The nuts and bolts of development
While development requires many ingredients, perhaps the most fundamental is some combination of ingenuity and an entrepreneurial spirit. I ran across a very interesting blog that covers exactly this topic called AfriGadget. The site is dedicated to "showcasing African ingenuity." And while some development practitioners get interested in the newest technologies - be it laptops or podcasting - they may forget a few more basic pieces of technology that are essential to small businesses around the world: nuts, bolts, screws, hammers, and wrenches.
Unfortunately, I doubt that Snap-on hand tools are easily accessible in markets around the world. Thus, entrepreneurs with a little ingenuity create their own tools, and I'd say this is on display in this picture of two hammers crafted by Rwandan bike repairmen (Hat tip: Street Use).
And this is not the only display of ingenuity that AfriGadget has to offer. They've got a Flick Group with all kinds of photos demonstrating ingenuity on many levels. I couldn't help but admire a windmill (pictured) made from plastic pipes, sticks, and bicycle parts. You can read more about it here on AfriGadget.
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Great ideas.
There seems to be two sides to this phenomenon. Yes, there's some great ingenuity, but there's also a lack of knowledge of certain fundementals.
As an engineer with several generations of practical trades in my genes, I was impressed when I visited Ethiopia last year by many things, e.g. tools made from offcuts of steel reinforcing scrap from concrete building, incredible carving, basket weaving, etc. But more than that I was astounded to visit a country which in the 21st century still didn't have a widespread grasp of joinery. Granted these days you don't need wooden chairs or buildings, but to never have had that technology is amazing. My best guess for why they don't is that Ethiopia never needed to build a fleet of ships. As a consequence you find chairs carved from a single piece of wood, and even churches carved from solid rock. Great for tourism, but not a very good use of materials.
Posted by: Michael Saunby | Jul 1, 2008 5:03:53 PM