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Indonesia Innovates |
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Indonesia Innovates |
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Building on grassroots innovations from Indonesia |
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"Compassion to passion: prosthetic legs from coconut fibre
Pauzal Bahri
Montong Gading, Lombok Timur State of Indonesia
Pauzal Bahri, a grassroots innovator has served more than five hundred people through his low cost prosthetic legs made out of coconut fibre. In 2005, Bahri lost his leg in an accident that left him devastated and isolated for about a year. The financial pressure on his family due to the medical expenses motivated him to develop low-cost prosthetic legs. After dropping out of college he started experimenting with PVC and other local materials along with tools like machetes, saws, pliers and hammers. After a few months, he was able to develop a prosthetic leg using coconut fibre for himself. Coconut fibre proved to be a good raw material because of its light weight and abundant availability. He began his new walk of life with his prosthetic leg and pursued his college education. However, he was forced to quit after a year due to financial constraints and had to work as an electrician to support his family. Bahri simultaneously started making and distributing coconut fibre prosthetic limbs to people with disabilities. As a result of his continued efforts many of his peers regained their lost confidence and looked forward to live purposeful lives. This earned him the title of ‘Designer of affordable prosthetic legs’. With the help of profits earned from his patients, Bahri graduated as a primary school teacher from an Indonesian Open University, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training (FKIP) after which he started his social enterprise of manufacturing prosthetic limbs. On commercialising his operations in 2013, several patients from region around Lombok and Sumatra islands were greatly benefitted.
Design development
Pauzal Bahri makes the prosthetic moulds using socks, gypsum cement and resin to ensure accurate measurement and shape. He has had to carefully work to identify the fulcrum and foot position by placing the mould on to the amputated leg. Blue print of foot morphology is recorded (footstep, ankle etc.) as reference for the prosthetics. Coconut fibre mixed with resin acts as the final frame. After finding the fulcrum and slope on the foot, adjustments to the knees and cavities in the calf are taken care of. After completing the trial, Bahri trains his patients to walk around with the help of a handle or stick. If he observes discomfort in the patient’s foot positioning, he rectifies it through a strap. When sitting cross-legged, the strap also helps in the placement of the foot. In toto the time required from preliminary design to final fitting is around three to seven days.
Bahri says “My own experience is the major thrust behind the innovation. I had an urge to help those who were unable to use prosthetic legs solely because they could not afford it. I dreamt of providing prosthetic legs to them free of cost. Since I have the skill of creating ‘the leg’, I initiated a ‘skill transfer project’ for imparting the knowledge to patients free of cost. The interested people procured raw materials and I assisted them in making their own prosthetic legs. As a result each patient gets a ‘new leg’ and at the same time also learns a ‘new skill’. The prosthetic leg I designed is extremely comfortable and enables the patient to perform several activities including driving a motor bike, running, playing soccer, badminton, volley ball, working in the field, spraying pesticide at crops, etc.” Bahri claims that his customised prosthetic legs lasts for as long as
10 years. However, the prosthetics are not water-proof and as a result cannot be used while swimming. He views this as a major limitation and is constantly experimenting with different materials to create water- proof prosthetic legs.
Bahri dreams of building a clinic or a “Rumah Singgah” – a transit home with physiotherapy facilities where patients can receive advanced treatment. With the provision for food, shelter and raw materials, the patients would live in a familiar environment and learn to design and create their own prosthetic legs for self-sustainability and livelihood. His friends encouraged, supported and sponsored for his travel to attend “ASEAN-India Grassroots Innovation Forum-2018” at the Puspiptek Innovation Festival in Indonesia, where Bahri won his first award for his unique innovation under the general public category. In addition to this, Bahri received the Charter Award Lombok Regent East organised by a Village Community and Government Empowerment Agency East Lombok through Utilisation Sector Natural Resources and Appropriate Technolog y (NRM & TTG). He is also a recipient of Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB TTG) Award -2015, held at Mataram from Governor of NTB, 2015 and the “Race Innovation Appropriate Technology- Award” from Earth Course Gora Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) Governor’s Office.
