Inspiration+from+Existing+Technologies+and+Tools

Our inspiration to redesign the tractor stemmed from one of the projects done by FARM Africa.

FARM Africa, founded in 1985, is a registered charity and specialist international non-governmental organization (INGO) working in remote and resource-poor rural areas. Over 90% of their staff are African, working directly with communities in eastern Africa - including Ethiopia. FARM Africa strives to help poor farmers by providing them with the right training and support in order for them to identify and implement appropriate solutions to the problems they face and manage them in a sustainable way. Families are directly supported to help work themselves out of poverty. The organization is constantly working on new projects such as pioneering sustainable agriculture. Farmers throughout Africa are receiving training in using techniques to help them get more out of their land, such as the use of ox-plows rather than hand-held tools. These farmers can then share their learnings' with other farmers in the community.

Similar to FARM Africa, we also realize there is a lack of access to advanced and efficient farming technologies within Ethiopia. Previous to the Ox-Plow Service, poor farmers have been harvesting entire fields by hand with small plows, proving to be very time and energy consuming. Our group thinks the Ox-Plow Service is extremely effective in creating less labor for rural farmers, yet improving food security and economic stability in a sustainable way.

 We wish to embrace this service and elaborate it into our design while keeping it sustainable and energy efficient.

 While the other 10% have access of the tractor and other modern farming technologies, we understand the complications surrounding this machinery. Although it is very efficient, it defeats the issue of devising low-cost solutions for the community of Ethiopia. Tractors are costly, hard to maintain and learn to maneuver, runs on resources that are scarce in Ethiopia and creates pollution. The use of Oxen as an aided plowing device is a good idea, though we wish to improve on this. As livestock, oxen are not permanent tools. Therefore, we feel it is not a complete solution to deeply depend on them. Thus, in attempting to brainstorm a design that would better suit the community of Ethiopia and which also takes from the effective project of FARM Africa, we thought of other sustainable and permanent devices we can use in our design.

Bicycles are machineries that can get almost anywhere, and especially useful considering Ethiopia's mountainous land. They are usually very durable, sustainable, can be easily repaired and can successfully replace the functions of a tractor by applying plows the back of it. The role of bicycles in developing countries such as Ethiopia is significant. Thus, we feel it is a good concept to incorporate into our design.

In addition, the Ceramic Water Filter by Dr. Fernando Mazareigos, and Ron Rivera from Potters for Peace applies a simple solution to a common problem in developing nations using local production means and materials to produce the water filter. It is low cost and uses local materials and skills to produce the ceramic water filter, so not only is it affordable it also creates a local industry to improve the economies of where they might be needed. We think it is important to not seem intrusive and disruptive to cultures we design for in the other 90%. Potters for Peace teaches and helps set up local potteries in Central America, and what we feel is relevant is not so much what it does, but how it is made and how the designers thought through the process and sought to create something that addresses so many needs. We plan to incorporate this into our design because we think it is very important - If the people of Ethiopia are going to be the end users they should be involved in the production process, and it should become a part of the community and local industry so the communities and villages can be self-sufficient and continue to improve without dependency on outside sources.