Solar-powered radio design by Becky Barber
Image via SWNS
A design student form the University of Plymouth, Becky Barber, has come up with a radio design intended to spark up a cottage industry in Magadascar, a island that is equally as beautiful as it is rife with economic and ecological troubles. Barber's parents have spent the last 26 years working for charities on the island, and after many visits, she wanted to help make a difference too. Her solar-powered radio is made of bamboo, an easily renewable material, and can serve as both a boost for the local economy as well as an educational tool on sustainability.
Barber states, "Over two thirds of the population exist below the poverty line, earning around $1 per day... The idea is that by using sustainable and naturally occurring resources in the construction of the radios, we can provide jobs and opportunities for people in Madagascar."
Physorg writes, "After meeting with aid organizations on her most recent trip earlier this year, Becky found that they were very receptive to her proposed project, as radios could enable agencies to communicate with remote villages to provide both important health updates and also act as education channels."
Bamboo is a favorite material among designers who focus on sustainability since it grows at an incredible pace. Solar cells are also a favorite, since it means gadgets can be freed from the electrical grid. The materials can be kept to a cost minimum, making starting up workshops for producing the radios a bit easier.
She's developed two designs, one for a desktop and one that is portable, and she hopes that they can be sold in both Madagascar as well as in England.
As Barber's project highlights, designing for the environment is about more than just using renewable materials or minimizing packaging. It's also about taking into account the environment where it is being made - how will the product impact the people making it, including their economy?
Providing solutions like this for Madagascar has far-reaching impacts for the people suffering from economic problems, and therefore the flora and fauna of the island. Deforestation and poaching is a huge problem as the human inhabitants of the island - as people have more options for making money sustainably, pressures on the ecosystems could lesson. Not to say that a single solar-powered radio will turn the island's problems around, but the design and its motives are on the right track.