Relevance in India
According to the Government of India’s statistical report of 2016, 2.68 crore people are ‘disabled’ which is 2.21% of the total population. The report also highlights that 20% of the disabilities are movement based. Although many organisations like Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), developers of the Jaipur Foot and Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India have served ceaselessly over the years, a significant number of people can still benefit from affordable prosthetic legs. As of 2016, India ranks among the top three coconut producing countries in the world. Use of such naturally abundant materials can drastically decrease the production costs of prosthetic limbs and also serve as an alternate source of income for the coconut farmers and small entrepreneurs.
Oil Saving frying tube with fogging system
Rina Widyawati
Sragen, Jawa Tengah, District of Central Jawa, State of Indonesia
Traditional cuisine of Indonesia uses a lot of cooking oil. Snacks are usually deep fried and leftover oil is re-used. This practice of re-using oil may lead to serious health problems. As an alternative, teflon coated vessels could reduce oil content while cooking, however, once the teflon layer peels off, consumption of food becomes unsafe. Ergo, it can’t be used over long periods of time.
Ms. Rina Widyawati a chemistry graduate from Bodongan RT, Plupuh felt the need for an alternative and healthy cooking method and hence got motivated to develop a device that can fry with minimum amount of cooking oil. She observed that the fuel injector in bikes inject optimum amount of fuel in an efficient manner. She used a similar principle in her fogging system to ensure that only the required amount of cooking oil was supplied to the food. Widyawati, developed the first prototype of the frying tube in 2016. Her husband, an IT professional encouraged her to carry forward her innovative idea and played a crucial role coordinating with fabricators to develop the prototypes. In a village where not many women can afford to go to college, the support she received from her husband, child and family was very encouraging. ‘There will be no limitations if we want to do more to improve our lives.’ is her message to other women.
Design of the innovation
The oil-saving frying tube with fogging system consists of a rotating tube heated with a gas stove into which the cooking oil is sprayed. The frying tube of 40 cm length, 35 cm diameter and 0.4 mm-1mm thickness is made of food grade stainless steel and has a pane that holds a pyrex glass which lets the user view the food while it is being fried. A belt and pulley arrangement transfers drive from dynamo to rotate the frying tube. A bimetal thermometer monitors the temperature inside the frying tube. The items to be fried are placed inside the tube and rotated over a stove while cooking oil is misted using a sprayer whenever required.
The device saves a lot of cooking oil while producing minimal residue. The traditional method of deep frying for a 1 kg snack requires 600 ml oil while the fogging system requires only 50 ml. By lowering the amount of oil consumed, health problems like cholesterol and high levels of triglycerides can be avoided. The device is healthy, efficient, energy efficient and economical. The unit of 1 kg capacity costs only IDR 10,00,000/- (approx. INR 5,000/-).
Widyawati currently has an order for the device of 5 kg capacity which costs IDR 15,00,000/- (approx. INR 7,300/-). The device is a very useful product for communities engaged in preparation of snacks as it not only helps them generate income but it also enhances their profit margins.
Relevance in India
Much like in Indonesia, many Indian snacks include deep fried food made from refined and processed raw materials like refined flour (maida), polished rice, refined sugars and refined oils. These food items, slow in satiety increase the risk of obesity. The market for salty snacks in India has an annual growth of 10-12% and estimated to be Rs. 20,000 crore.
It is a general practice across Indian kitchens to ‘save’ the leftover oil after frying food. Often such reused oil can turn harmful due to the production of carcinogenic compounds. Increase in bad cholesterol levels and heart ailments may occur which may eventually block the arteries. Other health hazards include acidity and throat irritation. Considering the current dietary lifestyle followed by Indians, innovations like the Cooking Oil-Saving Frying Tube with Fogging System can offer a much healthier and safer option.
Salt-Pan levelling and salt harvesting machine
Sujarwi Jarwi
Bumiayu Village, Sub district of Edarijaksa, Pati District, Central Java State of Indonesia.
Indonesia is referred to as the world’s largest archipelago with about 17,000 islands spanning over 5000 km. Hence, salt farming is a major occupation. The exposure to Sun and brine for long periods in traditional salt farming methods affect the skin and eyes of the workers. The work is physically exhausting and the sharp salt crystals often cause eye injuries among the workers.
Sujarwi Jarwi hails from a family of salt farmers and understands the difficulties associated with traditional salt farming. For example, to extract salt, the bed of the salt pans need to be levelled with a small slope for brine to flow and the pan should be hard and impervious to avoid mixing of soil with salt during raking/scraping. Both these tasks are extremely labour intensive. Jarwi gave serious thought to these problems and in 2013 came up with “Mobgar Pagrak”, an innovation designed to ease the process of salt farming.
