Part of my process of prototyping exploration includes looking at various methods of collapsibility. While seeking methods of flat packing, I found various forms of water bladder tanks:

This onion tank is from a Chinese Manufacturer - Flexitank:
"Onion tank is a folding environment-friendly collapsible water storage tank. It's widely used to solve water emergent supply for camping or when there is no fixed water storage device. The onion tank filled with water is in onion shape. According to client's demand, two types of onion tank can be produced, namely open style and with cover. The tank is made from thermoplastic polyurethane or PVC coating fabric."


A variety of manufacturers also create water bladders in different sizes and shapes:
"Rainwater Bladder Tanks are an easy way to store, collect and reuse rain water. Constructed for a flexible material, these tanks are designed to feature a low, wide profiles. This design allows them to store large amounts of water in tight storage spaces, such as in basements, under decks, in crawl spaces, and in other areas where a traditional tank would not be able to fit."

I was inspired to look at different method of creating bags in more convenient shapes for storage, espcially in an oblong form that could be stored between houses, and stacked horizontally to optimize use of space. I examined different folding methods for flat packing, such as folding the bag into a sturdy lid, and rolling the bag. I also looked at different lid forms.

For support structures I considered flexible wire supports, steels frames, flexi-tent poles, and plastic panels. I explored these options using a variety of methods including sewing small scale versions of the tanks and using wire, polystyrene and wooden dowels to represent structural elements.



I learned that a solid lid that doubles as a support to hold the "bag" open, is the best method. Tent poles and panels are both promising options that I will continue to explore. I still need to examine the interaction point between the modules (overflow valve etc). The major downside to the options is the cost. these items are potentially very expensive and I don't know of any manufacturer in Arusha for this type of product.
Rows of freshly made bricks out to dry.

Before going into Tanzania, our group spent countless hours doing research so that we were better prepared. We each had ideas, concepts, and assumptions, of which were nearly all correct but like learning from a textbook vs. actually experiencing it first hand, the latter takes first place. Once we stepped into Tanzania, we made it our goal to dig a little deeper into what the people of Tanzania really wanted and needed.

In terms of my project that delves into the optimization of the brick making progress, we visited multiple brick making businesses, brick making sites, businesses that utilize similar processes to brick making, manufacturing companies that make and sell brick making machines, and we had the fortunate chance to speak to representatives of them all. Not only that, but I also was given the chance to make bricks of my own with the brick makers which allowed me to truly understand the pain points of the process.

Observations

What I learned about brick making from my experience is that every corner of the process needs to be improved. Some of the many problems that were discovered were:
  1. No material optimization: Although something that was discovered before our trip, it is now a known fact. Brick makers feel for the right consistency which oftentimes causes them to use to much water.
  2. Poor base material: The locals utilize the dirt beneath their feet at there main material. This dirt is only 'clay like' and is a combination of clay, silt, sand, and gravel. High quality bricks are made from pure clay.
  3. Lack of water and cost of buying water: companies need to buy water to make their bricks which cost 100 000 Tsh ($68.47 CAD) for 2000 L. This amount of water only makes 1000 bricks. This is more effected during the dry season.
  4. The process of mixing the materials is highly laborious and time consuming: brick makers soften the soil on the ground and slowly add water with it. The use a hoe to slowly mix the water with the soil and let the mixture sit for a day.
  5. The process of packing the 'clay' mixture into the moulds is also labour intensive and time consuming: The brick maker manually grabs the mixture from the ground and punches/packs/slaps it into the moulds located on a stand. He then carries the mould over to drying area and slowly sets the mould down so that the bricks can slowly slide off the mould.
  6. The act of brick making destroys habitable land: As brick making utilizes the dirt beneath their feet, as the number of bricks made, the larger the hole is dug into the ground. After the bricks have been made, these large ditches become permanent parts of the land to be filled with garbage. 
    Brick making site turned garbage dump.
  7. The process of firing the bricks is highly inefficient: For every 100,000 bricks made, 10 000 are broken which is a 10% failure rate. 
    Mound of broken bricks.
  8. The bricks have no protection from the elements: If it rains, the bricks are scrapped
  9. Their profits are very minimal for their efforts: Workers are paid 100 Tsh ($0.07 CAD)/brick, with an estimated 20 000 Tsh ($13.69 CAD) /day. The businesses themselves only make an approximate 36 000 Tsh ($24.65 CAD)/day profit, accounting for 10% loss.


