Vernaculer Architecture

Treehugger reports on a RIBA lecture series which focuses on vernacular architecture:

It is fascinating to see how local, vernacular architecture can be adapted to modern-day needs. The same principles that were behind the initial design of so-called "primitive" buildings can be modified for present day use, using cheap locally sourced materials. And these guys should know, because they have all done it in their own countries

More here
Image courtesy of Kere Architecture

The Wireless future of Medicine

At TEDMED Eric Topol presents advances in wireless medicine that will lead to enhanced healthcare:

Loita Capital Partners

Founded by Justin Chinyanta:

Loita Capital Partners banking firm focuses on Africa. they provide services in the arrangement and funding of debt transactions; advisory services and capital-raising for equity transactions; bank management; correspondent banking; asset management; and other corporate-oriented financial service

Anti-Aflatoxin products

BetumiBlog reports:

A serious problem surrounding peanut and maize production Africa, for example, is the prevalence of mycotoxins, types of fungi that can contaminate food before, during or after it is harvested/processed...The fungi thrive in environments of moisture and insect damage. It is therefore imperative to know how the maize in the ball of kenkey or corn dough was stored, how the peanuts in the tankora powder were processed, etc., in order to be confident that they are fungus-free. One cannot tell by looking or tasting...New biocontrol products are now being developed to help: AflaSafe for maize by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture(IITA) and Afla-guard by the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (now licensed to a private company). This is good news for us all.

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Photo courtesy of BetumiBlog

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The Promise of Tech Labs

Image by musigny via Flickr

From barcamps,innovation hubs, to startups and tech spaces Rebecca Wanjiku of Computerworld writes:

Availability of affordable bandwidth, growing synergies between IT industry and academia, government policy reforms and emerging opportunities in the IT sector have led to growth of incubation labs outside the orbit of the corporate giants in Africa... The tech scene in Ivory Coast changed a great deal with the first BarCamp Abidjan last year and will undoubtedly be further strengthened by this years event in the first weekend of March; these events have let to the creation of Akendewa, said Miquel Hudin, founder of Maneno.org, a multilingual blogging platform.
Apart from supporting each other and sharing ideas, the labs are serious about developing interesting applications capable of competing globally.

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Jelani Aliyu-Car Designer

Chevy Volt designer Jelani Aliyu discusses his love of cars, design and more:

photo courtesy of Motor Trend
via African Loft

Starcomms Location-Based Service-StarTrack

Loy Okezie reports:

If you ever need to track your friends location within Nigeria via your mobile phone, Starcomms has just made it easier. Thanks to the availability of GPS-enabled phones among other factors, the LBS (location-based services) market is set to boom in Nigeria...[continue reading]

Duron Solar Systems

Treehugger reports:

The Duron, which is manufactured by a company of the same name, comes with a 5 watt solar panel, a cell phone charger connection, three LED lights, and an AC grid charger. When the system is fully charged — a process that takes a day of soaking up sunlight — it can power three hours of bright lighting or 10 hours of dim lighting.

The Ndekero Rabbit Keeping Challenge

Africa Rural Connect reports on a mini-livestock endeavour:

Rabbit keeping in Sub-Sahara African countries is often a backyard activity and a hobby for children. Meat is for home consumption and sometimes sold. Young rabbits make an excellent gift to other children. So income generated is insignificant. The scale up of production at home is a major hurdle as it requires investments for building several cages. A female adult rabbit ("doe") will produce an average of 6 young once every two months and takes about 5-6 months before slaughtered. For each doe, about 3-4 more cages are needed for meat production. So keeping a few does means having 3-4 times the number of cages. There are a few small-sized commercial scale rabbit farms that have more than 50 breeding does.

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Nollywood Uncut

Nollywood Uncut, for in-depth news, reviews, gossip, clips, gossip on the Nigerian film industry:

via Ladybrille

African Futurity

Juliana Rotich on an African future:

Transmediale: The future of Technology in Africa

View more presentations from JulianaR.

Before I get to the five ideas that shape my perspective on futurity in Africa, I found myself asking, where are the African futurists? In the discourse of futurist manifestos, there is a dearth of the African perspective. Perhaps its a hold over from the old and tired meme of colonization, post-colonial construct that characterized the 20th century.

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Celltrust & Secure SMS

TechMasai profiles Celltrust:

...Celltrust, following the Kenyan model of mobile payment services, has introduced iSecureSMS Mobile Banking and Payment Pilot for the African region...The company expects that the new Secure SMS/Text Mobile Banking program launched through its Global SecureSMS Gateway will be adopted at high rates within the first few months of operation. After the introduction of the platform in the region, end-users will be able to make mobile cash transfers, payments and securely access other microfinance banking products.