Design of the device
The device, powered by a 5.5 HP engine, levels the salt table and comes with an attached blade that helps scrape salt off the table. It has a gearbox with automatic transmission offering forward and reverse movement and a pedal operated accelerator. The blade is made with food grade stainless steel SS 304 and is provided with a rubber pad. The rollers have 14- inch diameter and hollow PVC pipes which are used to reduce weight and to avoid compaction. A simple lever with up and down motion helps the operator alternate between levelling function and harvesting function. With the lever raised, the blade goes down and the machine harvests salt. When the lever is lowered, the blade is raised to function as a leveller. The machine drastically reduces the time for levelling a salt field of 350 sq. m. area to 25 minutes in comparison to traditional methods that take 4-7 days. With the assistance of Central Java Province Research and Development Agency, Jarwi has filed a patent (No: ES09201600114), Industrial design (A09201802061) and a trademark registration (D092017061348). Currently, the device can be used on High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) sheets or geoisolator of thickness 0.3 mm and above. Geoisolator is a type of black plastic which can accelerate the process of salt crystallisation. It is installed after the salt table is levelled with ‘Mobgar’. Covering the salt table with a geoisolator before filling sea water increases the quantity of salt produced.
With close to 40 units already in use in 4 districts, Jarwi seeks to improve the device further by reducing its weight and by adding a pump to transfer sea water directly to the salt table. Reducing the weight of the unit would enable it to be used on HDPE sheets or geoisolator of 0.2 mm thickness.
Jarwi has been awarded the 1st Position in Appropriate Technology Innovation by the Village Ministry in the province of West Nusa Tenggara in 2016 for his invaluable contribution. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, Government of Indonesia named him the Champion of Hope in the 15th National Appropriate Technology held on 26 September, 2013 in the Padang city of West Sumatra. He was also awarded the 2nd Prize for Technopreneurship, 2016 organised by PUSPIPTEK along with Pamulang University.
Relevance in India
India is the world’s third largest producer of salt with 69.11 metric tonnes in 2017. Nearly eighty per cent of it comes from the western state of Gujarat. An estimated 2,00,000 people work in the Little Rann of Kutch area alone and are exposed to extreme occupational hazards. With temperatures soaring up to 48 degree Celcius in the Rann of Kutch, working conditions are severe and tiring. The salt farming period spreads over eight months and is mainly done by the Agariya community – the traditional salt farmers of India. They collect about 12-15 tonnes of salt within a fortnight but unfortunately receive a meagre amount of Rs. 60 per ton, whereas the retail price of domestic salt is Rs. 5500. Most salt farmers are too poor to afford the required safety equipment and as a result suffer from skin lesions, eye problems and tuberculosis. Another health problem is the occurrence of abnormally thin and stiff legs with years of exposure to high concentration of salt. This innovation has immense potential in reducing occupational hazards of salt farmers apart from augmenting the productivity levels of the farmers.
Endnotes
Includes a joint application by two students, accounted as single application in total count of 28.
Dari 17.504 Pulau di Indonesia, 16.056 telahdiverifikasi PBB - EkoPrasetya
- Merdeka - 19 August 2017.
Target and Production of Salt in India (1995 to 2004 and 2005-2006 to
2017-2018) – India stat
Selected State-wise Production of Common Salt in India (2008-2009 to 2015-2016) – India stat
Salt mining leaves bitter taste for Indian workers - Rupam Jain Nair – The Telegraph
The Salt Farmers of the Rann of Kutch Sugato Mukherjee - The Diplomat
8 Indian dietary habits that are bad for your health! - Ishi Khosla
PepsiCo India aims to double sales in salty snacks segment - The Hindu 31 Aug 2018 - N. Anand
Haldiram topples PepsiCo; regains top spot as country’s largest snack company – The Economic Times – SagarMalviya
Will Re-Using Leftover Cooking Oil Harm Your Family? -.Sarika Rana – NDTV Food
https://www.ut.ac.id/2015/en/faculties- and-pps/faculty-of-education-and- teacher-training
Disabled Persons in India: A Statistical Profile 2016 – Social Statistics Division, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India
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Honey Bee, 29(4) & 30(1) ,10-15, 2019 |
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