Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Designers as Public Servants

Another great way designers have answered the questions of the heart:

The Hippo Roller is an easy-to-use water transporting tool that holds 90 liters or 4 to 5 times the normal water capacity of traditional methods. In impoverished places, the nearest water source can be 2 hours away. This design provides a more efficient and safer method to a basic life necessity.

Earlier this year, a fairly new non-profit called Project H offered a way for the public to help distribute these via their Fund This Project campaign. They successfully delivered 75 Hippo Rollers to residents of Kgautswane, South Africa, and proudly report that the donations have allowed the female population the time to pursue an education.

Currently, the new San Francisco chapter of Project H is working on a re-design of the Hippo Roller. If you'd like to donate your creative insight, the next meeting is this month. Email
SF Chapter Head Ryan Duke for details: ryan@projecthdesign.com.

And while you're at it, have a look at Project H's current Fund This Product campaign, Lifestraws for Mumbai.

1 comment:

Maria Johansson said...

Kudos to Project H! What a wonderful way to make use of knowledge, resources, time, money.... the list goes on! I've heard a similar story about a smart and simple hand-driven plow. Was it Project M and John Bielenberg that created this tool?