More here

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Bushpunk Update

Humblefacture writes:

Bushpunk is a response to a world that is trying to achieve the function of high technology (wireless communication, computing, automation) without being to afford to costs of high technology (high infrastructure manufacturing, fossil fuel inputs, high quality energy)...No matter where we are, we are realizing that we want (even need) the function of high technology, but cannot afford to pay the costs, particularly in terms of fossil fuel use, or excessive energy consumption of any kind. We need the root-hair technologies, accessible on a local or regional level, that can afford us these functions.

via BombasticElements
Photo courtesy of HumbleFacture

Yeleen Design

Aida Duplessis founder of Yeleen Design "...combines beauty with natural fibers such as vetiver or hemp with organic cotton to create a line of contemporary interior accessories, scented...materials she uses include cotton woven with recycled vinyl..."-Fatimata Ly-Nzé.

Light Up Malawi:

"...will use business, government and design to make a concerted difference in one basic need in Malawi. Manufacturers get a break on tariffs, get to participate in a sanctioned high profile program and villagers without power get an energy source at low cost or no cost and get to speak up about the products they find most useful..."

Light Up Malawi from Raina Kumra on Vimeo.

Initial Steps to the Open Source Multimachine

Open Farm Tech on building a Multimachine:

We start with a 5000 inch-pound hydraulic motor from the LifeTrac infrastructure, and connect it to a 12 inch chuck. We then add an xy table and a toolpost and that constitutes a lathe. The entire assembly is mounted on our new 1/2″ thick steel welding table, supported by compressed earth blocks (CEBs).

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The 'Embrace' Incubator

At TED India Jane Chen speaks about a portable, low-cost incubator:

Metis Records & Studio Bogolan

Under the aegis of Metis Records "...Studio Bogolan is a center of the Malian music and also attracts numerous international artists who are interest by Africa. Ten years after its foundation by regretted Ali Farka Touré, the anniversary of the Studio Bogolan is the opportunity to call back in what Mali is for the African music, a door opened on the world..."

Banta Labs

Banta Labs "...builds websites, web applications and mobile tools that help organizations improve their workflow, communication and outreach.We almost exclusively use - and contribute to - open source tools such as Drupal, Asterisk, Ubuntu Linux and OpenOffice...",website.

Farmers Speak-Veronica Sianchenga

Veronica Sianchenga highlights the improvements to her to crop yields which are largely the result of the IDE inspired "Mosi-o-Tunya" pressure pump:

Appeal of Peel

In New Agriculturist:

Rubbish and food waste dumped on the roadside is not only a health hazard for those living nearby, but also a wasted resource. Vegetable peel, fruit skins and other waste can be turned into animal feed, or even a source of fuel.

More here
photo courtesy of New Agriculturist

BioChar contd.

At Poptech founder of Re-Char Jason Aramburu on promise of BioChar:

Waistbeads

Waist Beads by Swera "...uses large stones and various natural materials like shells, feathers, and bone and semi-precious stones..."Fatimata writes:

In my country, Senegal, women start wearing them as babies, it is said to shape their waist...It has also a contraceptive power in some traditional cultures...As women, we enjoy them as a spice

Renewable Energy Ventures

Afromusing spoke with Joseph Nganga whose:

...company Renewable Energy Ventures (KE) currently a resells an innovative lighting solution called ‘The Solantern’. He was kind enough to give me a brief demo over lunch and I got to play a bit with a new solar device. It’s wonderful to see this device, because 2 years ago in Arusha we had a conversation about solar energy, gadgets, etc… I commend him for getting his business going, do look out for more collaborations from his company on a consumer guide for solar gadgets.
Solantern from afromusing on Vimeo.

Faidherbia Fertiliser

Georgina Smith writes about "...boosting soil fertility through planting of the nitrogen-fixing acacia tree, Faidherbia albida...":

It may be counter-intuitive for farmers, but instead of ploughing a whole field, farmers are taught at field days and through farmer-led extension to dig small holes or "basins," about 25cm deep, 25cm wide and a metre apart...With the planting of F. albida every ten rows, conservation agriculture is complete. Unusually, the tree remains leafy during the dry season, thereby offering the crop some protection from intense sun, but sheds its leaves during the rains.

More here
photo courtesy of Georgina Smith

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Medi Clinic

"...Medi-Clinic Southern Africa has more than 50 multidisciplinary hospitals in Southern Africa, including three in Namibia. Many have specialised units, including heart units, stroke units, and the like. Our hospitals have highly-trained nursing, administrative and other personnel and are supported by excellent medical specialists in private practice...",website.

Pineapple Waste Composting

In New Agriculturist:

Pineapples are, in yield per hectare, the most productive crop in the world; however, processing the crop for production of juice or chopped fruit creates signficant waste. Pineapple exporter Blueskies Ghana Limited is turning waste into an opportunity, producing compost which is sold to local farmers at a subsidised price.

More here
Photos courtesy of New Agriculturist

Women of Kireka jewelry

Project Diaspora profiles 'Women of Kireka' jewelry

photo courtesy of TMS Ruge