Sunday, November 23, 2008

On the road with AfriGadget.

This is a motorized bicycle, made in Kisumu, Kenya and purchased in Kakemega. They hold about 2 liters of petrol and can get theoretically around 50 km a liter. They cost around 7,000 Kenyan shillings. To start the bicycle you start pedaling manually, then you flip a switch on the left handle that starts the engine. Then you have a normal motorcycle throttle control on the right side.

"AfriGadget is the African equivalent of Make magazine. It covers cool appropriate technologies as developed by clever people who really need them. I love the DIY approach and total self reliance

The purpose of Afrigadget is to showcase African ingenuity and DIY technology. Many times Africans don’t have access to the same tools or technologies that are found in other areas of the world. What is available to be used to solve problems or fix equipment can be wide and varied. You would be surprised at what can be made, fixed or created with bailing wire, inner-tubes and wood."

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