Read the rest of The Baker Stove is a Safer, Energy-Efficient Cookstove for the Developing World

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Post tags: Baker Cookstove, Baker Stove, carbon monoxide, Claesson Koivisto Rune, cookstove, developing world, energy-efficient cookstove, energy-efficient stove, humanitarian design, indoor air pollution, kenya, Recycled aluminum, safer stove, stove, wood-burning stove

Dutch designer Diederik Schneeman recently added a new object to his wonderful collection called Flip Flop Story. Crafted from used flip-flops washed ashore in Nairobi, Kenya, this unique new table brings new life to lost soles.

Read the rest of Diederik Schneemann Constructs a Table from Flip-Flops Found Along Kenya’s Beaches

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Post tags: "green furniture", Diederik Schneemann, dutch design, Flip Flop, Flipflop Story, kenya, Milan Furniture Fair, nairobi, recycled, Recycled Materials, table

Read the rest of The Most Inventive Green Designs at Ventura Lambrate During Milan Design Week 2013

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Post tags: green design, green lighting, green materials, Milan, Milan Design Week, milan fair 2013, Milan Furniture Fair, milan furniture fair 2013, Salone del mobile, salone del mobile 2013, student designers, ventura lambrate

Read the rest of Eco-Luxe Treehouses at Ngong House Provide an Epic “Out of Africa” Experience

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Post tags: "natural materials", bespoke tree house, boutique hotel, eco-luxe, giraffes, kenya, Luxury Tree House, Meryl Streep, nairobi, Nairobi National Park, Ngong House, Out of Africa, Rothschild giraffe, safari destination, Treehouses, upcycling

Richard Turere, a 13 year-old from Kenya, has been making waves at the TED conference with his innovative invention — a LED system that prevents lions from killing livestock (and also humans). Richard, whose family lives within the Nairobi National Park boundaries and raises livestock, had always seen lions as a threat to their livelihood. As such, Richard said he always “grew up hating lions”. However after taking part in a global talent search last year, Turere came up with an ingenious solution.

Read the rest of 13 Year-Old Kenyan Invents LED System That Protects Livestock, Lions and Humans

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Post tags: child inventors, children genius, endangered species, invention, kenya, lions, livestock, Nairobi National Park, Richard Turere, scholarship, TED Conference

What started as the 15,000 Bottle Caps for Africa concept just a few months ago is now an actual built computer learning center and library thanks to architect Charles Newman and the organization Under The Acacia. The Kenya-based project revolved around Newman’s inclusive approach to design, which made it imperative that he work closely with the local Maasai people and give them ownership over the build. More than an architectural feat decorated with colorful bottle caps laid out by Maasai women according to traditional jewelry patterns, the project also creates social cohesion and introduces technology in a non-intrusive way. Newman explains, “In a community that has historically resisted western influence, allowing them to create something unique to their tribe helps them understand that while computers might be foreign, it is an opportunity to further enrich their own culture.” Read on for Inhabitat’s exclusive interview with this revolutionary architect.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: We Talk to Architect Charles Newman About 15,000 Bottle Caps for Africa

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Post tags: 15000 bottle caps for africa, Adele’s Literacy Library, Africa, Charles Newman, Charles Newman Design, Engineers Without Borders, Greystone Aviation, Greystone Learning Center, habitat for humanity, inhabitat, Internet Society, Jess Teutonico, kenya, Loita Hills, low impact, maasai, Maasai culture, recycled bottlecaps, Recycled Materials, repurposed materials, reused materials, social design, traditional techniques, Under the Acacia, Village Earth

A group of designers in Nairobi, Kenya have created a way to charge your cell phone with green energy while recycling a plastic bottle! The Bottle Charger transforms any used plastic soda or water bottle into a 5 watt charger capable of powering a smart phone. Simply add boiling water and the miniature Blackbeard Unidirectional Constant Turbine (B.U.C.T.) creates electricity with the rise and fall of temperature, charging your phone while creating a mini science lab right on your kitchen counter.

Read the rest of Bottle Charger Turns a Plastic Bottle into an Off-Grid Cell Phone Charger

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Post tags: "sustainable energy", Blackbeard Unidirectional Constant Turbine, bottle charger, eco design, Eco Travle, green design, green energy cell phone charger, nairobi, off the grid, phone charging station, sustainable design

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Post tags: Daylighting, Design, Gender Violence Recovery Center, Health, hospital, inpatient hospital, James R. Jordan Foundation, kenya, Kenya Women and Children's Wellness Centre, nairobi, natural ventilation, outpatient, perkins+will, public health, sun shading, Sustainable

Read the rest of 10 Sure-to-Please Green Valentine’s Day Gifts to Give Your Main Squeeze

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Post tags: 13 Red Hot and Green Valentine’s Day Gifts to WOW Your Sustainable Sweetie, 13 Valentine’s Day Eco Gifts, eco accessories, eco design, eco jewelry, eco undies, eco valentine, eco valentines, eco-fashion, eco-friendly lingerie, eco-friendly underwear, eco-gifts, eco-valentine’s day gifts, green design, green fashion, green gifts, green jewelry, green presents, green undies, green valentine, green valentine’s day gifts, green valentines day, organic lingerie, organic panties, organic thongs, organic underwear, sexy lingerie, sexy underwear, silk lingerie, sustainable design, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable jewelry, sustainable skivvies, sustainable valentine, v-day, valentine’s day, Valentine’s Day Eco Gifts, vday

Kenya already gets half of their energy from hydropower, but with drought looming, the country is ramping up their geothermal energy production with a fourth geothermal power plant that captures energy from lava deep below the earth’s surface. Toshiba has been contracted to provide the majority of the equipment needed for the Japanese-funded plant, which will be constructed and online by April 2014. Once the plant is up and running, one quarter of Kenya’s power will be supplied by sustainable geothermal sources.