Insights

With these observations combined with other experiences, insights were brought into attention.

  • This project does not need to focus to much on costs as the people of Longido value quality and will save up to buy quality goods.
  • It is of high value if the project can be made modular as they tend to save up to buy pieces of what they need. They will for example save up to build the structure of the home, then save up to add in windows, then save up again to waterproof their roof.
  • The brick moulds are fine but they want a better solution to mix the materials. 
  • Once gaining success into one part of their business, owners plan to expand their business into other fields.
  • Transportation is a huge chuck of their costs, therefore this project may require to be easily transported, flatpack, collapsible etc.
  • Lack of knowledge in properly and effectively make bricks is a large problem and this project may need a form of educated guide to help the users.

Updated Concept: The Brick Mixing Kit

Combining my insights with my observations, my initial concept of a brick making machine that was a combination of both a mixer and extruder has now narrowed down to simply a mixer. This change came about after getting opinions of  brick makers and their blunt desire for a mixer as well as a prevalent of mixers around the area. This change also allows for simpler mechanics and design which then allows for more allocation of energy into improving product quality. The mixer also does not restrict the user from only mixing clay but also mixing other materials as well such as cement. 

An important aspect of the mixer is the kit aspect. Like IKEA, the mixer will be sold ready-to-assemble. Unlike IKEA, some required parts to assemble the kit will not be included within the kit but will ask the user to source themselves locally. Assembly of the mixer will be made possible through a highly visual instructions manual included in the kit (and potentially online). This kit allows for cheaper transportation costs and retail costs, allows for local purchases which then lessens costs and aids the community, allows for modular purchases, and helps immensely with education as the information manual will not only detail the instructions but also educational aid so that the user can make bricks optimally and effectively. The mixer itself will save time and effort as the concept will hopefully be easy to use, dismiss wait days, optimize material ratio which then will lead to more higher quality bricks.


Next Steps

A working prototype of the brick mixer.

Currently in prototyping phase, what I hope to achieve are:

  •  Create life size prototype to get the feel of actual size
  •  Explore various working prototypes to figure out which materials are necessary to create a mixer
  • Create a working prototype to test if product can be made of simple/basic materials
  •  Create prototyped pieces and small scale instructions pamphlet to test to users so they may attempt to piece the prototyped pieces together using the small scale instructions to learn if the pamphlet is easy to understand 100% visually.
  • Test prototype for ergonomic studies

sStay tuned!



An Unforgettable Experience!


First post back in Canada following the trip! What can I say, I think I speak for everyone when I say it was an unforgettable experience from the people we met to the sights we saw. We also had a great team that went down and there were many memories made. The people of Longido welcomed us and our research with open arms and were quite excited about the project we were working on.
The Water Tanks at the TEMBO Guesthouse


Some General Notes

During the wet season there is usually quite a heavy rainfall where the water just sheets off the land but does not soak in because it is coming down so hard. During the rainy season it makes more sense for TEMBO and the Maasai to focus on collecting rainwater because it is readily available during the wet season but there is a lack of infrastructure to capture and store the rainwater. This isn’t the case every year though, in 2009 the Longido region received only 78 mm of rainfall that year in an extreme drought. Most years they can expect 400-500mm of rainfall which could be harvested.

