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Volunteer Prepares for Adventure of Life

Going somewhere new and doing a job you’ve never tried before can be a daunting prospect. But Toby Biddington is up for the challenge. June 2012 sees him fly to… more

MAT Partnership with Africa Community Access Programme

DT is excited to be working in partnership with The Africa Community Access Programme (AFCAP) – designed to address the challenges of providing reliable access for poor communities.

Funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and managed by Crown Agents, AFCAP provides advice and undertakes research to deliver safe and sustainable access to rural communities.

Two of Developing Technologies Motorcycle Ambulance-Trailers (MAT) are being trialled in Zambia as part of  the DfID funded AFCAP (African Community Access Programme) project. The aim of the trials is to assess the impact of low-cost emergency transport services on improving access of rural communities to health services. It is hoped that this will have a significant impact on reducing the suffering and deaths that result from rural people not being able to access emegency health facilities, particularly for maternal and new-borne emergencies.

Immediate Volunteering Opportunities : Zambia & Sierra Leone

Motorcycle Ambulance Trailer – Trials, Zambia

• Graduate engineer required to take trials of Motorcycle Ambulance Trailer to successful completion;
• Initially based in the local partner workshop to carry out improvements suggested from the trials already carried out;
• Working alongside local assistant to set up and supervise the initiation of the trials and the monitoring system and to carry out any trouble-shooting required;
• Immediate start (March/April 2012);
• All expenses covered;
• More information and to apply.

Percussion Drill – Gola Forest Project, Kenema, Sierra Leone

• Graduate engineer required to undertake further development and research of the percussion drill technology;
• 3-month placement in Sierra Leone;
• To start Oct/Nov 2012
• All expenses covered;
• More information and to apply.

Santa Run 2011 – a Sea of Santas Brings Winter Cheer to East London

On Sunday 4th December 2011 two of our trustees (Marcus & John) will be joined by a group of secondary school friends in the 5km Santa Run in Greenwich Park, London. In case you don’t know, the Santa Run is a fun run except the runners are kitted out in Santa costumes!

DT depends on the generous donations of its supporters to keep going. To date, the Santa Run raised over £1300 in much-needed funding.

It’s not too late to support our runners! Simply visit our fundraising page to find one of our red-clad, bearded runners and make any donation you can – and be sure to leave us a message to say hello.

DT Team

How DT works

Our technology is initially developed at Imperial College London and City University and then undergoes further development and trialling in conjunction with local overseas partners. DT also trains its partners to manufacture, use and maintain this technology to ensure the change is sustainable.

Once the technology has been successfully trialled we then seek its local dissemination, where needed, either through local enterprises or larger bodies. DT has successfully trialled technology in six countries and currently has ten projects at different stages of development.

DT’s aims are closely aligned with the Millennium Development Goals. Our projects include the provision of clean water and emergency transport and technology to increase food production and enable local income generation.

Motorcycle Ambulance Trailer – Construction Manual

We have produced a workshop manual with detailed instructions and drawings showing how to construct the motorcycle ambulance trailer

If you would be interested in a copy of this, please email us at info@developingtechnologies.org with your details.

Percussion Drill – Sierra Leone

James, our most recent engineering placement has returned from the village of Bo in Sierra Leone. Here is summary of the progress made.

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Repair and maintenance

James carried out some much-needed repairs and maintenance to the drill tools which had been stored on site since July 2010. Access to materials is always a challenge in the location Developing Technologies works, but James showed great ingenuity and resourcefulness in successfully repairing the drill engine as well as the pulley system.

Drill behaviour through different rock types

James’ research involved testing the percussion drill in new rock types.

Drilling challenges below the water level

A major challenge associated with percussion drilling is drilling into material that is saturated with water. This happens when either the main aquifer is reached or when a lot of water is added to aid the drilling process. As the drill moves through saturated material, the walls often do not have enough cohesion to maintain their shape and can slump into the bottom of the hole. This means that the drilling process becomes slower – more material having to be excavated without increasing the well depth.

Building on the operational data from James work, DT is developing several possible solutions to this problem which we aim to test in early 2011.