Read the rest of Kenya to Tap Lava Power With Toshiba-Built Geothermal Energy Plant

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Post tags: geothermal, Geothermal power, geothermal power plant, kenya, kenya lava power, kenya renewable energy, lava energy, lava heat into energy, lava power plant, Toshiba, toshiba energy, toshiba power

Read the rest of Makeshift Magazine Launch Celebrates Innovative Design in Unlikely Places

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Post tags: A Journal of Creativity, adaptive reuse, Africa, asia, developing world, earth-friendly, Eco, eco-conscious, green, green design, informal economy, informal sector, ingenuity, inhabitat, innovation, invention, inventive, Makeshift, makeshift magazine, Makeshift: A Journal of Creativity, re-culture, Recycle, Recycled Materials, repurpose, Repurposed Space, resourceful, reuse, south america, sustainable design, Sustainable Materials, trash, Waste

Read the rest of Abandoned Skyscraper in Venezuela is the World’s Tallest Shanty Town

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Post tags: abandoned tower, Caracas residence, David tower, reclaimed building, Slumdog Superstructure, Venezuela Housing crisis, Venezuela shanty town

Read the rest of Kitengela: Off-Grid Recycled Glass Village Lights Up Kenya’s Masaai Plains

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Post tags: "wind power", Eco Architecture, kenya, Kitengela Glass, Masaai plains, nairobi, passive design, recycled art, recycled glass, recyling facilities, Solar Power

The Kibera slum of Nairobi is home to a million people — and no electricity. Kibera residents use dangerous and heavily-polluting kerosene lamps to see at night, and despite their fervor for soccer, watching the World Cup has been entirely out of reach — regardless of how geographically close it may be. Until now — a Swiss not-for-profit, Solafrica, has provided a portable solar power station that runs a large donated TV where residents can gather to watch the event.

Read the rest of Africa’s Largest Slum Will Watch World Cup on Solar-Powered TV

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Post tags: Africa, kenya, kibera, nairobi, solar lighting, World Cup

When the sun goes down many developing countries rely upon dangerous kerosene lamps, which emit hazardous fumes and generate 190 million metric tons of CO2 each year. Seeking an eco-friendly alternative to this trend, four Harvard engineering students developed the Soccket – a soccer ball that generates and stores electricity during play. Soccer is found in just about every African country, so the energy-generating ball has great potential to encourage healthy activity while producing clean electricity to light up the night.

Read the rest of Energy Generating Soccer Ball Brings Clean Power to Off-Grid Areas

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Post tags: alternative energy, energy generating soccer ball, green design, humanitarian design, kinetic energy, renewable energy, soccket ball, social design, sustainable design

Think humankind discovering fire was revolutionary? How about a cardboard box that uses the sun’s rays to cook without burning firewood? That’s precisely what the Kyoto Box, a cardboard solar cooker, can do. Made out of basic, 5th-grade-science-experiment type materials, the Kyoto box solar cooker offers a life-altering solution for thousands of people: the ability to cook and heat water without burning wood. So how does it work? Inventor John Bohmer says the box uses “the greenhouse effect for something good.”

Read the rest of $6 Solar Cooker Wins $75K Climate Change Prize

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Post tags: cardboard solar cooker, clean water, Climate Change, global warming solution, global water, kyoto box, solar heat

Architecture for Humanity and AMD recently announced the winners of its 2007 AMD Open Architecture Challenge. Each year the competition addresses architects and designers around the world, seeking “to harness the creativity and energy of the design community to address a different systemic issue facing those living in underserved communities.” This year’s topic of “Digital Inclusion” generated some incredible projects, with Seattle based Global Studio taking taking top honors for its SIDAREC Technology Hub.

Read the rest of 2007 AMD Open Architecture Challenge winners announced!

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Post tags: "sustainable energy", Architecture for Humanity, Digital Inclusion, enery efficient, Max Fordham, Nepal, Nyaya Health center, Open Architecture Challenge, SIDAREC Technology Hub., Sustainable Building, telemedicine

Motivated by a climate of widespread environmental devastation, Africa has boldly moved to initiate a continent-wide ban on plastic bags in an effort to eliminate the billions of throwaway sacks that are marring its cities and landscapes (San Francisco, Melbourne, and other cities have already banned them altogether). It’s no surprise that what was once viewed as a step towards modernization has instead created far-reaching problems for rural and urban communities that initially embraced the cheaply manufactured plastic bag in lieu of totes made of indigenous materials and biodegradables.

Read the rest of Africa Wages War on Plastic Bags

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Post tags: Africa moves to ban plastic bags, Africa plastic bag, Africa plastic bags, environment UNEP, London Photography, Photographers’ Gallery, Plastic Bag exhibition, plastic bags, polythene plastic, recycling initiative, Reuters Business Daily

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