Wednesday afternoon is theoretically students' half day off at Umoja but we often use it for excursions and other activities so as not to disrupt the academic timetable. During October students are learning about Enterprise and Entrepreneurship and we are using a series of excursions to the Global Cycle Solutions workshop to reinforce that. The two so far have been extremely well received!
Global Cycle Solutions website says " Global Cycle Solutions is a social enterprise working to develop and disseminate affordable, quality technology for villagers around the world."
Global Cycle Solutions also run seminars where students can learn about the design process and how to
develop a good idea into a useable product. Our
students are attending seminars and practical demonstrations as well as having
access to the GCS workshop to work on their own inventions.
The inventions that GCS have been
working on and promoting include machines that use bicycle power. A rider can
pedal the bicycle while it is in a stand to keep it stationary and use the
energy made to power a water pump, a grinder or a blender. The energy can be converted to electricity
and used to charge a telephone battery. These inventions are very useful in the
villages where there in no electricity.
We were shown other inventions to help in
the garden. There was a micro-drip watering system that provides water for plants
with no waste. The system was made from lengths of plastic tube and small
spikes. The spikes were the same distance apart as the plants in the garden.
GCS also shows students how tools and
implements can be made from recycled materials more cheaply than they are
bought in the shops. They have a tool for removing maize kernels from the cob
quickly and efficiently. The students really liked that one! Many of the recycled materials are from bicycles.
