss in mango crops in Ghana and other mango-producing countries.
This paper explores an effort to standardize the design of a cassava grating surface to improve efficiency and ensure interchangeability. The author surveyed cassava grating surfaces on the Ghanaian market to understand current technical specifications and then create a new, improved grating surfaces using locally available materials.
This paper explores the design, construction, and testing of a briquetting machine produced for rural communities in Ghana. In Ghana, biomass is the most dominant source of energy and is used significantly for cooking and other heat applications.
This paper explores the design, construction, and testing of a biocharring unit. Biochar is obtained by heating biomass under oxygen-deficient conditions, and has potential as a nutrient recycler, soil conditioner, income generator, and waste management system.
This paper presents the design process of the ProTek aluminum furnace, which enhances the safety and efficiency of the recycled aluminum casting process. The paper draws from a project initiatied during IDDS 2013 in Zambia.