But, during the dry season water is a scarce resource and this is a perfect opportunity to make the solar still a viable solution. The solar still runs on sunlight and has no costs after the initial purchase. During the dry season any water people purchase or can draw from the tap is precious and re-used as many times as possible. For example, at the guesthouse Caroline will use the water to do laundry and then with that water she will mop the floors. Once the water has been used it is called greywater. A solar still can take greywater and treat it which will allow it to be re-used as irrigation for the garden, laundry, or dish water.

Laundry at TEMBO Guesthouse

Greywater at the Guesthouse

A big shout out to Caroline who was gracious enough to take us on a tour of the guesthouse’s water facilities and point out a lot of interesting issues they currently face. I would also like to thank Virginia for taking the time to sit down and talk with us about her ideas of improving the water system at the guesthouse as well as Alanna and Avery for their input on the project.
 
Currently laundry consumes the greatest proportion of water of all the activities at the guesthouse. On average the laundry is done 4 times per week and consumes approximately 100L of water per day. It is also a very time consuming task as it takes about four hours to complete. The first 50L of water is thrown back down the drain because it contains a high concentration of soap and will kill the plants if used for irrigation water. Caroline said they use the second 50L as mop water because it is the second rinse and therefore contains a much lower concentration of chemicals than the first rinse or washing water.

When the guesthouse is full it can go through a lot of water in two days. The tap coming in from the mountain cannot supply enough water, especially during the dry season. During the dry season the guesthouse has to import drinking water from the surrounding area by truck which is very expensive and sometimes isn't good enough to drink.

Caroline also identified an opportunity for the toilets to be flushed with greywater but the system was not operational while we were there. The original intent was to use bucket showers and pour the greywater into the back of the tank to use as flush for the toilets. Right now the toilets consume good clean water and flush it down the drain as blackwater but there is room for improvement here. 

 
One of four TEMBO washrooms

Mid Trip Project Direction Update

When we flew over to Tanzania the original intent was to build a solar still for the guesthouse that would allow greywater to be treated and re-used as irrigation water for the plants. After the first few days of observation and design exercises with my partners Alanna (Engineer) and Avery (Business student) we had identified another potential usage of the still in Longido.

We thought the hospital represented a perfect opportunity for a still because the doctor told us the patients have to supply their own water during the dry season. If it is not suitable they have to turn down the patient because it would not be healthy to treat them with unsafe water. We proposed a still for the hospital because the patient would be able to bring their water, treat it on site, and get the treatment they need. At this point in the project we had two branches; we could either pursue the project at the hospital or at the TEMBO guesthouse. We chose to continue developing the TEMBO project at this point because they were looking to find their niche in the guesthouse community in Longido and there were a lot of ‘red tape’ questions about who would build and maintain and pay for the system at the hospital.

 

Presentation with the Village Leaders

Our team presenting our idea and prototype to the village leaders.
We met with 9 members of the Longido community and surrounding area who were chairmen, village representatives, executive officers, food and water advisors, TEMBO staff, and members of Green Arusha. We presented to them the idea of a solar still to be built on TEMBO guesthouse grounds. The still would function as a demonstration project for the Longido community and help TEMBO find their niche as a guesthouse in Longido in water usage.  


My render from the presentation of the still on TEMBO grounds.


After hearing our presentation and viewing the prototype I had built, the feedback given to us was the following:
  •   Are the materials required to build the still available locally or within Tanzania?
  • It would be great to be able to save water and won’t need to import as much water during the drought
  •  It could be used to water the garden and sell the vegetables that are grown as a revenue source for the guesthouse
  • Who will facilitate the project if it is to be used as a demonstration project? 

It was encouraging to hear that Caroline and other members of the community were really interested in the idea of a solar still and conserving water, especially during the dry season when it is so scarce. This positive community feedback solidified the viability of the solar still concept for water re-use in Longido. We also received feedback from the professors about designing a whole greywater system around the still for the guesthouse. The next steps are to begin prototyping and clarifying the design direction.
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