Alessandra:
bicycle-powered blender: improve the design, test, and market the product. The youth group associated with GrupoFenix has been provided with a design for a bicycle-powered blender. The design makes the bike unrideable. The group is interested in a design that can be made locally, allows the bike to work when not blending, and does a good job making smoothies. A good, affordable, locally-craftable bike stand is a key part of this project and would allow this group to explore other bike-powered devices. One other that is of particular interest is a bike charger for cell phones and similar low power devices.
Organization
· Works in Nicaragua
o Primarily in the capital city of Managua and a city in one of the poorest regions, Sabana Grande
· In the Sabana Grande region, there is a large deforestation problem, limiting access to resources
· Organization came to being in 1996 and focused a lot on developing and introducing solar-powered devices
· Many other organizations have come into being around grupofenix
Local community
· Nicaragua is an agriculture-based economy
· High unemployment and economically unstable
· Inequalities in the distribution of wealth
· Land area of the entire country is slightly smaller than new york
o Managua – the capital city is the largest in terms of population and size
o Economy is based mainly on trade and industry
o Sabana Grande - 80% of the population get an income from agriculture only
o Tropical climate with many dry spells; but high levels of solar radiation
o 97% of the national consumption of the forests went towards cooking; using wood burning stoves
Existing solutions to the problem – the current design involves a bicycle with only one wheel, not a unicycle, so obviously, a bicycle with only one wheel is not able to be ridden. The reason that this bicycle is stationary is because the blender is simply sitting on top of a platform, with nothing to hold it to the bicycle or make sure that it does not fly off when it is in use. A method of securing the blender to the bicycle while retaining complete function is necessary to make the bicycle successfully have multiple purposes.
· a bicycle dynamo; get the rotational power from the spokes instead of the wheel, serves more bicycles, and allows the bicycle to be ridden while blending
· Secure the blender and ensure that the blender does not lose connection with the wheels while in motion
· Having a platform on the front of the bicycle allows the people to see the smoothie as it is being made
· For stability there would have to be a way to encase the blender to keep it stationary
Questions:
· Will people find it useful to blend and ride at the same time, or is the idea to have a bicycle that can serve two separate functions?
· Is making smoothies and blending food a way in which people can establish a source of income?
· Do people have access to many different types of blenders, or are they standard?
(1) Bicycle-powered blender
o Organization: Grupo Fenix (http://grupofenix.org/about-us/):
§ Consortium of small organizations, projects and individuals unified by goals for renewable energy and sustainable development (since 1996). Current members:
· PFAE (Altenrative Energy Source Program)
· COOMUSOT (Cooperativa Multisectorial “Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa)
· SuniSolar
· Skyheat
§ Primarily focused on research, development, and application of self-sufficient renewable energy technologies in Nicaragua. Projects developed with community members, Nicaraguan engineers, universities, organizations, third-party donors, and volunteers (
§ Attempt to improve sustained well-being of rural communities via alternative solutions to harmful environmental practices and raising awareness of these practices through technical and cultural exchange, promotion/investigation of renewable energy technologies, and investing the community in these via participation and respect for humanity (http://grupofenix.org/about-us/)
§ Variety of activities: conduct research about renewable energy technologies, support self-determination, local community investment in projects, increase technical skill/employability of people, improve quality of life standards for community members, work towards preserving natural resources (
§ Varied history of projects: solar-powered off-grid electricity systems, solar water-heating systems, water pumps, ovens, dryers, drip-irrigation systems, biogas digesters, micro-hydroelectric station (http://grupofenix.org/volunteers/volunteer-handbook/)
o Local community: Managua, and a number of rural north, Nicaraguan communities (Sabana Grande, Totogalpa) (http://grupofenix.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ProjectPlanCSE11SolarMt.pdf)
§ Totogalpa is a small (population around 10,000), mainly rural, municipality in the Madriz department of Nicaragua. It is about 200 km outside of Managua (Capital). Sabana Grande is a village of about 500 residents in the area.
§ Area is extremely poor, and it suffers from deforestation due to cooking methods (90% use firewood for cooking) and other unsustainable practices
§ Deforestation is leading to soil erosion and water shortage, resulting in droughts, landslides, crop losses, decreased biodiversity, and continued poverty.
o Existing solutions to problem posed:
§ On front of stationary bike (http://rockthebike.com/fender-blender-pro/)
§ Attachment to bike secured on stationary stand (http://rockthebike.com/fender-blender-universale/) :
· Requires 26’ or 7000c smooth-tire wheels
· No rear suspension
· Eyelets on frame to support rack (below seat and near spoke of wheel- also possible to buy clamps to make this work)
· Gears
· Clean frame
· Stand can be as simple as one similar to a kick-stand
· Allows bike to be used when not blending
o Questions:
§ What types of bikes are most common in Nicaragua?
§ What are examples of other current bicycle-powered technologies in use in Nicaragua? Are ther
§ How expensive are the required materials if not already available? Where are materials coming from?
Malia:
Grupo Fenix is a consortium of small organizations, projects, and individuals located in Managua, the rural north of Nicaragua, and the United States. It has been around since 1996. Its goals revolve around renewable energy and sustainable development in Nicaragua, with a strong focus on community participation and self-sufficiency.
This project would involve developing a bicycle-powered blender efficient enough to make smoothies, while also keeping the bike functional while the blender is not in use.
Existing designs:
 |
| The obvious problem with this bike blender: there is only one wheel, so the apparatus is stationary. Rather than functioning as a bicycle, it functions as a simultaneous workout machine and blender. |
Both of these next two photos are of removable bike blending apparatuses with attached stands. The apparatus and stands can be taken on and off the bike:
Questions:
Are people blending smoothies to sell and earn a profit? Or are they being used in the home to grind up grains, vegetables, and other foods?
Is it important to them that they be able to ride and blend at the same time? Would this even be possible to build?
How hard does one usually have to pedal in order to power the existing smoothies?
Sources:
http://grupofenix.org/
http://www.udayton.edu/engineering/_resources/pdfs/dean/ethos_newsletter_august11.pdf
http://rockthebike.com/fender-blender-bike-blenders/
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-create-a-human-powered-bike-blender-for-les/
